Document, above: IRS Bill of Rights.  You've had all these rights since the beginning; the IRS never found it convenient to publicize this till now.

The Internal Revenue Code guarantees taxpayers certain rights. However, many taxpayers are unaware of them, and IRS employees do not always communicate them at the right times. A recent nationwide survey found only 46% of U.S. taxpayers believed they have rights before the IRS, and only 11% knew what those rights were. This lack of awareness is compounded when IRS employees themselves don’t sufficiently understand taxpayer rights.  Many IRS employees receive only minimal training on taxpayer rights. Not all are given initial training on the subject, and the information is not regularly reinforced in later training. The IRS frequently relies on the Internal Revenue Manual to educate employees, but it often tells them to take a specific action without explaining the underlying taxpayer right or rights. 

The IRS should provide employees with an overarching, comprehensive education about taxpayer rights, as well as training and guidance about how those rights apply in specific situations. Employees need a framework that shows them where fundamental taxpayer rights arise in their daily work and helps them communicate these rights to taxpayers.  READ THE FULL DISCUSSION »

JOHN BATCHELOR SHOW

Co-host: Larry Kudlow, CNBC senior advisor; & Cumulus Media radio

Hour One

Tuesday  10  June  2014 / Hour 1, Block A: Stephen Moore, chief economist, Heritage Foundation, in re: Eric Cantor, Republican of Virginia and the House majority leader, had been expected to defeat David Brat, a political newcomer, "the right wing of the right wing of the tea party."

The Surprising States That Have Greater Income Inequality
 For those in Washington obsessed with reducing income inequality, the standard prescription involves raising taxes on . . .   more.       Why costs are soaring for education, health care
 
Quick quiz: What two industries have seen the steepest rate of inflation in the economy over the past decade? If you said… more

Tuesday  10  June  2014 / Hour 1, Block B: Stephen Moore, chief economist, Heritage Foundation, in re: Stephen Moore and Richard Vedder: Liberal Blue States Have Greater Income Inequality than Conservative Red States

Tuesday  10  June  2014 / Hour 1, Block C: Bill Whelan, Hoover, in re: . .  .newly-constructed Bay Bridge is a bag of bolts, and give a forward-looking speech on immigration – the California governor should be leading he national charge, and Jerry Brown is MIA in this.   . . . I see politicians as like dairy products: they have an expiration date. 

Tuesday  10  June  2014 / Hour 1, Block D: John Fund, National Review Online, in re: David Brat is a free-market economist who during the campaign criticized Eric Cantor as saying ne thing and doing another .  The Takeaway tomorrow will be immigration reform.  The harsh rhetoric will be a huge turn-off to minority groups. It’s not about Obama – it’s about Republicans.   Disagree: talk-show hosts . . .   Pres Obama is so unpopular that anyone cooperating with him will go down. 

Reclaiming Reagan’s Voice   Can the GOP find a growth message?     Study: Bernanke's Fed Lowered the Jobless Rate by One Percentage Point

Hour Two

Tuesday  10  June  2014 / Hour 2, Block A: Bill Roggio, Long War Journal and FDD, in re:

Tuesday  10  June  2014 / Hour 2, Block B: Bill Roggio, Long War Journal and FDD, in re:   . . .   ISIS probably is not moving directly toward Kurdish territory; rather, to proximate places . . .

Tuesday  10  June  2014 / Hour 2, Block C: Russell Berman, Hoover, in re:   Not long ago, it seemed that the Middle East would be reborn in the spirit of the Arab Spring. The liberal aspirations that suddenly erupted across the region promised to overthrow despots, end repression, and remake the future, while partaking of the culture of innovation through social media that has come to mark a new global generation. Hopes for bright opportunities pointed to profound transformations. But in response to those glowing aspirations, a new repression has set in, a reactionary turn against the prospects for freedom and free societies. Much of this has indigenous roots; there were always many powerful opponents to change, and the revolution gave way to counterrevolution and bloodshed. Yet there is also an international context, defined especially by the policies of the one state that had survived the Cold War as the single superpower: the United States . . . [more] The Obama Administration has a record of ignoring governance obligations . . . . has distanced itself from the democratization of [the region: Iraq]. Refused to negotiate a status of forces in Iraq . . . ramifications in to Pakistan, as well.  We face a leadership that's never argued in favor of democratization there.

Tuesday  10  June  2014 / Hour 2, Block D: Francis Rose, Federal News Radio, in re:   Twenty-one discs with 1.5 million pages f taxpayer information – oops, that's illegal. . . . Lois Lerner back in deep dutch.   Darrell Issa alleges IRS data dump to FBI illegal - POLITICO ...   Republicans charged the IRS on Monday with potentially violating ... to the FBI, the latest salvo in their ongoing probe of the IRS's scrutiny of tea . . .  [more]  145 days's wait for veterans in Hawaii to see a doctor for initial intake for any health problem, including mental health.

