Tuesday Night Jam: David Byrne & St. Vincent - I Should Watch TV
That’s not a tuba
Music • Views: 26,979
273 comments
1 |
Charles Johnson Tue, May 14, 2013 4:57:44pm |
This album is fantastic, if you like really different music, which I do. The brass band is the main featured instrumentation throughout.
| 2 |
Vicious Babushka Tue, May 14, 2013 5:06:37pm |
| 3 |
prairiefire Tue, May 14, 2013 5:10:30pm |
| 4 |
ProTARDISLiberal Tue, May 14, 2013 5:12:33pm |
| 5 |
engineer cat Tue, May 14, 2013 5:14:19pm |
she sings real nice, but why does it look like she’s chewing on a harmonica on the album cover?
| 6 |
Varek Raith Tue, May 14, 2013 5:15:11pm |
Image: 2708431054.png
Oh yeah.
| 7 |
thedopefishlives Tue, May 14, 2013 5:15:52pm |
| 8 |
Charles Johnson Tue, May 14, 2013 5:18:13pm |
re: #5 engineer cat
she sings real nice, but why does it look like she’s chewing on a harmonica on the album cover?
Because she’s a freaky chick.
“Cheerleader”
| 9 |
Walking Spanish Down the Hall Tue, May 14, 2013 5:18:22pm |
re: #5 engineer cat
she sings real nice, but why does it look like she’s chewing on a harmonica on the album cover?
She’s a Cardassian.
| 10 |
ProTARDISLiberal Tue, May 14, 2013 5:19:17pm |
Can I put picture-y things from the next episode here. The BBC is releasing an abnormally large number of stills from the finale. Probably enough to stave off spoilers for the next 3.5 days.
| 11 |
engineer cat Tue, May 14, 2013 5:27:30pm |
re: #8 Charles Johnson
Because she’s a freaky chick.
“Cheerleader”
[Embedded content]
putting in earplugs and watching the video fullscreen here at work transported me to a good place
then i had to take the earplugs out and return to cube farm
| 12 |
Charles Johnson Tue, May 14, 2013 5:29:52pm |
There’s a neat new feature of the LGF Pages posting bookmarklet, ready to push out to the world — if you open the bookmarklet on any page that contains a YouTube video, the posting form comes up with the code to embed that video already filled in.
In order to use it you’ll have to delete your old bookmarklet and reinstall the new one.
Tech details - it now uses a nifty trick to actually load jQuery on any page, letting me use jQuery functions to inspect the contents of that page, and pass any interesting info to the LGF Pages posting window when it opens. This opens a world of fascinating possibilities from the coding angle, to make things easier for LGF Pages authors.
| 13 |
Charles Johnson Tue, May 14, 2013 5:31:01pm |
Note that I’m not talking about just YouTube pages at their site - the video auto-embedding feature also works on pages like this at TPM:
| 14 |
Charles Johnson Tue, May 14, 2013 5:41:04pm |
Testing this now - it’s really cool to just open the bookmarklet and have an embedded video with no effort! Now adding Vimeo support as well.
| 15 |
austin_blue Tue, May 14, 2013 5:43:45pm |
| 16 |
Walking Spanish Down the Hall Tue, May 14, 2013 5:44:29pm |
Charles, have you ever considered a way of notifying us we have a response to one of our comments?
| 17 |
Charles Johnson Tue, May 14, 2013 5:48:39pm |
re: #16 Walking Spanish Down the Hall
Charles, have you ever considered a way of notifying us we have a response to one of our comments?
You can do this by subscribing to a thread, and choosing “Email replies to me”.
| 18 |
GeneJockey Tue, May 14, 2013 5:50:59pm |
re: #15 austin_blue
Climate Denialists twist mental pretzels over new publications:
Shocka!
ONE PAPER (that doesn’t say what we say it does anyway)DISPROVES ALL OTHER PAPERS!!!11!! IT DOESN’T MATTER THAT THE AUTHOR SAYS IT DOESN’T!!!11!!1!
| 19 |
Charles Johnson Tue, May 14, 2013 5:52:38pm |
Right underneath the comment posting form - the popup menu that says (by default) “Not subscribed”. Just pick one of the other options from that menu: “Email all comments” or “Email replies to me”.
| 20 |
Walking Spanish Down the Hall Tue, May 14, 2013 5:53:28pm |
re: #17 Charles Johnson
You can do this by subscribing to a thread, and choosing “Email replies to me”.
I was kind of thinking of something that didn’t fill up my email, but I can set a rule.
| 21 |
thedopefishlives Tue, May 14, 2013 5:55:11pm |
re: #15 austin_blue
Climate Denialists twist mental pretzels over new publications:
Shocka!
It really - and I mean REALLY - bothers me how little people understand about how scientific publication works.
| 22 |
Targetpractice Tue, May 14, 2013 6:05:07pm |
“They’re singling out Tea Party groups! This is political censorship!”
