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Monday Afternoon News Roundup

Posted on: May 13th, 2013 by ecthompsonmd No Comments

 

News Roundup

FL in Europe

Somewhere in Europe

 

A good friend of mine has decided to ride motorcycles through Europe. I have no idea where in Europe he is. All I can tell you is that he is having a good time and that he sending back amazing pictures. All I can say is – Have fun. Be safe.

Benghazi will not go away. This morning, the president pushed back.

President Obama has called the IRS scandal, outrageous. I really don't understand how a low-level IRS official has the authority to carry out his/her own agenda.

Continued friction between a federal judge and the FDA over the morning-after pill.

Let me point out that there is an difference between an abortion and what Dr. Gosnell carried out. His practices were unsafe. They were clearly outside of the bounds of what any ethical physician would have considered. He seemed to do a terrible job at taking care of patients. What he did was criminal. It had nothing to do with medicine.

Shooting in New Orleans

Posted on: May 13th, 2013 by ecthompsonmd 7 Comments

 

 

So what happened and why?

From CNN:

Abdul Aziz believes he was standing right next to a shooter Sunday when gunmen opened fire at a Mother's Day parade in New Orleans, injuring 19 people.

"Everyone around me, except me, was shot," he said. "I was pretty fortunate to get away."

Aziz, 33, a photojournalist, was at the second-line parade when gunfire broke out at the corner of Frenchman Street and North Villere Street.

Second-line parades, which involve dancing and brass bands, are a New Orleans tradition. They happen most every Sunday, except during the hottest months in summer, according to Aziz. (more...)

IRS targets right wing groups

Posted on: May 11th, 2013 by ecthompsonmd No Comments

 

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Well, this should never happen.

From TP:

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS)acknowledged Friday that it had improperly flagged groups applying for tax-exempt status for additional scrutiny if they contained common Tea Party keywords in their names. Rather than addressing the real problem of political committees masquerading as 501(c)(4) groups to evade public disclosure laws, this approach instead delayed the process for several groups purely on the basis of their names.

Lois Lerner, head of the IRS unit that oversees tax-exempt groups, noted that the number of 501(c)(4) group applications doubled between 2010 and 2012. As a result of this influx, she explained, low-level workers at the agency’s Cincinnati office had flagged about 300 applications for additional review based on a keyword search. None had their status revoked or denied and the IRS apologized for the mistake.

While it unclear whether the IRS workers intentionally targeted conservative groups — an agency spokesman did not immediately respond to a ThinkProgress request for the complete list of keywords used — the office revealed that two of the terms on the list were “Tea Party” and “patriot.” As such, about 75 Tea Party groups were singled out for additional scrutiny.

  • Errington C. Thompson, MD
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