Vanderburgh County Republican Breakfast
Speaker: Jim Bratten------Founder Vanderburgh County Tea Party Patriots
Click Here for Jim Bratten Bio.
Date: Saturday May 18, 2013
Time: Doors open: 7:30 AM
Program begins at: 8:00 AM---Ends 9 AM
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Location: Sirloin Stockade (Eastside)
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4610 Bellemeade Ave , Evansville IN
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Cost: $10.00
Menu: Eggs - Bacon & Sausage, Biscuits & Gravy, Fruit and Cinnamon Rolls
RSVP by return email beamerjo59@gmail.com or vandygop@gmail.com or call the GOP office - 425-8207
Extra seats are always available for last minute decisions.
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AP: Ousted IRS chief: 'didn't mislead; can't remember'
Lawmakers questioned the ousted head of the Internal Revenue Service as Congress held its first hearing on the tougher scrutiny the federal tax agency gave tea party and other conservative groups that applied for tax-exempt status.
With the scandal joining the parade of political headaches buffeting President Barack Obama, a Republican-run congressional committee planned to question the agency's ousted chief, Steven Miller, on Friday.
Republicans have spent the past few days trying to link the IRS' improper scrutiny of conservatives to Obama. The president has said he didn't know about the targeting until last Friday, when the official who heads the IRS division that oversees tax-exempt groups acknowledged at a legal conference that conservative groups had been singled out, said it was wrong and apologized.
Even so, less than four months into his second term, the president has been on the defensive for the IRS controversy, along with questions about last September's attack in Benghazi, Libya, that killed the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans, and the government's seizure of The Associated Press' telephone records as part of a leaks investigation.
Members of both parties have spent the past week bitterly chastising the agency for abandoning its charge of making nonpolitical decisions about which groups should qualify for tax-exempt status, which makes it easier for them to collect contributions from donors.
Miller, acting director until he resigned Wednesday, got a hostile reception from the chairman of the House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee, who said the scandal seems to be part of a culture of cover-ups and political intimidation by the Obama administration.
Republican Dave Camp's remarks got a strong rebuke from the panel's top Democrat, Congressman Sander Levin, who warned that the hearing shouldn't be aimed at scoring points for election campaigns.
In a prepared statement, Miller said problems arose from a screening system agency workers set up to deal with a growing caseload of groups seeking tax-exempt status. Miller said it was not due to "any political or partisan viewpoint."
He said that the IRS has instituted new processes designed to prevent the problem from occurring again.
Lawmakers also have said that despite asking the IRS repeatedly about complaints from conservative groups that their applications were being treated unfairly, the agency _ including Miller _ never told them the groups were being targeted, even after May 2012, when the agency said Miller was briefed on the practice. Miller was previously a deputy commissioner whose portfolio included the unit that made decisions about tax-exempt status.
In one of the latest Republican attacks, Sen. Rob Portman wrote Obama on Thursday asking whether the White House or Treasury Department pressured the IRS on the treatment of conservative groups. In the letter, Portman accused the administration of "policies that threaten to chill disfavored political speech."
The inspector general's report said all IRS officials questioned said their actions "were not influenced by any individual or organization outside the IRS."
The report blamed "ineffective management" for letting IRS officials craft "inappropriate criteria" to review applications from tea party and other conservative groups, based on their names or political views. It found that the IRS took no action on many of the conservative groups' applications for tax-exempt status for long periods of time, hindering their fundraising for the 2010 and 2012 elections.
Many of the groups were applying for tax-exempt status as social welfare organizations, which are allowed to participate in campaign activity if that is not their primary activity. The IRS judges whether that imprecise standard is met.
Friday's hearing was just the start of Congress' probe of the IRS' actions, with the Senate Finance and House Oversight committees planning hearings next week.
In addition, Attorney General Eric Holder has said the FBI was investigating whether the IRS may have violated applicants' civil rights.
Obama has rejected the idea of naming a special prosecutor to investigate the episode, saying Thursday that the probes by Congress and the Justice Department would get to the bottom of who was responsible.
Obama has named Daniel Werfel, a top White House budget officer, to replace Miller.