Oh wait…
IRS Sent Same Letter to Democrats That Fed Tea Party Row
The Internal Revenue Service, under pressure after admitting it targeted anti-tax Tea Party groups for scrutiny in recent years, also had its eye on at least three Democratic-leaning organizations seeking nonprofit status.
One of those groups, Emerge America, saw its tax-exempt status denied, forcing it to disclose its donors and pay some taxes. None of the Republican groups have said their applications were rejected.
*snip*
Tax agency officials told lawmakers in a briefing yesterday that 471 groups received additional scrutiny, a total that indicates a crackdown on politically active nonprofit groups that extends beyond the Tea Party outfits.
So in the last 24 hours we’ve learned that ABC intentionally falsified quotes, Holder recused himself from a totally legitimate investigation into a national security issue, and now we learn that all the talk about Tea Party groups being the only ones singled out is bunk.
This, folks, is why people have lost faith in the Old Media.
| 23 |
Charles Johnson Tue, May 14, 2013 6:12:21pm |
re: #22 Targetpractice
I had a strong feeling these stories would be revealed as bogus.
| 24 |
Kragar Tue, May 14, 2013 6:13:03pm |
re: #22 Targetpractice
This, folks, is why people have lost faith in the Old Media.
I’ll found my own media! With blackjack and hookers!
| 25 |
Targetpractice Tue, May 14, 2013 6:13:41pm |
re: #23 Charles Johnson
I had a strong feeling these stories would be revealed as bogus.
It’s sweeps week for the dead tree media, they need something to fill up the dead air time as we head into the summer. And the GOP is desperate for something, anything, that will keep budget negotiations and the upcoming debt ceiling deadline out of the news.
| 26 |
darthstar Tue, May 14, 2013 6:19:30pm |
What a difference a day makes. Yesterday’s scandal is today’s media embarrassment…again. #Benghazi #GOP #FAIL— Sean McCabe (@darthstar99) May 15, 2013
| 27 |
Targetpractice Tue, May 14, 2013 6:27:04pm |
And according to the LA Times, who’s gone through the IG report:
Two-thirds of the applications that were set aside for scrutiny were not from “tea party” or “patriot” groups. And almost 70% of the applications that were flagged really did raise concerns about an excessive amount of campaign activity, the report states.
But yes, the report does also lay out that there were questions and requests posed to such groups that were flagged for items that do not have any part in such an investigation, such as the identities/politics of past donors.
So, contrary the initial portrayal as some sort of grant plot by the Obama administration to suppress Republican donors in the lead-up to the election, it looks more like a group of IRS workers, hard-pressed to deal with the deluge of 501(c)(4) applications in the wake of Citizens United and making up for a handicapped FEC, made a lot of bad calls.
| 28 |
Kragar Tue, May 14, 2013 6:33:04pm |
re: #27 Targetpractice
And according to the LA Times, who’s gone through the IG report:
But yes, the report does also lay out that there were questions and requests posed to such groups that were flagged for items that do not have any part in such an investigation, such as the identities/politics of past donors.
So, contrary the initial portrayal as some sort of grant plot by the Obama administration to suppress Republican donors in the lead-up to the election, it looks more like a group of IRS workers, hard-pressed to deal with the deluge of 501(c)(4) applications in the wake of Citizens United and making up for a handicapped FEC, made a lot of bad calls.
Its almost like Citizens United was a really bad decisions…
/
| 29 |
austin_blue Tue, May 14, 2013 6:36:03pm |
re: #23 Charles Johnson
I had a strong feeling these stories would be revealed as bogus.
I wouldn’t use the word “bogus”, Charles. “Spun to hell and gone” would be be a better description. The IRS IG’s report, upon which the Prez had obviously been briefed, was damned scathing. All of the 501c4 applications were sent to the IRS Regional Office in Cincinnati and assigned to a single Team. They fucked the dog three ways to Sunday. The Report
blames it on bad upper management. Just as in the embarrassing AP fuck-up, whoever knew about it and didn’t say “Hey, wait a minute…” should get fired. That’s good policy and good government and we should encourage getting rid of tools and their handlers.
| 30 |
darthstar Tue, May 14, 2013 6:36:31pm |
It’s always interesting when you see cartoonists (whom, to me, are always faceless)…Here’s Dan Perkins, better known as Tom Tomorrow, accepting the Herblock Prize:
First, his tweet (which has the same link I’ve added below:
So here’s video/transcript of my Herblock speech last month. herbblockfoundation.org/herblock-prize…— Tom Tomorrow (@tomtomorrow) May 15, 2013
And here’s the embed for people who like to watch their shit here:
And finally, the direct link:
herbblockfoundation.org
| 31 |
thedopefishlives Tue, May 14, 2013 6:37:39pm |
re: #29 austin_blue
I wouldn’t use the word “bogus”, Charles. “Spun to hell and gone” would be be a better description. The IRS IG’s report, upon which the Prez had obviously been briefed, was damned scathing. All of the 501c4 applications were sent to the IRS Regional Office in Cincinnati and assigned to a single Team. They fucked the dog three ways to Sunday. The Report
blames it on bad upper management. Just as in the embarrassing AP fuck-up, whoever knew about it and didn’t say “Hey, wait a minute…” should get fired. That’s good policy and good government and we should encourage getting rid of tools and their handlers.