IRS Adopts "Taxpayer Bill of Rights;" 10 Provisions to Be Highlighted on IRS.gov, in Publication 1

The Internal Revenue Service today announced the adoption of a "Taxpayer Bill of Rights" that will become a cornerstone document to provide the nation's taxpayers with a better understanding of their rights.  The Taxpayer Bill of Rights takes the multiple existing rights embedded in the tax code and groups them into 10 broad categories, making them more visible and easier for taxpayers to find on IRS.gov.

Publication 1, "Your Rights as a Taxpayer" has been updated with the 10 rights and will be sent to millions of taxpayers this year when they receive IRS notices on issues ranging from audits to collection. The rights will also be publicly visible in all IRS facilities for taxpayers and employees to see.  "The Taxpayer Bill of Rights contains fundamental information to help taxpayers," said IRS Commissioner John A. Koskinen. "These are core concepts about which taxpayers should be aware. Respecting taxpayer rights continues to be a top priority for IRS employees, and the new Taxpayer Bill of Rights summarizes these important protections in a clearer, more understandable format than ever before.”

The IRS released the Taxpayer Bill of Rights following extensive discussions with the Taxpayer Advocate Service, an independent office inside the IRS that represents the interests of U.S. taxpayers. Since 2007, adopting a Taxpayer Bill of Rights has been a goal of National Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson, and it was listed as the Advocate’s top priority in her most recent Annual Report to Congress.  “Congress has passed multiple pieces of legislation with the title of 'Taxpayer Bill of Rights,’” Olson said. “However, taxpayer surveys conducted by my office have found that most taxpayers do not believe they have rights before the IRS and even fewer can name their rights. I believe the list of core taxpayer rights the IRS is announcing today will help taxpayers better understand their rights in dealing with the tax system.”

The tax code includes numerous taxpayer rights, but they are scattered throughout the code, making it difficult for people to track and understand. Similar to the U.S. Constitution’s Bill of Rights, the Taxpayer Bill of Rights contains 10 provisions. They are:

 1. The Right to Be Informed

 2. The Right to High-Quality Service

 3. The Right to Pay No More than the Correct Amount of Tax

 4. The Right to Challenge the IRS’s Position and Be Heard

 5. The Right to Appeal an IRS Decision in an Independent Forum

 6. The Right to Finality

 7. The Right to Privacy

 8. The Right to Confidentiality

 9. The Right to Retain Representation

10. The Right to a Fair and Just Tax System

These rights have been incorporated into a redesigned version of Publication 1, a document that is routinely included in IRS correspondence with taxpayers. Millions of these mailings go out each year. The new version has been added to IRS.gov, and print copies will start being included in IRS correspondence in the near future.  The timing of the updated Publication 1 with the Taxpayer Bill of Rights is critical because the IRS is in the peak of its correspondence mailing season as taxpayers start to receive follow-up correspondence from the 2014 filing season. The publication initially will be available in English and Spanish, and updated versions will soon be available in Chinese, Korean, Russian and Vietnamese.

The IRS has also created a special section of IRS.gov to highlight the 10 rights. The web site will continue to be updated with information as it becomes available, and taxpayers will be able easily to find the Bill of Rights from the front page. The IRS internal web site for employees is adding a special section so people inside the IRS have easy access, as well. As part of this effort, the IRS will add posters and signs in coming months to its public offices so taxpayers visiting the IRS can easily see and read the information. . . .

Hour Three

Tuesday  10  June  2014 / Hour 3, Block A:   John Bolton, AEI, in re:  . . . Wendy Sherman and Bill Burns are in Geneva  having direct talks with Iran – Pres Obama plans to alleviate the sanctions regime; will negotiate a worse deal in order to be able to claim success. Proliferators of weapons of mass destruction — particularly Iran and North Korea — well understand that only an American-led coalition can stop the spread of nuclear weapons. And after five-plus years of Obama's presidency, there is precious little evidence that he understands the severity of the threat, let alone what to do about it.

Obama's European trip once again demonstrates that leadership matters and that its absence matters even more. We are in increasingly dangerous times and America's president is out of his depth, our most important alliance is palsied and our adversaries are increasingly bold. We can only hope that our failings do not expose us to another 9/11 before we are able to correct them.  this article online.  Middle East militants in Mosul.

Tuesday  10  June  2014 / Hour 3, Block B:  John Avlon, The Daily Beast, in re: Hatriot Politics Created the Las Vegas Killers Jerad and Amanda Miller, the Wingnuts whose killing spree left two policemen, a civilian, and themselves dead, were inspired by fright-wing radio hosts and militia movement groups.

The obsessively anti-government Hatriot movement moved from cultivating conspiracy theories to real killing on Sunday in Las Vegas. The Wingnut Bonnie and Clyde duo, Jerad and Amanda Miller, stormed into CiCi’s Pizza and shot two metro cops, Alyn Beck and Igor Soldo, at close range while shouting “This is a revolution!” They flung the Tea Party’s favorite coiled snake Gadsden flag and a swastika on the still-warm corpses and then moved to a nearby Walmart to murder a shopper before turning the guns on themselves.  . . .  [more]

Tuesday  10  June  2014 / Hour 3, Block C:   Richard A Epstein, Hoover Institution, Chicago Law, in re:    The Futility of Gun Control  The recent senseless killings in Isla Vista, California of six college students at the hands of an obviously troubled 22-year-old Elliot Rodger, who then killed himself before he could be apprehended by the police, has provoked another call for more gun control. Nancy Pelosi’s remarks are typical in the current outrage: “The tragic and horrific shooting in Santa Barbara last week is the latest in a series of reminders of the urgent need to act.”

