This page has been archived and commenting is disabled.
IRS Conservative Witchhunt Started In 2011 With High-Level Officials Involved
The IRS conservative targeting scandal is going from bad to worse.
Following the Friday revelations that despite all prior appeals to the contrary, the IRS did in fact apply political bias and prejudice in targeting conservative groups who had applied for exempt status (and who knows what other prejudice when targeting non-liberals entities - perhaps it is time to do an analysis of what the ratio of conservatives to liberals audited each year is?), culminating with the farcical response by an IRS official during the Friday press meeting...
In her defense, the IRS official, explained: "I'm a lawyer."
— Zachary A. Goldfarb (@Goldfarb) May 10, 2013
The operative question to the IRS official is: What is one-quarter of 300?
— Zachary A. Goldfarb (@Goldfarb) May 10, 2013
... this may be just the beginning of a major political scandal which in addition to tangential fallout crushing the alleged "impartiality" of the Obama administration, additionally validates many of the heretofore right-wing "conspiracy theories." And as Zero Hedge has shown time and again, it is not a conspiracy theory if it is a conspiracy fact.
What makes things worse for the IRS, the US Treasury, its then-head Tim Geithner, and of course, Barack Obama, is that according to a draft report prepared by the Treasury Department's inspector general for tax administration, expected to be released this week, and seen by AP, is that senior IRS officials knew agents were targeting tea party groups as early as the spring/summer of 2011, well before the 2012 election as we announced before. What makes matters worse, is that it was not only "low-level" employees as the IRS tried to justify its prejudice on Friday, but high level personnel, among which at least one head of division that oversees tax-exempt organizations, and likely all the way to the very top, that were well aware of the witch hunt.
The IRS apologized Friday for what it acknowledged was "inappropriate" targeting of conservative political groups during the 2012 election to see if they were violating their tax-exempt status. The agency blamed low-level employees, saying no high-level officials were aware.
But on June 29, 2011, Lois G. Lerner, who heads the IRS division that oversees tax-exempt organizations, learned at a meeting that groups were being targeted, according to the watchdog's report. At the meeting, she was told that groups with "Tea Party," ''Patriot" or "9/12 Project" in their names were being flagged for additional and often burdensome scrutiny, the report says. The 9-12 Project is a group started by conservative TV personality Glenn Beck.
Lerner instructed agents to change the criteria for flagging groups "immediately," the report says.
Attempts by the IRS to contain the fallout to lower level employees will become very complicated once it becomes public knowledge, that "on Aug. 4, 2011, staffers in the IRS' Rulings and Agreements office "held a meeting with chief counsel so that everyone would have the latest information on the issue.""
So everyone knew about it.
But this is a very sticky problem because at a congressional hearing March 22, 2012, IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman, who had previously stated on the record that no groups had been targeted, testified under oath as follows: "There's absolutely no targeting. This is the kind of back and forth that happens to people" who apply for tax-exempt status, Shulman said at the House Ways and Means subcommittee hearing."
Oops.
Of course, the IRS is scrambling to contain the fallout in the only way it (and JPMorgan, and Goldman Sachs, and every other organization caught with its pants down) knows - the news never got to the top:
"IRS senior leadership was not aware of this level of specific details at the time of the March 2012 hearing," the statement said. "The timeline does not contradict the commissioner's testimony. While exempt organizations officials knew of the situation earlier, the timeline reflects that IRS senior leadership did not have this level of detail."
Lerner's position is three levels below the commissioner.
"The timeline supports what the IRS acknowledged on Friday that mistakes were made," the statement continued. "There were not partisan reasons behind this."
What makes it even worse is that it was not just some radical conservative groups that had been targeted.
On Jan, 25, 2012, the criteria for flagging suspect groups was changed to, "political action type organizations involved in limiting/expanding Government, educating on the Constitution and Bill of Rights, social economic reform/movement," the report says.
So, by implication those who still believe in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights are if not enemies of the US, then certainly subject to far more scrutiny by the country's tax collectors?
Needless to say, the fury among republicans in Congress is palpable:
Rep. Charles Boustany, R-La., chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee's oversight subcommittee, said the report "raises serious questions as to who at IRS, Treasury and in the administration knew about this, why this practice was allowed to continue for as long as it did, and how widespread it was."
"This timeline reveals at least two extremely unethical actions by the IRS. One, as early as 2010, they targeted groups for political purposes. Two, they willfully and knowingly lied to Congress for years despite being aware that Congress was investigating this practice," Boustany said.
"This is an outrageous abuse of power. Going after organizations for referencing the Bill of Rights or expressing the intent to make this country a better place is repugnant," Boustany added. "There is no excuse for this behavior."
The White House, which would not want to touch this issue with a three trillion foot pole has logically distanced itself as far as possible:
On Friday, White House spokesman Jay Carney said the administration expected the inspector general to conduct a thorough investigation, but he brushed aside calls for the White House itself to investigate.
However, one can be certain that with the ascendent GOP, smarting after a year of political debacles and strategic disasters, and feeling emboldened in the aftermath of the Benghazi scandal coverup which in itself is another slap in the face of the "most transparent administration" in history, that the scandal will not be contained to some low-level, Fabrice Tourre-wannabe. Unless of course both the right and the left were in on it. After all, Shulman was appointed by President George W. Bush. His 6-year term ended in November.
Which, of course, would mean that for all the theatrics and optics, both the right and the left are, indeed, one.
»
- 35681 reads
- Printer-friendly version
- Send to friend
- advertisements -
IPO? LMAO. What'll they price it in, bitcons?
Yeah, it seems like a sign of the times that freedom of expression is disappearing even on Zero Hedge. It was one of the few places, that I was aware of, where some of that was still left. Ever since I noticed yesterday's policy announcement, I have been thinking about whether I may simply give up on posting my comments here anymore? Although I totally expected freedoms on the Internet to be suppressed, it still seems so sad, and too bad, to watch them actually disappearing before our eyes ... For decade after decade, year after year, I have been watching everything get worse, faster, throughout my adult life, BUT, I still can not "accept" that reality, since the trajectory that is on is too tragic to accept.
