Guest Post by Mara Zebest

Color me skeptical, but in the wake of the IRS scandal, it’s hard to trust the motives of any bureaucracy in which overreaching and arrogance seems to be a common theme.

A recent article from the DailyMail discusses a NJ sting operation by the Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control. The opening paragraph assert that the restaurants substituted rubbing alcohol and “water that was not even clean”—neither claim offers any details when digging further—and the unclean water is never defined. The article accuses the establishments of a desire to increase profits as the motive. Isn’t every company guilty of that motive? What company is in business to lose money? And just a hunch, but clearly their would be a motive on Obama’s part to have his big government bureaucracy goons target a restaurant industry who have been outspoken in their objections to Obamacare.

There’s also the obvious bromance between NJ Chris Christie and Obama. On the Rush Limbaugh show that aired on May 23, 2013, a caller suggested that Obama might withhold disaster relief from conservative locations such as Oklahoma. Rush responded:

RUSH: I want to go back to the caller we had who asked me if I thought Obama might not come through with aid for Oklahoma or where he lived in Poplar Bluff, Missouri, because of politics. I checked the e-mail during the break, and a person said, “You know, that guy made more sense than I think you were acknowledging.” You go to the New York, New Jersey area, and you will find that Staten Island has gotten the least aid to recover from Hurricane Sandy. It’s a Republican borough. And the point was made that Obama’s modus operandi is punishment. Obama punishes enemies. He punishes people who don’t support him.

There are the examples of the Texas wildfires and the floods in Tennessee where there wasn’t any disaster relief. Requests were made for — what’s the term? Call it a disaster area. I forget. Disaster zone or something. He didn’t do that. That was denied, and so forth. And it reminded me, you know, when Sheldon Whitehouse, the Senator from Rhode Island who apologized for this later, but his first instinctive comment after the tornado in Oklahoma was to bash the people there and blame them as polluters and deniers for causing all of the destruction, weather-wise, in his area of the country. Remember that?

I mean, folks, it was sick what Sheldon Whitehouse said. He was essentially blaming Republicans in Oklahoma for the weather, destructive weather. [...]

Read more here.

The DailyMail story could be a legitimate concern, but it could also be another attempt at punishing political enemies. The story details are scant and vague at best. The only statistics offering some level of detail is that out of 150 samples, 30 samples were not the brand ordered (that seems like a small sample rate and a vague complaint that may be a result of simply getting an order wrong). Note the officials would not name which locations supposedly substituted rubbing alcohol. Wouldn’t that be information to release if true?. Nor did they mention a number for how many complaints they received. Was it one person? Was it someone from CAIR? Those details would also be important to know. Despite the scant details, the amount of information requested by the Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control on the company and their customers seems massive. Its almost as if Lois Lerner was running the sting while on Administrative Leave.

The DailyMail offers the following details:

At one bar, a mixture that included rubbing alcohol and caramel coloring was sold as scotch. In another, premium liquor bottles were refilled with water – and apparently not even clean water at that.

State officials provided those new details Thursday on raids they conducted a day earlier as part of a yearlong investigation dubbed Operation Swill.

Twenty-nine New Jersey bars and restaurants, including 13 TGI Fridays, were accused of substituting cheap booze – or worse – for top-shelf brands while charging premium prices.

As part of Operation Swill, investigators collected 1,000 open bottles of vodka, gin, rum, scotch, whiskey and tequila from the wells of the bars, state Attorney General Jeffrey Chiesa said.

‘This alleged scheme is a dishonest ruse to increase profits and is a slap in the face of the consumer,’ Chiesa said.

Within seven days, the establishments must turn over records to help state authorities determine how many patrons were overcharged and by how much.

They also will have to inform the state which employees were at work the days samples were covertly taken earlier this year.

State officials would not say what establishment used the rubbing alcohol or which one used dirty water, or water not from a tap. They said no health issues were reported.

TGI Fridays Inc. said it was conducting its own investigation, working with the franchisee that owns the 13 restaurants cited, The Briad Group.

