{"id":18495,"date":"2013-05-14T22:56:33","date_gmt":"2013-05-15T02:56:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/?p=18495"},"modified":"2013-05-14T22:56:53","modified_gmt":"2013-05-15T02:56:53","slug":"the-daily-gouge-wednesday-may-15th-2013","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/?p=18495","title":{"rendered":"The Daily Gouge, Wednesday, May 15th, 2013"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>It&#8217;s Wednesday, May 15th, 2013&#8230;and here&#8217;s The Gouge!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>First up, the <em>WSJ<\/em>&#8216;s Steve Moore details an aspect of the IRS scandal which should concern every freedom-loving American, regardless of political affiliation:<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1 style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Richard Milhous Obama<\/span><\/h1>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/obama_nixon.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-18543\" alt=\"obama_nixon\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/obama_nixon-300x291.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"291\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/obama_nixon-300x291.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/obama_nixon.jpg 550w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">The left-wing publication Pro Publica admitted Monday that it obtained from the Internal Revenue Service illegally leaked confidential tax forms from nine organizations. <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>All of the groups whose records were improperly released were conservative.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Pro Publica says it obtained the forms from the IRS &#8220;in response to a public records request.&#8221; It then published the names of the organizations in January and accused the groups of being &#8220;controversial dark money&#8221; organizations that unlawfully engaged in &#8220;politics&#8221; rather than policy advocacy. On Monday, it again published the names of the organizations, over the repeated objections of the lawyers representing these organizations, who told ProPublica that this was an illegal act.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #333399;\"><strong>What is the motivation for leaking these documents? <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">The answer is that the left is trying to dry up the money of tea party and conservative groups by intimidating donors.<\/span><\/strong> <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Two months ago, several dozen attorneys who represent policy and political organizations on the left and right wrote a scathing letter of protest to the IRS. <span style=\"color: #333399;\"><strong>They complained that the &#8220;unlawful disclosures&#8221; only reinforce &#8220;the view that the IRS or its employees are biased against those [with conservative] ideologies.&#8221;<\/strong><\/span> To the money issue, the attorneys charged that &#8220;donors may be deterred from giving if they fear their contributions might be improperly disclosed.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Adds Jeff Altman, an attorney at Whiteford Taylor Preston who represents conservative policy organizations, &#8220;This kind of unlawful disclosure of IRS tax forms can have a chilling effect on donors. No organization wants contributors to know their IRS applications are being help up for special review and might never be approved.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">For donors who are seeking anonymity in their giving, the fear that their names will be disclosed is a big deterrent to contributing at all. Two conservative organizations\u2014the National Organization for Marriage and the Texas Public Policy Institute\u2014have had their donor lists illegally leaked and the names reported by the media in recent years. Last month, the confidential donor list of the Republican Governors Association was made public. <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>This information could have come from one of two sources: <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>IRS officials with a political ax to grind<\/em><\/span>, or the organizations themselves.<\/strong> <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">No one knows yet who leaked the IRS data. <span style=\"color: #333399;\"><strong>But the targeting of conservative groups suggests that the Obama administration, in Nixonian fashion, is using the leverage of government to defund political adversaries.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Doctoring-The-Books.gif\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-18520\" alt=\"Doctoring The Books\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Doctoring-The-Books.gif\" width=\"500\" height=\"242\" \/><\/a><strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>In a related item, courtesy of the <em>WaPo<\/em>, George Will paints a picture of a Presidency in peril:<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1 style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span class=\"entry-title\" style=\"color: #ff0000;\">In IRS scandal, echoes of Watergate<\/span><\/h1>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Obama-Nixon.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-18504\" alt=\"Obama-Nixon\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Obama-Nixon-259x300.jpg\" width=\"259\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Obama-Nixon-259x300.jpg 259w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Obama-Nixon.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 259px) 100vw, 259px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><em>\u201cHe has, acting personally and through his subordinates and agents, endeavored to .\u2009.\u2009. cause, in violation of the constitutional rights of citizens, income tax audits or other income tax investigations to be initiated or conducted in a discriminatory manner.