These days, one expects that stories like this one above will end up having no consequences. So what if the blue puppets slap the red puppets? So what if the red puppets get upset? The basic rule of law in the USA is already dead, and already too dead to imagine any way to be revived enough to prevent the runaway abuse of power to destroy all coherence regarding the use of power, due to that abuse of power becoming so blatantly illegitimate.
Of course, for a long time I had already come to conclusion that the government was nothing but legalized lies, backed by legalized violence. However, as time passes more and more people are disovering that to be too painfully obvious for them to continue to ignore, or pretend is not the case. As the mainstream middle class is destroyed, the belief in the ideals of the rule of law are disappearing ... and AFTER enough of that happens, then the lack of the rule of law becomes a monster that will destroy itself.
Freedom of expression being suppressed means that there is nothing left which could possibly limit the runaway abuse of power. Since that will automatically continue to get worse, faster, more and more people are going to be driven to madness, as they are put at bay, where they have no real ways out of the nightmare situation that they find themselves within. Gradually, it becomes more and more obvious that democracy is already dead. Thus, there is nothing left that one can actually believe in, other than the runaway madness of murders by the government going utterly out of control, which will drive more mad murders in response to that.
Democracy and the rule of law may have been superficially slow, but they were way more efficient than the alternatives of the runaway abuses of power. However, these things all seems to me to be aspects of trends. Freedom of speech is disappearing on Zero Hedge, and yet, this Web site will pretend to provide critical information about the runaway insanity of the social situation, where the worst criminals have taken control over the law enforcement apparatus?
This latest policy adopted by the sign of the times underscores that despite the social facts being the social facts, we are returning to the situation where people are extremely unequal, wherein the new royalty can not be criticized. This kind of policy is necessary only to emphasize what Voltaire is often quoted as saying: Voltaire: "To find out who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize."
Great finale, + 1 (of many tonight I bet).
Is it too late to get a flag, a tattered uniform and a story?
To that, I simply say Amen.
Hat tip, well said.
Freedom of speech means nothing when you can only whisper it to yourself.
Good bye to all!- I'll say it now. I'll be banned after too much Belvedere (truth serum) soon.
Yeah, you're right. If ZH really becomes censored beyond recognition, there's always GodLikeProductions. You think ZHers are tinfoil hat wearers... HOLY SHIT!!!
Face Everything And Rise
Forget Everything And Run
The two meanings of F-E-A-R
Buzz, you and I have been here long enough to remember Marla's admonition against comments which threaten life or limb. You don't see much of that here in its most virulent form -- been that way for years.
From who and about what?
It was Robot Traders Mom (or something like that) with an FU to some group, and a challenge to "Ban Me!" And then Bam, the comment and the commenter were gone, off to comment FEMA camp.
Wow...more regulation, just what we need ;-)
Uh that would be MOAR censorship to protect the special "class"!
Mish used to call it..."the J-word". How menacing is that! Say it isn't so ZH.
How 'bout "kike"? ok- or no?
Can I say vajayjay?
Vagina?
Pussy? hujel
Oh for fuck's sake.
Here is a great idea. 20 or so commentators can keep on bashing the evil "joos" because we didn't get it in the first four years of ZH that it was all the evil "joos" fault (and really, who could have possibly thought of it before), and in the meantime zerohedge can spend millions in Swiss court defending itself against defamation lawsuits and since all our time will be taken up by legal affairs, not post a single article until such time as we are forced to shut down.
Of course, we will leave it to CNBC and Business Insider to find the factually (although who needs facts when prejudice is enough) culpable parties of the biggest generational theft of the history of the world.
Surely this is precisely the win win outcome our "intelligent", "sophisticated" commentators want
Well said.
Since this policy took effect, I haven't noticed any ethnic (e.g., asian, latin, Israeli) dating websites.
Coincidence? I think not.
I miss the old ads but understand how the expense of mounting a defense in court can have a chilling effect on free speach.
We now see what would happen if the internet came under the jurisdiction of the U.N. or any other country that doesn't respect free speech?
To the Tylers, I had been reading your website for years until I became a member, and honestly I can say that this has been a teaching wibsite for hundreds of my students. The libel charges are above my paygrade, but I can attest to your enduring freedom of speech.
Let me say again, hundreds, if not thousands are taught everyday, indirectly and thus conjecturally, by your harsh and (often laughable) commentators, so please do not:
SEMPER AVARICE EGET.
Sincerely,
Ghandi.
Its just cuz it was the first post right? i mean if we sneak that shit in somewhere in the middle or near the bottom... no problemo right?
jews
When did this happen, this 'change' of policy?
I could swear just yesterday I saw young, eligible asians looking for me. I was as astonished as I was flattered.
So you're saying it's not the 'joos'?
...as in "So you're saying Ann Margaret is not coming?"
/sarc (for them still guessing)
I want to see fur and early morning dew....
Exactly, Tyler. And the fucks who have been trying to sidetrack important discussions with this half truth incendiary commentary about joos are mostly shills. Performing their theatrics to allow legal attacks later.
Same trick as Dianetics. Send 10 cult members to apply for a job at a cult reprogramming organization and when they all are turned down tie them up with 10 lawsuits.
Wake the fuck up, everyone.
Posting on ZH is about as effective at change as having your letter-to-the-editor published in the local paper- let's not get too self-important.
If you don't like ZH, then exchange ideas with yourself and see how effective that is.
You seem to forget that exchanging ideas with others instead of mentally masturbating helps refine your ideas, similar to the ways precious metals are made more pure through the refining process.
Iron sharpens Iron. Or is that Iran ... ?
Now WHO would ever think of bringing a 'libel' or 'defamation' case to court?...
~~~
I mean... I've been here for 3 years now & have been called every name in the book... The thought never crossed my mind to sue anyone...
Francis- that's a bit naive, since ZH might hire one to help a craft a strategy to mitigate that risk. The issue isn't who is being called names, the issue is WHO has an ax to grind, et cui bono, and what tools are available to THEM to do so. Although, I have give you credit for less naive nomenclature.
"And the fucks who have been trying to sidetrack important discussions with this half truth incendiary commentary about joos are mostly shills."
Yeah, how'd we get from IRS to Jewish people?
divide conquer repeat
Just mention Israel. That seems to bring out the mouth frothers.