Ricky Richardson, President, Fridays USA said:
‘We consider the alleged actions detailed by the New Jersey Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control to be very disturbing. If accurate, they would represent a violation of our company’s values and our extensive bar and beverage standards which are designed to deliver the highest guest experience in our restaurants. We have zero tolerance for actions that undermine the trust of our guests and call into question the reputation we have built up over the past 48 years. [...]

An informant with knowledge of the industry contacted the agency in the fall to help in the investigation, he said.

In January and February, investigators went to 63 establishments they suspected were scamming liquor customers.

They ordered drinks neat – that is, without ice or mixers – and then covertly took samples for testing.

The undercover inspectors tested vodka brands such as Grey Goose and Ketel One; scotch, such as Johnny Walker Black and Dewar’s; and Jose Cuervo Silver and Gold tequila.

Of 150 samples collected, 30 were not the brand as which they were being sold.

The establishments face suspensions of their liquor licenses and possible revocations if there are enough violations.

Read more here. I would like some more details before condemning these restaurants.

It’s because of the US and UK’s support of Israel that terrorists screaming Allahu-Akbar” butchered a soldier in the streets of Woolwich.
It’s the Jews’ fault

Lindsey German at Stop the War Coalition wrote this disgusting rant following the Woolrich attack:

Any rational balance sheet of the last decade would show that the ‘war on terror’ has been a failure in its own terms: it has not prevented terrorism but caused it to spread.”

The attack in Woolwich yesterday was horrific. There can be no justification for a murderous attack on an individual soldier in the streets of London. It must have been awful too for the local people who witnessed it.

Unlike with most terrorist attacks or indeed other crimes, we have been able to see film footage of the perpetrators, hear testimony from the witnesses who saw or talked to them. So we know what these men say motivated them. They claimed that the killing of the soldier was in response to the killing of Muslims by British soldiers in other countries. One said that the government did not care for people and should get the troops out.

The Boston bombers last month were supposedly similarly motivated. The Woolwich attack, carried out by two men now shot and wounded and under arrest in hospital, appears to represent a phenomenon that was pointed out nearly a decade ago by the security services in Britain: that the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq would lead to a growing threat of terrorism in Britain. Those of us in Stop the War have long predicted that these sorts of attacks would happen because of the war on terror…

…The interventions have spread in the name of ‘fighting terrorism’: drone attacks are taking place in a number of countries including Pakistan, Yemen, and Somalia. The bombing of Libya by the west in 2011 led to at least 30,000 dead. British troops are aiding the French in Mali. The British are intervening in the war in Syria for their own ends, and want to lift the EU arms embargo there in order to escalate the war and achieve regime change. The US and EU continues to back Israel despite its treatment of the Palestinians, even sending the architect of the Iraq war, Tony Blair, as envoy for peace in the Middle East.

Thankfully, not everyone agreed with German’s ugly rant.

You get what you pay for.
Anjem Choudary, a British-Pakistani, who lives on social welfare funds, supports Jihad, 9/11, and Islamic terrorism. He hates democracy, liberalism, secularism and demands Sharia in UK. Choudary tells his followers to take welfare to fund the jihad.

Choudary takes a reported sum of £25,000 ($37,770) per year.
UK soldiers can expect to start in the army on a salary of around £16,000 ($24,172).

The Wall Street Journal reported, via Ace:

Most of the extremists who have repeatedly expressed their hatred of British soldiers are themselves supported by the British state. A prominent hate-preacher—Anjem Choudary, a leader of the disbanded al Muhajiroun—was even caught on video earlier this year extolling Britain’s “jihad-seekers’ allowance.” As he explained to his followers, “The normal situation, really, is to take money from the kafir”—a slur for non-Muslims. “Allahu akbar. We take the money.”

After the video showed up online, a BBC reporter asked Mr. Choudary to clarify how much he’s taking—the press has long reported a sum of £25,000 ($37,770) per year. “It’s irrelevant,” Mr. Choudary replied.

This would not be the first time a country has paid both sides in a conflict. But if the reported figure is anywhere near accurate, it would surely be the first time in human history that a society has paid its opponents better than it pays its own. A British soldier can expect to start in the army on a salary of around £16,000 ($24,172).

This was just weird.
Barack Obama lectured the class of 2013 today on sexual abuse in his commencement speech at the US Naval Academy.

