Three concurrent scandals

DARE I RELAX MY HIGHLY CRITICAL OPINION OF THE DENVER POST AFTER TODAY? By Curt Dale

I can hardly believe what I see in the Denver Post today. It’s almost as if they have changed their stripes. I won’t hold my breath, but here are the articles and locations of some amazingly Obama—critical articles and columns concerning the ongoing major scandals. Is the paper just piqued because of the government spying on the Associated Press, or have their eye been opened? I suspect it purely pique, not awakening. But all help is appreciated!

Front Page, above the fold, three columns: “A TRIO OF TROUBLES” President Barack Obama seemed to lose control of his second term agenda even before he was sworn in, when a school massacre led him to lift gun control to the fore. Now, as he tried to pivot from a stinging defeat on the issue and push forward on others, the president fins himself mocked by multiple controversies that are demoralizing his allies and emboldening his political Opponents. It’s unclear how long he will be dogged by inquiries into last year’s deadly attack in Libya, the IRS targeting of Tea party groups and now the seizure of Associated phone records in an investigation into a leak.”

Below are three teaser columns directing the reader to page 18A: “LIBYA: Many Conservatives stayed focused on the attack last September in Benghazi, Libya, that killed r Americans, including Ambassador Christopher Stevens….” It refers the reader to Page 18A where there are two Benghazi related snippets that give short coverage of the Attack in Libya.

The second Teaser on Page 1A: “IRS: The Justice Department is investigation the Internal Revenue Service for targeting Tea Party groups for extra scrutiny when they applied for tax exempt status. Ineffective management at the IRS allowed agents to improperly target Tea Party groups for more than 28 months, concluded on investigation by the Treasury inspector general. The report does not indicate that Washington initiated the targeting of Conservative Groups.” The reader is referred to Page 17A. On page 17 A which is the front page of “Nation and World,” there is a large headline, top of the page, three columns wide. “Treasury Inspector General issues Critical report: IRS faced criminal probe for targeting Conservatives.” The article is from the Washington Post.

The third teaser on Page 1A is “Associated Press; THE GOVERNMENT OBTAINED THE RECORDS FROM April and May 2012 for more than 20 separate telephone lines used by the Associated Press and it’s journalists, including main offices. Federal officials have said investigators are trying to hunt down the sources of information for a May 7, 2012, AP story that disclosed details of a CIA operation in Yemen to stop an airliner bomb plot around the anniversary of the killing of Obama bin Laden.” The reader is referred to page 21A.

The article on Page 21A is entitled “BOTH PARTIES CRITICIZE IT. Holder didn’t order but defends phone search.” It is written by Pete Yost of the Associated Press. Seemingly almost unprecedented in the Obama reign is this: “The Post Editorials: In Denial about a Three-Ring circus. Benghazi silence, tea party scrutiny, AP phone records. It’s more than a sideshow, Mr. President.” This headline is followed by a highly critical editorial on Obama’s handling of these matters. Below that are the Denver Post opinion poll results. “Do you think the Obama administration had anything to do with the Internal Service targeting conservative groups?” Yes: 69.7% No: 30.35

And finally, the Post actually posted highly critical Letters to the editor in the Open Forum. “Re: ‘IRS scrutiny went beyond keywords to target ideology.’ May 13 news story.” The are three letters that blister or nearly blister Obama and the IRS with only one that doesn’t hold Obama responsible. Another Letter, titled “Benghazi Investigation is not a witch hunt” was published which really takes Obama to task for lack of honesty, twisting facts and continuing to do so even now, accountability and coverup in order to win the election.

Finally, the editorial cartoon by Fitzsimmons, mocks Obama with the specter of Richard Nixon behind Obama, saying, “Using the IRS to Harass? Yes? Spying? Yes? …on the press? Big mistake.” Obama’s reply is “Gulp!”

Credits given to Denver Post for all quotes used above.

I will have to see an awful lot more follow through by the Post before I relax my opinion that it’s a Liberal, biased, Obama-Serving rag, unworthy of my reading. I would not have even read these had my wife, a marvelous reader, not pointed them out to me. But I agree with her that the newspaper seemed to construct this one to beat up on Obama and what is going on in these three concurrent scandals. Colonel Curtis D. Dale, PhD, USAF (Ret) ©15 May 2013