Occultet magna pecunia.
Move Zerohedge to Bulgaria or someplace that really doesn't like Joos - say like France.
Spot on. Which is why I rarely take the bait. I was just trying to kiss Tyler's ass. : )
Don't get me wrong, there is a vast Jewish conspiracy. Some play along but most are oblivious. A lot of it is in the Kabala. The problem is, Jews are exploited for their general high level of intelligence, banking skills, memory skills and superiority complexes. Many Jews think they are on the inside track until they get thrown under the bus like the rest of us.
Many elites are Ashkenazi Jews. They picked it up along the way and are hiding in the midst, using the ADL as cover.
Maybe they're really the Anninaki and we're all just sub-human ape men relegated to digging up gold.
Not tall enough.
How about telling all of us about any and all litigation issues in real time. Put all the particulars out there. Enlist the aid of your fight club. Tell the Swiss, or whomever, to fuck off....that you are not into censorship. These are not your opinions, but you run an open forum. Or, at least you once did. I'm pretty sure I am not the only curious about where this new 'pressure' is coming from.
Slippery fucking slope anyone.............??
I am sure a financial fund of donations/gifts would greatly aid your litigation.
Slippery fucking slope anyone.............??
Slope? Alart!!
Crockett went apeshit, thats what happened.
I ain't Swiss. I'm from Pittsburgh an'at.
Damn boy, where you been? You were missed ;-)
Good to see you, nmewn. I've been busy out in the real world and only pop up here if I get Beetleljuiced. You'll be amused to know that I've been sussed out as a shill for "the joos" and the irony has just been too much for me to bear. Peace, man.
lol...don't sweat it man, I get it all the time...they think I'm a rabbi or sumpin.
Wait a minute... (my mischievous mind going to work now) ...I wonder if I can create a second account...maybe a Dr.Kalid, from Philly, with his front door facing a back alley ;-)
Crockett good to see u man! Stick around and tell us stories about the real world when u get a chance. There are a lot of us who want back in!
Hey fonzannoon, how you doing? In the real world tomatoes are in, beans are sprouting, tobacco is coming along and the collards are high as an elephant's thigh. Trying some new things this year including long red mangels, a type of sugar beet from which ale can be brewed. And only two more weeks until it's warm enough to go swimming in the river! This is my spot:
http://akvalley.com/gooutside/wallpaper/riverside800.htm
Hope all is well with you and yours.
if the joo fits...
So, you are sayin it was the joos??? Well, I didn't think it wast the Africans...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyGHHxUFY6w
So where is Francis anyway??
Or atleast, get Stephen Hawking to weigh in....
I tells ya, it needs be be Krugman's minions playin' the joo-carrd 'n' demoralizin' critical thinkin' thru massive red arrrow ratings. Let it go folks. Can’t you see desperation unfolding in the palm of your hand? We have reached a fight or flight mode. The latter end is quite obvious.
Self cencorship is the best censorship.
I understand not wanting to take the heat for some of the shit comments made by some on this site, but political correctness is political correctness, and this is how it begins. So does talk of illegal immigration get flagged now, how bout Islam, are comments about Mohammad verboten now?
For a site that is about freedom to speak the truth as you see it, this is a dark day.
#41
You can have __________ or you can have freedom. (Fill in the blank)
'Banana'
Good one, but you're still here so that wasn't the correct answer.
Dadaism:
"A European artistic and literary movement (1916-1923) that flouted conventional aesthetic and cultural values by producing works marked by nonsense, travesty, and incongruity."
Thanks for finally weighing in with the thought process behind it Ty.
Why show up to court in Switzerland?
Great skiing and the Swiss dress their cows in cute little bonnets...
...and their banks are the most respectful of personal privacy rights in the world!
(I don't need a sarc tag there, do I?)
Probably. Once you become well know you become a celebrity and that's when people start to take you seriously.
Just ask our Celebrity President.
Servers?
And, all the gold stored and neatly stacked in vaults.
Ever wonder why the Swiss are heavily armed?
=================
Jugdish wrote:
IIRC, ZH's web servers are located in Switzerland, not the USA, UK, Germany, or the like. Why? Probably for legal reasons, but I dunno for sure.
-- Paul D. Bain
PaulBain@PObox.com
===========================
-1 Tyler. "Oh for fuck's sake" is right. Imposing a speech code was stupid and will achieve essentially the same thing in the long run as selling the site to CNBS. This site lives or dies by it's content and you just said as much as "controversial speech need not be posted."
Error number two was setting up presence in a jurisdiction that has a legal system where that would be a problem. There are plenty of jurisdictions out there where a libel suit would be about as likely to be successful as a fart in a windstorm. Why Switzerland? Because they have such a stellar record of protecting religious minorities? Except, of course, when raubgold is involved. Say what you will about the squid and the morgue, even they haven't stooped to that level.
I appreciate this website and thank you for allowing me to post here, so let me end this on a more positive note by making a couple of suggestions:
1. Get rid of the stupid Racial Discrimination policy and replace it instead with a "Libel and Posting at the Magnanimous Whim of the Owners of the Website." The policy is straightforward and commonsense: "we at ZH aren't going to get sued so you can post libelous bullshit. Post outrageous remarks that have a chance of landing us in court and we'll kick you off in a New York second and delete all your posts. And so you know, we'll hum broadway show tunes while doing it. Remember also that this is a private website so everyone posts at the Magnanimous Whim of the Owners of the Website. We don't like getting sued, and we don't like spending our time dealing with assholes whose behavior would cause a riot in a pacifist convention. Stalk other posters, use excessive racial or religious epithets, or be an irredeemable fucktard and we'll boot you. Why? Because to paraphrase Jaime Dimon, we own this website and you don't. Deal with it. " Then enforce the policy. To quote from a dialog from the movie "Elizabeth"
Norfolk: So cut off my head, and make me a martyr. The people will always remember it.
Walsingham: No... they will forget.
2. Find some better jurisdiction to do business in. Switzerland? Really? Like you couldn't find some rogue kleptocratic state to set up shop in (other than New Jersey)? Next time check on Somalia or some other backwater hellhole where they're not going to waste their time or their courts on bullshit.
Well, that was a long walk.
