An Internal Revenue Service watchdog testified Friday that he told Obama administration officials in June that he was looking into allegations the IRS targeted conservative groups for extra scrutiny when they applied for tax-exempt status.
The revelation by Inspector General Russell George came at the first congressional hearing on the IRS misconduct, which has generated a political firestorm since it was disclosed a week ago.
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George’s testimony represented the first evidence that officials in the Obama administration knew of the allegations as long as a year ago, during the presidential campaign.
Appearing Friday before the House Ways and Means Committee, George said he told the Treasury Department’s general counsel of his investigation on June 4, in a routine briefing of what his office was working on.
George said he did not disclose that he had concluded the targeting was improper.
But his testimony that knowledge of the allegations was not limited to the IRS is likely to fuel efforts by Republicans to link the scandal to the White House and congressional Democrats.
Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew said Friday that he was briefed in March that an investigation was underway of IRS screening of conservative groups – though he didn’t learn the substance of the findings until last week.
In an interview with Bloomberg Television, Lew said he had “a getting-to-know-you conversation” with George in mid-March, a couple of weeks after he was sworn in as treasury secretary, and the investigation “was one of the things he briefed me was ongoing.”
“I didn’t know any of the details of it until last Friday,” Lew said.
Lew also disclosed that he has ordered Danny Werfel, whom President Obama named Thursday to take over as acting IRS commissioner, to come up with an action plan within 30 days to address the handling of applications for tax-exempt status.
Obama also has said he first learned of the matter last Friday – when a Treasury Department official, Lois Lerner, revealed during an American Bar Association conference that IRS workers in a Cincinnati office had subjected groups with “Tea Party” or “patriots” in their names for extra scrutiny to determine if they should be tax exempt.
During yesterday’s testimony, Steven Miller, who was forced to resign this week week as the IRS acting commissioner, revealed that Lerner made her disclosure in response to a planted question at the bar association conference.
“We talked about what would be said and how we might do it,” he said.
The revelation irked lawmakers already angry the IRS never told them it had been improperly targeting conservative groups, despite numerous inquiries by members of Congress.
Reps. Joe Crowley (D-Queens) and Sandy Levin (D-Mich.) demanded Lerner resign or be fired.
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During a House Ways and Means Committee hearing today, Rep. Aaron Schock, R-Ill., grilled outgoing IRS commissioner Steven Miller about the IRS targeting a pro-life group in Iowa.
“Their question, specifically asked from the IRS to the Coalition for Life of Iowa: ‘Please detail the content of the members of your organization’s prayers,’” Schock declared.
“Would that be an inappropriate question to a 501 c3 applicant?” asked Schock. “The content of one’s prayers?”
“It pains me to say I can’t speak to that one either,” Miller replied.
After Schock pressed him further, Miller explained that although he couldn’t comment on the specific case, it would “surprise him” if that question was asked.
The report comes from the Thomas More Society, a national public interest law firm for religious liberty.
Coalition for Life of Iowa found itself in the IRS’s crosshairs when the group applied for tax exempt status in October 2008. Nearly ten months of interrogation about the group’s opposition to Planned Parenthood included a demand by a Ms. Richards from the IRS’ Cincinnati office unlawfully insisted that all board members sign a sworn declaration promising not to picket/protest Planned Parenthood. Further questioning by the IRS requested detailed information about the content of the group’s prayer meetings, educational seminars, and signs their members hold outside Planned Parenthood.
In House testimony Friday, former Acting IRS Commissioner Steven Miller explained that the IRS mistakes in handling applications for non-profit status from tea party groups were due, in large part, to a flood of applications following the Citizens United decision. Miller said the targeting was a botched attempt to centralize the process to account for the increased workload. There were fewer applications in 2010, when the IRS began targeting conservative groups, than the year before, however.
In 2009, before IRS began targeting tea party organizations, 1,751 groups applied for 501 (c)4 status. That number dropped in 2010 to 1,735. In fact, applications were down across all areas in the Tax Exempt division’s jurisdiction. So, they had more staff available for processing. While the number of applications did increase in 2011 and 2012, there was no increase in applications when the IRS began isolating tea party groups.
Moreover, the IRS reportedly abandoned the targeting in early 2012. It presumably had little trouble handling the increased number of applicants in advance of the 2012 election.
For whatever reason the IRS chose to target tea party organizations for special scrutiny, it wasn’t due to a flood of new applications.
The Obama IRS demanded that several Tea Party groups provide back-end access to their websites.
And, from reliable sources: This happened to several Tea Party groups!
The source has this in writing. It states they wanted access to everything the members had access to, which would be chats, email, contact information, etc. The group raised less than $600. She was targeted as early as October 2010.
Central Texas 912 President, Maria Acosta joined Kristina Ribali from FreedomWorks to discuss being singled out by the Feds.
The IRS asked for back-end access to the group’s website.
And this is a tax question?
Here is the latest creepy story of IRS harassment and abuse.
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UPDATE: The IRS also demanded the Richmond Tea Party in Virginia to provide access to the back-end of their website.
The Internal Revenue Service on Friday issued a statement to ProPublica saying that the agency’s release of pending confidential tax-exempt applications from conservative groups last year had been found to be “inadvertent and unintentional disclosures by the employees involved.”
In the statement, the IRS said the cases had been referred to and reviewed by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.
“When these two issues were previously raised concerning the potential unauthorized disclosures of 501(c)(4) application information, we immediately referred these cases to TIGTA [Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration] for a comprehensive review,” the statement said. “In both instances, TIGTA found these instances to be inadvertent and unintentional disclosures by the employees involved.”
This is not my country. The Chicago thugocracy we have in the White House is every bit what Michelle Malkin has always said it was, using government to target and oppress political ‘enemies’.
In this segment, Frank Vandersloot tells BillO that after he gave Romney one million to help his campaign, he was then targeted by the Obama campaign on their official website along with seven others. Shortly after that he received a letter from the IRS saying he would be audited. And then on top of that, he also had the Labor Dept. come calling because they wanted to look at his books.
With the 17th pick in the NFL draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers select a guy who just two months ago was considered the best prospect in the entire draft, and they fill a need at the same time.
Jarvis Jones fell mostly due to injury and poor workouts, but there’s no questioning that he’s the most polished pass-rusher in the field.
