† Never Mind Marxism. Will An Obama Administration Be Totalitarian?: At the request of Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) and several of his colleagues, the Treasury Department's inspector general for tax issues is investigating whether Austan Goolsbee or other Obama administration officials illegally accessed and used confidential taxpayer information to accuse Charles and David Koch - who own the privately held Koch Industries, and donate considerable sums to conservative groups opposed to the president’s agenda – of not paying corporate income taxes in an August 27 media briefing, reports The Washington Times:

A White House official said Tuesday that the administration will not use the Koch example in the future, but that the comment was "not based on any review of tax filings." Other White House officials have told reporters that the information was publicly available, including in testimony to the President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board and on Koch's website.

But an attorney for Koch said in a statement last month that the company does pay corporate income taxes and that information about its structure and tax liability are not publicly available.

Mr. Grassley and his fellow Republicans pointed to that statement in their request for an investigation.

"The statement that Koch is a [nontaxable] pass-through entity implies direct knowledge of Koch's legal and tax status, which would appear to be a violation of Section 6103" of the Internal Revenue Code, the senators wrote. "Alternatively, if the statement was based on speculation, it raises the question of whether the administration speculating about any specific taxpayer's liability is appropriate."

† Now Is Not The Time To Talk About Race: A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of 1,000 likely voters finds that only 36 percent say relations between blacks and whites are getting better, down from 62% in July 2009 when President Barack Hussein Obama was embroiled in the controversy over the arrest of black Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates by white police officer James Crowley:

Twenty-seven percent (27%) now say black-white relations are getting worse, up 10 points from July 2009, while 33% think they’re staying about the same. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

African-Americans are much more pessimistic than whites. Thirty-nine percent (39%) of whites think black-white race relations are getting better, but just 13% of blacks agree. …

Only 21% of all voters now think race relations between whites and Hispanics are improving, down seven points from April and down 19 points from last December.  Fifty percent (50%) say they are getting worse, and 24% say they’re remaining about the same.

Similarly, just 16% say race relations between blacks and Hispanics are getting better. Thirty-four percent (34%) say they are worsening and 24% staying the same. However, 26% are undecided. These findings are basically unchanged from December. …

Still, 69% of all voters nationwide say U.S. society is fair and decent, while only 20% think it’s unfair and discriminatory.

† There’s Many A Slip ‘Twixt The Cup And Lip: According to a new Congressional Research Service (CRS) report, six months after President Barack Hussein Obama signed the healthcare “reform” law (AKA the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act) the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has already missed one-third of the new law’s mandated deadlines. Human Events reports:

The new report was requested of the non-partisan CRS by Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), one of two physicians currently serving in the U.S. Senate, along with Sens. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and John Cornyn (R-Texas).

From a wide range of requirements such as deadlines for reporting under the Balanced Budget act of 1997, to expansion of required audits for Medicare fraud recovery, to requirements that the HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius submit to relevant congressional oversight committees the “national strategy to improve the delivery of health care services, patient health outcomes, and population health,” the report offers a glimpse into the missed deadlines and the future of the bureaucratic nightmare Democrats intend to inflict upon America's health care system.

In a press release, Coburn press predicts that HHS is “unlikely” to “improve its record of compliance,” noting “The Department failed to meet one-third of 22 deadlines in six months, yet now the Department has less than three months to meet another 29 requirements required by law.”

† Updates To Previous Posts (Obama’s One-Two Cha-Cha-Cha): Pakistan-born-cum-homegrown-terrorist Faisal Shahzad, 31, who pleaded guilty to 10 terrorism and weapons counts was sentenced to life in prison by U.S. District Judge Miriam Cedarbaum. The MSM focused on his warning to "brace yourself, the war with Muslims has just begun." What struck The Stiletto most was this exchange between the judge and the terrorist:

Cedarbaum asked Shahzad about swearing to defend Americans when he became a naturalized citizen.

"I swore but I didn't mean it," he said.

Never mind the Sixth Commandment (Thou shalt not murder), the Ninth Commandment forbids Jews and Christians from bearing false witness. Islam, on the other hand, requires taqiyya – lying in defense of the faith. Shahzad also told the judge, "The Quran gives us the right to defend ourselves" – which explains the false oath he swore when this country bestowed citizenship on him. Muslims who claim to be “moderate,” or to disapprove of terrorism or the imposition of Sharia law on Westerners are also practicing taqiyya. Anyone who believes otherwise is a damn fool (third item).