CNN reported:

A rash of sexual assaults in the armed forces undermines Americans’ confidence in the military, President Barack Obama told newly commissioned officers at the U.S. Naval Academy Friday.

“Those who commit sexual assault are not only committing a crime, they threaten the trust and discipline that makes our military strong,” Obama told the graduates, who were commissioned as Naval ensigns and Marine Corps second lieutenants.

“That’s why we have to be determined to stop these crimes. Because they have no place in the greatest military on Earth,” Obama continued.

The president’s remarks came amid mounting outrage over sexual abuse cases in the armed forces. Figures show the rate of assaults in the armed forced increasing, and some top officers are under fire for condoning such acts.

It’s not clear if the rate of sexual violence is any higher in the military than in the general public. Nearly 1 in 2 women and 1 in 5 men experienced sexual violence other than rape at some point in their lives.

Of course, the far left believe rape and abuse is what gets soldiers out of bed in the morning.

Gomez is Not backing down–
Massachusetts Republican Senate candidate Gabriel Gomez called opponent Rep. Ed Markey (D., Mass.) “pond scum” during an interview on Thursday. This was after his opponent Ed Markey compared Gomez, a former Navy SEAL, to Osama bin Laden in an internet video that placed their images side-by-side.
Via the Free Beacon and Weasel Zippers:

Yes, this really happened.

Great Britain understands that people are upset after the bloody terrorist attack this week. So they’re cracking down on Twitter users.

British officials jumped into action following the bloody terror attack this week… And, arrested Twitter users for ugly anti-Islamic tweets.
From The Daily Mail:

Two men have been arrested for making alleged offensive comments on Twitter after the murder of a British soldier.

MailOnline understands the pair had tweeted using inflammatory language and were trying to organise an anti-Muslim protest in Bristol following the execution of Drummer Lee Rigby, 25, in Woolwich two days ago.

Complaints were made to Avon and Somerset Police about remarks that appeared on the social networking website, which were of a racist or anti-religious nature.

“The voice of that woman is worth paying attention to.”

Barack Obama on heckler Medea Benjamin
May 23, 2013

Code Pink leaders Cindy Sheehan, Jodie Evans and Medea Benjamin, with Marxist thug Hugo Chavez in Venezuela (2006)

A secret admirer in the liberal media gave Code Pink founder Medea Benjamin access into Barack Obama’s speech yesterday.
Kristinn Taylor at Breitbart reported:

The National Defense University Public Affairs office issued a statement that Benjamin came in through the media.

NDU STATEMENT ON DISTURBANCE DURING PRESIDENT’S SPEECH
The individual who continued to attempt to interrupt the President’s speech at the National Defense University was given access via the list of media attendees expected. When it was apparent this individual would not be deterred by the President’s effort to address her concerns, officials from the National Defense University staff and Base Police asked her to leave and escorted her from the venue. She has been questioned by Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall police.

This speech was not open to the general public. Attendance for non-media was limited to invited guests from the National Defense University faculty, staff, and student body, along with those invited by the White House.

Please address any additional questions to the White House Press Office.

Kristinn added this on Benjamin’s radical background.

Like Code Pink, Obama has worked to end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan without U.S. victories. Like Code Pink, Obama has worked to close the terrorist detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Like Code Pink, Obama worked with the Muslim Brotherhood to overthrow the Egyptian government of staunch U.S. ally Hosni Mubarak. Like Code Pink, Obama worked to overthrow Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi, even after he gave up his nuclear weapons program and allied with the U.S. against al Qaeda. Like Code Pink, Obama ignored Iran’s Green Revolution and threw in with the mullahs and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. And, like Code Pink, Obama ‘palled around’ with Weather Underground terrorists Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn (Code Pink palled around with Cathie Wilkerson as well.)

They share the same beliefs and are both have radical activist backgrounds. No wonder Obama thought Medea Benjamin was worth paying attention too.

UPDATE: Kristinn sent in this photo of Medea with her media ticket.

The Commander in Chief failed to salute a Marine today.
Via Weekly Standard:

Pres Obama boarded Marine One without returning salute of US Marine at the steps. The Pres then came back out to shake the Marine’s hand.

— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) May 24, 2013

He was on his way to deliver the commencement address at the United States Naval Academy. The Marine Corps is a component of the Department of the Navy.