Role:
Jones obviously comes in and fills an immediate need with the departure of James Harrison to the Cincinnati Bengals. But Jones could have helped this team even if Harrison had stuck around.
Once the most dominant pass-rushing team in the league, Pittsburgh’s defense fell all the way to 17th and 15th in sacks over the past two years. Both Harrison and LaMarr Woodley have been slowed by injuries, and it’s shown on the field.
As of now, Jones should go into camp competing for the starting role left by Harrison. He’ll have to beat out incumbent Jason Worilds, a former second-round pick who has just 10 sacks in 40 career games, five of which came in 2012.
Scheme Fit:
Pittsburgh probably couldn’t have found a guy in the first round of this draft that was a better fit schematically for Dick LeBeau’s 3-4 defense.
LeBeau’s original 3-4 scheme was built around getting to the quarterback with heat from the edge. They employed guys like Greg Lloyd and Kevin Greene for the original package and worked their way up to Jason Gildon, Joey Porter, James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley.
But that pass rush has fallen off in recent years, and Jones is the guy to help bring it back.
Jones ran a similar 3-4 defense under coordinator Todd Grantham at the University of Georgia. That was a defense that led to Jones becoming a two-time first-team All-American for the Bulldogs and one of the most feared pass-rushers in the country.
The transition period for Jones shouldn’t be too long given his familiarity with the scheme, and that could be great news for Pittsburgh.
Early Projections:
In all reality, it’s pretty hard to predict how any Steelers rookie will ever perform. Typically, they don’t come in as starters but end up working their way into some sort of role and contributing early.
That should be the case with Jones, who will have to compete with three-year veteran Worilds.
The best comparison we can make for the amount of time Jones will see for Pittsburgh in 2013 is going back to 2007 and looking at what Woodley did.
Woodley, a second-round pick, was in a very similar situation with Porter leaving and incumbent Clark Haggans penciled in for the starting role. Although Haggins did end up starting all 16 games for the Steelers, Woodley’s role increased as the season carried on, especially in pass-rushing situations.
That’s the type of season Jones could very well have in 2013.
Jones is most likely a better player than Worilds and is probably more adept at getting to the quarterback, but the Steelers have always had a tendency to hold off on starting rookies unless they’re the only thing they’ve got. Mike Tomlin also tends to lean toward veteran guys when filling out his depth chart.
Grade:
I gave the Steelers an A for their pick of Jones in my Grades/Analysis piece, and I’m sticking to that.
The Steelers certainly have some holes to fill on offense, such as receiver, running back and (possibly) tight end, but they couldn’t pass on a talent like Jones, especially given his fit with this defense.
As the board shaped up, it began to look more and more unlikely that Jones would fall to the Steelers. But a small run on defensive tackles and cornerbacks pushed the Georgia linebacker into Pittsburgh’s laps. Realistically, the only other option the Steelers had was tight end Tyler Eifert.
Maybe best of all is the fact that Jones’ intangibles are off the charts. This is a guy who was the captain of a vaunted defense for the Bulldogs and, as Mel Kiper put it during ESPN’s draft coverage, “On a scale of 1 to 10, his character is a 15.”
Pittsburgh, without question, made the best pick they could have in the first round this year. The only reason it’s not an A+ would be because of the injury concern, given his condition of spinal stenosis.
In the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft, the Steelers improve on what was one of the league’s worst running games in 2012 and one of the worst in their history. They select former Michigan State running back Le’Veon Bell.
Bell may be a bit of a reach for the Steelers at No. 48, but it just goes to show you how highly they thought of him, taking him over guys like Alabama’s Eddie Lacy and Wisconsin’s Montee Ball.
Role:
In today’s more pass-happy NFL, it can become a little complicated to truly gauge a running backs role with a given team. But when I watch Bell play at Michigan State, it’s pretty clear what the Steelers have in store for the former Spartan.
He’s going to be their feature back.
It may not come this year, but Pittsburgh has to think that Bell is the future back for this football team, taking him relatively early in the draft. Bell also had to catch the Steelers eye because of his ability to catch the ball out of the backfield.
With Jonathan Dwyer and Isaac Redman already in place and the recent signing of LaRod Stephens-Howling, Pittsburgh will have a very crowded backfield to start the 2013 season. It’s certainly going to be interesting to see how they use all of these guys.
Scheme Fit:
If there’s a back in this draft that embodies what the Steelers love in their running backs, it’s Le’Veon Bell. At 6’2″, 230 pounds, Bell runs with immense power and has one of the most powerful stiff arms you’ll ever see.
But for a 230-pound man, Bell has quick feet and has been known to hurdle some defenders. He makes very strong cuts and gets downhill quickly. Bell doesn’t dance at the line of scrimmage, which is a nice change for the Steelers.
Bell is more of a complete back than most people will give him credit for and should eventually become the lead ball-carrier in Pittsburgh. Given the big, mauling offensive line the Steelers have in place up front, I’d say Bell is a good fit in the Burgh.
Early Projections:
As was the case with Jarvis Jones last night, it’s very rare to see a Steelers rookie completely take over a starting role in their inaugural season. The last player to do so was Maurkice Pouncey.
Pittsburgh also has the luxury of having a deep backfield with Dwyer, Redman and the newly-acquired Stephens-Howling already in place. That’s not good news for people who want to see Bell start right away.
But, the Steelers don’t generally take guys early in drafts who won’t contribute in some way in their rookie season. Bell won’t be a returner and his special teams contributions will most likely be very limited. So what will Bell’s role be in 2013?
One spot he could very easily come into camp occupying is as the third-down back. Bell comes in as probably the teams’ best pass protector and receiver out of the backfield. Goal-line touches are another immediate opportunity for Bell in Pittsburgh. He had 33 touchdowns in three seasons with Michigan State.
As the season goes on, expect Bell to touch the ball more and more while Dwyer and Redman do battle for the rest of the carries. Realistically, Bell could carve out a respectable 600 yards and be in double-figures in touchdowns. Wouldn’t shock me if he was the team’s leading rusher by the end of 2013.
Grade:
Initially, I gave the Steelers a C+ in the Grades/Analysis piece for the selection of Le’Veon Bell at No. 48 overall, but admittedly, that may have been a little premature. Bell was certainly a bit of a reach for the Steelers in the second round and they probably could have traded back and still got their guy.
