TEA PARTY GROUPS BATTLING IRS OVER TAX EXEMPT STATUS:  The IRS has been routinely denying non-profit status to tea party groups around the country.  Fortunately, the American Center for Law & Justice (ACLJ) has agreed to represent many of these groups and is beginning to have success after months of IRS delays:

As of this past week, two more groups were granted their tax-exempt status. To date, a total of 14 out of the 25 Tea Party and conservative groups that the ACLJ represents have been granted their tax-exempt status. We are thrilled with the success that we are achieving for our clients. We still have a few more to go, but we are confident that each and every one of our clients will receive a positive determination from the IRS before our work on this issue is over.

Way to go, ACLJ.

LIB/PROGRESSIVE HYPOCRISY, PART 8,976:  NYC Mayor is spending millions to buy TV ads urging stricter gun control laws.  So why aren’t the lib/progressive media trotting out their usual Citizens United talking points and screaming that  “money in politics is as great an evil as slavery“.  Hmmm…. let me see…..  Could it possibly be because they agree with Bloomberg’s viewpoint?   Nah, that would be totally unprincipled and hypocritical, as Brian Walsh at US News & World Report points out.

THIS IS A NEW ONE FOR ME:  THE WHIZZINATOR:  It’s sold as a sex toy, but apparently it’s also somewhat popular for males who need to fake drug urine tests.  But it doesn’t always work as planned.

UNION HYPOCRISY:  In an interesting role-reversal situation, the UAW is in a negotiation as an employer with members of the Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) in Detroit.  OPEIU workers have filed 3 unfair labor practice complaints against UAW, reports the Detroit Free Press:

Specifically, the union alleged that the UAW-GM leaders failed to pay the OPEIU bargaining team, proposed to change workers’ health care plan and stopped bargaining at one point.

“Obviously in a world where GM is making billions of profit, we feel this contract should have been done by now,” Nix said.

A UAW spokeswoman did not respond to phone and email messages.

A key sticking point to current negotiations? OPEIU workers want guaranteed health care and retirement coverage through 2016.  Gee, wonder why an employer might find making such guarantees to be problematic in the current economic and political environment?

DANA LOESCH SCHOOLS PIERS MORGAN & VAN JONES ON “ASSAULT” WEAPONS:   This is epic.  She is awesome.

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BECOMING CONSTITUTIONALLY COLOR-BLIND:  James Taranto has a terrific piece in the WSJ this morning, explaining how the clock is winding down on the constitutionality of explicit race-based preferences.  Good riddance.  In the words of Justice John Marshall Harlan in his Plessy v. Ferguson (U.S. 1896) dissent:

“Our constitution is color-blind, and neither knows nor tolerates classes among citizens. In respect of civil rights, all citizens are equal before the law.”

SCHOOL CHOICE OPPOSITION– BY REPUBLICANS?:   In Wisconsin, yes.  A handful of the state’s Republicans have teamed up with their union-loving Democrat colleagues to stymie Republican Governor Scott Walker’s plans to expand the existing voucher program to just 9 more of Wisconsin’s worst-performing public school districts.  Why?  Because they are afraid that vouchers will ultimately go statewide, bringing kids from inner cities into suburban schools.  This is short-sighted and frankly, just bad for kids.  Republicans should be ashamed.

THE FUTURE OF OBAMACARE AND ITS ENTITLEMENT MENTALITY:  36DD boobs.  Just like the UK’s National Health Service.  No joke.

OBAMACARE:  AMERICA’S SUPPOSITORY:

DOMA AND POTENTIAL FEDERALISM CHAOS:  If the Supreme Court invalidates the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) on states’ rights (federalism) grounds– as many have urged it to do–there will be potential legal chaos, as same-sex married couples move from state-to-state.