However, my Republican friends have been saying that these scandals implicate the President and that he should be impeached (yes, some of my FB friends have actually used that word). The wingnut trifecta - Benghazi, IRS, DOJ.
| 32 |
Targetpractice Tue, May 14, 2013 6:40:21pm |
re: #29 austin_blue
I wouldn’t use the word “bogus”, Charles. “Spun to hell and gone” would be be a better description. The IRS IG’s report, upon which the Prez had obviously been briefed, was damned scathing. All of the 501c4 applications were sent to the IRS Regional Office in Cincinnati and assigned to a single Team. They fucked the dog three ways to Sunday. The Report
blames it on bad upper management. Just as in the embarrassing AP fuck-up, whoever knew about it and didn’t say “Hey, wait a minute…” should get fired. That’s good policy and good government and we should encourage getting rid of tools and their handlers.
Agreed, this whole mess is looking like a serious hot mess, one that highlights better than anything else just how fucked up our laws controlling political funding are. That the IRS did such a shitty job handling something that really shouldn’t be on their plate in the first place shouldn’t be a total shocking surprise.
Obama’s called for the IG’s recommendations to be carried out and Holder’s already called for a criminal investigation. Of course, neither will stop the GOP from demanding further investigations and holding hearings, but at this point I think the whole issue is pretty clearly laid out. The best path forward would be to insist on campaign finance reform, particularly transparency laws.
| 33 |
lawhawk Tue, May 14, 2013 6:41:57pm |
re: #24 Kragar
I’ll found my own media! With blackjack and hookers!
Dude, that’s your cause of, and solution to, all of life’s problems.
Where do I sign up? /
| 34 |
darthstar Tue, May 14, 2013 6:43:24pm |
Here’s a great one from the links provide above…gotta love the punch line.
| 35 |
lawhawk Tue, May 14, 2013 6:44:26pm |
re: #23 Charles Johnson
I had a strong feeling these stories would be revealed as bogus.
Definitely not bogus - the TIGTA report is pretty damning in how the IRS handled these entities’ applications. That needs to be addressed, but the fact that entities on the left were required to submit similar questionnaires does take a bit out of the sails that the right wingers were specifically targeted.
| 36 |
GeneJockey Tue, May 14, 2013 6:48:17pm |
re: #35 lawhawk
Definitely not bogus - the TIGTA report is pretty damning in how the IRS handled these entities’ applications. That needs to be addressed, but the fact that entities on the left were required to submit similar questionnaires does take a bit out of the sails that the right wingers were specifically targeted.
Well, it WOULD, if the ones doing the sailing had any shame. Experience suggests otherwise.
| 37 |
GeneJockey Tue, May 14, 2013 6:48:56pm |
| 38 |
Kragar Tue, May 14, 2013 6:49:47pm |
There was a girl in my office who used to love this song and would sing parts of it in the office, right up until I told her to listen to the lyrics and what the song’s name was. I’ve rarely seen anyone turn the shade of red she achieved.
| 39 |
Charles Johnson Tue, May 14, 2013 6:50:10pm |
I don’t mean “bogus” in the sense of “nothing to it” - I mean “bogus” as in vastly overblown.
| 40 |
Kragar Tue, May 14, 2013 6:50:50pm |
re: #37 GeneJockey
Interest, newsletter, etc…
I can write articles like “When to double down”.
I’ll need to find someone else to cover the blackjack articles.
| 41 |
jaunte Tue, May 14, 2013 6:50:56pm |
Rep. Jason Chaffetz (Dork, UT):
“It’s not something I’m seeking, it’s not the endgame, it’s not what we’re playing for,” he said. “I was simply asked if it was within the realm of possibilities, and I’d say ‘yes.’”
| 42 |
darthstar Tue, May 14, 2013 6:51:58pm |
re: #39 Charles Johnson
I don’t mean “bogus” in the sense of “nothing to it” - I mean “bogus” as in vastly overblown.
| 43 |
GeneJockey Tue, May 14, 2013 6:53:50pm |
re: #40 Kragar
I can write articles like “When to double down”.
I’ll need to find someone else to cover the blackjack articles.
Not me. I don’t gamble, because I understand probability.
I can do research for the hooker articles, pending permission from Mrs. Jockey. So far she’s accepted my doing Molecular Biology research, so what’s the worst that could happen?