Maybe Tyler' lawyer has a different legal opinion.
Anyway Tyler's not leaving Switzerland till he's procured enough gold to fill a vault the size of Fort Knox.
The whole thing is ridiculous, a racial nondiscrimination policy enforced specifically for the benefit of one group, which must be masked as a blanket nondiscrimination policy.
I can guarantee that white hating will be acceptable., as it is in society at large.
But whatever, if they needed to do it to cover their ass legally then people will just speak in code.
And for the record, I'm not an anti Semite.
Not looking to be under the Ban Hammer, i like being able to post here..
I think what happened was that ZH posted a couple of blogs about Israel bombing Syria and the fucking FULL RETARDS came out frothing at the mouth about the JEWS.
Just looking at the majority of the posts it started to feel as if the StormFront crowd had showed up and taken over. I mean jew this, jew that, who gives a fuck, but they take it seriously.
Sadly, if ZH is headquarted in Switzerland, then those European fucks are highly sensitive about the whole thing going all the way back to Nazi Germany. And when I mean sensitive I mean extremely sensitive, take you to court kinda thing, and were not talking about libel court, were talking some fucking court in Europe called the European Court of Human Rights that can issue a warrant and bring you to trial for hate crimes and hate thought crimes. You can spend time in prison if convicted.
And, if Tyler is not exactly located in Europe but his ZH servers are then they can shut them down.
I don't know the exact whereabouts of the existence of things, they aren't keeping me up to date on any of their activities.
But, I figured that when Aurora Ex Machina posted a comment about Swiss laws that something was up.
ZH began as a place to exchange, and vet, ideas. The Tylers pushed anonymous so the focus would be on the ideas and not on the writers. I see this new don't disparage ethnicities as part of the original desire to focus on ideas rather than personalities.
This site wasn't designed to be a place to come and disparage ethnicities. It is place to disparage ideas, anonymously. Surely the cut above folks posting here have the chops to exchange, and vet, ideas without making reference to ethnicity - except where it is relevant to the discussion. If this be so, and I believe it is, how has this refocus on ideas rather than personality abridged anyone's freedom of speech???
If a few of the poorly-informed commentators here knew the details of Google AdSense policy they might not be so quick to judge the Tylers for trying to keep the servers running and the money that supports this site coming.
I haven't even read the new policy, but I do know Google's policies quite well. This isn't censorship, per se, more likely, it's just a reasonable response to a request from the advertisers which support this site.
So, all you J-and-N haters can now take the necessitated medication: a chill pill, or face being banned. Generally, I think the racial and cultural slurs detract from the discussion, so the policy is a good thing.
Actually, ZHers should be celebrating. Fight Club has gone mainstream. It means people are taking notice. That's a very positive development.
OTOH, I wonder how many here would voice their outrage or take action if ZH were to be shut down. In the end, many here are simple sheeple dressed in the internet form of wolf's clothing, i.e., anonymity. Personally, I applaud ZH for its courage for actually, really speaking truth to power. If we must refrain from hate speech in order to further the agenda of regaining some form of economic and social freedom, bring it.
More power to ZH. Anybody who wants to violate their polices will have to fight. Me first, and then I'm certain, many others.
Good on ya, ZH.
I wouldn't recommend "Somalia or some other backwater hellhole where they're not going to waste their time or their courts on bullshit."
In a banana republic you are only safe if you are best of buds with the big banana, just as if you are in the US you want to avoid the wrath of the IRS it is best to hide your "non-profit" behind the shield of a Soros or a Bloomturd.
The lack of Rule of Law is the problem, not the solution.
If what you mean by "Rule of law" is some rather archaic concept of objective standards of conduct determined by reference to some written constitution, then I'm afraid you're too late. That idea is long dead and buried. If what you mean by "Rule of law" is the law of the jungle then I'm failing to see the problem. That "Rule of Law" is doing just fine.
For purposes of protection of assets, one must be on the good side of the "big banana" as you put it. The challenge then is getting the maximum protection for the minimum baksheesh.
Rule of Law actually exists in Switzerland, moreso than in most other jurisdictions. The laws are not simple, however, they are comprehensible. They are also not voluminous - especially when viewed in comparison to other Nation's. There are also correction mechanisms which are employed when the laws or their implementations stray from intended to undesirable purposes. The problem is that most people outside of Switzerland don't know what the laws are in Switzerland, much less how they function and interrelate, and discovering the substance and seeming contradictions of the laws is either very time consuming or very expensive despite the relatively few pages of Swiss laws on the books.
An illustration of complexity and apparent contradiction-
Swiss citizens of sound mind are permitted to purchase and own firearms, yet persons originating from Algeria, Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Macedonia, Sri-Lanka, and Turkey are explicitly prohibited from owning firearms, despite the words in the Federal Constitution that "Everyone shall be equal before the law. No one may be discriminated against, in particular on grounds of origin, race, gender, age, language, social position, way of life, religious, ideological, or political convictions, or because of a physical, mental or psychological disability."
An illustration of one of the correction mechanisms-
The SNB is charged with managing the money supply, and when implementing the CHF-EUR peg neglected to convince some of the primary political beneficiaries of that peg that the SNB had a viable Plan B in place to deal with any instability created by the currency peg. So now there will be vote to restrict the freedom of the SNB to manage the money supply in a way it sees fit. In addition to restricting the authority of the SNB the measure would also drastically reduce the influence of the IMF, and there is nothing that the SNB, IMF, Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, or TPTB can do this unless unless they can convince a certain minimum composition of the voters that the existing law should remain and not be replaced with a new law.
However, Rule of Law is under siege in Switzerland, whether from without- in regards to contravention of the Banking Law (e.g. UBS data sharing), or from within- where the existing agreement on sharing of power within the Federal Council is no longer effective, and there is move to allow for direct election of Council members, which would primarily serve to facilitate the Rule of Men
The inherent complexity and contradictions involved in balancing the freedom of expression against the prohibition on defamation and incitement to hatred isn't that great by Swiss standards, and it is a function of navigating the laws, as opposed to placating the current political office holders. However, if the bottom line is biggest concern, the big banana's baksheesh might be bargain compared to the Rechnungsbetrag from the Rechtsanwalt (which will be denominated in CHF).