If Congress doesn’t have the power to define “marriage” for purposes of federal statutes/benefits (which is what DOMA does), then leaving it solely to the States to define will result in a patchwork quilt effect, with a same-sex couple enjoying federal benefits (joint tax filing status; Social Security survivor’s benefits, etc.) while residing in a state that recognizes same-sex marriage (e.g., Massachusetts), but then losing those benefits if/when they move to a state that does not recognize same-sex marriage (e.g., Alabama).

I agree with Ed Whelan at NRO that this would be a very messy result.

WE HAVE TO PASS IT TO FIND OUT WHAT’S IN IT, PART 5,321:  Another reason why the Affordable Care act isn’t going to be so “affordable” after all.  The IRS has issued regulations that will deny health insurance subsidies to many middle-income families.

Under the law, individuals are eligible to get a federal subsidy to help pay for health insurance when the cost of a policy exceeds 9.5% of income.  Under the proposed IRS regulations, subsidies will be available only if the cost of an individual health insurance policy exceeds 9.5% of income, not a family policy. As we all know, family policies are much more expensive than individual ones, often costing 3 times more.

The net effect of this regulation is that many Americans will not qualify for federal subsidies.  But of course they’re still mandated to buy a health insurance policy anyway (or pay a hefty tax penalty).  Nice.

SEBELIUS DOESN’T UNDERSTAND WHAT “INSURANCE” IS (AND DOESN’T REALLY CARE):  When asked about the impending 30%+ rise in health insurance premiums expected under Obamacare, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius nonchalantly responded:

“Some of these folks,” Sebelius said, referring to those hit by ObamaCare’s price spikes, “have very high catastrophic plans that don’t pay for anything unless you get hit by a bus. They’re really mortgage protection plans, not health insurance.”

As John Merline at IBD observes:

Sebelius has it exactly wrong. It’s precisely those catastrophic plans that are real insurance, which in case anyone has forgotten is supposed to protect against unforeseen costly events, not pay $20 doctor visits.

What Obama and company are trying to force down everyone’s throats isn’t insurance, it’s massively expensive prepaid health care.

Too bad for those who’d rather buy real insurance and spend their money on something else.

So let’s get this straight:  The woman in charge of implementing Obamacare:

(a) doesn’t really understand what “insurance” means and is designed to do; and
(b)  thinks a 30%+ premium hike is good because people will get more “stuff”

Ugh — another instance of progressive/liberal distortion of language and belief that “more is always better.”  Beam me up, Scotty.

AMERICANS MIGRATING TO RED STATES WITH MORE FREEDOM:   John Merline at IBD reports on a George Mason Mercatus Center report:

The “Freedom in the 50 States” study measured economic and personal freedom using a wide range of criteria, including tax rates, government spending and debt, regulatory burdens, and state laws covering land use, union organizing, gun control, education choice and more.

It found that the freest states tended to be conservative “red” states, while the least free were liberal “blue” states.

The freest state overall, the researchers concluded, was North Dakota, followed by South Dakota, Tennessee, New Hampshire and Oklahoma. The least free state by far was New York, followed by California, New Jersey, Hawaii and Rhode Island.

The study also compared its measures of economic and personal freedom to population shifts and income growth, and found that freer states tend to do better on both scores than those less free.

For example, it found a strong correlation between a state’s freedom ranking and migration, which means that Americans are gravitating toward states that have less-intrusive governments.

FOOD STAMP ROLLS SWELL, EVEN AS ECONOMY IMPROVES:  Despite some recent small, encouraging declines in unemployment, the Wall Street Journal reports that food stamp rolls continue to expand, reaching historic highs.   We are fast becoming a “free stuff” nation.

NEAR DEATH EXPERIENCES SEEM “REAL”:  Researchers at the University of Liege have published a paper revealing that the phenomenological characteristics of near death experience “memories”– tunnels of light, the sensation of floating away and arriving in another place– are closer to those of “real” memories than “imagined” memories.

The unanswered question:  Are these individuals’ brains “lying” to them, or are these memories real?

