"Speaking to a House committee investigating the IRS targeting of conservatives, agency chief John Koskinen told legislators he would get them the internal IRS e-mails they seek — but it will take 'years.' ...

"We already know from Lois Lerner herself that the IRS singled out conservative organizations for unfair tax treatment. We know, too, she was in on an e-mail talking about drafting new rules for these organizations 'off-plan' — i.e., under the political radar. And we know Lerner sent confidential tax info to her private e-mail account.

"Given this, and given her refusal to explain herself to Congress, shouldn’t we be demanding the IRS fork over — now — all information that would let the people’s representatives know what one of Washington’s most powerful agencies is doing?"

"One by one, the myths of the Affordable Care Act have been revealed. When the curtain on open enrollment falls on March 31, the last remaining big myth of ObamaCare will be fully exposed: The individual mandate has failed. ... 

"The individual mandate had the least effect on those it was supposed to encourage to gain coverage — the uninsured. McKinsey & Co. surveys found that a little over one-quarter of people signing up for coverage last month were previously uninsured.  Goldman Sachs analysts estimate that about one million uninsured Americans will sign up for the ObamaCare exchanges before open enrollment ends. For perspective, that's about 2% of the 48 million uninsured. ... 

"Expect the mandate to turn into even more of a 'suggestion' before votes are cast in this November's congressional elections. With the mandate illusion off the table, the Affordable Care Act can no longer hide what it truly is: another unfunded liability for taxpayers."

"Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will refund his campaign for the purchase of more than $16,000 in holiday gifts that came from his granddaughter’s jewelry company. 

"'I thought it would be nice to give supporters and staff thank-you gifts that had a personal connection and a Searchlight connection, but I have decided to reimburse the campaign for the amount of the expenditure,' Reid said in a Tuesday statement. 

"The refund comes after the Federal Election Commission sent a letter last week to Reid’s campaign, asking for additional information about two payments totaling $16,786.93 to 'Ryan Elisabeth' on Reid’s 2013 year-end campaign finance report.  ... 

"'It’s pretty brazen for Senator Harry Reid to funnel nearly $17,000 in campaign funds to his granddaughter for ‘holiday gifts.’ One of these days Reid will learn that Nevadans don’t appreciate him using campaign money as his personal slush fund,' said Jahan Wilcox, a Republican National Committee spokesman in a statement."

"Add cyberspace to the fronts where the world’s thugs are on the march, and America is in retreat. ... 

"[T]he Obama administration this month removed a major obstacle to authoritarians’ bid for control of the Internet, as the Commerce Department announced it will terminate its contract with ICANN, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Numbers and Names, next year. 

"It sounds like a minor bureaucratic decision, but in fact it removes the one clear guarantee that the Internet stays free and open when countries like Russia, China and Iran are working to make sure no one receives or sends anything over the ’Net that they don’t approve of or control. 

"In the view of history, Obama’s surrenders on Syria and Ukraine will pale in comparison with his surrender of the Internet to its enemies."

"Some of my best friends, to coin a phrase, are lifetime government employees. When they stop working, their pensions will put them among the highest-earning retirees in the country. On a personal level, I’m glad my friends’ retirement will be so comfortable. But as a taxpayer, I know that their good fortune, multiplied by hundreds of thousands of government workers like them, will only worsen a swelling political and fiscal crisis. 

"Around the country governments are facing a tidal wave of pension obligations that they haven’t figured out how to pay for. By some estimates, the states’ long-term unfunded pension liabilities add up to more than $4 trillion.  ... 

"For the average career government employee retiring today, pension benefits will equal 87 percent of their final salary. Those benefits are eating taxpayers alive, as the pension bomb ticks ever louder."

"Senior Justice Department officials including Attorney General Eric Holder and former FBI Director Robert Mueller used federal aircraft for hundreds of personal trips that were not properly reported, according to a watchdog report. 

"Congress’s nonpartisan Government Accountability Office determined that the flights cost taxpayers $7.8 million. But the General Services Administration, which oversees such trips, did not require documentation because of a GSA reporting exemption that covers intelligence agencies, even in cases of unclassified personal travel."

"The House Oversight Committee's investigation of the IRS is at an inflection point. The president's congressional supporters realize that the administration's version of the agency's targeting of conservative nonprofits seeking tax-exempt status — such as blaming local officials in the Cincinnati office or claiming that liberal groups were victimized along with conservative groups — is nonsense. Instead of debating the substance, they have resorted to procedural antics and misleading rhetoric.  ... 

"A special prosecutor, uncompromised by partisan political winds, provides hope of uncovering what happened at the IRS. As Elijah Cummings, my Democratic colleague on the Oversight Committee, said on May 22, 2013 — the day of the committee's first IRS hearing — getting the truth and restoring trust must be paramount. 'This is more important than one election,' he explained. 'The revelations that have come forward so far provides us with a moment pregnant for transformation; not transformation for a moment, but for generations to come and generations yet unborn.' 

"I hope Mr. Cummings and fellow members of his party will join me in acknowledging the time has come for the appointment of an independent and unbiased special prosecutor."

"Thirty-six states will choose governors this November. These states are home to 79 percent of the total U.S. population. They face a range of challenges, from too few jobs to too little water, that are as varied as the candidates they’re voting for. Some of the candidates are long-time incumbents, others are new to politics. Some are quite liberal, others not so much. Some served as governor back in the 1970s, others were born in that decade. 

"But despite those differences, the candidates for governor in 2014 share something important in common: From Colorado to Florida, voters are likely to see them as Democrats and Republicans first, and as individual candidates a distant second. In recent years, gubernatorial elections have become increasingly nationalized, to the point where voting patterns in these races bear a striking resemblance to those in presidential races."

"The president may think that a March madness ad blitz during the NCAA basketball tournament may save ObamaCare. But if the past pattern holds, any further surge in enrollment will provide the scheme with a false sense of security. Until we get a full accounting not only of those who signed up on a website but completed the process by paying for the plan they chose, we’ll have no idea how many people truly are enrolled. Seen in that light, the president’s enrollment promises may well turn out to be no different from other pledges he has made about the ACA in the last few years: completely untrue."

"WASHINGTON — The Obama administration more often than ever censored government files or outright denied access to them last year under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act, according to a new analysis of federal data by The Associated Press. 

"The administration cited more legal exceptions it said justified withholding materials and refused a record number of times to turn over files quickly that might be especially newsworthy. Most agencies also took longer to answer records requests, the analysis found. 

"The government’s own figures from 99 federal agencies covering six years show that half way through its second term, the administration has made few meaningful improvements in the way it releases records despite its promises from Day 1 to become the most transparent administration in history.  ... 

"Sunday was the start of Sunshine Week, when news organizations promote open government and freedom of information."