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 [ Text Menu: Today's Stack of Stuff | Audio | About Ralph | Contact Ralph | Ralph Rant! ]May 20, 2013 
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 Ralph Rant: Yes, it's a scandal
  RealClearMarkets editor John Tamny writes this week that it’s naïve to call the IRS operation to deny tax exempt status to Tea Party groups for 27 months, most of which fell before the 2012 election, a “scandal.” Tamny suggests the IRS is used by all presidents as underground political hit squads. He presented it as almost an “understood” that only ignorant people might refute. I offer myself as one of those ignorant people. Yes, John, this is a scandal.
  ralphbristol.com: Yes, it’s a scandal    
 House launches investigation into IRS harassment Tea Party groups
  The House Ways and Means Committee will hold a hearing Friday to look into allegations the IRS harassed Tea Party and affiliated groups in advance of the 2012 election. Chairman Dave Camp (R., Mich.) and Rep. Sander Levin (D., Mich.), the ranking Democrat, said the only witnesses would be acting Commissioner Steven Miller and the Treasury inspector general for tax administration, J. Russell George. The Democrat chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Sen. Max Baucus of Montana, promised to investigate as well. Late Monday, Republicans on the Ways and Means and Finance committees released their own timelines of their interactions with the IRS, detailing how they say they were stymied in their efforts to find out what had happened to conservative groups. President Obama, at a news conference with British PM David Cameron, said if the allegations are true, they are “outrageous.” The president said he first learned about the alleged abuses Friday, added that he wanted to reserve judgment on the matter until after release of an investigation by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. The IRS said in a statement that acting Commissioner Miller was first told by the agency staff on May 3, 2012, that some specific groups' applications for tax-exempt status were improperly selected for extra scrutiny based on their names. But two top GOP lawmakers said Miller, who was named to the top IRS post in November, didn't disclose the problems in subsequent letters sent to them—even as they and other congressional Republicans had raised questions about IRS scrutiny of tea-party groups' applications for tax-exempt status. Republicans also are also upset that Lois Lerner, head of the IRS tax-exempt-organizations division, learned of the activities in June of 2011, according to the investigative review, yet made no mention of them in lengthy correspondence with lawmakers during 2012. Republicans also questioned why President Obama said he only learned of the IRS conduct last Friday. Press secretary Jay Carney told reporters the White House Counsel's Office was told during the week of April 22 that the inspector general for tax administration was wrapping up an investigation of the issue.
  Wall Street Journal: Chiefs at IRS Knew of Targeting    
 U.S. seizes phone records of AP staff to investigate leak
  The Justice Department seized records of 20 separate phone lines used by reporters or editors for the Associated Press, in a move that officials familiar with the case said was intended to gather information for a leak investigation involving a May 2012 AP story about a counterterrorism operation in Yemen. The Justice Department notified AP on Friday that records had been subpoenaed from telephone companies several months ago. The subpoenas covered a two-month period around the time AP wrote the story about an alleged conspiracy to detonate an underwear bomb aboard a U.S.-bound airliner. The plot was foiled early on because the alleged bomber was a mole for a foreign intelligence service working against al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, according to officials familiar with the case. The government took records of calls received and made from 20 phone lines associated with AP or its staffers, the company said in its letter of protest to the government. These included the home or personal cellphone numbers of editors and reporters, and the office numbers of AP bureaus in New York, Washington and Hartford, Conn., as well as the company's phone in the press area of the House of Representatives, it said. The subpoenas sought the phone numbers with which the AP journalists had contact and the duration of those calls. The government notice gave no indication that the content of any calls was monitored. AP denounced the effort as a "massive and unprecedented intrusion by the Department of Justice into the news-gathering activities" of the company. When officials announced the leak investigation last year, they said it was necessary to protect national security.