But Bell is the type of back that fits what the Steelers like to do in their running game. He’s got great size and power with quick, choppy feet and some pretty good athleticism to add. He can be an immediate impact player in the backfield in what becomes a relatively deep platoon for Pittsburgh.
Mike Wallace is no easy man to replace. The fastest man in football left the Steel City for a big contract in Miami, leaving the Steelers with a void at wide receiver.
With the 79th overall pick in the 2013 NFL Draft, Pittsburgh made an attempt to rectify that situation by adding Oregon State’s all-time leader in receptions, Markus Wheaton.
Role
Wheaton is a very good fit for what the Steelers want to do offensively under Todd Haley. His game is very similar to that of current Pittsburgh receivers Antonio Brown and Emmanuel Sanders. He’ll catch the ball across the middle and can make guys miss in space.
But Wheaton can add some of the deep speed back to the Steelers’ offense.
Wheaton routinely dabbled in track and field while at Oregon State and those teams don’t take guys who can’t run. His deep speed won’t compete with that of Wallace, but it’s probably better than anything the Steelers currently have on the roster.
There’s going to be serious contention for slot receiver roles this season in Pittsburgh as Brown, Sanders and Wheaton all fit that role. It’ll be interesting to see how the Steelers decide to divvy up that role.
Scheme Fit
Schematically, Markus Wheaton makes a lot of sense for the Steelers.
Under Todd Haley, Pittsburgh has really converted their offense to that of the short, quick passing attack and letting the receivers make people miss in space. Brown and Sanders have exceeded at these roles.
At Oregon State, Wheaton did just the same thing. Although he’s got the ability to beat defenders down the field, Wheaton is at his best beating defenders in open space with underneath, crossing routes.
Ben Roethlisberger is going to love this guy. Wheaton can beat the defenders with his elite quickness and is sure-handed. He’s a good fit in Pittsburgh.
Early Projections
Losing Wallace didn’t deplete the Steelers receiving corps as much as most people think. Pittsburgh still has Plaxico Burress and Jerricho Cotchery who, although aren’t the receivers they were four years ago, are still effective.
Wheaton, to me, is more of a pick for 2014.
Pittsburgh paid to keep Emmanuel Sanders in the city for one more year, but it’s going to take a big contract to keep him here in the future. Wheaton is a very nice replacement for Sanders and could steal some snaps from him in 2013.
I wouldn’t expect a whole lot of Wheaton in 2013. He still has to come in and learn the offense, get a report going with Roethlisberger and gain the trust of his coaches. He’s a good character guy so I don’t expect this to be an issue, but there’s still going to be a learning curve.
Wheaton could go anywhere from 300-500 yards receiving this season. That’s not half bad when you think about it.
Grades
In the Grades/Analysis piece, I gave the Steelers a B+ for taking Wheaton at No. 79 and I think that’s pretty fair.
Pittsburgh certainly got good value for a guy like Wheaton who could have easily been a second round pick. He’s a good fit for the offensive system and is a faster clone of Antonio Brown.
The only issue I have with this pick is that it’s more of the same at receiver. A guy with more size may have been nice, but still a very good pick by the Steelers.
The Steelers were interested in this year’s safety class as high as the first round.
They filled a major need by trading a third rounder next year to get back into the fourth and grab Syracuse safety Shamarko Thomas.
Role
Behind starters Ryan Clark and Troy Polamalu, the Steelers had absolutely no depth on their roster at safety. Things got even worse as Polamalu missed nine games with a calf strain, forcing Ryan Mundy into the lineup.
This offseason, Mundy left for a deal with the Giants, and fellow backup Will Allen also flew the coop, leaving the Steelers very vulnerable.
Shamarko Thomas makes a lot of sense for the Steelers because of the way he plays the game. He’s a bit undersized, but is a force around the line of scrimmage. This guy looks like a missile when he’s on the field.
Thomas won’t open camp as a starter, but he’s got to be ready to play. Polamalu and Clark both play a style of football that’s conducive to injuries and could force Thomas into the lineup.
Scheme Fit
Dick LeBeau is going to love Shamarko Thomas.
Thomas plays the game at a high rate of speed and can flat out blow people up. He’s versatile enough to play up in the box or drop deep into coverage. That’s something the Steelers can play with.
Right now, Thomas is in a great position to learn the game from Polamalu, who plays a similar style, and execute on the field when he’s call on. He’ll have to get better in coverage, but he can immediately fit as a pass-rusher from deep.
Early Projections
With Polamalu and Clark firmly cemented in place as the starters, Thomas will start the season as a backup. But given the injury history of those two players, he could end up seeing some significant time as a rookie.
Immediately, Thomas is going to be an impact player on special teams. Think about a guy like Thomas sprinting down the field in kick and punt coverage. Scary stuff, huh?
But I’d be shocked if Thomas didn’t end up becoming a significant contributor on the defense by the end of the season. Given the injury history of the Steelers’ two starting safeties, Thomas will end up on the field this season.
Grades
In the Grades/Analysis piece, I gave the Steelers an A for the Thomas pick because I thought they both filled a big need and they get great value.
The Steelers had to dump a third rounder in the 2014 draft, so it goes to show you how highly the team thinks of Thomas. He’s great depth for the time being and could eventually become a regular in Pittsburgh’s lineup.
One of the major problems the Pittsburgh Steelers faced in 2012 was the short-term loss of quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. Backups Byron Leftwich and Charlie Batch struggled to keep the Steelers afloat, which was a direct cause of the team missing the playoffs.
Pittsburgh made an attempt to get some better talent behind Roethlisberger by acquiring Oklahoma quarterback Landry Jones in the fourth round.
Role
Landry Jones’ role seems pretty well-defined at this point. He’s going to be a backup and compete with Bruce Gradkowski for the second string job.
But there’s a little more to it than that.
Jones should be coming into Pittsburgh with a chip on his shoulder. He was once considered one of the most promising young quarterbacks in college football, before suffering two straight seasons of inconsistent play. He’ll need to prove his critics wrong.
The former Sooner comes to Pittsburgh in a great position to learn from Roethlisberger and hone is craft in an offense that isn’t one of the most complicated in the league. Jones needs to gain back his confidence and he can do that in a low pressure situation with the Steelers.
Scheme Fit
Like Roethlisberger, Jones is a tall and thick pocket passer. But unlike Big Ben, Jones really struggles under duress in the pocket.
