JW Sues Air Force for Records Detailing Costs of Michelle Obama’s August 2010 “Whirlwind” Vacation to Spain   During her time in the White House, Michelle Obama has most definitely demonstrated a penchant for taking expensive vacations with her family and friends – at taxpayers’ expense.You will recall that Judicial Watch previously obtained documents regarding a June 21-27, 2011, trip taken by Mrs. Obama, her family and her staff to South Africa and Botswana. Through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) we obtained the mission expense records and passenger manifests for the Africa trip, which yielded a cost of $424,142 for the flight and crew alone. Other expenses, such as off-flight food, transportation, security, etc. were not included.

Managing U.S. energy policy is somewhat similar to being a major league baseball general manager, working to build a stronger team and pitching staff on a very limited budget. Think of how Billy Bean would evaluate the sources of the country’s oil supply (the starting rotation), and the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (the closer), relied upon to finish the game when the team is in trouble. 

The Investigative Project on Terrorism

In what has become a recurring pattern, American Islamist groups again have turned a blind eye to the misdeeds of the brutal Iranian regime, further calling into question their inconsistent positions on civil rights violators and their tacit support of the radical Iranian government.  

Amnesty International released a new report Feb. 28 documenting the growing campaign of repression orchestrated by the regime in Tehran against dissenters in advance of new parliamentary elections.

Fed mulling sterilized bond purchases ... Federal Reserve officials are considering a novel approach to bond buying aimed at countering some of the worry that another round of asset purchases by the central bank could fuel inflation, according to the Wall Street Journal. Citing people familiar with the matter, the newspaper reported on Wednesday that should the Fed decide to buy more bonds to boost growth, it could borrow back the money it used to buy those bonds for short periods of time at low interest rates.

The Investigative Project on Terrorism

Amine El-Khalifi knew he wanted to commit a terrorist act, federal agents, say, but he kept changing his mind about targets. According to an affidavit released after his arrest Feb. 17, Khalifi believed "that the 'war on terrorism' was a 'war on Muslims," and said that the group needed to be ready for war."

Before deciding to attempt a suicide bombing inside the U.S. Capitol, the Moroccan immigrant discussed targeting a series of government offices and places frequented by military officials. In December, the one time he discussed targeting something unrelated to the government or military, Khalifi talked about attacking a synagogue.

A substantial number of Tea Party organizations have come under attack by the IRS, which seeks to hinder the issuance of a tax-exempt status by making such an application, for all intents and purposes, impossible. Many Tea Party groups seek to take advantage of tax-exempt status under Internal Revenue Code (I.R.C.) § 501(c)(3), and § 501(c)(4); and while these impose specific responsibilities, the IRS is clearly abusing its discretionary power, by asking for information that is impossible to provide, or is unconstitutional to ask for.  Letters from the IRS to these organizations can be found at the end of this report.