//
| 44 |
Targetpractice Tue, May 14, 2013 6:55:22pm |
re: #39 Charles Johnson
I don’t mean “bogus” in the sense of “nothing to it” - I mean “bogus” as in vastly overblown.
Pretty much. If the press had any honor, tomorrow’s lead story would be about how the “Perfect Storm” is a fart in the wind. But no, they’ll paper over ABC’s bullshit with Benghazi, they’ll portray the White House’s response to the IRS business as “not good enough,” and they’ll continue to act as if the AP was subjected to a Soviet-era shakedown.
| 45 |
GeneJockey Tue, May 14, 2013 6:56:08pm |
| 46 |
blueraven Tue, May 14, 2013 6:57:01pm |
re: #35 lawhawk
Definitely not bogus - the TIGTA report is pretty damning in how the IRS handled these entities’ applications. That needs to be addressed, but the fact that entities on the left were required to submit similar questionnaires does take a bit out of the sails that the right wingers were specifically targeted.
The problem seems to be there is no specific incidents of groups being singled out for having words like “progressive” in their name like they did with “tea party” or “patriot” which was admitted to. This was so freaking dumb. Whether there were some left leaning groups that received the same type of scrutiny will be irrelevant in the political narrative. There is no proof they were targeted.
| 47 |
goddamnedfrank Tue, May 14, 2013 6:59:25pm |
re: #35 lawhawk
Definitely not bogus - the TIGTA report is pretty damning in how the IRS handled these entities’ applications. That needs to be addressed, but the fact that entities on the left were required to submit similar questionnaires does take a bit out of the sails that the right wingers were specifically targeted.
I think the administration and Inspector General are being overly cautious, don’t want to state the obvious but impolitic answer - That it seems entirely reasonable for IRS agents to assume new entities with the name Tea Party or Patriot in their name might be engaging in the kinds of direct partisan political activity nominally prohibited of 501(c) type orgs.
Maybe I’m missing something, probably a lot. Since Citizen’s United, and even before, we’ve allowed 501(c)s to exist for no other reason than to engage in political activity, whereas before we at least forced them to adhere to some semblance of a primary activity as a union, church, charity, etc.
| 51 |
Interesting Times Tue, May 14, 2013 7:49:14pm |
| 53 |
FemNaziBitch Tue, May 14, 2013 8:07:02pm |
| 54 |
FemNaziBitch Tue, May 14, 2013 8:10:03pm |
re: #41 jaunte
Rep. Jason Chaffetz (Dork, UT):
They aren’t going to subject us to that AND the election process between now and 2016—are they?
| 55 |
erik_t Tue, May 14, 2013 8:11:27pm |
re: #54 FemNaziBitch
They aren’t going to subject us to that AND the election process between now and 2016—are they?
I don’t think Boehner is that stupid. It would be political suicide for the GOP. The most recent, I grant, in a long list thereof.
| 56 |
FemNaziBitch Tue, May 14, 2013 8:13:31pm |
Emergency Manager: Detroit Is Insolvent
After 45 days on the job, Orr’s initial assessment of Detroit’s perilous finances is laid bare in a 41-page report to be delivered today to state Treasurer Andy Dillon.
Calling it “a sobering wake-up call about the dire financial straits the city of Detroit faces,” Orr said he will use the report as a baseline for paring down the city’s $15.6 billion in debt and long-term liabilities.
Orr, a Washington, D.C., bankruptcy attorney, did not use the word “bankruptcy” anywhere in his report but said the city is “insolvent” and has “effectively exhausted its ability to borrow” after years of issuing long-term debt to pay its bills. Previously, he has said he hopes to avoid a Chapter 9 filing …
Damn Shame
| 58 |
Dark_Falcon Tue, May 14, 2013 8:14:12pm |
re: #29 austin_blue
I wouldn’t use the word “bogus”, Charles. “Spun to hell and gone” would be be a better description. The IRS IG’s report, upon which the Prez had obviously been briefed, was damned scathing. All of the 501c4 applications were sent to the IRS Regional Office in Cincinnati and assigned to a single Team. They fucked the dog three ways to Sunday. The Report
blames it on bad upper management. Just as in the embarrassing AP fuck-up, whoever knew about it and didn’t say “Hey, wait a minute…” should get fired. That’s good policy and good government and we should encourage getting rid of tools and their handlers.
Indeed. Congress should indeed investigate the Hell out of this IRS screw-up, simply because it is the job of Congress to perform such oversight. Just because a political angle was spun hard, doesn’t mean there isn’t a real problem to be solved. It is imperative that at least some of the IRS employees responsible for this stupid mistake be identified and fired. The public doesn’t necessarily need to know their names, but it does have to know the number of people ID’d and the number of such people who were fired.