In terms of the scheme Pittsburgh employs under Todd Haley, quarterbacks have to be accurate and get the ball out quickly. Those are two things Jones does well. Jones gets the ball out of his hands quickly and can throw to any part of the field.
He’s going to have to learn how to deal with pressure, but with the quick passing game, it’s less of an issue in Pittsburgh than it would be elsewhere.
Early Projections
Like Shamarko Thomas, Jones won’t come into the season as the Steelers starting quarterback. But if he wins the second string job, he could end up seeing time on the field.
With the injury history that Roethlisberger has and an offensive line that has a lot of moving parts, Jones is in a position where he may have to play immediately and fill in for at least a few games. That means he’s got to be ready to play.
Honestly, I wouldn’t be shocked if Jones ended up starting two to three games for the Steelers in 2013. He’ll have to beat out Bruce Gradkowski for the backup job, however.
Grades
The Steelers apparently had Jones pretty high on their board because they wasted little time snagging him in the fourth. But with the talent that was still on the board (Jesse Williams), Pittsburgh certainly could have gone in a different direction.
I gave the Steelers a B- in my Grades/Analysis piece because I’m a little higher than most on Jones and I think he can develop into a good quarterback. But there were certainly other players on the board who made more sense.
The Pittsburgh Steelers have continued the trend of replacing exactly what they lost in free agency by taking former Illinois cornerback Terry Hawthorne. Pittsburgh lost corner Keenan Lewis to the Saints this offseason, so adding more depth makes sense.
Role
For the 2013 season, Hawthorne will most likely find his primary role to be a contributor on special teams for the Steelers.
As for his main priority of playing cornerback, there’s probably not a great chance he makes a significant impact this season. But he should be able to compete with Curtis Brown and Josh Victorian for some reserve roles.
His biggest concern, however, may be staying healthy long enough to make the team.
Hawthorne was injured in his sophomore and senior campaigns in Illinois but showed flashes of promise in 2011 when he was an All-Big Ten Honorable Mention performer.
Scheme Fit
Hawthorne is just the kind of cornerback the Steelers like to draft. He’s pretty tall for a defensive back and plays bigger than his frame.
He has good ability to cover bigger receivers in the NFL and needs to get better in his backpedal. But he has experience in zone coverage schemes and started all four years with the Illini.
Most importantly, Hawthorne is one of the best tackling corners in this year’s NFL draft, and we all know that if you want to play for the Steelers, you better be able to tackle. He’s a good fit for Dick LeBeau’s defense.
Early Projections
I wouldn’t expect a whole lot out of Hawthorne in his rookie campaign given the fact that he’ll be buried on the depth chart. Cornerback wasn’t an immediate need for the Steelers, and Hawthorne will probably compete for no higher than the No. 4 job.
His biggest impact will most likely be made on special teams in 2013, and for a willing tackler like Hawthorne, he can make some plays.
Grades
I’d give the Steelers a C+ for taking Hawthorne in the fifth round simply because I think there were more pressing needs still on the board.
But, in the fifth round, Pittsburgh has the luxury of taking a guy they can develop, and Hawthorne has some serious skill. If he can get over the injury issues, this could end up being a very good pick for the Steelers.
Even thought the Steelers took receiver Markus Wheaton in the third round of the 2013 NFL Draft, they didn’t feel they had enough at the position.
As a result Pittsburgh selected sizable receiver Justin Brown from Oklahoma.
Role
Brown is in a position where he won’t have to play immediately for the Steelers but he could be in the teams’ future plans. Brown is 6’3″ and with Plaxico Burress set to become a free agent after the 2013 season, the Steelers need a size guy.
Brown started his career at Penn State before transferring to Oklahoma following the NCAA sanctions against the Nittany Lions. Brown never accumulated 1,000 yards in a given season but did compile over 1,900 career yards and eight touchdowns.
Scheme Fit
Schematically, the Steelers actually have very little use for a big wide receiver. But Ben Roethlisberger has been begging for a big target for years and they can utilize some size near the goal line.
Burress currently occupies the position of “tall receiver” on the Steelers and given how raw Brown really is, he’s probably not in any position to make an impact for Pittsburgh in 2013.
Early Projection
I’d be stunned if Brown made any sort of real impact on the Steelers offense in 2013. In fact, I’d be a little shocked if Brown ended up on the Steelers active roster for the season.
That’s not to say the Steelers made a poor pick in the sixth round.
Brown has good potential, it just needs to be honed. He could become an impact player in a few years for the Steelers, but his most likely destination is the practice squad in 2013.
Grades
I gave the Steelers a B- for taking Brown in the sixth round because I like the potential of the pick. He’s not ready to make an impact immediately for Pittsburgh but with good coaching, he could become an effective receiver in a few years.
One thing’s for sure, the Pittsburgh Steelers certainly lacked depth at inside linebacker in 2012. They added Sean Spence during the 2012 NFL Draft, but a devastating knee injury ended his season before it even started.
So with their compensatory pick in the sixth round, Pittsburgh added former Florida State linebacker Vince Williams into the fold.
Role
Williams actually enters a great opportunity with the Steelers. He’s not going to immediately contend for a starting role, but he could be in line for a backup spot.
Williams is the type of inside linebacker the Steelers have looked for recently. He’s a bit undersizedat only 6′ and around 230 pounds, but he can attack the line of scrimmage as well as anybody. Expect Williams’ name to come up in camp this year.
Scheme Fit
Williams is the type of linebacker the Steelers like to have behind Larry Foote. In fact, he and Foote are relatively the same size.
Dick LeBeau likes to use guys like Williams who can attack the line of scrimmage and are good against the run. One may think that would work better with a bigger player, but that isn’t how the Steelers have drafted.
Early Projection
As I said above, Williams is in a good position to compete for a backup role with the Steelers this season. That could lead to decent playing time for a young player.
At the very least, Williams should be a contributor on special teams. He’s fast and strong enough to make an impact on some coverage units that have been less than average this season.
Grades
I’m not really sold on this pick because I would have like to see the Steelers take someone with a little more size inside. Williams comes off as a bit too small to cover ground inside for the Steelers, but he’s fully capable of adding some bulk.
The Steelers certainly needed to find depth across the defensive line and they do just that with the selection of Samford defensive tackle Nick Williams.