Also testifying Friday was J. Russell George, the Treasury Department's inspector general for tax administration.
A report George issued this week concluded that the IRS office in a regional office that screened applications for the tax exemptions, improperly singled out tea party and other conservative groups for tougher treatment. The report says the practice began in March 2010 and lasted more than 18 months.
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Associated Press writers Alan Fram and Stephen Ohlemacher contributed to this report.
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Kirk Byram for Sheriff Fundraiser
When: Thursday - June 6, 2013
Where: Roca Bar - North, Private Party on the Patio.
Time: 6:00 PM - 10:00 PM
Live Music - The Valentears
Tickets: $40/person includes food and 2 drinks.
To purchase tickets please contact:
Chad Howard 812-204-5019
John Gannon 812-455-5338
Steve Hammer 812-589-3802
Also please visit our website at www.Byram4sheriff.com
Paid for by the Committee to Elect Kirk Byram Sheriff - John R. Gannon, Chairperson
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The following link provides quick info on the status all bills being considered by the State Legislature.
Click Here
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Click on "I Agree" at the bottom of the page .Then enter in your address.
Website: Click Here
Almost eight months have passed since the deadly attacks in Benghazi, and still the White House, State Department and former Secretary Hillary Clinton are dodging questions.
In a Congressional hearing, Greg Hicks, former Deputy Chief Of Mission for The U.S. In Libya, said that a U.S. Special Forces unit in Tripoli was told it did not have the authorization to fly to Benghazi during the attack.
So, why won’t the Obama Administration and Former Secretary Clinton acknowledge the claims of Benghazi whistleblowers?
Sign the petition and tell the White House: we deserve answers.
Click Here to Sign Petition.
May 16, 2013
State to spend $2M to clean up voter rolls
Absentee ballot fraud has been an issue in Indiana
INDIANAPOLIS —
Editor’s note: This is the first in a series of articles about new laws in Indiana. Read more in the coming weeks in print and at newsandtribune.com.
Indiana’s bloated voter registration rolls, which officials say make elections more susceptible to fraud, will soon come under more scrutiny by the state.
The Indiana Secretary of State’s office will spend more than $2 million to purge the voter registration rolls in each of Indiana’s 92 counties, removing the names of voters who are dead, in prison or have moved away.
County election officials are responsible for keeping the voter rolls current, but the lack of money has caused some of them to fall behind. The result: In some counties, the number of people listed on the active voter rolls is higher than the number of voting-age people who live there.
“Every duplicate name and every bad address is just an opportunity for vote fraud,” said Secretary of State Connie Lawson, who asked the General Assembly to let the state take over the maintenance of the voter rolls after July 1. The money to do so was included the biennial budget, signed into law by Gov. Mike Pence earlier this month.
It’s not a simple effort; the Secretary of State’s office will have to send out at least two mass mailings of postcards to Indiana voters as part of a sweeping effort to verify their voting status.
The legislature was pushed into taking action by the U.S. Department of Justice. Officials with the DOJ Civil Rights Division’s Voting Section found that at least 10 percent of Indiana’s 92 counties have a higher number people on their active voter rolls than they do who are old enough to vote.
Also triggering the legislative action is an ongoing federal lawsuit, brought by conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch, which claims the problem is more widespread. The DOJ and Judicial Watch have raised questions about whether Indiana has failed to maintain clean voter registration lists as required by the National Voter Registration Act.
DOJ officials have declined to comment on their investigation of Indiana’s voter rolls. Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch, said his lawsuit will continue until his organization is satisfied that Indiana is meeting federal requirements for keeping the voter registration rolls current.
“We’ll have to review what the state has proposed,” Fitton said. “This doesn’t automatically end the lawsuit.”
LOOKING BACK
Indiana has a history with the issue. In 2006, the U.S. Justice Department pushed the Indiana Election Commission into signing a consent decree in which the state agreed to work with county officials to clean up Indiana voter registration rolls. But that consent decree expired in 2009.
Indiana maintains a statewide voter registry, but each county is responsible for updating information on the voters in their county. Lawson said county elections officials find it challenging and costly to keep their voter rolls current.