Whether Swiss rationale is rational in delineating objective standards of conduct is an entirely different question, and one I often ask myself.
+1, Tyler. Fair comment. The proof will be in the pudding.
... zerohedge can spend millions in Swiss court defending itself against defamation lawsuits ...
Thanks for the reply to clarify what may be the main reason why there must be such a new policy ... Oh well, it made no practical difference to anything whether or not I posted my comments here, mostly for my own amusement, and so, it makes no difference if I decide to stop. The pressures to wipe out the freedom of speech are clearly succeeding in doing what they are intended to do, while those who might wish otherwise can not actually do anything about it, since they will be ground down and destroyed by the established machinery if they attempt to resist.
That is why I call it a runaway fascist plutocracy juggernaut. A juggernaut that is like a steamroller, which is going to turn most people into its road kill. Anyone who criticizes the people driving that juggernaut streamroller will simply become its road kill a little sooner, rather than later. WE ARE IN A SITUATION WHERE THE PARASITES ARE ALREADY ALMOST TOTALLY IN CONTROL, AND THEY ARE GOING TO DESTROY THEIR HOST.
Oh well, I have nothing better to say, I may as well Logout.
Here's what's hysterical to me...
~~~
- OK... So the so called 'anti-discrimination', or 'anti-defamation' policy is CLEARLY in place to protect a particular group of senstives... Let's not beat around the bush about that... I've been attacked viciously here on this site & have been called every name in the book, but it doesn't bother me... I dust myself off & continue to try and present a compelling case... Mostly ~ the SAME compelling case [because despite the IQ's & intelligence that logs on to these boards, nobody has been able to solve the riddle]...
- My persistence [which I don't consider 'libel' or 'slander' because it contains verifiable & truthful elements], causes me to be described using many HATEFUL names [by voices seeking to carry the water of the 'particular group of sensitives' that I feel I have the intellectual right to question in the quest for truth... [I mean ~ to me it's sort of like continuing to ask questions about 9/11 or about Obama's birth certificate]... In any case ~ the bottom line is that it automatically makes some persons on ZH despise francis_sawyer [shoot the messenger]...
- So now... We have a situation whereby [Tyler explained], that, in Switzerland, there may be the risk of lawsuits... [Which can ONLY mean that a "particular group of sensitives" is ACTIVELY pursuing this avenue]... That is ~ if I have my compass correct... I don't imagine that, for example, the cheesemakers are posing any problems in this scenario...
- The "non-stop" beat of the drum [that francis_sawyer has preached], has been the ASYMMETRIC REPRESENTATION OF A PARTICULAR GROUP IN THE POWER NODES OF BANKING, MSM, POLITICAL ACTIVISM, & JURISPRUDENCE...
- This issue qualifies under at least 3 [& probably ALL 4 of those power nodes]
- So ~ going forward... Let's say there are two possible scenarios:
1. ZH raises the white flag... Bows down to the paymasters... & essentially, over time, morphs into HuffPo... Sure ~ the data & thread topics will be way jucier than a HuffPo [or anyone else] could possibly be, but WHAT GOOD is that without 360 degree dialogue surrounding it?... Might as well just ban ALL COMMENTS & just publish the articles... If humans are not permitted to express a 360 degree spectrum of reactions towards something, the subject loses it's dimension... I can go to White House dot com if I want my news that way... What's worse is that by doing this, ZH essentially becomes a PARTNER with the news that it's attempting to satire... ZH, essentially, becomes a 'controlled opposition' site...
2. ZH just says "fuck it"... & allows comments to continue as before... Let's play this one out & pretend that the end result would be lawsuits stacked to the ceiling [brought forth by the "particular group of sensitives" that francis_sawyer has been calling out all along]... The END RESULT is that ZH has to shut down... Gee ~ I can't wait to be BLAMED for having 'caused' ZH to be shut down by the very same "particular group of sensitives" that I warned everyone about [& was called terrible names for doing]... Once again ~ it will be the fault of francis_sawyer, because I print the money, I created the FED, I run the MIC, I run Hollywood, & Wall St. & K Street...
I don't envy Tyler[s] in the position they're in... & if anybody has to fall on a sword here, I'll fall on a sword myself... Why? Because I don't PROFIT from any of this [& despite my objections to "particular groups of sensitives" & how they've infiltrated every power node of society ~ I'm also keen to the idea of what VALUE ZH has provided a great number of people for 4 years now]... They deserve to PROFIT from their efforts & undertakings...
But before I leave... I'd like all my detractors to re-consider the notions that I have put forth... The conundrum of where we [& more importantly ~ the Tylers] stand in this moment is PROOF that my message, which was ALWAYS the same message... Resonated TRUTH... & in this case... TRUTH, once again... Is a victim...
f_s
quote from above- "A little self policing goes a long way."
You've been bashing everyone over the head with the same meme on every fucking thread for almost 3 years running. We got your message long ago.
If you had just popped in once in a while and passed a little gas, no problem. You chose instead to stay and shit all over the site. Tyler has merely asked that you clean up a little so the smell is bearable again.
I wholeheartedly disagree... & here's why...
~~~
As always, I'll use your words to formulate the argument... You state...
"You've been bashing everyone over the head with the same meme on every fucking thread for almost 3 years running. We got your message long ago.
If you had just popped in once in a while and passed a little gas, no problem. You chose instead to stay and shit all over the site."
~~~
There are two issues at play here:
1. frequency
2. consistency
First of all, I'm not 'hitting anyone over any head'... I'm publishing comments... The 'frequency' of comments stem from the fact that the bulk of the articles have to do with the corruption & dirty dealings in mostly banking & politics [but also include media ~ as in how things are MISREPORTED in traditional MSM; as well as jurisprudence ~ as in how THE SYSTEM consistently chooses to pursue prosecution towards whilst letting others walk]... You simply cannot extracate the PEOPLE behind the process [& their motivations, both historically, & operationally ~ in a 'co-mingling' capability]... One of the first things a prosecuting attorney needs to establish in, say, a 'murder case' is MOTIVE... Then you compile circumstantial evidence and build a case to a jury...