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">\u2014 Article II, Section 1, Articles of Impeachment against Richard M. Nixon, adopted by the House Judiciary Committee, July 29, 1974<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">The burglary occurred in 1972, the climax came in 1974, but 40 years ago this week \u2014 May 17, 1973 \u2014 the Senate Watergate hearings began exploring the nature of Richard Nixon\u2019s administration. <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Now the nature of Barack Obama\u2019s administration is being clarified as revelations about IRS targeting of conservative groups merge with myriad Benghazi mendacities.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">This administration aggressively hawked the fiction that the Benghazi attack was just an excessively boisterous movie review. Now we are told that a few wayward souls in Cincinnati, with nary a trace of political purpose, targeted for harassment political groups with \u201ctea party\u201d and \u201cpatriot\u201d in their titles.<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #333399;\"> The Post reported Monday that the IRS also targeted groups that \u201ccriticized the government and sought to educate Americans about the U.S. Constitution.\u201d<\/span> Credit the IRS\u2019s operatives with understanding who and what threatens the current regime.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Jay Carney, whose unenviable job is not to explain but to explain away what his employers say, calls the IRS\u2019s behavior \u201cinappropriate.\u201d No, using the salad fork for the entree is inappropriate. <span style=\"color: #333399;\"><strong>Using the Internal Revenue Service for political purposes is a criminal offense.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/iamnotacrook.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-18506\" alt=\"25th anniversary of Nixon resignation\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/iamnotacrook.jpg\" width=\"350\" height=\"265\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/iamnotacrook.jpg 350w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/iamnotacrook-300x227.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #333399;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">It remains to be discovered whether the chief executive is guilty of more than an amazingly convenient failure to superintend the excesses of some executive-branch employees beyond the Allegheny Mountains.<\/span> Meanwhile, file this under \u201cWhat a tangled web we weave\u201d:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px;\"><em>The IRS official in charge of the division that makes politically sensitive allocations of tax-exempt status said Friday that she learned from news reports of the targeting of conservatives. But a draft report by the IRS inspector general says this official was briefed on the matter <span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #ff0000;\"><strong>two years ago<\/strong><\/span><strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">.<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #333399;\">An emerging liberal narrative is that this tempest is all the Supreme Court\u2019s fault: The <em>Citizens United<\/em> decision \u2014 that corporations, particularly nonprofit advocacy groups, have First Amendment rights \u2014 so burdened the IRS with making determinations about who deserves tax-exempt status that some political innocents in Cincinnati <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>inexplicably decided to begin by rummaging through the affairs of conservatives<\/em><\/span>.<\/span> Ere long, presumably, they would have gotten around to groups with \u201cprogressive\u201d in their titles.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/richard-milhaus-nixon-obama.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-18505\" alt=\"richard-milhaus-nixon-obama\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/richard-milhaus-nixon-obama.jpg\" width=\"400\" height=\"270\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/richard-milhaus-nixon-obama.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/richard-milhaus-nixon-obama-300x202.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #333399;\">Remember, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>all<\/em><\/span> campaign \u201creform\u201d proposals regulate political speech.<\/span> And <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>all<\/em><\/span> involve the IRS in allocating speech rights.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #333399;\"><strong>Liberals, whose unvarying agenda <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>is<\/em><\/span> enlargement of government, suggest, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>with no sense of cognitive dissonance<\/em><\/span>, that this IRS scandal is nothing more sinister than typical government incompetence.<\/strong><\/span> Five days before the IRS story broke, Obama, sermonizing 109 miles northeast of Cincinnati, warned Ohio State graduates about \u201ccreeping cynicism\u201d and \u201cvoices\u201d that \u201cwarn that tyranny is .\u2009.\u2009. around the corner.\u201d Well.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">He stigmatizes as the vice of cynicism what actually is the virtue of skepticism about the myth that the tentacles of the regulatory state are administered by disinterested operatives. <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>And the voices that annoy him are those of the Founders.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Time was, progressives like the president 100 years ago, Woodrow Wilson, had the virtue of candor: <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #333399;\">He explicitly rejected the Founders\u2019 fears of government.