Role
Williams can come in and compete immediately for a backup role because Pittsburgh has struggled with their depth on the defensive front for years. Brett Keisel is solid and Ziggy Hood has shown flashes, but Cameron Heyward hasn’t impressed and beyond that there’s not much.
Williams has good size and build. He plays the downhill and is long and sleek. Williams can be more than just a run defender as he accumulated seven sacks last season at Samford.
Scheme Fit
Williams is an interesting guy for the Steelers.
At 6’4″, 309, he certainly has the size Pittsburgh looks for in a five-technique defensive end. But unlike the ends the Steelers currently have on the roster, Williams is more of a pass rusher than run defender.
That brings an interesting fold into the Steelers defensive plans.
Regardless, Williams has the size to play defensive end in the Steelers scheme and is at the least good depth for the team in the meantime.
Early Projection
Honestly, Williams could jump right into the Steelers rotation if they feel he’s ready. That’s a big if, however.
Williams has only been playing football for five years and is still pretty raw. But he makes plays solely on instinct. He won’t be able to do what he did at Samford in the NFL, but he can still make some things happen.
Williams certainly could battle his way into the rotation. He’d have to beat out Al Woods which isn’t saying a whole lot.
Grade
Pittsburgh gets potential in the seventh round of the draft which isn’t a bad thing. They’ll have to unleash that potential and let Williams grown into a football player. I gave the grade a B because there are still good players on the board.
A fertilizer plant explosion in the town of West, north of Waco, has killed as many as 70 people and injured hundreds. However, no official numbers have been released.
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Meanwhile, the residents of the town of 2,700 are being asked to evacuate due to ammonia fumes after the explosion of West Fertilizer. The plant is located at 1471 Jerry Mashek Drive, just off Interstate-35. School buses and ambulances are being used to evacuate residents from the area.
Firefighters had been called to the plant to battle a small fire around 7 p.m. Crews were working to bring the blaze under control when the explosion happened around 7:50 p.m. Officials have said firefighters are among the missing.
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Emergency crews from central and north Texas have been called in to help respond to the injuries and destruction from the explosion. Into the early morning hours Thursday the plant was still smoldering and active ingredients were still inside. The situation is still too volatile to have firefighters try and battle any flames.
Trooper D.L. Wilson of the Texas Department of Public Safety estimates that as many as 75 homes were severely damaged and an apartment complex with 50 units was gutted by the blast. West EMS Director Dr. George Smith said, “We’ve got a lot of houses on one street especially there that look like a war zone. They’ve been collapsed, so there may be people inside those houses, either critically injured or deceased.“
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Tommy Muska, West’s mayor, said at a news conference three hours after the explosion that buildings in a five-block radius from the plant were severely damaged by the explosion. Among them was the West Rest Haven Nursing Home, a location where first-responders evacuated 133 patients, some in wheelchairs. “We did get there and got that taken care of,” Muska said.
Trooper Wilson said said 133 patients from the nearby nursing home were evacuated. He could not comment on the extent of any patient injuries, but says all patients have been evacuated from the building.
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Dr. Smith said he saw the initial fire and became concerned. “When I saw the fire I went to the nursing home, because I knew there were hazardous chemicals [in the plant], and I helped the nursing home personnel move them [residents] away from the area close to the explosion.” Then the doctor said there was chaos. “It exploded while I was in the nursing home. I had debris and glass windows all over me… had to get out of there myself,” he said. “Luckily we had got most of the residents on the other side. Hopefully I think that saved some lives.”
The hotline number (254) 202-1100 has been set up at Hillcrest Hospital for family and friends to check on loved ones.
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Dr. Smith said some 66 people were taken to Hillcrest Hospital and several others to Providence. Smith said the patients being admitted ranged in age from babies to elderly.
Triage was initially set up at the local high school football field, however it was moved to a nearby softball field because of a strong odor in the area.
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CBS 11′s Brian New reports there are dozens of ambulances lined up at the triage area.
Information was hard to come by in the hours after the blast, with even Governor Rick Perry saying state officials were waiting for details about the extent of the damage.
“We are monitoring developments and gathering information as details continue to emerge about this incident,” Perry said in a statement. “We have also mobilized state resources to help local authorities. Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of West, and the first responders on the scene.”
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Aerial footage showed fires still smoldering in the ruins of the plant and in several surrounding buildings, and people being treated for injuries on a flood-lit local football field, which had been turned into a staging area for emergency responders.
A woman passing through West on Interstate-35 at the tie of the explosion told CBS 11 News she saw a fireball 100-feet wide shoot into the air.
USGS says the blast was the equivalent of a 2.1 magnitude earthquake.
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West Fertilizer has been in business for decades, selling fertilizer to farmers between Hillsboro and Waco.
American Red Cross crews from across Texas were being sent to the site, the organization said. Red Cross spokeswoman Anita Foster said the group was working with emergency management officials in West to find a safe shelter for residents displaced from their homes. She said teams from Austin to Dallas and elsewhere are being sent to the community north of Waco.
It would be hard to imagine a more striking story than the trial of abortionist Kermit Gosnell. Yet the establishment press puts its devotion to leftist ideology even above cashing in on this lurid tale. Via Human Events:
A Delaware woman who worked for abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell recalled hearing one child “screaming” after it was delivered alive during an abortion procedure at Gosnell’s West Philadelphia clinic.
Sherry West, of Bear, said she was loyal to Gosnell – who is now facing multiple counts of murder for allegedly killing children after they were delivered alive at his clinic – but said the incident “really freaked me out.”
When Assistant District Attorney Joanne Pescatore pressed the 53-year-old West for specifics about the incident, West struggled to answer, clearly uncomfortable with the memory.
“I can’t describe it. It sounded like a little alien,” West testified, telling a judge and Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas jury that the body of the child was about 18 to 24 inches long and was one of the largest babies she had seen delivered during abortion procedures at Gosnell’s clinic.
West said she saw the child, whose face and features were not yet completely formed, lying on a glass tray on a shelf and she told a co-worker to call Gosnell about it and fled the room.