The 'consistency' part is in attaching that circumstantial evidence to the scene of VARIOUS crimes... Over time... Lastly ~ the behavior pattern should have discernable similarities... A serial killer, for example, might have the same characteristics towards various victims... You're not going say 'Look! & in the process of all those stranglings, he knocked off a Toys R Us ~ or, & just look at that ugly tie he's wearing & those beady little eyes'...
Lastly [not listed above]
The 'frequency' of the message serves a second purpose... It allows, over time, the chance to place my POV more accurately on the TOTAL 'RGB' spectrum... That is to say... In a forum where it's natural to receive backlash [because people have been so thoroughly PROGRAMMED in a 'Pavlovian' manner], it takes time [& multiple efforts] before even 'some', realize that you're a thinking person & not just a raving lunatic...
Your response to my comment was proof of that last fact... IOW ~ After 3 years... consistency... frequency... & a decent amount of 'give & take'... Some people STILL don't get it... & probably never will...
...& since when did THE TRUTH smell?... OK ~ from now on I'll just point fingers at anonymous limestone buildings & say "Yeah ~ look at that bad limestone building that prints money all by itself"... "Look at those bad fighter jets that fly all by themselves and bomb people & cities"... "Look at those edicts that ban big gulps, & guns, that write themselves & somehow make it into laws"... "Look at those WALLS that just built themselves and keep a whole peoples penned in & oppressed"... That's really digging at the truth now isn't it?... Making statements like that will prove, ONCE & FOR ALL, how intelligent ZH readers are...
"A little self policing goes a long way."
Yeah ~ it does indeed... It goes a long way towards keeping the masses ignorant to the problems, & tolerant towards the perpetrators of crimes vs. humanity... It's obviously working on you anyway...
In the heart of hearts your damn right, Political correctness is the great destroyer.
My wife and I moved to this place because we are surrounded by like individuals and because we own everything for miles, we will probably never be called racist because we choose our neighbors.
I don't give a shit what people think....go live their life, I don't need help running mine.
He has the freedom to move where he wants (plus the infrastructure that allows one to do this). He has the freedom to choose his own neighbors (plus the infrastructure that allows one to do this). He has the freedom to think what he wants. And he has the lack of insight to proclaim that he doesn't need anybody's help.
Dude, try exercising those freedoms in many other countries and see if you can do it all by yourself. At a minimum, you are dissing all those who died to help you get those freedoms, and all who will die to help you keep them (that includes those who did and will die in the effort to keep other countries from attacking this country directly).
Riiiiiight....I don't need anybody's help because I am almost 100% self sustaining. Took us many years to accomplish that goal.
And you could pull this off in many countries.
sounds like an affirmative action recipriant who has arrived and now claims to have done it all himself --causing some to say "you didn't build that". But thanks for sharing your story "Dagny".
Is it skin color or principles that drive behavior? Is it ethnicities or principles that drive behavior? Is it skin color, or ethnicities, or principles that build those walls and fly those drones and print that money?
Identify and bash principles. Don't be intellectually lazy and bash skin color and/or ethnicities as a stand-in for the principles you actually mean to critique.
The new racial discrimination policy says nothing more than this. Where's the beef? It should be the principle that matters, more than the ethnicity. However, that has the unfortunate side effect of requiring folks to focus as much attention on the horror of Pol Pot's genocide as the attention they focus on the horror of the Holocaust when considering the principle behind never again. Good luck with that one.
Hint: genes code for more than skin color.
Francis, ZH is one of the few places that we can all come to and speak our minds with very little regard for being PC.
I'm just thankful Tyler has provided a forum (thus far) for you to post, and where others can take your information and discuss/dispute it.
A line has obviously be crossed. Step back just a tad.
Seriously? The Swiss? Why would they give a shit about what is said on some blog? What the hell is their legal standing in all of it?
Just post the link and a lot of people will likely send you money to bury the fucking Swiss.
And bring back that Japanese woman with the white teeth.
Look up the European Court of Human Rights and see what they've been up to for the past couple of decades.
I say fuck 'em. I think it is a method to delegitimize a website. I believe I've seen it before. No one said it was going to be easy. You have my sympathy and good luck.
I've watched established sites with dedicated readership be nullified in weeks, any dedicated network that hates what you say enough could crush you without enough defense, largely through outing you publicly for your stated beliefs or through just basic character assassination. I've said it before, how would a war be fought in the circumstances we face today, a MAD world.
Help me understand. You run the site, you dictate the terms. If some schmuck kept going on and on about the Jews for 4 years why not just whack their ass for the site? Why make everyone else operate under a shroud and have to start to "choose" their words carefully? If you think someone is posting crap all of the time and being a racist bastard, simple cut them loose into Cyberspace.... By implementing this policy the message I receive is shut up walk this line or your outta here. Yes, a free country indeed...
They have done that on numerous occasions.
The real problem is that it retards the level of discourse because specific avenues of thought are no longer allowed to take place.
The policy isn't about people saying shit like "kill all the Jews because they are LITERALLY the physical incarnation of satan", but instead even broaching the topic of race itself as it matters to a discussion, it negates an entire element of the information necessary to form a balanced opinion on a matter.
not allowing people to freely debate using all information available and necessary leads to dead ends and paradoxes, it cannot be viewed as a healthy mentality, much in the same way as blind hatred.
I was 16 years old before I learned Jew wasn't actually a slur. Gowing up in TN I only heard it spoken in hushed tones. Now this. No wonder.
So am I safe to assume we cannot use it as a verb either?
pods
The truth is that the attacks on the "Joos" are ignorant and stupid. But the real problem is that they diminish from the legitimate posts criticizing the policies of the Israel government and the discussion about the power and control of the Zionist Lobby in American politics and society. This discussion should continue.
Free speech is not unlimited. As Oliver Wendall Holmes said One doesn't have the right to falsely yell "FIRE" in a crowded theater ( Schenck v. United States:)
I hope that in the future ZH can walk the fine line between legitimate free speech and censorship.
I'm not trying to suck up here, but it's going to look like it.
Two things, both of which are detrimental, result from all the (now banned) hate speech.