“The counties have so many demands on their dollars these days,” Lawson said. “Everybody is struggling for every dollar. It’s easy for a county to say, ‘This is one job we’ll have to put off till we’ve got more money in bank.”
The same law that requires accurate voter rolls, the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, also makes it harder for county election officials to remove voter names, Lawson said. They need a death certificate or notice from the state health department to take a deceased person’s name off the roll, for example. They have to wait for a voter to miss two presidential elections before they can start the process of verifying whether that voter is still at the address where he or she registered.
“No one wants to disenfranchise a voter by removing them too quickly,” Lawson said.
ABSENCE OF CONTROLS
Lawson is sensitive to the issue of election fraud and concerns about voters having confidence in the system. There have been several high-profile criminal cases over the last year involving people who’ve had significant influence over voter rolls and the election process.
In April, former Democratic campaign consultant Mike Marshall was sentenced to three counts of voter fraud in Jennings County related to charges that he tampered with absentee ballots. Also in April, a longtime Democratic Party county chairman, Butch Morgan, was found guilty of forging voters’ signatures on petitions to place Democratic candidates on the state primary ballot in 2008
And Lawson was appointed to her job , as Secretary of State, after her Republican predecessor, Charlie White, was convicted on voter fraud charges related to him using his old address to cast his vote, after moving someplace else.
Bloated voter registration rolls aren’t just a problem in Indiana. In February 2012, the nonpartisan Pew Center on the States released a report that said the nation’s voter registration rolls are in deep disarray. Pew researchers, using information collected from states’ voter rolls, found that one in eight active registrations is invalid or inaccurate. The Pew report found about 1.8 million people listed as active voters who are dead and another 2.8 million people with active registrations in more than one state.
In releasing the report, Pew officials said they didn’t believe bad voter rolls were an indicator of widespread voter fraud. But they did the bloated rolls undermined voter confidence and fueled partisan disputes over the integrity of the election process.
— Maureen Hayden covers the Statehouse for the CNHI newspapers in Indiana. She can be reached at maureen.hayden @indianamediagroup.com
AG Holder's 'see no evil' Muslim dilemma
It is a sad sight to watch a man grapple with a world that fails to meet his expectations. Unless that man is Eric Holder. Then it is simply infuriating.
The attorney general, warped by his own prejudice, is confused because his fellow citizens are better people than he imagines.
Holder sees white bigots around every corner, and can't handle the truth that very few Americans actually hate Muslims. So, like Elmer Fudd hunting "wascally wabbits," Holder's shots usually backfire.
His Monday speech to the Anti-Defamation League was a classic case of twisted thinking. With his FBI fumbling a chance to stop the Boston bombers, he bizarrely stressed his determination to punish anyone who discriminates against Muslims.
Of course, he didn't admit that the bombers were Islamists. That would violate the Obama administration's omerta on linking Islam to terrorism.
But the "see no evil" approach creates a dilemma. How do you warn against vigilante attacks on Muslims without admitting that Muslims did the bombing?
By being disingenuous, as Holder was, saying: "I also want to make clear that - just as we will pursue relentlessly anyone who would target our people or attempt to terrorize our cities - the Justice Department is firmly committed to protecting innocent people against misguided acts of retaliation."
There haven't been any attacks reported, nor have there been many since 9/11. Indeed, Holder, trying to make it sound like an avalanche, said Justice investigated "more than 800 incidents involving threats, assaults and acts of vandalism and violence targeting Muslims, Arabs, Sikhs, South Asians and others."
Think about that - 800 investigations in nearly 12 years, or about 70 a year, in a country of 320 million people. Notice he didn't say how many led to findings of guilt.
Inadvertently, Holder further undermined his argument with another number. He said there were "more than 1,000 documented incidents" of anti-Semitism in 2011 alone.
Clearly, Jews, not Muslims, bear a greater burden of religious bigotry. But Jews don't bomb marathons, so who is worried about protecting them? Not Eric Holder.
Originally published by Michael Goodwin.
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(c) 2013 The New York Post. Provided by ProQuest LLC. All rights Reserved.