  Wall Street Journal: U.S. Seized Phone Records of AP Staff    
 Obama dismisses Benghazi claims
  President Barack Obama dismissed the investigation into last year's terrorist assault in Benghazi, Libya as a Republican "political circus" orchestrated in part to raise campaign cash. Obama tersely dismissed Republican criticism that the White House misled the public about the attacks, which killed four Americans. "There's no 'there' there," Obama said during a news conference Monday with visiting British Prime Minister David Cameron, adding, "The fact that this keeps on getting churned out, frankly, has a lot to do with political motivations." The investigation gained new momentum last week when longtime diplomat Gregory Hicks, the second-ranking official in the U.S. embassy in Tripoli during the attack, gave a detailed narrative to a congressional committee. The mainstream media, which had largely ignored the story until then, began to show more interest, and uncovered a trail of emails by and to a top aide to Hillary Clinton that scrub talking points about the attack to make it appear something it wasn’t – a spontaneous uprising that grew out of protests over an Internet video instead of what it was - a planned terrorist attack that should have been anticipated, better guarded against, and possibly responded to with a military rescue operation.
  Wall Street Journal: Obama Dismisses Benghazi Claims    
 Obama misleads on reference to attack
  Faced with mounting scrutiny over his administration's initial narrative on the Benghazi attack, President Obama on Monday called the debate a "sideshow" -- arguing he labeled the attack terrorism from the start and even dispatched a top official to the Hill to clear things up. That’s not quite the truth. Though Obama referred to "acts of terror" on Sept. 12, he did not call the attack in Libya an act of terror, and other top officials repeatedly declined to call it terrorism on subsequent occasions. And even after National Counterterrorism Center Director Matt Olsen testified on Sept. 19 that the attack was terrorism -- which is the testimony Obama pointed to in his remarks Monday [Obama didn’t dispatch him to the Hill. Republicans called him to the hill] -- Obama himself declined to use the term the next day. "I don't want to speak to something until we have all the information," Obama said on Sept. 20. On Sept. 12, Obama told CBS News, when asked whether he thought the strike was a terrorist attack: "Well, it's too early to tell exactly how this came about." Obama only would call it "an attack on Americans." White House Press Secretary Jay Carney repeatedly denied reports on Sept. 14 that it was a pre-planned attack.
  Fox News: Fact Check: Timeline of statements raises questions on Obama’s Benghazi claims    
 Insurers predict 100 to 400% rise in health insurance cost
  Health insurance premiums will grow an average of 100 percent under Obamacare, and some will soar more than 400 percent, mainly on new young people into the individual health insurance market, according to the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which released a report Monday based on internal documents provided by 17 insurance companies, including Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield and Kaiser Foundation. The Washington Examiner reports in its “Washington Secrets” column by Paul Bedard, “The report found that individuals will face "premium increases of nearly 100 percent on average, with potential highs eclipsing 400 percent. Meanwhile, small businesses can expect average premium increases in the small group market of up to 50 percent, with potential highs over 100 percent." One company said that new participants in the individual market could see a premium increase of 413 percent when new requirements on age rating and required benefits are taken into account. "The average yearly cost for a new customer in the individual market grows from $1,896 to $3,708 -- a $1,812 cost increase," it added. The key reasons for the surge in premiums include new age-rating that increases rates for younger people to reduce rates on older people, expanding services that insurance is required to pay for, and adding more unhealthy people to the ranks of insured.
  Washington Examiner: Insurers predict 100%-400% Obamacare rate explosion    
 White House releases Benghazi emails
  More than 100 pages of emails released by the White House on Wednesday depict a long, often tense debate about what should be contained in public "talking points" about last year's deadly assault in Benghazi, Libya. Senior administration officials said the emails—which the White House released to try to quell a partisan controversy—encompassed a two-day discussion among several agencies as officials wrote and rewrote the talking points on the Sept. 11, 2012, attacks. Republicans have charged that the White House had political motives—less than two months before the presidential election—for changing the talking points to remove references to terrorist involvement in the assault. The e-mails confirm objections by then State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland to a line about prior CIA warnings in Benghazi. Senior intelligence officials disclosed Wednesday that Michael Morell, then CIA deputy director, agreed with Ms. Nuland. He eventually took over the editing process, deleting mentions of past threats. From start to finish, the document included the now-disproved assertion that the attacks in Benghazi were spurred by a protest over an anti-Muslim video that had originated in the U.S.