1) It costs...both time and money (ads, lawsuits)
2) It allows those who should be worried to relax, as they can broad brush dismiss and disparage the entire site
Nobody does what these Tylers do, at least nowhere near as well. Also---and this seems to be somewhat under the radar around here---there are a couple of guys on the run. Sixty-five percent chance Jamie doesn't end 2013 as JPM CEO. Keep the heat on him, and that sixty-five percent "inflates". Can you imagine seeing Jamie, "former CEO of JPM", serving as a guest host on Squawk Box chatting it up with Joe Kiernan? Even "Freddie" would buy a TV for that. The combination of this article (IRS) plus Benghazi plus a few other things will have the Administration on the run, too. They are going to have to throw someone, maybe many someones, to the dogs. It could be Hillary, it even could be Corzine. Good start. Pressure, the kind of pressure Tyler brings to bear, could keep these moving along. Also, look at all the folks coming out of the woodwork slamming Bernanke. Some of those folks contribute to Congressional campaigns, which means it is likely one or a number of new Alan Graysons could appear in Congress, too many to ignore. Ironically, the system we all dislike might work in our favor.
I try to be realistic. We're not going to get everything, as much as we would like it. I'll be happy if we get some combination of end-TBTF, investigations and prosecutions of at least some of those who have been clothed in teflon for four years, and a decline in the now absolute power of the Fed. Toss in a new Glass-Steagall and I'd say job well done. Again, I try to be realistic.
Is it too much to ask, if one keeps his or her eye on the ultimate prize, to just refrain from behavior that can harm what Tyler is trying to do? Everybody can still slay whatever personal voodoo dolls you happen to have, albeit in the privacy of your own homes or on websites of your own creation. It's not like any of the racism ever changes anyone's mind anyway, so it is mere venting, and thus a waste.
I agree with the tenor of your post, Chindit13, but I am much less optimistic than you are that the Corzines and Hillarys will get thrown under the bus.
Yes, let's keep the pressure up. Maybe you are right.
And I completely agree that racism never changes any minds.
Agreed and well said, Chindit, but... the truth is out.
This problem was and is, abuse of power by THE JEWS, and the Tylers chose to lie to us about that and impose a speech code rather than face squarely the issue of free speech. It looked and felt exactly like selling out to Soros, and selling the decent white folk down the river. By hiding the true problem, they became complicit in a common form of extortion that is killing all of our freedoms.
Honesty is the best policy.
Freedoms are great, but they come with personal responsibility, or at least should. If stating something serves no positive purpose, but does carry possible negative consequences, then the individual prone to speak should---if they care about the greater good---keep a lid on it. I believe Tyler has a goal, in addition to earning beer money. It seems his goal is to uncover and illuminate illegality, wrongdoing, injustice and unfairness. Add to that bureaucratic stupidity. Only by bringing these negatives---from which every citizen suffers---into the harsh light of day do we stand any chance of righting wrongs and creating a more level playing field. We all may fail anyway, but it just seems stupid to shoot ourselves in the foot, rather than maintain aim on all of the guilty parties.
We are all pretty well versed on the genesis of the Financial Crisis, and we know all the players. I see every race, color and creed---even gender---represented in those who have abused their position, or abused the system. Every single one. Those who violated either the letter or the spirit of the law, or who sought and received undue favor, did not do any of that because they were black, Irish Catholic, Jewish, WASP, Greek Orthodox, Lebanese Maronite, Italian, Unitarian, Lutheran or from the swamps of Mississippi. They did it because they didn't care, thought they could get away with it, or thought they were above the law. To repeatedly single out one specific group is to give a free ride to those of other races or creeds who engaged in equally bad behavior.
Best we concentrate on guilt by action, not guilt by birth. Do we really miss out all that much by not being allowed, on someone else' property, to air our personal biases?
Since when do you have to answer to the Swiss government? Is ZH based in Switzerland?
====================
Sun Tzu wrote:
Yes. My understanding is that ZH's web servers and database servers are located in Switzerland.
-- Paul D. Bain
PaulBain@PObox.com
========================
Please add more vast tracts of empty space to your posts, to make reading them more convenient and enjoyable for all of us.
That empty space is there to help us read whatever we want to between the lines.
So we're to ignore the elephant in the room...Got it.
Which is the elephant? The bad behavior, and the bad principles that drive that behavior? Or the ethnicity of those engaging in said bad behavior?
Which of these have you been asked to not focus on?
Tyler Durden, truth hurts, demographics of those in finance, MSM, leftist groups, medicine, education and politics are very obvious...keep this site going, do what you must. kick us who post here off if we cross the lines that you must obey..obey obey..in our hearts and souls( free speak )is branded, any censorship is an anathma..everything eventually turns to shit...so will ZH.
Were you ever here in the beginning - to be able to compare that level of discourse with what has been going on here for some time?
So will ZH?? By many measurements, it already did long ago. This latest effort may help bring back a better level of discourse.
If you need to spend millions of dollars in Swiss court defending yourself for practicing freedom of speech, then perhaps you should consider dumping the crappy jurisdiction. Is this the law?
Racial discrimination Art. 261
"Any person who publicly incites hatred or discrimination against a person or a group of persons on the grounds of their race, ethnic origin or religion, any person who publicly disseminates ideologies that have as their object the systematic denigration or defamation of the members of a race, ethnic group or religion,........is liable to a custodial sentence not exceeding three years or to a monetary penalty."
As a fundamentalist Christian, I could not disagree more with the Francis Sawyers of the world about the Jews. Many of us happen to believe that most of the nefarious plots blamed on the Jews are perpetrated by the RCC. But be that as it may, if you can't see the selective enforcement of stupid laws like the one above, then you are blind as a bat.
"systematic denigration or defamation of the members of a religion". Tyler, I won't my hold breath waiting for the Swiss to start banning the showing of Hollywood movies which denigrate conservative Christians. The hypocrisy is deafening. You sir are a coward.
"Don Feder, in “A Jewish Conservative Looks at Pagan America,” wrote, “Christians are the only group Hollywood can offend with impunity, the only creed it actually goes out of its way to insult. Clerics, from fundamentalist preachers to Catholic monks, are routinely represented as hypocrites, hucksters, sadists and lechers. The tenets of Christianity are regularly held up to ridicule.”