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Fellow Hoosiers,
Thank you for subscribing to the “Bucshon Bulletin." I wanted to take a moment to share my work in the district and in Washington, D.C with you.
Please take a moment to forward this email on to five friends or encourage your friends on Facebook or Twitter followers to sign up by sharing this link - http://bucshon.house.gov/.
In service,
P.S. Make sure to visit my official Facebook Page and Twitter account to receive daily updates from my office.
On the House Floor...
Holding the FAA Accountable for #ObamaFlightDelays:
On Sunday, April 21, 2013, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) made the decision to begin furloughing air traffic controllers and all other employees to implement President Obama’s sequestration requirement. FAA’s Operation budget has grown by 109% since 1996 while domestic flights are down 27% and the sequester represents $600 million of the FAA’s $16 billion budget. Currently, there are $2.7 billion in Operational costs that do not include personnel that the FAA could examine before furloughing employees. Finding 5% in savings should not significantly impact the aviation system. The President is playing political games and I took to the House floor last week to talk about these unnecessary actions.
Across the 8th District...
Honoring a Hoosier Vietnam Veteran:
On Tuesday, I had the distinct privilege of presenting Vietnam Veteran James R. Below of Evansville with a Purple Heart decoration for his service and sacrifice. It was truly an honor to have the opportunity to hold this ceremony.
Supporting Hoosier Manufacturing:
This week, I received the “Award for Manufacturing Legislative Excellence” from the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) that recognizes my support of policies critical to the success of manufacturing in Indiana and across the United States. Indiana is home to the highest percentage of manufacturing employment and earnings in the United States. The manufacturing industry is vital to our state and national economy and it is important that policies in Washington, DC ensure these companies are competitive in the global economy. I am proud to have a strong record in Congress of supporting manufacturing and the opportunity to find good paying jobs here in the 8th District.
Winner of 8th District Art Competition Selected:
Patrick Kercher from Reitz High School in Evansville was selected as the winner of the Congressional Art Competition with is piece “Shady Thoughts.” Patrick’s artwork will be displayed in our nation’s Capitol for an entire year and he will have the opportunity to travel to Washington, D,C. We had a lot of great submissions this year. Thanks to everyone who participated.
In Case You Missed It...
I recently wrote a column that appeared in the Terre Haute Tribstar discussing the need for comprehensive tax reform to create a simpler, fairer, and flatter tax code that helps hardworking middle class Hoosier families.
You can read the entire column here by clicking here.
Upcoming Events...
Terre Haute Job Fair
One of my top priorities in Congress is to solve our nation’s unemployment problem. One of the ways to accomplish this is to connect employers looking to hire with people looking for a job. I am hosting a Job Fair in Terre Haute on Thursday, May 30th in conjunction with WorkOne Western Indiana, the City of Terre Haute, and Indiana State University. This is a great opportunity to connect with employers looking to hire in the Wabash Valley. I hope to see you there.
What: Terre Haute Job Fair
When: Thursday May 30, 2013 2:00PM – 6:00PM EDT
Where: Hulman Center at Indiana State University - 200 N. 8th
Street, Terre Haute, IN
Employers can access the Employer Registration form here.
In the News...
Bucshon Speaks: I-67
Rep. Bucshon Receives Manufacturing Award
Larry Bucshon on 18 WJTS
Evansville Man Receives Purple Heart 46 years Later
After 45 years, Vietnam veteran receives his Purple Heart
National Day of Prayer Kick-Off Dinner was success in Clay Co.
Congressman Larry Bucshon Discusses Washington with Evansville Business Leaders
More Unintended Consequences of Obamacare...
Part-timers to lose pay amid health act's new math
"Some workers are having their hours cut so employers won't have to cover them under Obamacare." (Los Angeles Times; 5/2/2013)
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Over the last several days and weeks, a series of incidents have further weakened the faith of the American people in their government. The administration continues to mislead the public on the events in Benghazi that led to the death of four Americans, including our Ambassador. The Department of Justice secretly obtained two months of telephone records from reporters and editors at The Associated Press. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently sought private donations from health care industry executives to help pay for Obamacare. These executives work at the very companies regulated by HHS.
