What’s interesting in the news today?

Well the IRS scandal continues to raise more questions. And answers don’t seem to be coming anytime soon. Everyone seems to have “forgotten”, “didn’t or don’t know”, or took the 5th. It seems the only way we’ll get them is a special prosecutor. Maybe an offer of immunity will jar some memories and loosen lips.

Now as for Lois Lerner and her claiming the 5th…..

Lois Lerner might win the legal battle but she’s prolonging the political war. And her bravado has prompted House Oversight and Government Reform Committee  Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) to say she has waived her constitutional right  to not comment. From Politico

Some legal experts disagree with Issa. Other’s don’t.

Lois Lerner, the Internal Revenue Service’s embattled director of Exempt  Organizations, could be held in contempt of court and jailed for refusing to  testify before Congress, civil-rights lawyer Alan Dershowitz says. “She’s  in trouble. She can be held in contempt,” Dershowitz told “the Steve Malzberg  Show” on Newsmax TV. From NewsMax

That might help loosen her lips.

The IRS, like many in the Obama admin, are not being forthcoming with answers.

IRS Misses Filing Deadline: Fails to Comply With Congressional Demand for All Communications With WH About Targeting Conservatives, from CNSNews

Oversight on IRS targeting came from Washington all along, from NationalReview

So who’s next to go under the bus?

The Washington Post highlights her role in the IRS scandal, in which the top lawyer in the West Wing is purported to have played goalie with information in order to ensure plausible deniability:

Looks like we now know who pulled the strings in Cincinnati.

From Fox19

They also provide a nice run down of the players, and what they’re up to today.

“What this means for you… consider this chain of command since the story broke. Former Acting IRS Commissioner Steven Miller… retires-. Joseph Grant, Commissioner of Tax Exempt and Government Entities… retires. Lois Lerner, Head of Exempt Organization…says she will invoke her 5th amendment right to not incriminate herself when called before Congress on Wednesday. Holly Paz, Director of Exempt Organizations, subpoenaed to Washington to be interviewed by members of Congress. All of this IRS leadership, in Washington D.C.

Then one level down is Cindy Thomas, the highest ranking employee in Cincinnati in this Tax Exempt and Government Entities Department that no one in Congress is talking to… yet. ”

And yet the WH’s top lawyer says she never informed the President. 

We’re also expected to believe the former head of the IRS didn’t mention it on any of his 118 visits to the WH. From WeaselZippers

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In other news…..

According to Gallup, 72% of Americans think the country’s moral values are getting worse. I guess they’re just stating the obvious. From CNSNews

” A large majority of Americans hold a bleak  outlook on the state of morality in the United States, as 72% said the  nation’s moral values are “getting worse,” and only 20% said that moral  values are “getting better,” according to a recent Gallup survey.

The poll specifically showed that Americans who attend church weekly,  are married, or are Republican, were the most negative about the  country’s moral direction. But even Democrats, people who attend church  infrequently, and the unmarried had high negative outlooks about the  nation’s moral values.”

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I suppose that story is the perfect lead in for this one…

From NBCNews

“After years of emotional debate, the Boy Scouts of America are considering a proposal at their annual meeting to allow gay youths to participate openly in the popular organization for the first time.

The exclusion of gay Scouts has been the subject of much wrangling and soul searching in the century-old organization — from local troops and councils to online petitions to national board meetings. The dispute was even heard by the Supreme Court, which said 13 years ago that as a private membership organization the BSA was free to decide who it would admit.

Here is a rundown of what is at stake in the vote, which is scheduled to take place Thursday among the 1,400 delegates of the National Council gathered in Grapevine, Texas.”

This vote would allow gay scouts to participate, but would still ban gay scout leaders.

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Here’s some non-shocking news on Ivy League commencement speakers. From CampusReform

“The list of keynote commencement speakers at Ivy League institutions for 2013 does not include a single conservative, a recent study authored by the conservative Young America’s Foundation (YAF) found.

Instead seven of the elite schools opted to invite ideological liberal speakers such as media billionaire Oprah Winfrey, Vice President Joe Biden (D), Newark Mayor Cory Booker (D), Mayor Michael Bloomberg (I), among others.

Only Brown University, which chooses a commencement keynote from among its students, did not have a 2013 speaker who is generally associated with the left.”

Not at all surprising. The left is always intolerant of those who disagree with their ideology.

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