Barack Obama repeatedly told the American public and his union supporters,
“Nothing in this plan will require you or your employer to change your coverage or your doctor.”

What a joke.

Now union leaders are stunned and upset after they realized millions of their members will likely lose their healthcare insurance under Obamacare.
The AP reported:

When President Barack Obama pushed his health care overhaul plan through Congress, he counted labor unions among his strongest supporters.

But some unions leaders have grown frustrated and angry about what they say are unexpected consequences of the new law — problems that they say could jeopardize the health benefits offered to millions of their members.

The issue could create a political headache next year for Democrats facing re-election if disgruntled union members believe the Obama administration and Congress aren’t working to fix the problem.
“It makes an untruth out of what the president said, that if you like your insurance, you could keep it,” said Joe Hansen, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union. “That is not going to be true for millions of workers now.”

The problem lies in the unique multiemployer health plans that cover unionized workers in retail, construction, transportation and other industries with seasonal or temporary employment. Known as Taft-Hartley plans, they are jointly administered by unions and smaller employers that pool resources to offer more than 20 million workers and family members continuous coverage, even during times of unemployment.

The union plans were already more costly to run than traditional single-employer health plans. The Affordable Care Act has added to that cost — for the unions’ and other plans — by requiring health plans to cover dependents up to age 26, eliminate annual or lifetime coverage limits and extend coverage to people with pre-existing conditions.

“We’re concerned that employers will be increasingly tempted to drop coverage through our plans and let our members fend for themselves on the health exchanges,” said David Treanor, director of health care initiatives at the Operating Engineers union.

And now thanks to Obama and union leadership – millions of union members will lose their healther insurance.
Reality bites.

In 2008 the American Issues Project released an ad tying Barack Obama to domestic terrorist Bill Ayers.
“Barack Obama launched his political career with the direct assistance of Bill Ayers.”

The Obama camp used the DOJ to demand an investigation and prosecute American Issues Project

That’s not all…
Obama goons threatened 10,000 GOP donors with legal trouble and public harassment if they continued to support Republican candidates.
The Wall Street Journal reported, via Jammie Wearing Fool:

On Aug. 21, 2008, the conservative American Issues Project ran an ad highlighting ties between candidate Obama and Bill Ayers, formerly of the Weather Underground. The Obama campaign and supporters were furious, and they pressured TV stations to pull the ad—a common-enough tactic in such ad spats.

What came next was not common. Bob Bauer, general counsel for the campaign (and later general counsel for the White House), on the same day wrote to the criminal division of the Justice Department, demanding an investigation into AIP, “its officers and directors,” and its “anonymous donors.” Mr. Bauer claimed that the nonprofit, as a 501(c)(4), was committing a “knowing and willful violation” of election law, and wanted “action to enforce against criminal violations.”

AIP gave Justice a full explanation as to why it was not in violation. It said that it operated exactly as liberal groups like Naral Pro-Choice did. It noted that it had disclosed its donor, Texas businessman Harold Simmons. Mr. Bauer’s response was a second letter to Justice calling for the prosecution of Mr. Simmons. He sent a third letter on Sept. 8, again smearing the “sham” AIP’s “illegal electoral purpose.”

Also on Sept. 8, Mr. Bauer complained to the Federal Election Commission about AIP and Mr. Simmons. He demanded that AIP turn over certain tax documents to his campaign (his right under IRS law), then sent a letter to AIP further hounding it for confidential information (to which he had no legal right).

The Bauer onslaught was a big part of a new liberal strategy to thwart the rise of conservative groups. In early August 2008, the New York Times trumpeted the creation of a left-wing group (a 501(c)4) called Accountable America. Founded by Obama supporter and liberal activist Tom Mattzie, the group—as the story explained—would start by sending “warning” letters to 10,000 GOP donors, “hoping to create a chilling effect that will dry up contributions.” The letters would alert “right-wing groups to a variety of potential dangers, including legal trouble, public exposure and watchdog groups digging through their lives.” As Mr. Mattzie told Mother Jones: “We’re going to put them at risk.”

Obama has a history of threatening and harassing political opponents.
The IRS scandal should surprise no one.