<\/span> <em>Modern enlightenment, he said, made it safe to concentrate power in Washington, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">and especially in disinterested executive-branch agencies run by autonomous, high-minded experts<\/span><\/em>.<\/strong><\/span> <span style=\"color: #333399;\"><strong>Today, however, progressivism\u2019s insinuation is that Americans must be minutely regulated because they are so dimwitted they will swallow nonsense. <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Such as: <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>There was no political motive in the IRS targeting political conservatives<\/em><\/span>.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Nixon-Obama.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-18503\" alt=\"Nixon Obama\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Nixon-Obama.jpg\" width=\"400\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Nixon-Obama.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Nixon-Obama-300x168.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Episodes like this separate the meritorious liberals from the meretricious. The day after the IRS story broke, The Post led the paper with it, and, with an institutional memory of Watergate, published a blistering editorial demanding an Obama apology. The New York Times consigned the story to page 10 (its front-page lead was the umpteenth story about the end of the world being nigh because of global warming). <span style=\"color: #000000;\">Through Monday, the Times had expressed no editorial thoughts about the IRS.<span style=\"color: #333399;\"><strong> The Times\u2019s Monday headline on the matter was: \u201cIRS Focus on Conservatives Gives GOP an Issue to Seize On.\u201d <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">So <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>that <\/em><\/span>is the danger.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">If Republicans had controlled both houses of Congress in 1973, Nixon would have completed his term. If Democrats controlled both today, the Obama administration\u2019s lawlessness would go uninvestigated. <span style=\"color: #333399;\"><strong>Not even divided government is safe government, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>but it beats the alternative<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>All work and no play may make Jack a dull boy, but all play, no work, an absolute lack of any semblance of leadership or responsibility and a total disdain for the rule of law&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/blamebush.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-18525\" alt=\"blamebush\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/blamebush.jpg\" width=\"250\" height=\"392\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/blamebush.jpg 250w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/blamebush-191x300.jpg 191w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 250px) 100vw, 250px\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/its-not-my-fault-obama-cartoons.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-18526\" alt=\"its not my fault, obama cartoons\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/its-not-my-fault-obama-cartoons.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"253\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/not-my-fault.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-18527\" alt=\"not my fault\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/not-my-fault.jpg\" width=\"250\" height=\"372\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/not-my-fault.jpg 250w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/not-my-fault-201x300.jpg 201w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 250px) 100vw, 250px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8230;is no way to run a country; but it certainly explains how this Administration got to where it is. <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Think about it: Solyndra; Fast &amp; Furious; offering of an administration position to a 2010 Senate candidate; repeated national-security leaks, including several from The Obamao himself; White House&#8217;s links to MediaMatters; Big Sis giving work permits to some illegal aliens; purposely impacting air travel.\u00a0 And now, in rapid succession, the Benghazi, IRS and <em>AP<\/em> scandals. <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>This isn&#8217;t a presidential Administration&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Chicago-Politics1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-18544\" alt=\"Chicago-Politics1\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Chicago-Politics1-225x300.jpg\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Chicago-Politics1-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Chicago-Politics1.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8230;it&#8217;s an ongoing criminal enterprise!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Meanwhile, <em>Commentary Magazine<\/em>&#8216;s John Steele Gordon asks what inquiring minds want to know:<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"post-title\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\">Are Obama\u2019s Scandals Reaching Critical Mass?<\/span><\/span><\/h1>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Screen-Shot-2013-05-13-at-6.20.39-PM.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-18545\" alt=\"Screen Shot 2013-05-13 at 6.20.39 PM\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Screen-Shot-2013-05-13-at-6.20.39-PM-300x218.png\" width=\"300\" height=\"218\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Screen-Shot-2013-05-13-at-6.20.39-PM-300x218.png 300w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Screen-Shot-2013-05-13-at-6.20.39-PM.png 565w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Last week was one of the worst for Obama in his presidency. This week looks no better. Indeed, it may be a long, hot summer for the White House. As Jonathan has <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.commentarymagazine.com\/2013\/05\/14\/irs-scandal-bigger-than-we-thought\/\" class=\"broken_link\">pointed out<\/a><\/strong>, the IRS scandal is growing bigger, seemingly by the minute. The Benghazi scandal is continuing to percolate.