The IRS must be apolitical, and in this case it wasn’t. That is a problem Congress must do its part to fix.
| 59 |
erik_t Tue, May 14, 2013 8:17:04pm |
re: #58 Dark_Falcon
First you say Congress must investigate this situation because we don’t know what happened, then you declare the minimum punishment acceptable. This is, I dare say, somewhat cart-before-horse.
| 60 |
Dark_Falcon Tue, May 14, 2013 8:17:29pm |
re: #57 jaunte
No, he’s just blathering.
Concur. For all the shrieks about Benghazi, even if the administration did lie to the public to avoid giving Mitt Romney an election issue, that isn’t an impeachable offense. The president is not legally obligated to tell the public the truth regarding foreign policy matters. He obviously should when possible, but it’s not a legal requirement.
| 61 |
FemNaziBitch Tue, May 14, 2013 8:18:22pm |
| 63 |
Dark_Falcon Tue, May 14, 2013 8:22:37pm |
re: #59 erik_t
First you say Congress must investigate this situation because we don’t know what happened, then you declare the minimum punishment acceptable. This is, I dare say, somewhat cart-before-horse.
We know that IRS employees did something seriously wrong, the questions are “Who screwed up?”, “Why did they do so?”, and “How can a repeat of this be prevented?”. But cleaning up this kind of mess requires heads to roll. People won’t believe the matter has been resolved unless at least some of those responsible get canned.
| 64 |
goddamnedfrank Tue, May 14, 2013 8:22:38pm |
re: #58 Dark_Falcon
The IRS must be apolitical, and in this case it wasn’t.
You sure about that? You don’t find center by simply assuming both sides are equidistant from it. From an IRS agent’s perspective it makes a lot of sense to believe that people who are ideological opposed to paying taxes might try to abuse the tax code to that exact purpose.
This whole investigation and the administration’s responses to it are more about political pragmatism than principal. In a sane world what the IRS agents did would be called reasonable suspicion.
| 65 |
Dark_Falcon Tue, May 14, 2013 8:23:56pm |
re: #61 FemNaziBitch
Left-wing trash, that’s all that piece is.
| 66 |
erik_t Tue, May 14, 2013 8:25:41pm |
re: #63 Dark_Falcon
We know that IRS employees did something seriously wrong, the questions are “Who screwed up?”, “Why did they do so?”, and “How can a repeat of this be prevented?”. But cleaning up this kind of mess requires heads to roll. People won’t believe the matter has been resolved unless at least some of those responsible get canned.
No, we don’t know those things. That’s why we’re presumably investigating. That’s the whole purpose of an investigation.
I will never, ever understand the GOP fetish for determining punishment before determining wrongdoing. But I will never, ever understand the rest of the GOP’s weird fetishes either.
| 67 |
gwangung Tue, May 14, 2013 8:28:05pm |
| 68 |
erik_t Tue, May 14, 2013 8:28:09pm |
I would be most amused if it comes to pass that we learn the IRS had substantial evidence that Tea Party-branded groups were more likely to be violators, and therefore applied their scarce investigation resources to more heavily police such groups, just so we can watch Republicans dance on their heads about how profiling is holy shit so fucking wrong you guys.
| 69 |
Dark_Falcon Tue, May 14, 2013 8:28:41pm |
re: #64 goddamnedfrank
You sure about that? You don’t find center by simply assuming both sides are equidistant from it. From an IRS agents perspective it makes a lot of sense to assume that people who are ideological opposed to paying taxes might try to abuse the tax code to that exact purpose.
This whole investigation and the administration’s responses to it are more about political pragmatism than principal. In a sane would what the IRS agents did would be called reasonable suspicion.
Yes, I’m sure about that. The IRS took its scrutiny to an extreme and unwarranted degree, for one. For two, the IRS IMO should not use use political beliefs as “reasonable suspicion” criteria, as that is not its job. It must be fair, even to those committed to its abolition.
| 70 |
goddamnedfrank Tue, May 14, 2013 8:28:51pm |
re: #65 Dark_Falcon
Left-wing trash, that’s all that piece is.
Not at all, it’s replete with links to press articles backing up all the claims it makes. From your perspective it’s an inconvenient argument that presents loads of specific evidence you’re utterly incapable of countering, so you weakly try to dismiss it out of hand.
| 71 |
Walking Spanish Down the Hall Tue, May 14, 2013 8:28:53pm |
re: #65 Dark_Falcon
Left-wing trash, that’s all that piece is.
One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.
| 72 |
erik_t Tue, May 14, 2013 8:29:18pm |
re: #69 Dark_Falcon
Yes, I’m sure about that. The IRS took its scrutiny to an extreme and unwarranted degree, for one. For two, the IRS IMO should not use use political beliefs as “reasonable suspicion” criteria, as that is not its job. It must be fair, even to those committed to its abolition.
