Basically, Republicans are attacking Obama where he is least vulnerable and at a time when they have minimal credibility. It isn’t working. By trying to turn everything into a scandal rather than saying Obama’s policies are wrongheaded—and rather than fixing their own image problems with minority, female, younger, and moderate voters—Republicans are focusing on attacking a guy whose name will never again appear on a ballot.Polling guru and political analyst Charlie Cook, explaining why Republicans’ attacks on President Obama may ultimately fall flat. Despite the media feeding frenzy over the three concurrent scandals to hit the Obama White House, the President’s approval rating has hardly suffered at all: In general, it’s hovered around 51%, with one poll even showing an uptick since April. Meanwhile, a recent CNN poll showed the Republican Party with the highest negative ratings—59%—that either party has received in more than 20 years. “Americans may not be ecstatic about President Obama and his policies,” Cook writes, “but compared with the Republicans, they think Obama doesn’t look so bad.” source
In the same poll: Voters trust Hillary Clinton on Benghazi more than congressional Republicans by a 10 point margin; a net +18 percent of respondents would rather congress focus on immigration reform than Benghazi; and voters were split 45/45 on whether Benghazi is more or less of a scandal than Watergate (although that broke down mostly on partisan lines).
Dear Colleagues,
It is with regret that I will be departing from the IRS as my acting assignment ends in early June. This has been an incredibly difficult time for the IRS given the events of the past few days, and there is a strong and immediate need to restore public trust in the nation’s tax agency. I believe the Service will benefit from having a new Acting Commissioner in place during this challenging period. As I wrap up my time at the IRS, I will be focused on an orderly transition.
While I recognize that much work needs to be done to restore faith in the IRS, I don’t want anyone to lose sight of the fact that the IRS is comprised of incredibly dedicated and hard-working public servants.
During my 25-year IRS career, I am profoundly proud to have worked alongside you and to be part of an institution that has worked hard to support the nation. I have strong confidence in the IRS leadership team to continue the important work of our agency.
I want to thank everyone for all of their support and friendship during my career in government service. And I especially want to thank each and every one of you for your continued commitment to the nation’s taxpayers.
Miller was forced to resign as a result of the past week’s IRS scandal.
“Her crime was enormous and its outcome was severe. She played the major role, and should be sentenced to death,” said Tang Yigan, the vice chief of the Intermediate People’s Court in the central city of Hefei, where the trial took place.
However, the court explained it had suspended the sentence in light of Gu’s mental state, her admissions of guilt and remorse, and her cooperation with the investigation.
Gu, a former lawyer, will now serve a minimum of 14 years in prison.
Her death penalty is likely to be commuted to life imprisonment after two years of good behaviour, and further good behaviour could see her sentence reduced again.
Gu was under mental duress last year, believing Neil Heywood was going to harm or kill her son over a failed property deal. Judges in the case said there was no evidence Heywood or his associates would have ever done so, however.
Looks like Tropical Storm Beryl isn’t the only storm brewin’: The National Weather Service just had its director step down after a hailstorm of criticism following an improperly forecasted allocation of bonuses to contractors. We’re sure that while those workers had mostly sunny days, taxpayers have a lower level of barometric pressure these days for misappropriated funds — especially $43 million worth, which is high whether you’re looking in Fahrenheit or Celsius. Recently, the storm trackers — er, auditors — showed up. As a result, Jack Hayes felt the humidity rising in his position and got out after the heat got too hot to bear. (Editor’s note: Sorry. We couldn’t help ourselves.)
A case which could damage a huge company’s rep: New allegations of a massive bribery and cover-up, orchestrated by Wal-Mart International to protect Wal-Mart de Mexico executives, surfaced in the New York Times over the weekend. Former executive Sergio Cicero Zapata spent more than 15 hours with Times reporters, detailing his role, and the role of others in the alleged crimes. Worst of all, according to Cicero, former CEO Eduardo Castro-Wright didn’t just know about the payments; he endorsed them. Here’s what happened after that:
» So what’s next? As of this posting, neither the U.S. Department of Justice or its Mexican counterpart have announced that they’ll be launching investigations of Wal-Mart. If either country does decide to pursue an investigation, analysts and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act experts estimate that the governments’ legal fees could end up much higher than Wal-Mart stands to lose in penalties. We’ll keep you posted as more information becomes available. (Photo by Code Poet)
I was really checking her out, if you know what i mean?Just-retired Secret Service agent David Randall Chaney • Joking on his Facebook page about … wait for it … Sarah Palin, who he was protecting during the 2008 campaign. He left that comment on a photo that shows him keeping watch over the vice presidential candidate. Not exactly a good look for a guy who was forced to retire as a result of a scandal allegedly involving prostitutes in Colombia.
Damn, today is a banner day for scandal-laden news. (We’re in disbelief that “BREAKING: Woman: Cain reached under skirt for her genitals, pulled her head toward his crotch” is a news alert.) Here’s the Cain accuser, who is suggesting far more than sexual harassment. Here’s the Conrad Murray story.
Ron Paul wins another straw poll; Herman Cain right behind: Despite a scandal that chewed up much press energy this week, Herman Cain was only two points behind Ron Paul in a Republican straw poll in Illinois. But Paul still kicked his butt. source
If senior management was aware and it wasn’t a rogue operation, that’s a huge problem. There’s nothing they own that compares to the reputation of a news company, especially the Wall Street Journal.Yale University School of Management senior associate dean Jeffrey Sonnenfeld • Speculating on the danger News Corp. faces over a circulation-inflation scandal involving its most-known upmarket publication, The Wall Street Journal — particularly its European operations. The scandal has already led to the resignation of Andrew Langhoff, the paper’s publisher, but with word that the scandal was known amongst higher-ups at the company but ignored, things could get significantly messier. It’s been a bad year for the company, already: A hacking scandal took down the company’s most-known downmarket publication, News of the World.
Yahoo wants to buy Hulu now too. They’re going on an “I...
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In this week’s Newsweek, a little...
Tumblr this morning. [h/t anne]
#@#$%!.tumblr.com
Here’s a hidden feature that shipped in...
orioninacobweb-deactivated20110 asks: I have no questions; I just wanted to say how much I appreciate your latest post on Anthony Weiner. I thought you went about in exactly the right way, particularly noting your bias at the very beginning. I think keeping biases in mind in the best way to try to approach things from an analytic point of view. I should, of course, admit my bias as well and say that I also sincerely hope there is no truth to this scandal. So, thank you very much :)
» SFB says: Thanks for the comment. We know that tackling the Weiner story might be a little tough considering the guy has a big fan base among the left, but the analysis at least offers something to go by, instead of just denying it out of hand. I’d like to think that even if something goes against our own political lean, we at least air it out. I think it’s important to note that the guy who first retweeted Weiner’s tweet had been looking for a way to hang the guy out to dry for a long time. I err on the side of Weiner getting hacked (it’s too perfect not to be), but there isn’t any firm proof of it. — Ernie @ SFB
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