In addition to all of this, there is the outrageous and blatant violation of the First Amendment by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Last Friday, the IRS admitted that it targeted conservative groups, including at least one in Indiana, for additional scrutiny when applying for tax-exempt status. Targeting groups based on political viewpoints is a despicable abuse of power and will not be tolerated.
But it doesn’t stop there. We now have discovered that the IRS official who oversaw this scandal-plagued office was promoted to oversee the IRS department in charge of implementing the health care law. This is beyond stunning.
An apology from the IRS and the resignation of its commissioner is not enough. I have joined all of my Senate Republican colleagues in sending the President a letter demanding the administration comply fully with all congressional inquiries on this matter. No more avoiding, no more delaying, no more stonewalling, and no more inappropriate responses. It is time for the administration to start answering some questions for the American people.
The IRS is given the responsibility of carrying out the law. It should never use its powers for partisan purposes -- ever. Violating that standard destroys the integrity of our government and further erodes the trust of the American people.
Neither those who make the law nor those who enforce the law can be above the law. The IRS believed it was above the law when it targeted conservative groups for scrutiny, but now it is the IRS that will be under scrutiny because of its own actions.
Click here or above to watch me discuss this issue on the Senate floor
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Fellow Republicans:
Welcome to the VCRP
We believe in sensible taxes, smaller and less intrusive government, personal responsibility and accountability, Constitutional government, liberty, and respect for life. Following the leadership of Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan, we strive to promote these common sense values in government and in our community. Reforming Government to Serve the People.
The American people believe Washington is broken and for good reason. Short-term politics overshadow the long-term interests of the nation. Our national legislature uses a budget process devised long before the Internet and seems unable to deal in realistic ways with the most pressing problems of families, businesses, and communities. Members of Congress have been indicted for violating the public trust. Public disgust with Washington is entirely warranted.
Republicans will uphold and defend our party’s core principles: Constrain the federal government to its legitimate constitutional functions. Let it empower people, while limiting its reach into their lives. Spend only what is necessary, and tax only to raise revenue for essential government functions. Unleash the power of enterprise, innovation, civic energy, and the American spirit and never pretend that government is a substitute for family or community.
The other party wants more government control over people’s lives and earnings; Republicans do not. The other party wants to continue pork barrel politics; we are disgusted by it, no matter who practices it. The other party wants to ignore fiscal problems while squandering billions on ineffective programs; we are determined to end that waste. The entrenched culture of official Washington an intrusive tax-and-spend liberalism remains a formidable foe, but we will confront and ultimately defeat it.
The long term solution for many of Washington’s problems is structural. Congress must respect the limits imposed upon it by the Tenth Amendment: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”
We look to the model of Republican welfare reform, which, since its enactment in 1996, has accomplished a major transfer of resources and responsibility from the federal government back to the states with an accompanying improvement in the program itself. Applying that approach to other programs will steer Congress back into line with the Constitution, reversing both its intrusion into state matters and its neglect of its central duties.
To aid in the fulfillment of those duties, we propose a National Sunset Commission to review all federal programs and recommend which of them should be terminated due to redundancy, waste, or intrusion into the American family. The Congress would then be required by law to schedule one yea or nay vote on the entire sunset list with no amendments.
Additionally, as important as returning power to the states is returning power to the people. As the Declaration of Independence states, our rights are endowed to us by our Creator and are inalienable: rights to life, liberty, and property. Government does not confer these rights but is instituted by men to protect the rights that man has already been granted. The Republican Party strongly affirms these rights and demands that government respect them.
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Vanderburgh GOP Club Member Levels.
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Please Contact Us For Details On Joining At:
815 John St., Ste. 110, Evansville, Indiana
Office Hours: Monday - Friday 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. CST
Phone: 812-425-8207
Wayne Parke at wparke@wowway.com
E. Lon Walters at LonW@elwalters.com
Mary Jo Kaiser at beamerjo59@gmail.com
Office e-mail: vandygop@gmail.com
You can also set up easy monthly payments for membership.
Last Site Update May 16, 2013 By: E. Lon Walters