  Wall Street Journal: Benghazi Emails Released    
 House Republicans want more Benghazi documents
  House Republicans are seeking more documents from the Obama administration on the Benghazi terror attack, praising the release of 100 pages of internal deliberations as an encouraging step but claiming the administration should do more. The administration gave no indication that more documents would be forthcoming. White House spokesman Eric Schultz said the decision to make the records public was an "extraordinary step." He said "hopefully" Washington can now move beyond the controversy. Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez also said on the Senate floor Thursday that the issue has been "fully vetted." The office of House Speaker John Boehner called the release "long overdue," but sided with those who want to see more. Boehner spokesman Brendan Buck said "there are relevant documents the administration has still refused to produce" and said they hope the "limited release of documents is a sign of more cooperation to come." Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, told Fox News, "While these hundred are good and they shed light on what happened, we have nearly 25,000 that they haven't released," He noted the documents released late Wednesday for the most part covered just two days of communications.
  Fox News: Republicans press for more documents on Benghazi, Dems say case closed    
 College sues over state charges for billboard advertising
  Berry College is suing Tennessee’s higher education commission in a dispute over billboard advertising. Berry College says in the federal lawsuit that the Tennessee agency has threatened to sue the school if it continues to advertise in that state without registering and paying fees of more than $20,000 a year. Berry maintains in the lawsuit that the Tennessee Higher Education Commission has threatened other schools with such requirements in order to reduce competition from out-of-state institutions. The school’s lawyers say other schools have removed their ads over the issue rather than risk civil and criminal sanctions. A law that’s central to the dispute is Tennessee’s Postsecondary Education Authorization Act, which Berry says is being improperly used to keep out-of-state schools from advertising. According to Berry President Stephen Briggs, the issue is larger than billboard advertising. “In this instance it is a billboard, but presumably the commission could claim the same about newspaper or magazine advertisements, or even Internet ads targeted to Tennessee IP addresses,” he said. [or radio?]
  rn-t.com: Update: Berry College issues statement about Tennessee lawsuit    
 Liberals challenge Holder over AP phone records grab
  Even liberals are turning on Attorney General Eric Holder over the raid on AP phone records. Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., said it appears the department's actions "have, in fact, impaired the First Amendment… confidential sources are now going to be chilled in their relationship with the press," she said. And on Thursday, President Obama backed up and the raid. Obama added that he would make "no apologies" on the issue of pursuing leaks. On his Twitter account, Liberal radio host Bill Press wrote: "What 'breach of national security' are we talking about re the AP story? It's BS and Holder should be fired." Republicans are still hardest on Holder, with many asking him to resign, but Democrats too are pressing him for answers on why the department found it necessary to grab the AP phone records -- which was done as part of an investigation into what Holder calls “sensitive intelligence leaks.” The AP insists that it was aware of the potential danger, and waited for it to pass before releasing the associated story.
  Fox News: Holder facing liberal backlash over AP records grab    
Ralph's Steeplechase experience - part one
  May 13, 2013 - Here's the first of my two-part report on my first Steeplechase experience, and what may be the best steeplechase rase in the nation.
Ralph's Steeplechase experience - part two
  May 13, 2013 - This report includes interviews with the track announcer, the veteranarian, a horse owner and the man in charge of logistics for the race.
Opponents rise against BRT
  May 15, 2013 - In this premeditated Ralph Rant, I break the news of a new group that has formed to oppose Nashvill'e planned Bus Rapid Transit on West End Ave.
Rick Williams, BRT opponent, speaks out
  May 15, 2013 - Rick Williams is a member of the steering committee for TNResponsibleTransit, the group opposing the planned Nashville Bus Rapid Transit on West End Avenue. You can reach him at TNResponsibleTransit@gmail.com. This is the group's debut media interview - in its new campaign to stop BRT.
Tennessee Tea Party leaders respond to IRS scandal
  May 13, 2013 - Ben Cunningham, founder of the Nashville Tea Party and Mark West, President of the Chattanooga Tea Party, respond to the IG report that busts the IRS for targeting Tea Party Groups for harassment in 2011, prior to the 2012 election.