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Now, the brand-new AP scandal has erupted.\u00a0This one, because the victims are newsmen, is likely to have a powerful effect on the mainstream media. If the Justice Department has been going after the phone records of AP reporters, what other reporters are having their privacy violated? Even the <i>New York Times<\/i>, which thought page 11 was just fine for the IRS scandal, put this one on page 1, above the fold. The White House is \u201cdodging and weaving\u201d today according to the <i>Times<\/i>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">But wait, there\u2019s more, as the TV commercials have it.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span id=\"more-825026\"><\/span>The <i>Washington<\/i> <i>Post<\/i> is <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/blogs\/wonkblog\/wp\/2013\/05\/14\/lamar-alexander-sebelius-fundraising-arguably-an-even-bigger-issue-than-iran-contra\/\" class=\"broken_link\">reporting<\/a><\/strong> that Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) is comparing Kathleen Sebelius\u2019s attempt to raise money from private organizations to help implement ObamaCare to Iran-Contra. Alexander says,<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">This is arguably an even bigger issue because, in Iran-Contra, you had $30 million that was spent by Oliver North through private organizations for a purpose congress refused to authorize, in support of the rebels. Here, you\u2019re wanting to spend millions more in support of private organizations to do something that Congress has refused.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">And now the Washington <i>Examiner<\/i> is <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/washingtonexaminer.com\/article\/2529609#.UZIq1hQ69Ts.twitter\">reporting<\/a><\/strong> that the EPA routinely waives the fees for\u00a0FOIA requests made by liberal organizations and media outlets, but does not for those from conservative ones.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Let\u2019s consider a few things here.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #333399;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #800080;\">One is that separate scandals, such as IRS and Benghazi, tend to have synergistic effects on each other even though they are dissimilar.<\/span> The whole is greater than the sum of the parts.<\/strong><\/span> <span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong>Another is that scandals such as the IRS and EPA that are similar inevitably produce a hunt for an overall pattern. <span style=\"color: #333399;\">Where else has the federal government under Obama been stiffing conservatives and giving liberals a pass?<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong>A third is that reports of abuse produce more and more reports of abuse, as people and organizations\u00a0realize that what happened to them was part of a pattern.<\/strong> <\/span><strong><span style=\"color: #333399;\">John Podhoretz\u2019s<\/span><\/strong> <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nypost.com\/p\/news\/opinion\/opedcolumnists\/stench_at_the_irs_Ht1oXod0U07LzR5HTu99CK\">tale of COMMENTARY magazine\u2019s woe<\/a><\/strong> <span style=\"color: #333399;\"><strong>at the hands of the IRS is very unlikely to be the only one to come out.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Finally,\u00a0as the separate scandals begin to grow and, worse for Obama, begin to coalesce, even a media that has been an army of water-carriers for the Obama administration up until now will, despite themselves, smell the blood in the water and their instincts as journalists will kick in. Off they will go on the hunt for scoops. Undoubtedly they will find them.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #333399;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #800080;\">When and if that happens, the scandals will have reached critical mass and the Obama presidency will be in mortal danger.<\/span> The beating up of Jay Carney at the White House daily news briefing last Friday by the media generally was not a good sign.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong>If Obama loses the media, what does he have left? <span style=\"color: #333399;\">A record of accomplishment at home and abroad?<\/span> <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Not exactly<\/em><\/span>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Moving on, we turn to <em>NRO<\/em>&#8216;s <em>The Corner<\/em>, where Charles Cooke records&#8230;<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1 style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff00ff;\"><span class=\"article_title active\"><span style=\"color: #ff00ff;\">NARAL\u2019s Peculiar Reaction to Gosnell&#8217;s Conviction<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/h1>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Dr_No.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-18508\" alt=\"Dr_No\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Dr_No.jpg\" width=\"400\" height=\"268\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Dr_No.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Dr_No-300x201.