YESSSSS AND THERE WE GO
Mere minutes.
| 74 |
Dark_Falcon Tue, May 14, 2013 8:30:39pm |
re: #68 erik_t
Not gonna happen. If that was the case the audit and IG’s report would have brought at least a hint of said evidence to light. No, this was some IRS people going over the line.
| 75 |
FemNaziBitch Tue, May 14, 2013 8:30:47pm |
Did America’s First Drug Czar Secretly Supply Dope to Sen. Joe McCarthy?
According to the country’s first de-facto drug czar, Harry Anslinger, McCarthy’s addiction was enabled by the federal government. Anslinger, who served as chief of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics from 1930 to 1962, is credited with successfully demonizing “marijuana” as causing addiction and insanity, murder and mayhem. More than any other political figure, Anslinger was responsible for criminalizing opiates and its users. And his word was gospel when it came to the country’s nascent war on drugs.
Paranoia thy name is Addiction?
| 76 |
bratwurst Tue, May 14, 2013 8:31:00pm |
re: #65 Dark_Falcon
Left-wing trash, that’s all that piece is.
I would be willing to wager you didn’t make it past the masthead and byline…if you even made it that far.
| 77 |
Targetpractice Tue, May 14, 2013 8:31:59pm |
re: #68 erik_t
I would be most amused if it comes to pass that we learn the IRS had substantial evidence that Tea Party-branded groups were more likely to be violators, and therefore applied their scarce investigation resources to more heavily police such groups, just so we can watch Republicans dance on their heads about how profiling is holy shit so fucking wrong you guys.
70% of those flagged were found to be engaging in excessive political spending.
| 78 |
Dark_Falcon Tue, May 14, 2013 8:32:01pm |
re: #76 bratwurst
I would be willing to wager you didn’t make it past the masthead and byline…if you even made it that far.
You’d be wrong. I was actually looking at its DERP about the Secret Service when I made the determination.
| 79 |
erik_t Tue, May 14, 2013 8:32:12pm |
I would rather watch paint dry than deal with such obstinant unthink, but it’s par for the course and we all know it. Good night, everyone.
| 80 |
FemNaziBitch Tue, May 14, 2013 8:32:19pm |
re: #76 bratwurst
I would be willing to wager you didn’t make it past the masthead and byline…if you even made it that far.
I have to agree, DF, you posted your reply rather quickly.
One can’t judge a book by it’s cover or an article by it’s website.
| 81 |
jaunte Tue, May 14, 2013 8:32:30pm |
Many new groups filed for tax exemption under section 501(c)(4) of the tax code, which governs what are known as “social welfare” organizations. The rules for these groups allow them to spend up to 49 percent of their money directly attacking or promoting candidates for office.
wbur.org
This is just a ridiculously low standard for tax exemption.
| 82 |
blueraven Tue, May 14, 2013 8:32:32pm |
re: #58 Dark_Falcon
Indeed. Congress should indeed investigate the Hell out of this IRS screw-up, simply because it is the job of Congress to perform such oversight. Just because a political angle was spun hard, doesn’t mean there isn’t a real problem to be solved. It is imperative that at least some of the IRS employees responsible for this stupid mistake be identified and fired. The public doesn’t necessarily need to know their names, but it does have to know the number of people ID’d and the number of such people who were fired.
The IRS must be apolitical, and in this case it wasn’t. That is a problem Congress must do its part to fix.
Yes, they should investigate it, but while they are at it, they need to address the REAL problem. None of these groups should be receiving tax exempt status. NONE of them.
| 83 |
FemNaziBitch Tue, May 14, 2013 8:33:14pm |
re: #77 Targetpractice
70% of those flagged were found to be engaging in excessive political spending.
I wouldn’t be surprised to find many of the right-wing political not-for-profits doing their work “in the name of G-d”.
| 84 |
Dark_Falcon Tue, May 14, 2013 8:35:29pm |
re: #82 blueraven
Yes, they should investigate it, but while they are at it, they need to address the REAL problem. None of these groups should be receiving tax exempt status. NONE of them.
Why not?
| 85 |
Dark_Falcon Tue, May 14, 2013 8:36:34pm |
re: #79 erik_t
Good night. Don’t twist your shoulder patting yourself on the back.
| 86 |
blueraven Tue, May 14, 2013 8:36:37pm |
re: #84 Dark_Falcon
Why not?
Because they are political, not social welfare organizations as the exemption is meant for.
| 87 |
blueraven Tue, May 14, 2013 8:43:38pm |
re: #84 Dark_Falcon
Why not?
I answered you, now please tell us why you think any of these political groups deserve tax exempt status.
| 88 |
Dark_Falcon Tue, May 14, 2013 8:48:14pm |
re: #87 blueraven
I answered you, now please tell us why you think any of these political groups deserve tax exempt status.
Frankly, I’ve not said that they do, but the regulations in place said they could get it and the IRS is obligated to follow those regulations.
| 89 |
goddamnedfrank Tue, May 14, 2013 8:49:51pm |
re: #69 Dark_Falcon
Yes, I’m sure about that. The IRS took its scrutiny to an extreme and unwarranted degree, for one. For two, the IRS IMO should not use use political beliefs as “reasonable suspicion” criteria, as that is not its job. It must be fair, even to those committed to its abolition.