It’s a horror movie, yet real. The public would certainly be interested. Yet the reserved media seating at the trial has been empty:
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Could it be because liberals’ god, Barack Hussein Obama, is infamous for his fanatical advocacy of denying medical treatment to infants who survive attempted abortions as an Illinois state senator? Or is it because his close allies at lavishly federally Planned Parenthood are involved in a similar case:
A series of emergency calls made from the Planned Parenthood of Delaware this year are raising concerns about what’s happening behind the closed doors.
Two former nurses who both quit are speaking exclusively with Action News about what they saw inside.
Jayne Mitchell-Werbrich, former employee said, “It was just unsafe. I couldn’t tell you how ridiculously unsafe it was.”
Werbrich alleges conditions inside the facility were unsanitary…
“Planned Parenthood needs to close its doors, it needs to be cleaned up, the staff needs to be trained, said Werbrich.”
In Delaware, abortion clinics are not subject to routine inspections. The state only steps in when they have a patient complaint. Planned Parenthood is essentially in charge of inspecting itself.
Good thing local media isn’t always on the same page as the big boys with a seat at Obama’s table, or the public might never know.
Kirsten Powers, a liberal who shows encouraging signs of converting to sanity, is justifiably outraged:
It’s not your fault. Since the murder trial of Pennsylvania abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell began March 18, there has been precious little coverage of the case that should be on every news show and front page. The revolting revelations of Gosnell’s former staff, who have been testifying to what they witnessed and did during late-term abortions, should shock anyone with a heart.
NBC-10 Philadelphia reported that, Stephen Massof, a former Gosnell worker, “described how he snipped the spinal cords of babies, calling it, literally a beheading. It is separating the brain from the body.” One former worker, Adrienne Moton, testified that Gosnell taught her his “snipping” technique to use on infants born alive.
The implications for the ultimate moonbat sacrament (abortion) and by extension its most aggressive champion (Obama) are clear:
Planned Parenthood recently claimed that the possibility of infants surviving late-term abortions was “highly unusual.” The Gosnell case suggests otherwise.
Thus the national media is blacking it out:
A Lexis-Nexis search shows none of the news shows on the three major national television networks has mentioned the Gosnell trial in the last three months. The exception is when Wall Street Journal columnist Peggy Noonan hijacked a segment on Meet the Press meant to foment outrage over an anti-abortion rights law in some backward red state.
The Washington Post has not published original reporting on this during the trial and The New York Times saw fit to run one original story on A-17 on the trial’s first day. They’ve been silent ever since, despite headline-worthy testimony.
It isn’t just that the liberal media refuses to accurately depict what is going on in the world, effectively lying by omission. What is truly unnerving is its motives for lying. The people who program our televisions and print our newspapers don’t want the horror exposed because they don’t want it to stop.
The media will tell you they are all about news, sensationalism, “if it bleeds it leads,” ratings, money, fulfilling demand, and clicks – but that is all a lie.
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Over at Politico, the number-one “most searched” term is “kermit gosnell,” the abortion doctor currently on trial in Philadelphia for the murder of seven babies.
That search yields zero matches.
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The doctor’s last name, “gosnell,” is Politico’s third most searched term and also yields zero matches having to do with Kermit Gosnell.
Judging by the number of search inquiries, there is a demand for this story Politico is willfully choosing not to fill – and doing so for obvious political reasons. And it is not because Politico shies away from abortion issues.
A search for “Susan Komen,” yields 166 matches, but that is because Politico was part of the media lynch-mob that browbeat the private breast cancer charity into continuing their funding of Planned Parenthood.
A search for “Todd Akin” results in 865 matches, because Politico was part of the media lynch-mob that used a stupid abortion/rape comment made by a nobody Senate candidate to aid and abet Democrats during the 2012 elections.
The news blackout of this horrific abortion trial isn’t just occurring at Politico. This is a full-blown, coordinated blackout throughout the entire national media.
ADDED: There is a second abortion clinic horror story in Delaware the media are also ignoring.
In a revelation that may have Colorado voters rethinking their state’s push on gun control, court documents revealed that the mass shooting in Aurora that killed 12 and injured 70 more could have been prevented by law enforcement. The psychiatrist for suspect, James Holmes, had warned campus police that Holmes was dangerous and homicidal a month before the shooting took place. Lynne Fenton even told the police that Holmes had begun to stalk and threaten her, and yet no action was apparently taken:
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A University of Colorado psychiatrist told campus police a month before the Aurora movie theater attack that James Holmes had homicidal thoughts and was a public danger, according to records unsealed Thursday.
Lynne Fenton, a psychiatrist at the Denver campus, told police that Holmes had also “threatened and harassed her via email/text messages” in June 2012. He is standing trial for the July 20 shooting rampage that killed 12 and injured 70 during a midnight premiere of the latest Batman movie…
Soon after the shooting, university police said they had not had any contact with Holmes, a graduate student doing neuroscience research. But a search warrant affidavit released Thursday revealed that an officer had told investigators that Fenton had contacted her to report “his danger to the public due to homicidal statements he had made.”
In releasing the arrest and search warrant affidavits and other documents, District Judge Carlos Samour, the new judge overseeing the case, ruled that neither the prosecution nor defense had convinced him that making the files public would cause harm or that keeping them sealed would prevent harm.
The prosecution had tried to keep these records sealed, and it’s not difficult to see why. (They can be viewed at KUSA’s website, where they were posted last night.) The narrative from political and law-enforcement leaders in Colorado has been that this could have been anyone with a gun who just flipped out, and a society without gun control cannot hope to stop it. But Holmes didn’t just flip out shortly before the murder, and police had ample warning of the danger he presented.
Police have testified to having no contact with Holmes before the shooting. Why exactly was that? The complaint/warning from Fenton should have prompted police to make sure Holmes wasn’t a threat to Fenton, at the very least. Had they performed that standard follow-up – and remember, this was a mental health professional telling the police that her patient was both homicidal and threatening her specifically – the police might well have had Holmes in custody long before the shooting.
Instead, this information has remained under seal while Colorado politicians insisted that it was the guns that created the unforeseen danger of mass murder. The new release destroys that narrative, and poses another question. If police in Colorado can’t be bothered to follow up on information from a psychiatrist that her patient has become homicidal, dangerous to the community, and has threatened her specifically, why bother passing gun laws at all?
Update: Give CBS credit for covering this on their own:
…………………….Click on image above to watch video.
The question on everyone’s minds is “Why?”, as Manuel Bojorquez says at the end – but not just “why did Holmes commit this murder?” We also want to know why the police never bothered to even talk with Holmes after Fenton’s warning.