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden\">\n<div class=\"field-items\">\n<div class=\"field-item even\">\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Pro-choice group NARAL reacted to the news of Kermit Gosnell\u2019s conviction somewhat oddly:<\/p>\n<blockquote style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><p><em>\u201cJustice was served to Kermit Gosnell today and he will pay the price for the atrocities he committed. <span style=\"color: #ff00ff;\"><strong>We hope that the lessons of the trial do not fade with the verdict. <span style=\"color: #3366ff;\">Anti-choice politicians, and their unrelenting efforts to deny women access to safe and legal abortion care, will only drive more women to back-alley butchers like Kermit Gosnell.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u201cFrom the lack of funding available for low-income women to access abortion services, to the sharp decline of reputable providers in Pennsylvania, to the gross negligence of authorities to enforce the law after complaints were filed against Gosnell, each aspect of this case must be a teachable moment for lawmakers: <span style=\"color: #ff00ff;\"><strong>until we reject the politicization of women\u2019s medical care and leave these decisions where they belong \u2014 between a woman and her family and her doctor \u2014 women will never be safe.<\/strong><\/span> <span style=\"color: #3366ff;\"><strong>The horrifying story of Kermit Gosnell is a peek into the world before\u00a0Roe v. Wade\u00a0made legal a woman\u2019s right to make her own choices.<\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cNARAL Pro-Choice America\u2019s annual\u00a0Who Decides?\u00a0publication has given\u00a0Pennsylvania an \u2018F\u2019 grade\u00a0precisely because it has passed medically unnecessary laws that restrict access to safe and legal abortion care. It is my sincere hope that the women in Gosnell\u2019s clinic did not suffer in vain and that Pennsylvania, and every state, will step up and join us in making the protection of women\u2019s ability to get, safe, high quality, and legal abortion care a top priority.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">The \u201clessons of the trial\u201d? Kermit Gosnell was convicted on three counts of first degree murder for <em>murdering babies that had been born<\/em>. <span style=\"color: #ff00ff;\"><strong>What is the lesson that NARAL would like us to take from that?<\/strong><\/span> That people like Kermit Gosnell kill newborn babies because the state has placed certain restrictions on abortion? Or, perhaps, that there should be no point during a pregnancy at which it is illegal to kill an unborn child?\u00a0One certainly hopes not.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">NARAL, its press release says,<\/p>\n<blockquote style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><p><em>reject[s] the politicization of women\u2019s medical care and leave these decisions where they belong \u2014 between a woman and her family and her doctor \u2014 women will never be safe.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Which decisions would those be? <span style=\"color: #ff00ff;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #3366ff;\">Is NARAL suggesting that one should leave the question of post-birth abortion \u201cbetween a woman and her\u00a0family and her doctor\u201d?<\/span> If so, they should say so explicitly.<\/strong><\/span> And what precisely would Pennsylvania\u2019s receipt of an \u201cA\u201d\u00a0grade change in this case? Unless NARAL is suggesting that the law should change, the \u201clesson\u00a0of the trial\u201d is that there are monstrous people out there who must be prosecuted for their barbarism.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">I would have at least understood if the pro-choice movement had said, \u201cWe are in favor of safe, legal, and rare abortion. Kermit Gosnell not only\u00a0disgracefully violated the law but also acted against\u00a0all human decency. We wish to distance ourselves from him\u00a0while insisting that his violations are not taken as representative of a procedure we believe should remain legal for all women.\u201d That would have been a wrong\u00a0but\u00a0reasonable reaction.\u00a0<span style=\"color: #3366ff;\"><strong>What NARAL actually\u00a0said? <span style=\"color: #ff00ff;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Unhinged<\/em><\/span>.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>Kermit Gosnell deserves to die; but at least he didn&#8217;t couch his heinous beliefs in code, hiding his infanticidal intentions behind the smokescreen of &#8220;women&#8217;s medical care&#8221;.\u00a0 Given the choice between Gosnell and NARAL, we&#8217;d be hard-pressed to determine the sicker of the two. <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Next up, another sordid story ripped from the pages of the Crime Blotter, as&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"entry-title\" id=\"article-title\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\">New Orleans police identify suspect in Mother&#8217;s Day parade shooting<\/span><\/h1>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/better-4_3_rx404_c534x401.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-18496\" alt=\"better-4_3_rx404_c534x401\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/better-4_3_rx404_c534x401-300x225.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/better-4_3_rx404_c534x401-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/better-4_3_rx404_c534x401.jpg 534w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">New Orleans police and federal authorities were searching early Tuesday for a young man who is suspected of opening fire at a Mother&#8217;s Day parade in New Orleans, wounding 19. Police Superintendent Ronal Serpas identified the suspect late Monday as Akein Scott, 19, of New Orleans. <span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong>Referring to blurry surveillance camera images of the mass shooting, Serpas said police have &#8220;multiple identifications of Akein Scott as the shooter&#8221; seen in the film.