The Internal Revenue Service is attempting to change the standards for tax exempt status for 501(c)(4) groups. Rather than sticking to enforcing the will of Congress, the IRS, with the full blessing of the political operation in the White House, wants to ensure they won't have to harass conservative and tea party groups about their tax exempt status applications, because those groups won't even bother to apply. They need to hear from America.

A new Gallup poll writeup released Thursday carried a misleading headline, claiming that more uninsured people were planning to get insurance through the ObamaCare Exchanges.  While it's no surprise that the Americans who plan to buy insurance are planning to buy Obamacare insurance, the writeup misses the real news- that fewer of the uninsured plan to buy insurance at all. 

Arizona Republicans voted to censure Senator John McCain, refusing for now to endorse his reelection in 2016. The group cited his voting record, flip-flop on border security, and public attacks on conservatives. 

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker appeared on Fox News' Huckabee show to explain that Republicans shouldn't challenge incumbents in primaries until their party controls Congress. Incumbent job security generates voter apathy, and leads to the kind of government we see in our country today. Primary challenges are a way of letting elected officials know that they still have people to answer to, and challenges should be welcome in every election cycle.

The White House is touting something called "Promise Zones" as a model to spur economic growth. These areas feature federal spending with the usual strings attached, attempting to spur economic growth and civic renewal. What the country needs is not set of federally micromanaged zones, but to restore the original American promise for all of the us: here we can be free.

Obamacare is struggling to survive its encounter with the real world. We were promised it would decrease the number of uninsured, lower health insurance prices, allow consumers to keep their policies and doctors, reduce Emergency Room usage, or reduce costs with preventive care.  None of those promises were ever true, and now they're being proven such. Even the expansion of the Medicaid program is proving counterproductive. All of that points to a simple truth.You can't legislate reality.

When the Obama Administration quietly announced a year delay in the Obamacare employer mandate on the eve of the 4th of July, it came as a big surprise. But knowing what we do now about the nonfunctional nature of the healthcare.gov backend, it's completely unsurprising that they delayed the employer mandate. In 2014, expect delays, waivers, and unconstitutional ad hoc changes to Obamacare and other laws to continue.  

As the holiday travel season draws to a close, many people are getting their second yearly hand of love from the Transportation Security Administration. A better solution to air travel security is to privatize the TSA. Let each airline and airport decide, and fund, its own security.

On Christmas Day, the Washington Post editorial board miraculously characterized Obamacare as "free-market economics" at work. This glorious gift of the media elves surely would have lifted the spirits of the Santa Claus administration. Unfortunately, the elves missed the mark in several areas, leading to work that looked more trollish than elvin.

In order to get young people to buy the Obamcare Exchange health insurance plans, the Obama Administration dictated to insurance companies a new deadline of December 24, Christmas Eve, for policies to be effective January 1. At the same time, over the weekend the President went through a botched PR rollout of his own, enrolling in the DC Exchange. These games will continue, and probably become worse, once the law is in full effect next week.