News bits: The flaccid rule of law, etc.

IRS shielded Trump from scrutiny

The NYT writes:

I.R.S. Didn’t Audit Trump for 2 Years in Office, 

House Committee Says

The House Ways and Means Committee voted to release six years of Mr. Trump’s tax returns, and members revealed that the I.R.S. failed to follow its own policy because it did not audit Mr. Trump during his first two years in office. It may be days before the tax information is revealed.  

The Internal Revenue Service failed to audit former President Donald J. Trump during his first two years in office despite a program that makes the auditing of sitting presidents mandatory, a House committee revealed on Tuesday after an extraordinary vote to make public six years of his tax returns.

Sigh. Once again, we have a two-tiered rule of law. Once is soft and friendly for the rich and powerful. For the rest of us, the other is usually not nearly as forgiving or friendly. Not only is the rule of law flaccid, our federal government has been poisoned by deeply corrupted Republicans. 

Strange faerie tales from Twitterlandia

The hellscape continues to unfold

Elon Musk must be having some kind of a psychotic break. He loses a Twitter poll to stay on as CEO, 57.5% voted against him, but then says the election was rigged against him. Now, he says he will step down as Twitter CEO. The NYT comments:

Elon Musk said on Tuesday that he would resign as Twitter’s chief executive when he found “someone foolish enough to take the job,” two days after he had asked his 122 million Twitter followers whether he should step down as the leader of the social media site and a majority of respondents answered yes.  

But hours after the poll closed on Monday morning, Mr. Musk stayed silent. When he finally spoke up late Monday, he did not directly address the survey result. Instead, he replied to Twitter users who cast doubt on the outcome and said Twitter would change its poll feature so that only people who paid for its subscription service would be allowed to vote.

So, Elon is looking for a fool to be CEO. This ought to be pretty interesting. No more stolen elections for Musk!! MAGA!!

From the Corporations are Good Citizens Files

The NYT writes:

Wells Fargo to Pay $3.7 Billion Over 

Consumer Banking Violations

The settlement, which includes the largest fine ever imposed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, allows the bank to resolve claims that it had harmed millions of consumers since 2011.

The consumer protection bureau said Wells Fargo did not record customer payments on home and auto loans properly, wrongfully repossessed some borrowers’ cars and homes and charged overdraft fees even when customers had enough money to cover purchases they made with their bank cards. Wells Fargo stopped the conduct this year as part of a larger effort to clean up other unlawful practices stretching back to 2011, the filing said.

It only took Wells 11 years to deal with whatever it was doing. Well done Wells! See how responsive and efficient the patriotic private sector is compared to the evil, socialist government? 

Note that the CFPB is the federal agency that Republicans in congress hate and want to get rid of. After all, corporations would never do anything naughty, like simply taking away someone’s home or car for no reason. Right? No, wrong!