Boston’s longest-serving mayor, Thomas Menino, says he does not plan to seek re-election for an unprecedented sixth term.
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The popular Democratic mayor planned a formal announcement at 4 p.m. EDT Thursday at Boston’s historic Faneuil Hall.
“This was the toughest decision I have made in my whole life,” Menino told WBZ-FM on Thursday.
Menino was hospitalized for eight weeks in the fall after a respiratory infection and a blood clot that was complicated by a spinal fracture and diabetes, but he told the Boston Herald health issues played a “small portion” in his decision.
“I feel better now than I did a year ago. That’s a fact,” he told the Herald.
The 70-year-old Menino promises to go “full tilt” until his last day in office.
His decision not to run again is expected to trigger a political scramble to replace him as a new generation of political figures eye the mayor’s office.
City Councilor John Connolly announced his mayoral intentions last month, regardless of Menino’s decision. But Menino had been considered a heavy favorite had he opted to run.
As recently as January, Menino delivered an upbeat assessment of the city during his annual state of the city address.
Menino used a cane to walk to the podium and spoke vigorously about his plans for Boston. At the time, Menino gave no indication of whether he’d decided to seek a sixth term this year.
“Our progress is real. Our future is bright. The state of our city is striking, sound and strong,” he said in prepared remarks that cited progress on economic development and crime reduction.
On Tuesday, Menino appeared at a rally at Boston City Hall plaza to urge the U.S. Supreme Court to repeal the federal Defense of Marriage Act. The previous day, he delivered a speech to the Boston Municipal Research Bureau in which he said he had never been more confident about the city and announced several new development projects and initiatives.
Menino became acting mayor after his predecessor, Raymond Flynn, left office in 1993 after being named ambassador to the Vatican. Menino, then president of the City Council, was automatically elevated to the mayor’s job.
The circumstances prompted some critics to label him the “accidental mayor,” a charge the sometimes-thin-skinned Menino was quick to reject. But he was elected mayor in his own right in November 1993 and won re-election by wide margins in 1997, 2001, 2005 and 2009.
The city’s previous longest serving mayor, the late Kevin White, was in office for four terms, from 1968 to 1984.
Menino’s longevity also exceeded the legendary Mayor James Michael Curley, who also served four terms, but not consecutively.
Menino built his reputation by focusing on the unglamorous nuts and bolts of running a major metropolitan city – fixing potholes, cleaning streets, even curbing the practice of saving a shoveled-out parking space by putting folding chairs or trash cans along the curb.
It’s everyday commitments like those that earned him the nickname of the “Urban Mechanic.”
The 2004 Democratic National Convention put Menino’s political and negotiating skills to the test when the city’s main police union threatened to picket over an unresolved contract.
It was only with the last minute help of other politicians, including Republican Gov. Mitt Romney, that a contract was reached in the early morning hours the day before the convention opened in the city.
During his years in office, Menino also became a vigorous national voice in favor of stricter gun control measures.
He co-founded Mayors Against Illegal Guns with New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and criticized the National Rifle Association’s call for more armed guards at schools after the Connecticut school shooting in December.
“That is crazy,” Menino said. “Every victim of gun violence and their families knows that’s crazy.”
Menino also built a reputation for creating an impressive political machine that handily defeated challengers.
Last year, Menino also played a crucial role in helping elect U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, campaigning with her at stops across the city.
The National Rifle Association on Thursday held a massive rally in Albany, N.Y. to protest the Empire State’s restrictive gun laws signed into law by Gov. Andrew Cuomo in January. The state’s massive gun control package gave New York the strictest gun laws in the United States.
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NRA President David Keene fired up thousands of supporters outside the state Capitol, saying “we’ve lose battles before, we’ll not lose this war.”
“We’ll help you defeat the politicians depriving you of your rights,” Keene said. “We’ll do whatever is necessary. We will not allow those freedoms to be taken from us.”
NRA membership has seen a steady increase as lawmakers continue to debate future gun control legislation. Keene said the NRA now has close to 5 million members.
Keene also reminded New Yorkers that big and small businesses could be impacted by new gun laws, using a green Remington Arms union T-shirt to make his point, The Business Review’s Adam Sichko reports.
Sichko, who was at the event, has some more details:
Dozens of buses brought protestors from all corners of the state. Organizers kept referring to a crowd of 10,000, though that appeared to be an overestimate.
Many in the crowd raised American flags or yellow “Don’t Treat on Me” flags. A number of signs compared Cuomo to Hitler and invoked communism. Others had messages such as: “If guns cause crime, then pencils cause misspelled words” or “I’m a mom and grandmother here to protect and defend their future.”
One sign was especially pertinent: “Founded in 1816: Remington stays. Cuomo goes!”
Police estimated the crowd size at 5,000 at around 1 p.m. Thursday, Times Union reports.
The crowd could be heard chanting, “We will not comply!” at one point and later “Cuomo’s gotta go!”
Watch some raw video taken at the rally:
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In addition to outlawing semi-automatic rifles, or so-called “assault weapons,” New York’s new gun laws ban a broader array of military-style weapons and also restricts ammunition magazines to seven rounds, down from the current 10. The law also creates a more comprehensive database of people barred from owning guns, and makes New York the first state to require background checks to buy bullets.
But that just is more of a reason for the NRA to keep fighting for America’s gun rights, Keene explained.
“Our strength comes from the fact that that broader community of Second Amendment believers in this country is not simply made of Republicans or conservative or Democrats or liberals or factory owners. It’s made up of all Americans: farmers, union workers and all the rest, police officers and veterans,” he told supporters.
Pretty spectacular – and a little frightening, one might imagine, if one of these streaked across your field of vision. Russia Today’s English-language service reports on the phenomenon observed over the last several hours, which also shattered windows in the Urals region as the meteor exploded in the atmosphere (via The Corner):
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. The Washington Post reports hundreds of injuries have been sustained from the meteor, 34 of them seriously enough to be hospitalized:
A meteor that scientists estimate weighed 10 tons (11 tons) streaked at supersonic speed over Russia’s Ural Mountains on Friday, setting off blasts that injured some 500 people and frightened countless more.