Mocking Christians in HollywoodSilver For The People
The Bitcoin Channel
There is no jurisdiction to blame everything on joos. And there's no rational concept to it either. Seriously.
Plenty of banksters are not Jewish by any means and plenty of victims are.
Also there's plenty of anti-joo web sites upon which one can post and reference back to zh. ZH readers, most of us, have no need to read that crap. Sorry it's an inconvenience to some but it's unwanted commentary, worse than MDB 24/7.
I did. I guess he did not understand that if one was to do what he recommended that would only result in more births of the group that he mentioned.</p><P>
The IRS is only staffed by honest, hard working, and ethnically diverse employees.</p>
Who was it?
In most countries, that would be a matter of public record. In Switzerland, probably not. Let's ask Bruce. He has a talent for getting behind closed doors in that part of the world.
Plenty of usual suspects come to mind, but there is enough shit flying at the moment, so we probably shouldn't speculate. Still, in the long run, that's a great question. This is not about rule of law, but the exact opposite. This is about intimidation, and destroying honest debate.
Nobody has been asked to stop discussing bad behavior, and the principles that drive that behavior. How is focusing on ethnicity a more honest debate than focusing on principles and ideas?
I see that Hillary didn't testify under oath....
What difference at this point does it make? A lie is a lie is a lie.
For you and I it may seem clear that there is no difference.
The psychopaths seem awfully afraid of doing anything under oath though
The role they play as actors in the giant theatre they've created isn't conducive to public testimony, especially under oath, and they're petrified of being in dishonor in the pyramid
If they're forced to testify under oath then they will lie to save themselves like Bill. But Hillary was allowed to scaped that fate by her masters. They pyramid must have future plans for her.All I know is I'd love to play poker with any of these lame ass actors. They have the worst tells on planet and I could clean them out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClfpG2-1Bv4
Brilliant analysis! I've been studying the power structure since 2008 and you nailed it. She has more than 9 lives, which makes me wonder if she is J. Edgar Hoover incarnate!
WOW!!! Since 2008!
Can't wait to see what else you think qualifies as brilliant analysis.
I'm pretty naive and trusting. You remind me of the guy who I worked with at the gym when I was in college. I wasn't as big as he was, but when I had the chance... I told him I grew my biceps by 2 inches since starting out there. Later, I heard him laughing with the other "tough guys" about my 2 inches. I'm a bit bigger now (and much more financially and intellectually well off than he most likely), so I often wonder where he works as a bouncer?
At least Hillary testified by herself. George & Dick had to testify together, and that wasn't under oath, either. Is there a point to this?
The point is that Hillary's a scumbag just like George and Dick.
So am I still considered a "conspiracy nut"?
No, but what's your name?
Not unless you're wearing an official Alex Jones Prison Planet tin foil hat.
http://uglydemocrats.com/democrats/United-States/Hillary-Clinton/Hillary-Witch.jpg
What exactly would be the point of putting Hillary under oath? Do you really think that if she swears on a Bible she will utter even one less untruth afterward?
No, but it would be fun to watch the hand she uses burst into flames!
Nice!
It doesn't matter. Lying to congress whether sworn or not is a crime with precisely the same criminal sanctions.
Unfortunately, getting the Holder inJustice dept to prosecute will never happen.
And by the time Obama is out of office, the statute of limitations will have run.
So she gets a pass for her bald-a%%ed lies. Just one big lying family.
Or maybe it depends on what the meaning of the word 'is' is.
Yes, "both sides are to blame."
However ...
The press is clearly controlled by the LEFT. As such, when the government reins are controlled by the statists from the LEFT, those in charge are now allowed to get away with far more abuse. It wasn't always that way; there was a time when journalists were capable of keeping their ideology in check (for the most part) for the greater good. But something changed over the past 20 years or so. As we're seeing now, when the LEFT is charge of government, an overwhelming majority of the media end up transforming themselves from tenacious reporters who are willing to shine a light on corruption from the RIGHT, to passive lap dogs who are willing to look the other way or, worse, run cover (worst example: Benghazi) for their masters because they share the same ideology.
The media is just as corrupt as our government overlords.
double post
God help me, my name is Zeb Henry. On a long enough timeline, me being left off an audit are zero.
Time for the IRS to order 10 billion rounds of hollow-points.
That is only an estimated number. The true number is 20 billion rounds. You forgot g-vig and penalties.
Yeah, but WE got a LOT of guns, too.
And some are pissed off service members, awakened about the wars, and neglected by the VA. Game on.
You have a better chance collecting benefits if you cross the Mexican border illegally than you do serving in the US military.
And give the 'president' a cavalcade through Dallas.
They'll need them!
Will they be able to shoot down planes flying into their buildings?
Oh joy. Just another cockroach caught in the light that further destroys whatever shred of trust was left in the system.
Yes, but on the VOice, who's vocals will be most damp with sex? C'mon, focus on important shit!
That sounds downright, "insert here", vulgar.
What difference does it make how NIXONIAN the dems have become?
When they take the high ground - just laugh.
By Monday, there will be a contorted argument that makes it Bush's fault. Then, Dear Learder will go on another campaign tour decrying the IRS being used for political harassment, and the MSM will praise Dear Leader for his transparency.
Forward (over the cliff)!
For the IRS criminal activity they had already blamed it on Bush Friday afternoon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EI3AZ3XHxx8
If you took the money out of politics it wouldn't happen. Nixon used the IRS as a hit squad.
I suspect this happened because conservatives have been POURING money into politics to buy what people do NOT want. Look at how the Koch Brothers coopted the Tea Party and are now buying newspapers all over. The right has had a concerted effort to buy influence since Reagan got rid of 'Fairness in Media'.
LIMITED Campaign seasons, LIMITED campaign funding from a public fund, LIMITED airwave time (FREE in exchange for licensing), and MANDATED debates chaired by NON-PARTISAN moderators and and END to revolving door Lobbying/government jobs would clean up the system. And add NO MORE pure pork serving as bribes to the electorate. But none of these thigns will ever happen.
Purple doesn't exist, get over the theatrics of the right left paradigm, it has shifted.
DaddyO
By "conservatives" do you mean 'corporate'.?
Trying to figure out all the down votes.
Maybe because his/her left is showing....
DaddyO