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #008080;\"><strong>Serpas said officers would be searching all night and into Tuesday for Scott, whom he called &#8220;no stranger to the criminal justice system.&#8221;<\/strong> <\/span>He urged the teen, who has previous arrests on firearms and drug charges, to give himself up.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">&#8220;We would like to remind the community and Akein Scott that the time has come for him to turn himself in,&#8221; Serpas said at a news conference outside police headquarters. A photo of Scott hung from a podium in front of the police chief. <span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong>&#8220;We know more about you than you think we know,&#8221; he said.\u00a0<span style=\"color: #008000;\">(Everytin&#8217; &#8216;cept ware he at!)<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/shooting-suspect_3-620x424.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-18497\" alt=\"shooting-suspect_3-620x424\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/shooting-suspect_3-620x424.jpg\" width=\"400\" height=\"274\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/shooting-suspect_3-620x424.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/shooting-suspect_3-620x424-300x205.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong>&#8230;A police news release says Scott has previously been arrested for <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>illegal carrying of a weapon<\/em><\/span>, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>illegal possession of a stolen firearm<\/em><\/span>, resisting an officer, contraband to jail, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>illegal carrying of a weapon while in possession of a controlled dangerous substance<\/em><\/span> and possession of heroin. <span style=\"color: #008080;\">It was not immediately clear whether Scott, who was arrested this past March, had been convicted on any of those charges.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8220;Illegal carrying of a weapon&#8221;&#8230;&#8221;illegal possession of a stolen firearm&#8221;&#8230;&#8221;illegal carrying of a weapon while in possession of a controlled dangerous substance&#8221;; is anyone else detecting a pattern here?!?\u00a0 Yet the Left would have us believe further restrictions on the rights of law-abiding gun owners will somehow serve to curb the criminal proclivities of individuals like Akein Scott. <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Yeah&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/yeahright.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-17424\" alt=\"yeahright\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/yeahright.jpg\" width=\"240\" height=\"184\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Tell-me-more-about-how-criminals-OBEY-the-law-100101851262.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-18344\" alt=\"Tell-me-more-about-how-criminals-OBEY-the-law-100101851262\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Tell-me-more-about-how-criminals-OBEY-the-law-100101851262-300x300.jpeg\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Tell-me-more-about-how-criminals-OBEY-the-law-100101851262-300x300.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Tell-me-more-about-how-criminals-OBEY-the-law-100101851262-150x150.jpeg 150w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Tell-me-more-about-how-criminals-OBEY-the-law-100101851262.jpeg 380w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>And in today&#8217;s\u00a0<span style=\"color: #008000;\">Environmental Moment<span style=\"color: #000000;\">, the cause of anthropogenic global warming takes another hit to the midsection:<br \/>\n<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"headline entry-title\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #008000;\">Mexico&#8217;s &#8216;Popo&#8217; volcano spews ash, molten rock<\/span><\/h1>\n<div style=\"width: 1px; height: 1px; color: #000000; font: 10pt sans-serif; text-align: left; text-transform: none; overflow: hidden;\">Read more here: http:\/\/www.mcclatchydc.com\/2013\/05\/13\/191098\/mexicos-popo-volcano-spews-ash.html#.UZF_tT7DVoY#storylink=cpy<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/130413181221-popocatepetl-volcano-01-story-top.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-18501\" alt=\"130413181221-popocatepetl-volcano-01-story-top\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/130413181221-popocatepetl-volcano-01-story-top.jpg\" width=\"400\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/130413181221-popocatepetl-volcano-01-story-top.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/130413181221-popocatepetl-volcano-01-story-top-300x168.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>This one minor volcanic eruption just put more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than the sum total of every Environazi effort at reduction to date.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>In another bit of environmental news, courtesy of Jeff Foutch, as the <em>AP\u00a0<\/em>reports, the IRS isn&#8217;t the only federal bureaucracy giving The Obamao&#8217;s favorites a pass:<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1 style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span class=\"headline entry-title\"><span style=\"color: #003300;\">Wind farms get pass on eagle deaths <\/span> <\/span><\/h1>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/0f3d2498-866b-4d38-ad58-e1e8620583c7-big.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-18531\" alt=\"Wind Energy Eagle Deaths\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/0f3d2498-866b-4d38-ad58-e1e8620583c7-big.jpg\" width=\"430\" height=\"241\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/0f3d2498-866b-4d38-ad58-e1e8620583c7-big.jpg 430w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/0f3d2498-866b-4d38-ad58-e1e8620583c7-big-300x168.