SUPREME COURT VICTORY FOR PRIVACY:  In all the hullabaloo over the Court’s oral arguments in same-sex marriage cases this week, one interesting opinion issued on Tuesday has been largely overlooked:  Florida v. Jardines.

In a close 5-4 decision, the Court concluded that using a trained dog to sniff for drugs on the porch of a home violated the Fourth Amendment’s prohibition against unreasonable searches.  Because the porch of a home is within its “curtilage”–lawyer-speak for the land and buildings immediately surrounding a home–officers needed to obtain a warrant or the owner’s consent prior to bringing the detection dog within this important private realm.

Related:  Steve Chapman at the Washington Examiner criticizes the narrowness of the Court’s opinion, asserting, “Plenty of urban residences are within a few feet of a sidewalk, making them vulnerable to an accusatory Labrador retriever.”  Such public sidewalks next to “urban residences” would not be within the curtilage and hence, presumably wouldn’t qualify for the special treatment afforded in Jardines.

THE CHARM OFFENSIVE CONTINUES:  President Obama plans to ramp up the charm again by hosting a dinner with Republican Senators on April 10.  He might also want to try ordering several bottles of good red wine, looking intently into their eyes when they speak, telling them how smart and special they are, and laughing at their jokes.  Works every time.

GOOD ADVICE:   Don’t draw a penis on your male friend’s face with a permanent marker while he’s sleeping.   But you have to admit the resulting mugshot is mighty funny!

GEORGE WILL ON “BIPARTISAN ABDICATION“:  Interesting column today about congressional acquiescence in recent decades to assertions of presidential power in the realm of the two branches’ shared power over the military.  Congressional avoidance of all sticky political issues arguably goes even further than just the use of military power; witness incessant delegations of power to executive agencies such as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Dodd-Frank), the Independent Medical Advisory Board (IPAB), the EPA, and on and on.

WHAT DEFINITION OF “SECRET” IS THIS GUY USING?:   Chris Frates at the National Journal has just penned an article about “The Secret Republican Plan to Repeal ‘Obamacare’: And Why the Fight is Far From Over.”  

Um, dude, it isn’t a “secret.”

Jennifer Rubin at WaPo explains why the opposition to O-care just isn’t subsiding.  It’s the 3Cs:  Cost, Complexity, and Coercion.

THE GAMES PEOPLE PLAY . . . IN THE BATHROOM?:  A minor league baseball stadium in Pennsylvania has installed video game monitors above urinals.  While I have no conceptual problem with this (other than the inefficiency it may cause), I wonder if  the women’s stalls will get the same privilege?

SEQUESTRATION HARDBALL:   It has only just begun.  Andrew Stiles at NRO reports on the FAA’s theatrics that smack of intentional, but avoidable, travel disruption. 

Customs and Border Patrol has begun the same tactic.

National parks may be next.

A BLOOMIN’ IDIOT:  There he goes again.  On the 10th anniversary of the NYC’s restaurant/bar smoking ban, Mayor/Supreme Nanny Michael Bloomberg nonchalantly tells the press “We interfere with free enterprise all the time.”    The “we” to which he refers is, of course, the royal “we,” which allows him to dictate to his constituents what they can eat, drink and otherwise consume whenever he believes they lack the self control and intelligence to decide for themselves.

SEA SLUG SNOT STUNS LOBSTER NEMESES:  Now, say that five times real fast!  But seriously, giant sea slugs apparently have venomous boogers that disable the ability of predators to smell them, so the slugs can slink away unharmed.

COLORADO GUN CONTROL HEATS UP:  (pun intended).  Just days after Colorado Governor Hickenlooper signed them into law, new gun control measures are being declared by state sheriffs to be unenforceable due to ambiguities and constitutional concerns.

In a related story, one such sheriff believes that a Colorado bill to increase sheriffs’ pay is being delayed in an extortion-like “obey or no pay” manner.