1.How extreme? The guys had to fill out some additional paperwork and none of the conservative group’s applications were denied.
2. If I open up a machine shop and name it Fuck OSHA, I expect OSHA to crawl through my shit with a fine tooth comb looking for problems.
You can’t create fairness by trying to enforce balance where it doesn’t exist.
| 90 |
blueraven Tue, May 14, 2013 8:52:13pm |
re: #88 Dark_Falcon
Frankly, I’ve not said that they do, but the regulations in place said they could get it and the IRS is obligated to follow those regulations.
Then Congress need to fix the regulations, right?
| 91 |
engineer cat Tue, May 14, 2013 8:54:38pm |
let’s nip this political monkey in the bud before it sticks to us like a leech
| 92 |
blueraven Tue, May 14, 2013 8:56:11pm |
re: #88 Dark_Falcon
Frankly, I’ve not said that they do, but the regulations in place said they could get it and the IRS is obligated to follow those regulations.
Also the regulations do NOT say they should get it. They say the organization has to be primarily a social welfare organization. The reason the political organizations even apply for exemption is so their donors do not have to be disclosed. It is corrupt all the way around.
| 93 |
Dark_Falcon Tue, May 14, 2013 8:56:39pm |
re: #89 goddamnedfrank
1.How extreme? The guys had to fill out some additional paperwork and none of the conservative group’s applications were denied.
2. If I open up a machine shop and name it Fuck OSHA, I expect OSHA to crawl through my shit with a fine tooth comb looking for problems.
You can’t create fairness by trying to enforce balance where it doesn’t exist.
Third, and perhaps most troubling, those tea-party organizations were sent letters of inquiry demanding information that would seldom if ever be demanded of any other applicant in the process. The IRS demanded lists of donors, names of spouses and family members, detailed information about political views and associations — all of that “under penalties of perjury.” Many applicants dropped out of the process. The questions were remarkably invasive: For example, the IRS demanded to know not only whether political candidates participated in public forums conducted by the groups, but which issues were discussed, along with copies of any literature distributed at the forum and material published on websites. (The IRS has been less forthcoming with its own materials related to this investigation.) If the organizations collected dues, the IRS demanded to know how much they were. It demanded everything down to the résumés of employees. The inquiry was not limited to members of the organization, its executives, or its directors, but included even their family members: The IRS demanded to know — again, under penalty of perjury — whether any of their family members might be thinking about running for office. Its demand for the names of all donors — and all recipients of grants — is in violation of IRS policy.
| 94 |
jaunte Tue, May 14, 2013 8:57:41pm |
re: #89 goddamnedfrank
This is the problem with the present system. There too many people who pretend Fuck OSHA would be good for social welfare, and they don’t need tax exemption for their particular hobbyhorse on top of that.
| 95 |
gwangung Tue, May 14, 2013 8:58:43pm |
re: #93 Dark_Falcon
Third, and perhaps most troubling, those tea-party organizations were sent letters of inquiry demanding information that would seldom if ever be demanded of any other applicant in the process.
Actually, I don’t think that’s true. I think other more political groups under suspicion were also asked these questions and tasked with these tasks.
And given the behaviors, when various Tea Party branded candidates actually ran for office, why are these questions beyond the pale?
| 96 |
jaunte Tue, May 14, 2013 9:03:34pm |
September 1, 2006
“…After filing four freedom-of-information requests, NAACP lawyers discovered that far more than two members of Congress called for an investigation and that all were Republicans.
Republican Sens. Lamar Alexander (Tenn.) and Susan Collins (Maine) called for the investigation.
Others included Rep. Jo Ann S. Davis (R-Va.) and then-Rep. Larry Combest (R-Tex.). Former GOP representatives Joe Scarborough of Florida, who now hosts a talk show, and Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., currently governor of Maryland, also requested a probe.”
washingtonpost.com
| 97 |
GeneJockey Tue, May 14, 2013 9:04:02pm |
re: #93 Dark_Falcon
Takes some brass balls to attack an article in Salon as “Left-wing trash”, and then quote the National Review as a source. You got chutzpah.
| 98 |
FemNaziBitch Tue, May 14, 2013 9:06:23pm |
re: #97 GeneJockey
Takes some brass balls to attack an article in Salon as “Left-wing trash”, and then quote the National Review as a source. You got chutzpah.
actually, I think it was my post from Alter-Net to which DF referred to as Left-Wing Trash. And yes, I agree it does “lean” to the left, but I’ve found many articles to be worth sharing—and so I do.
| 99 |
Walking Spanish Down the Hall Tue, May 14, 2013 9:07:33pm |
re: #97 GeneJockey
Takes some brass balls to attack an article in Salon as “Left-wing trash”, and then quote the National Review as a source. You got chutzpah.
