Free Republic

This little item could give the IRS’ whole “targeting” conservatives scandal a brand-new twist. Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.) tweeted that he observed IRS agents training with AR-15s when he toured the Department of Homeland Security: A few weeks ago when I toured a DHS facility I saw #IRS agents training with AR-15's. I'm looking into the issue now. #PJNET

A Washington IRS attorney named Carter Hull closely oversaw the targeting of conservative nonprofit groups and suggested questions that IRS employees could ask of conservative and Tea Party groups applying for tax-exempt nonprofit status, according to interviews that two IRS employees gave with congressional investigators. “I was essentially a front person, because I had no autonomy or no authority to act on [applications] without Carter Hull’s influence or input,” said Elizabeth Hofacre, an employee of the Cincinnati IRS office, according to a new report in the Wall Street Journal. Hofacre’s office, which oversaw tax-exempt applications, reportedly requested help from the...

Feds suggest anti-Muslim speech can be punished By BYRON TAU | 5/31/13 5:26 PM EDT A U.S. attorney in Tennessee is reportedly vowing to use federal civil rights statutes to clamp down on offensive and inflammatory speech about Islam. Bill Killian, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Tennessee, was quoted by the Tullahoma News this week suggesting that some inflammatory material on Islam might run afoul of federal civil rights laws. "We need to educate people about Muslims and their civil rights, and as long as we’re here, they’re going to be protected," Killian told the newspaper. Killian, along...

Republican presidential candidate Texas Gov. Rick Perry visits the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines, Iowa, Monday, Aug. 15, 2011, where Perry spoke of "that big black cloud that hangs over America -- that debt, that is so monstrous." (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak) Any incumbent wants to define his opponent before the opponent defines himself. The Obama campaign seems intent on painting Rick Perry as a Southern white racist -- a tired line of attack that is angering conservatives and inspiring them to rally behind Perry.