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 430px) 100vw, 430px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"ap-story-p\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">It happens about once a month here, on the barren foothills of one of America&#8217;s green-energy boomtowns: A soaring golden eagle slams into a wind farm&#8217;s spinning turbine and falls, mangled and lifeless, to the ground.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ap-story-p\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Killing these iconic birds is not just an irreplaceable loss for a vulnerable species. It&#8217;s also a federal crime, a charge that the Obama administration has used to prosecute oil companies when birds drown in their waste pits, and power companies when birds are electrocuted by their power lines.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ap-story-p\" style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #003300;\"><strong>But the administration has never fined or prosecuted a wind-energy company, even those that flout the law repeatedly. <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\">Instead, the government is shielding the industry from liability and helping keep the scope of the deaths secret.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><a title=\"Wind Farms get pass on killing eagles\" href=\"http:\/\/hosted.ap.org\/dynamic\/stories\/U\/US_WIND_ENERGY_EAGLE_DEATHS?SITE=AP&amp;SECTION=HOME&amp;TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&amp;CTIME=2013-05-14-07-57-59\" class=\"broken_link\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">http:\/\/hosted.ap.org\/dynamic\/stories\/U\/US_WIND_ENERGY_EAGLE_DEATHS?SITE=AP&amp;SECTION=HOME&amp;TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&amp;CTIME=2013-05-14-07-57-59<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/rick-louie-gambling.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-18546\" alt=\"rick-louie-gambling\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/rick-louie-gambling.jpg\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/rick-louie-gambling.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/rick-louie-gambling-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em><strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">&#8220;I am shocked&#8230;SHOCKED&#8230;to find there&#8217;s political cronyism going on here!&#8221;<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>On the Lighter Side&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Foden20130515-Rotting-Head20130514033704.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-18535\" alt=\"Foden20130515-Rotting Head20130514033704\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Foden20130515-Rotting-Head20130514033704.jpg\" width=\"462\" height=\"350\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Foden20130515-Rotting-Head20130514033704.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Foden20130515-Rotting-Head20130514033704-300x227.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Foden20130514-Pants-on-Fire20130513030625.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-18534\" alt=\"cb051413dAPR20130514104515\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/cb051413dAPR20130514104515.jpg\" width=\"462\" height=\"350\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/cb051413dAPR20130514104515.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/cb051413dAPR20130514104515-300x227.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-18536\" alt=\"gmc10926120130513051000\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/gmc10926120130513051000.jpg\" width=\"462\" height=\"369\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/gmc10926120130513051000.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/gmc10926120130513051000-300x239.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-18512\" alt=\"Foden20130514-Pants on Fire20130513030625\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Foden20130514-Pants-on-Fire20130513030625.jpg\" width=\"462\" height=\"350\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Foden20130514-Pants-on-Fire20130513030625.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Foden20130514-Pants-on-Fire20130513030625-300x227.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/sk050213dAPR20130502094516.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-18516\" alt=\"sk050213dAPR20130502094516\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/sk050213dAPR20130502094516.jpg\" width=\"462\" height=\"350\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/sk050213dAPR20130502094516.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/sk050213dAPR20130502094516-300x227.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/payn_c10894420130430120100.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-18517\" alt=\"payn_c10894420130430120100\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/payn_c10894420130430120100.jpg\" width=\"462\" height=\"344\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/payn_c10894420130430120100.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/payn_c10894420130430120100-300x223.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/mrz050213dAPR20130502014543.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-18518\" alt=\"mrz050213dAPR20130502014543\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/mrz050213dAPR20130502014543.jpg\" width=\"462\" height=\"350\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/mrz050213dAPR20130502014543.jpg 462w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/mrz050213dAPR20130502014543-300x227.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/051413-9.25.41-AM.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-18522\" alt=\"lo\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/051413-9.25.41-AM.jpg\" width=\"500\" height=\"174\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/051413-9.25.41-AM.