Legislative Townhall Meeting in Franklin - part 1
  April 27, 2013 - First half of the state legislative townhall meeting in Franklin with the Williamson County delegation - Sen. Jack Johnson, Rep. Charles Sargent, Rep. Glen Casada and Rep. Jeremy Durham.
Legislative townhall meeting in Franklin - part 2
  April 27, 2013 - Second half of the legislative townhall meeting in Franklin, covering the 2013 legislative session with Sen. Jack Johnson, Rep. Charles Sargent, Rep. Glen Casada and Rep. Jeremy Durham.
Sen. Rand Paul on guns, immigration, taxes
  April 18, 2013 - U.S. Sen. Rand Paul discusses the failed gun bill, the immigration reform bill ahead, and the right strategy on taxes.
Leahy launches 'The Real Conservative National Committee'
  April 4, 2014 - Author, Breitbart correspondent and tea party activist Michal Patrick Leahy discusses a new organization formed to improve the ground game needed to help elect more conserative candidates to Congress, starting in 2014 with the GOP primary for U.S. Senate
Corker sees positive signs in Obama outreach
  March 6, 2013 - Sen. Bob Corker discusses spending reforms on which Republicans and Obama might agree, and should, he says, be working on. Corker is one of a handful of Republicans to which the president has reached out with phone calls and dinner meetings to try to seek common ground on fiscal reforms.
Ralph Rant - Woodward v. Obama
  March 4, 2013 - Anatomy of the sequester - the closing arguments in Woodward v. Obama.
WEB EXCLUSIVE: EEOC Commissioner slams new guideline on criminal BG checks
  Feb. 23, 2012 - An EEOC commissioner levels damning charges against her fellow commissioners' action to issue updated guidelines that pose the threat of lawsuits against private businesses that conduct criminal background checks on employee prospects - even if state law demands it. This is a major challenge to the 10th Amendment by a seemingly rogue group of federal regulators.
Duet: Fudge and Obama
  Jan. 22. 2013 - Enjoy (and share) this short montage featuring Rep. Marcia Fudge, the chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus and President Barack Obama. Fudge was participating in a Washington University Panel discussion and Obama is delivering his 2nd inaugural address.
Analysis: Obama's 2nd inaurugal
  Jan. 22, 2013 - Here's my analysis of President Obama's 2nd inaugural address. George Washington, he ain't. High marks for the poetry - the "music" if you will, but the message, the "lyrics" didn't match the music.
PARODY ALERT - The future of Day to Pray
  Jan 17, 2013 - The inventor of the time machine offered me a ride to the future. I chose Jan. 17, 2060 to see what kind of world my grandchildren would be living in when they're my age. Please don't tell Mike Huckabee what I found.
Sen. Jack Johnson suggests local control of wine in grocery stores
  Jan. 15, 2013 - Among other things, Sen. Jack Johnson of Franklin discusses a new wrinkle in the wine in grocery store debate. He also reacts to the news that a $125 million state investment in a solar company is in jeopardy.
Rep. Carr announces 10th amendment caucus
  Jan. 15,2013 - Rep. Joe Carr discusses the 2nd amendment debate through a 10th amendment prism and announcec the formation of a 10th Amendment Caucus.
Age highlights economic freedom
  Jan 12, 2013 - Things start happening to people in their late 50s and early 60s that are fairly remarkable. This premeditated Ralph Rant just might be the prologue to my (eventual) audio book.
Sen. Jack Johnson opposes open meetings move
  Jan. 9, 2013 - State Sen. Jack Johnson (R-Williamson Co.) calls "foul" on a Democrat colleague over the question of the General Assembly exception to the Open Meetings law.
Rep. Joe Carr opposes bill sponsor limit
  Jan. 9, 2013 - Rep. Joe Carr (R-Rutherford Co.) explains his opposition to the proposed 15-bill sponsor limit for House members.
Attorney Ross Booher argues case for Charter School "state authorizer"
  Jan. 7, 2013 - Ross Booher, the attorney for a charter school who battled the Metro Nashville School Board, makes the case that the state would make a more objective judge of charter school applications.
