ABUSE OF POWER: Flashback: President Obama Targeted Gibson Guitars, Boeing on Ideological Grounds.

OBAMA IN 2009: “Don’t think we’re not keeping score, brother.” So are we, Barry. So are we.

Plus, a reminder: Obama joked about auditing enemies in 2009.

OBAMA’S SCANDALS: Making The Case For Small-Government Conservatism Better Than Mitt Romney Ever Did?

SHOCKER: Data Don’t Support IRS Explanation For Scandal:

Applications for tax exemption from advocacy nonprofits had not yet spiked when the Internal Revenue Service began using what it admits was inappropriate scrutiny of conservative groups in 2010.

In fact, applications were declining, data show.

I’m beginning to lose trust in these folks.

NATIONAL JOURNAL: Hillary Clinton Has the Most to Lose From Obama’s Scandals. “It’s not just Benghazi. By tying herself closely to Obama, she’ll have trouble distancing herself if his political standing worsens.”

DOCUMENT: Graham Ministries Writes Obama About Religious Profiling By IRS.

NATIONAL JOURNAL: Energized by Washington Scandals, the Tea Party Is on a Roll: Government malfeasance is empowering conservative activists.

FOR THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS, Michael Totten’s new novel, Taken, is just $4.99 in the Kindle Edition.

“LIFE OF JULIA” — THE FINAL CHAPTER. Lonely Ending: Writer and activist Bobbi Salinas dead several months before family finds body.

DANA MILBANK: Eric Holder Seems Proud Of How Little He Knows. “In a sense, the two topics that dogged Holder most on Wednesday — the AP phone records and the IRS’s targeting of conservative groups — were one and the same. In both cases, Americans are being punished and intimidated for exercising their right of free expression — by the taxing authorities, in the conservatives’ case, and by federal prosecutors, in the reporters’ case.”

UH OH: WHO reports first patient-to-nurse spread of new SARS-like virus.

MEDIA MATTERS V. MEDIA MATTERS. “Got that? Media Matters for America, the media watchdog organization, ‘stand[s] with those news organizations” criticizing the Justice Department’s actions and “share[s] their concerns.’ But Media Matters Action Network, which describes itself as a ‘partner project’ of Media Matters for America, is issuing talking points defending the Justice department against criticism from ‘those news organizations’ in order to help ‘progressive talkers to win public debates with conservatives.’ Got it? And, for what it’s worth, David Brock is the Chair of both organizations.”

For some reason, whenever I think of David Brock I hear this song. “Stop hatin’ and playin’ hard, I got a loaded bodyguard.”

IT BEGINS: NFL Player Instagrams Himself Peeing on IRS Building.

JOHN HINDERAKER: The Benghazi Emails: What Do They Show? “Note, too, that there is no reference to any YouTube video.” Filmmaker Nakoula is still in jail.

HOW TO GET YOUR CONSERVATIVE GROUP APPROVED BY THE I.R.S. Give it a “Progressive” Name.

THE BOSTON HERALD WEIGHS IN: PANIC TIME!

Joe Battenfeld: Obama’s Attempt At Damage Control Laughable. “There was a certain panicky look about the way the president quickly delivered a rare evening White House statement to try to quell the growing outrage over the IRS targeting of Tea Party groups. The move showed how damaging the scandal has become to Obama’s second term and maybe even his presidency. But Obama took no questions and, more importantly, no responsibility for the ugly episode of the federal government abusing its power for political reasons.”

Hillary Chabot: Critics say resignation of IRS boss not enough. “U.S. Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy III (D-Mass.) said he was ‘surprised’ by the seriousness of the IRS abuses in the Obama administration and called for a ‘full investigation.'”

Margery Eagan: Even Liberals Are Leaping Off The Bandwagon. “The same media types accused of covering Obama on bended knee — such as myself — are now turning our collective backs. And no wonder. What we’re learning about his administration has undermined our basic trust in government. Yet the president seems oblivious to how serious and unsettling these scandals are, and how much damage he’s done to his own agenda. And how he’s fed right into the fears of the tin-foil hat set who can point to these very scary power grabs and say, ‘See? He really is coming to get us.'”

In the photo, Obama’s pants appear to be less than perfectly-creased.

JIM TREACHER: Jon Stewart is angry at Obama for proving us right. “I stopped watching The Daily Show the day after the ’04 election, because Jon Stewart’s open grief was too much to bear. (I was a different person then.) Plus, once I saw through his Clown Nose Off/Clown Nose On routine — ‘You should listen to me because what I’m saying is important, but I’ll brush off your rebuttal by insisting I’m just a comedian’ — it was like the optical illusion with the cows. It might take you a minute to see it, but once you do, you can’t unsee it. Which just makes this all the more delicious.”

CNN: Obama’s terrible, horrible, no good, very bad week. And it’s only Wednesday!

IT JUST GETS WORSE: Would You Believe The Administration Got Phone Records of The House Of Representatives?

PHOTOGRAPHERS’ RIGHTS: San Jose Cop Gets Schooled by Passenger with Camera on TSA Photography Policy.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM ERIC HOLDER’S TESTIMONY TODAY: I DON’T KNOW!

MEDICAL ADVICE I’M HAPPY TO FOLLOW: Hey Guys, Drink a Beer to Bone Health. “The bone-saving secret in brewskis is silicon, a chemical that stimulates collagen production. What’s collagen? A protein that makes your bones denser and your joints more flexible. Brews with the most hops and malted barley are the richest in silicon.”

AT AMAZON, coupons galore in Nutrition & Wellness.

BOY, I TAKE A FEW HOURS OFF AND LOOK WHAT HAPPENS: IRS ACTING COMMISSIONER RESIGNS.

Also: White House Releases (Some) Benghazi Emails — But Not Enough. Can you say “modified limited hangout?”

And: White House Answer Leads to More Questions in the AP Scandal.

UPDATE: It’s a sham resignation! Miller Claims He’s Only Leaving the IRS Because His Term Ends In June.

Also: Damage Control In DC: Obama Tries To Tamp Down Three Controversies At Once.

Plus: Director of IRS Tax-Exempt Determinations Office is Obama Donor. But of course! All disinterested civil servants are, pretty much.

JUSTIN BINIK-THOMAS: IRS that targeted Tea Party groups also targeted me.