† Updates To Previous Posts (fourth item, Wind Farms Good For The Environment – But Bad For Property Values): The New York Times reports that “a small but growing number of families and homeowners across the country who say they have learned the hard way that wind power - a clean alternative to electricity from fossil fuels - is not without emissions of its own”:

Lawsuits and complaints about turbine noise, vibrations and subsequent lost property value have cropped up in Illinois, Texas, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Massachusetts, among other states.

In one case in DeKalb County, Ill., at least 38 families have sued to have 100 turbines removed from a wind farm there. A judge rejected a motion to dismiss the case in June. …

[M]any of the people complaining the loudest are reluctant converts to the antiwind movement. …

Of the 250 new wind farms that have come online in the United States over the last two years, about dozen or so have generated significant noise complaints, according to Jim Cummings, the founder of the Acoustic Ecology Institute, an online clearinghouse for information on sound-related environmental issues. …

In almost all cases, it is not mechanical noise arising from the central gear box or nacelle of a turbine that residents react to, but rather the sound of the blades, which in modern turbines are mammoth appendages well over 100 feet long, as they slice through the air. …

A common refrain among homeowners grappling with sound issues, however, is that they were not accurately informed about the noise ahead of time.

† Updates To Previous Posts (eighth item Restorative Capital Punishment): A jury found Steven Hayes guilty on 16 of 17 counts - including all six capital felony charges, each of which makes him eligible for the death penalty in CT - n the 2007 home invasion that led to the murders of Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her two daughters, Hayley and Michaela, reports The Hartford Courant:

The verdicts set the stage for a penalty phase in which jurors will decide whether Hayes lives or dies. That phase will begin Oct. 18.

Shortly after the verdict was read, Dr. William Petit Jr. - the lone survivor of the attack - spoke to reporters on the courthouse steps. Keeping his composure as he patiently answered questions, Petit said he believed Hawke-Petit and the girls were praying for him and his family so they would have the strength to endure.

"We did our best to keep our faith in God that justice would be served," Petit said. …

"We hope they will continue to use the same diligence in the penalty phase."

When asked how he felt about the verdict, Petit said "there is some relief … my family is still gone. My home is still gone. It doesn't bring them back, but there is some relief." …

He would not comment on what he thought the outcome of the penalty phase should be.

The jury found Hayes not guilty of first-degree arson, because under state law pouring gasoline in the Petit's home was not considered “lighting” a fire, whereas using a match to ignite the gasoline is. Joshua Komisarjevsky, who allegedly lit the match, will be tried next year.

† Updates To Previous Posts (last item, 10 Reasons Michelle Obama Should Be Proud – Really Proud – Of America): This latest installment in The Stiletto Blog’s ongoing series meant to help instill the necessary pride of country in Michelle Obama’s consciousness to enable her to serve as an unofficial ambassador focuses on unemployed construction worker Victor Perez, whose quick thinking saved the life of an 8-year-old girl, kidnapped from the driveway in front of her Fresno, CA, apartment by a stranger. Los Angeles Times reports that just as Perez saw surveillance footage of a rust-colored Chevrolet pickup with stripes broadcast on the news, the very vehicle was making a U-turn in front of his house and he jumped into his Ford pickup to give chase:

The first time he caught up to Gonzalez, Perez waved and rolled down his window as though asking for directions.

"I told him, 'Hey man, let me ask you something.' He said he couldn't talk, his battery was about to die. I said 'I have [jumper] cables.' And I'm thinking, 'Maybe it's not him, he seems like a friendly guy.' Then while we were still talking he sped away."

Perez caught up and forced Gonzalez to the side of the road. Gonzalez threw his hands over his head in anger.

He had been holding the little girl down. When his hands shot up, her head popped up over the dashboard and Perez saw her.

"I made eye contact with her. And that's when I wasn't scared anymore," Perez said. "I won't kid you, until then I'd thought 'Does this guy have a gun?' But once I met her eyes, I just thought 'I've got to get that little girl out of there.' "

Gonzalez sped off, at one point driving on the sidewalk.

Perez kept trying to force Gonzalez to the side of the road, finally pulling his truck directly in Gonzalez's path. His plan was to rush the driver's door. But Gonzalez pushed the girl out the passenger-side door and fled.

The girl's first words to Perez were, "I'm scared."

"I said "You're OK now.' Oh, man, she was shaking so bad. She kept saying 'Am I going to be OK?' and I kept saying 'You're OK now.' "

About 40 minutes later Gonzalez, who had previously been arrested on charges of possession of a sawed-off shotgun and domestic violence and was on felony probation, was taken into custody.