The Russian Academy of Sciences said in a statement that the meteor over the Chelyabinsk region entered the Earth’s atmosphere at a speed of at least 54,000 kph (33,000 mph) and shattered about 30-50 kilometers (18-32 miles) above ground.
The fall caused explosions that broke glass over a wide area. The Emergency Ministry says more than 500 people sought treatment after the blasts and that 34 of them were hospitalized.
“There was panic. People had no idea what was happening. Everyone was going around to people’s houses to check if they were OK,” said Sergey Hametov, a resident of Chelyabinsk, about 1500 kilometers (930 miles) east of Moscow, the biggest city in the affected region.
No one is quite sure yet whether the light and sound show came from a single meteor or from a series of them, as the Guardian reports. This video seems to indicate more than one, and gives a good idea what it sounded like to be close to the explosion:
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By the way, why do so many Russians appear to have dashboard cameras in their cars? The Guardian explains that, too, by linking to Animal New York:
In Russia, everyone should have a camera on their dashboard. It’s better than keeping a lead pipe under your seat for protection (but you might still want that lead pipe) …
Psychopaths are abundant on Russian roads. You best not cut anyone off or undertake some other type of maneuver that might inconvenience the 200-pound, six-foot-five brawling children you see on YouTube hopping out of their SUVs with their dukes up… These fights happen all the time and you can’t really press charges. Point to your broken nose or smashed windows all you want. The Russian courts don’t like verbal claims. They do, however, like to send people to jail for battery and property destruction if there’s definite video proof…
Dash-cam footage is the only real way to substantiate your claims in the court of law. Forget witnesses. Hit and runs are very common and insurance companies notoriously specialize in denying claims. Two-way insurance coverage is very expensive and almost completely unavailable for vehicles over ten years old–the drivers can only get basic liability.
Ooooooo-kay. Note to self: scratch “road trip in Urals” from bucket list.
Here are a couple more videos, and I’ll add more if and when we get a clearer view of the meteor:
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Update: The injury count is rapidly rising, although it doesn’t appear to be increasing in intensity:
A meteor broke up in the sky Friday morning over the Ural Mountain city of Chelyabinsk, and the shock wave from the explosion smashed windows, collapsed roofs and injured more than 900 people…
Regional Health Minister Marina Mokvicheva in Chelyabinsk said 985 people sought medical help for injuries and 43 were hospitalized.
The landing site for a portion of the meteor may have been found, too:
Searchers found a circular hole in the ice, several feet across, in a lake west of Chelyabinsk, and roped it off.
Footage of the United States Department of Agriculture’s compulsory “Cultural Sensitivity Training” program reveals USDA employees being instructed to refer to the Pilgrims as “illegal aliens” and minorities as “emerging majorities” – at “a huge expense” to taxpayers.
The video clips were made public Thursday evening by the conservative government accountability group Judicial Watch, which obtained them through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request made on May 18, 2012.
The clips star Samuel Betances – a diversity instructor with Souder, Betances and Associates – who says in the video that he got his diversity training start under former Chicago Mayor Richard Daley. In the clips, Betances instructed USDA employees on the proper thinking about diversity and minorities – or, as he called them, “emerging majorities.”
Between requiring the employees to repeat that “every federal agency has discriminated against African-Americans, Hispanics, Native American Indians and other groups,” and a long account of his personal history, Betances encouraged the employees to take note because the presentation is “a huge expense.”
“If you take a look at all of you here and you think about your salaries and your benefits and what you have left undone – plus my fee – plus the expense of the team that’s putting the video together, this is a huge expense,” he says in his video.
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In another clip, Betances attempted to dispel the stigma of illegal immigrants by calling the Pilgrims illegal aliens.
“I want you to say that America was founded by outsiders – say that – who are today’s insiders, who are very nervous about today’s outsiders,” he said in the clip.
“I want you to say, ‘The Pilgrims were illegal aliens,’” he continued. “Say, ‘The Pilgrims never gave their passports to the Indians.’”
Throughout the session, Betances had the employees shout “Bam!” to reinforce his points.
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Betances also explained in another clip Judicial Watch highlighted – from the more than three-and-a-half hour video – that he does not like the word “minorities.”
“By the way, I don’t like the word ‘minorities.’ How about ‘emerging majorities’?” he said.
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At times in the video, Betances poked fun at “white males.”
“White males founded the USDA! Say ‘Thank you, white males.’ I know it got stuck, some of you couldn’t get it out,” he said to laughter. “I understand. Let’s try that again. Go ahead.”
“Notice I’m not saying, ‘Thank you for slavery, or sexism, or what happened to the indigenous Native American folks.’ I’m saying thank you for what? I’m saying, ‘Thank you for establishing the agency in which those of us that are not white males seek to play a larger role,’” Betances said in a faux giddy manner, before explaining that unity begins with gratitude, before turning to grievances. “We’ve got grievances!,” he said. “This institution, like all federal institutions, have not been fair.”
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The training videos were supposed to be kept secret: Judicial Watch describes an Oct. 10, 2011 email exchange in which USDA Training Administrator Vincent Loran requested the training video from Betances and promised it will never get out.
“It will not be used for or show [sic] in any way shape or form,” Judicial Watch quotes Loran as writing.
“This USDA diversity training video depicts out-of-control political correctness,” Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said in a statement. “Can someone please explain how any of this helps USDA employees to better serve the American taxpayer? This video further confirms that politically correct diversity-training programs are both offensive and a waste of taxpayer money. No wonder it took over half a year to obtain this video from the Obama administration.”
In April 2009, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack issued a memo to all agency employees announcing “a new era of civil rights,” and instructed the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights “to lead a comprehensive program to improve USDA’s record on civil rights and move us into a new era as a model employer and premier service provider,” a USDA press release reads. Part of that “cultural transformation” included instituting civil rights training.
Judicial Watch notes that in 2011 and 2012, USDA paid Betances and his firm nearly $200,000.
Last October, when Judicial Watch first became aware of the training program through a FOIA request, a USDA spokesman told Fox News that the training was meant to increase diversity awareness, and was well-received by the employees.
“USDA offers a number of optional workshops and professional development opportunities in order to help employees better serve our customers,” the statement said. “The Souder Betances & Associates sessions were designed to foster overall diversity awareness – not to focus on any specific minority group – and received positive feedback from employees across the department,” the statement read.
darcprynce
Dave C
Gatordoug
