I note that the IRS is under fire for targeting (surprise!) political opponents who sought tax-exempt status, especially ones with ‘Tea Party’, with rigorous challenges and requests for donor lists (illegal). Also under scrutiny were groups who chose to educate Americans about their Constitution.

Reminds me of a previous era, under a slightly different political colour and President. One hopes that the present attempt to subvert any opposition to the words of the Great One will come to the same sticky end!

I can now state that the actual number of people who responded to the calls for help from the house on Seymour Avenue is presently catalogued at 735, and counting.

It should be noted that the vast majority of claimants also state that publicity or financial reward is the last thing on their mind; and that justice against the Castro brother who held these women is all they are interested in.

This, by the way, Hilary, is the difference it makes!

When I relax in front of the box, I normally watch pre-recorded episodes of the various series which I follow. Pre-recorded because I can then zip past all the appalling adverts which litter the airwaves, and thus enjoy what I view.

One of the shows I watch is ‘The Good Wife’, which is a legal-based drama series featuring, as the main characters, the top lawyers and associates of a Chicago Law firm.

The plots are good, the acting first-rate, and the series is what we have come to expect from American entertainment, which is quality.

But the one thing I did not expect to see is real life following one of the early plots. Seems as though Judge Mark Ciaveralla should have been watching the show as well.

Life surely is stranger than firction!

Former FBI counterterrorism agent Tim Clemente states, on CNN, that “all digital communications” are being recorded and stored by the government.

(Citizens are reminded that terrorists hate them for their freedoms.)

For some reason, the CIA has been dropping off tens of millions of dollars to Karzai’s office for over a decade. The payments – cash packed in suitcases, rucksacks and plastic bags – are still being made. The New York Times reports:

For more than a decade, wads of American dollars packed into suitcases, backpacks and, on occasion, plastic shopping bags have been dropped off every month or so at the offices of Afghanistan’s president — courtesy of the Central Intelligence Agency.

All told, tens of millions of dollars have flowed from the C.I.A. to the office of President Hamid Karzai, according to current and former advisers to the Afghan leader.

But without government, who will make Karzai stinkingly rich?

Moreover, there is little evidence that the payments bought the influence the C.I.A. sought. Instead, some American officials said, the cash has fueled corruption and empowered warlords, undermining Washington’s exit strategy from Afghanistan.

“The biggest source of corruption in Afghanistan,” one American official said, “was the United States.”

Someone thinks this is good policy – for themselves. Goodness knows the useless Karzai isn’t worth it. I can only imagine alot of cash has been channeled round to American-owned bank accounts in exotic places.

Says the man who donated $1m to Obama’s 2012 campaign. Still he makes some good points, even if they are rather obvious to a libertarian -

Am I right in thinking that Maher is something of a (US) liberal/progressive? Or are his opinions more eclectic than that? I know he’s not a favourite among Republicans. He’s fawned all over Ron Paul on his show. Maybe some sense rubbed off onto him. Let’s hope he keeps moving that way instead of putting his hope and money in politicians who hate his freedoms more than any jihadist.

The White House says that it believes Damascus has used chemical weapons “on a small scale”, immediately setting those dogs of war, Lindsey Graham and John McCain, on a chase to rattle some spears.

Safe areas for their pet rebels .. no-fly zones .. must grab those chemical weapons .. Russia .. Iran .. blah blah. Never mind that the White House has called for “credible and corroborated” facts before acting on that assessment, and that the rebels are full of the types who have been fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq for a decade. One intelligence assessment, one arbitrary red line, and that’s enough: more war.

The more I hear McCain, the more demented he sounds. I thought it made no difference who won the 2008 presidential election, but I’m wondering now just how catastrophic a McCain presidency would have been.

So, you are a US soldier, and you are on your second tour in the ‘Stan. You have been attacked, along with your platoon, by a bunch of well-armed Taliban Muslim terrorists (alternatively fighters) in a valley. You have a good line of sight to three of the opposition, and you cuddle your fully automatic rifle, and take aim through the scope. You have a full bead one one of the bearded gunmen who are doing their level best to kill you, and are actually squeezing the trigger when a senior non-com grabs your shoulder and tells you to ‘Remove the engraved Bible references from the scope before it offends someone!’