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/051413-9.25.41-AM-300x104.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/AV-Club.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-18521\" alt=\"AV-Club\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/AV-Club.jpg\" width=\"500\" height=\"245\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/AV-Club.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/AV-Club-300x147.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/h391309B1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-18513\" alt=\"h391309B1\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/h391309B1.jpg\" width=\"492\" height=\"408\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/h391309B1.jpg 492w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/h391309B1-300x248.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 492px) 100vw, 492px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/ATT00014.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-18515\" alt=\"ATT00014\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/ATT00014.jpg\" width=\"484\" height=\"480\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/ATT00014.jpg 484w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/ATT00014-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/ATT00014-300x297.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 484px) 100vw, 484px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Finally, we&#8217;ll call it a day with &#8220;Money Can&#8217;t Buy Happiness&#8230;But It Apparently Can Get You To The Front Of The Line&#8221; segment, courtesy of Bill Meisen, the <em>New York Post<\/em>&#8230;and some encumbered entrepreneurs: <\/strong><\/p>\n<h1 style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">Rich Manhattan moms hire handicapped tour guides so kids can cut lines at Disney World<\/span><\/span><\/h1>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/DISNEY-RESULTS_014304-525x300.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-18547\" alt=\"DISNEY-RESULTS_014304--525x300\" src=\"http:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/DISNEY-RESULTS_014304-525x300.jpg\" width=\"400\" height=\"229\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/DISNEY-RESULTS_014304-525x300.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/DISNEY-RESULTS_014304-525x300-300x171.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">They are 1 percenters who are 100 percent despicable. Some wealthy Manhattan moms have figured out a way to cut the long lines at Disney World \u2014 by hiring disabled people to pose as family members so they and their kids can jump to the front, The Post has learned. <span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><strong>The \u201cblack-market Disney guides\u201d run $130 an hour, or $1,040 for an eight-hour day.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>\u201cMy daughter waited one minute to get on \u2018It\u2019s a Small World\u2019 \u2014 the other kids had to wait 2 1\/2 hours,\u201d crowed one mom, who hired a disabled guide through Dream Tours Florida.<span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">\u201cYou can\u2019t go to Disney without a tour concierge,\u2019\u2019 she sniffed.<\/span><\/strong><\/span> \u201cThis is how the 1 percent does Disney.\u201d The woman said she hired a Dream Tours guide to escort her, her husband and their 1-year-old son and 5-year-old daughter through the park in a motorized scooter with a \u201chandicapped\u201d sign on it. The group was sent straight to an auxiliary entrance at the front of each attraction.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Disney allows each guest who needs a wheelchair or motorized scooter to bring up to six guests to a \u201cmore convenient entrance.\u201dThe Florida entertainment mecca warns that there \u201cmay be a waiting period before boarding.\u201d But the consensus among upper-crust moms who have used the illicit handicap tactic is that the trick is well worth the cost.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Not only is their \u201cblack-market tour guide\u201d more efficient than Disney World\u2019s VIP Tours, it\u2019s cheaper, too.<\/strong> <span style=\"color: #ff6600;\"><strong>Disney Tours offers a VIP guide and fast passes for $310 to $380 per hour.<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Disney did not return repeated requests for comment.<\/p>\n<p><strong>We couldn&#8217;t disagree with the <em>Post<\/em>&#8216;s assessment more.\u00a0 Disney&#8217;s set the precedent; the rest is free-market capitalism at its finest.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Magoo<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It&#8217;s Wednesday, May 15th, 2013&#8230;and here&#8217;s The Gouge! First up, the WSJ&#8216;s Steve Moore details an aspect of the IRS scandal which should concern every freedom-loving American, regardless of political affiliation: Richard Milhous Obama The left-wing publication Pro Publica admitted Monday that it obtained from the Internal Revenue Service illegally leaked confidential tax forms from [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1988,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"yes","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18495","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18495","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1988"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=18495"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18495\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18553,"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18495\/revisions\/18553"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=18495"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=18495"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thedailygouge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=18495"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}