Bonfire anyone?
  Jan. 7, 2013 - In this premeditated Ralph Rant, I invite Tea Party groups to join me at a bonfire April 15th. Let's all pour some fuel on to the grassroots fire it will take to eliminate the corruption in the federal income tax system. Symbolically burn your own rewards to let Congress know we want them to eliminate deductions and credits - and lower rates accordingly.
School Security Roundbatle
  Dec. 20, 2012 - This is the "raw" tape of the roundtable we broadcast in seven parts on Nashville's Morning News. (It's 38 minutes long, so it will take a while to load)
Tennessee to consider Texas 'armed teacher' plan
  Dec. 18, 2012 - Rep. Joe Carr of Lascassas says he will pursue a plan in the next session of the general assembly to allow local school district to train and arm teachers if they so choose. Texas already does this, and at least one Texas district is taking advantage of the local control.
New monster a 'committee' production
  Dec. 18, 2012 - There is a growing population of a new menace walking among us, and he may be a unique product of the "village" it supposedly takes to raise our children.
Parents, wake up! Your children are killing your children
  Dec. 17, 2012 - The Connecticut massacre of first-graders turned up the spotlight on a relatively new menace unleashed on society, and regardless of who or what created it, only parents can stop it.
Johson warns: Medicaid is going to expand
  Dec. 13, 2013 - State Sen. Jack Johnson warns Medicaid is going to expand in Tennessee, through the "woodwork effect" when Obamacare chases reluctanct people (alaready qualified) into the program - regardless of whether Gov. Haslam accepts the expansion of Medicaid prescribed by Obamacare. I sneak in some analysis of the legislature's posture on the issue.
Sen. Jack Johnson opposes, but holds out final judgment on Medicaid expansion
  Dec. 12, 2012 - State Sen. Jack Johnson has all the reasons - including one no one else has discussed before - to turn down President Obama's "offer" to expand Medicaid, but he's leaving his powder dry in respect for Gov. Haslam's perceived predicament on the issue.
Tennessee needs 10th Amendment Caucus
  Dec. 5, 2012 - Ralph challenges State Rep. Joe Carr to instigate a 10th Amendment Caucus in the legislature.
Ralph Rant: Bipartisan gang attacks producers
  Dec. 14th, 2012 - This fiscal cliff negotiation may be the second worst performance in modern Republican history.
Ralph Rant: Corker crowned King of means testing
  Nov. 30, 2012 - The headline pretty much speaks for itself.
Medicaid expansion more than budget issue
  Nov. 1, 2012 - I respectfully disagree with Gov. Bill Haslam that the decision whether Tennessee should accept the expansion of Medicaid prescribed in Obamacare is "largely a budget issue."
Alexander on coal regs - Round 2
  June 14, 2012 - Sen. Alexander returns to respond to some of the reaction to his stand on new coal plant regulations.
Alexander defends coal regulations, says he will run again
  June 13, 2012 - Sen. Lamar Alexander defends his stand in favor of new coal plant regulations - explains why he belives Medicaid is to blame for higher college tuition - and says he intends to run for reelection in 2014.
Exclusive: The first hand account of "The Last Man to Die"
  May 11, 2012 - A 92-year-old Cookeville, TN WWII veteran solves a 67-year secret behind one of the most famous WWII photographs.

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Ralph Bristol is a 30-year veteran of radio and TV broadcasting. He is a US Air Force veteran and holds a BS degree from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville. Ralph was a radio and TV reporter, anchor and news director in Missouri and Illinois before joining WORD Radio in Greenville/Spartanburg, SC in 1995.

In the spring of 2007, Supertalk 99.7 WWTN beckoned Ralph to Nashville. Ralph defies political labels, and has no partisan loyalties, but can best be described as a libertarian/conservative. Ralph writes and speaks extensively on education, tax and economic issues. In his spare time, Ralph terrorizes golf courses, invents useful things with sharp tools and dead wood, and entertains audiences with irreverent humor and contrarian insight. Invite him to speak to your group at your own risk.