Before turning to the merits of the argument for more gun control, it’s important to begin with the facts of the Rodger killings, which Pelosi described cryptically, but wrongly, as a shooting. A full account of the situation makes it clear that Rodger’s first three victims died of knife wounds and that his last three victims were killed by guns. This is an important fact to consider. Today, unfortunately, many people have the perception that the vast majority of murders are done by guns. Reliable records that go back many years for all homicides paint a very different picture from the common perception of gun violence that lies behind today’s anguished calls for stricter regulation. Many murderers use knives and other blunt instruments to kill others, yet no one has any proposals for how to regulate those. Just look at these numbers: . . .  [more]

Tuesday  10  June  2014 / Hour 3, Block D:  Richard A Epstein, Hoover Institution, Chicago Law, in re: The Futility of Gun Control (continued) . . . There are three lessons that should be drawn from these figures. The first is that the gun crisis, while always serious, cannot be described as “urgent” if that term is meant to imply that the current situation is somehow worse than it was in previous periods. The blunt truth is that the overall situation has gotten better not worse, as the general decline in crime rates are also reflected in the murder rate. Second, the rate of non-gun deaths raises serious problems in the United States, which Rodger’s three knife killings sadly confirms. Third, it is very hard to come up with any single explanation that explains the overall decline in murder rates, in which deaths by guns falls substantially, but less rapidly, than deaths by knives, blunt instruments and hands, neither of which are amenable to regulation of any sort.    What Should Be Done?  The landscape looks even odder when one . . . [more]

Hour Four

Tuesday  10  June  2014 / Hour 4, Block A:  Christopher Flavelle, Bloomberg View, in re: The VA Needs a Bureaucratic Ninja   By pulling out of the running to be the next secretary of Veterans Affairs, Cleveland Clinic head Toby Cosgrove has given the administration a chance to think harder about what the VA needs most right now. Does it need an excellent director of an innovative, medium-scale health-care center? Or does it need somebody who can run an army of middle managers on a tight budget?

It isn't hard to see why Cosgrove's name was warmly received. One of the VA's most obvious problems is that veterans can't get doctor's appointments in a reasonable amount of time. The Cleveland Clinic is really good at that. But then again, it took in $4.7 billion in 2012 -- $300 million more than it spent, and enough to leave it with $2.7 billion in net assets. It is an organization with ample resources to devote to innovative care.

The contrast with the VA is stark. The agency's funding has more than doubled since 2003, but so has its caseload of veterans with the greatest levels of disability -- so-called Priority 1 patients. In fact, after adjusting for inflation, spending per Priority 1 patient fell from 2009 to 2012, when it was lower than in 2004. It also has a shortage of doctors, which is probably related to below-average pay.

Tuesday  10  June  2014 / Hour 4, Block B: Peter Berkowitz, Hoover and Real Clear Politics, in re:  Partial Unilateral Withdrawal: Israel's Next Step?

Tuesday  10  June  2014 / Hour 4, Block C:  Salena Zito, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review & Pirates fan, in re: Rules for Everyone but Conyers   John Conyers did not do the simplest part of his job. And for his failure, a federal judge rewarded the incumbent Michigan congressman.  The judge allowed Conyers to remain on the primary ballot even though he didn't legally gather the number of signatures needed to run for office.

Which is more egregious — that this veteran Democrat (whose district includes Detroit, a city desperately in need of stewardship) failed to get a minimum of 1,000 people to legally sign his petition, or that both he and a federal judge decided that the rules apply to everyone but him? Conyers appealed a ruling by the Wayne County clerk that he didn't submit enough valid nominating petitions to qualify for the ballot; state election officials agreed. But Conyers conveniently found a judge — Matthew Leitman, an Obama nominee who just took his seat on the federal bench a couple of months ago — who overruled the county and the state.  So Conyers, a former chairman of the House Judiciary Committee who has held his congressional seat since 1965, was put back on the ballot even though he failed to meet the very simple filing requirements.

This story is about leadership, about doing the right thing and following the rules.  Conyers' supporters say the judge rightly concluded that the ballot rules are unconstitutional.  But those are the rules, nonetheless. Just as a speed limit is a rule; you may think being limited to 25 mph on a straightaway is stupid, but most people won't get a high-priced lawyer to argue that their constitutional rights were violated when they get a speeding ticket.  If Conyers believed so strongly that the requirement of gathering 1,000 signatures from his constituents was unconstitutional, why didn't he address it before he failed that simple task? Better yet, why didn't he lead by example and . . .   here for link

Tuesday  10  June  2014 / Hour 4, Block D: Elizabeth Rosenthal, NYT, in re: Type 2 Diabetics Face a Flood of Drugs and Tests   U.S. | Paying Till It Hurts

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