They have a pill for that, don’t they?
| 100 |
FemNaziBitch Tue, May 14, 2013 9:11:01pm |
I think the reality is that all administrations of all governments (yes a sweeping generalization) do bad things —it’s the nature of the beast. The determining factor is how they react when they are caught.
Well, presence of a free press and other investigative groups is a good indication as well.
| 101 |
GeneJockey Tue, May 14, 2013 9:12:25pm |
re: #98 FemNaziBitch
actually, I think it was my post from Alter-Net to which DF referred to as Left-Wing Trash. And yes, I agree it does “lean” to the left, but I’ve found many articles to be worth sharing—and so I do.
The Alternet post was an article from Salon, by David Sirota.
| 102 |
FemNaziBitch Tue, May 14, 2013 9:13:58pm |
re: #101 GeneJockey
The Alternet post was an article from Salon, by David Sirota.
I stand corrected.
That’s the second time today and I think the third this week I’ve been caught not doing my best in reading comprehension.
I think I need to make a change or two!
| 103 |
Dark_Falcon Tue, May 14, 2013 9:14:46pm |
re: #98 FemNaziBitch
actually, I think it was my post from Alter-Net to which DF referred to as Left-Wing Trash. And yes, I agree it does “lean” to the left, but I’ve found many articles to be worth sharing—and so I do.
It was indeed the one from AlterNet. It came across as a big piece of warmed-over BDS to me. And even if it was right, that would still not make the IRS screw-up OK, owing to the O’Reilly Rule:
You cannot justify bad behavior by pointing to other bad behavior.
| 104 |
HappyWarrior Tue, May 14, 2013 9:15:12pm |
re: #100 FemNaziBitch
I think the reality is that all administrations of all governments (yes a sweeping generalization) do bad things —it’s the nature of the beast. The determining factor is how they react when they are caught.
Well, presence of a free press and other investigative groups is a good indication as well.
Good point. It’s kind of like how Watergate was bad not so much for the break-in itself but the ensuing cover-up. We’ll see what happens with this story I guess. The one thing I do not like is the political dishonesty in which the right claims that their administrations would be above this sort of behavior. As your article points out, the Bush administration got heat from fellow Republicans over this and I know Obama’s has gotten some heat from fellow Dems over this. Of course, blind partisans will act like one side is completely cool with it despite evidence to the contrary.
| 105 |
BigPapa Tue, May 14, 2013 9:16:44pm |
re: #93 Dark_Falcon
That’s not an example. That’s a narrative written about by an NRO writer.
Where are these actual questionnaires?
| 106 |
FemNaziBitch Tue, May 14, 2013 9:18:02pm |
re: #104 HappyWarrior
Good point. It’s kind of like how Watergate was bad not so much for the break-in itself but the ensuing cover-up. We’ll see what happens with this story I guess. The one thing I do not like is the political dishonesty in which the right claims that their administrations would be above this sort of behavior. As your article points out, the Bush administration got heat from fellow Republicans over this and I know Obama’s has gotten some heat from fellow Dems over this. Of course, blind partisans will act like one side is completely cool with it despite evidence to the contrary.
The My Party Right or Wrong crowd is blare-ingly obvious in these cases. We could play tit for tat all day, but it wouldn’t matter. They would refuse to see that they are as human as the rest of us.
| 107 |
HappyWarrior Tue, May 14, 2013 9:18:20pm |
re: #103 Dark_Falcon
It was indeed the one from AlterNet. It came across as a big piece of warmed-over BDS to me. And even if it was right, that would still not make the IRS screw-up OK, owing to the O’Reilly Rule:
You cannot justify bad behavior by pointing to other bad behavior.
I don’t think they’re excusing it all. More so, they’re calling out people like Rove who are acting like the Bush administration was above this sort of behavior when in fact that administration faced similar allegations of impropriety.
| 108 |
Dark_Falcon Tue, May 14, 2013 9:18:36pm |
re: #105 BigPapa
That’s not an example. That’s a narrative written about by an NRO writer.
Where are these actual questionnaires?
How the Hell should I know. I haven’t got the time needed to find those.
| 109 |
blueraven Tue, May 14, 2013 9:19:18pm |
re: #103 Dark_Falcon
It was indeed the one from AlterNet. It came across as a big piece of warmed-over BDS to me. And even if it was right, that would still not make the IRS screw-up OK, owing to the O’Reilly Rule:
You cannot justify bad behavior by pointing to other bad behavior.
No one is saying the IRS action is OK. Democrats have strongly condemned these actions and have called for investigations. But the hypocrisy (or may be it is amnesia) from republicans and Fox is staggering.
| 110 |
FemNaziBitch Tue, May 14, 2013 9:19:41pm |
re: #107 HappyWarrior
I don’t think they’re excusing it all. More so, they’re calling out people like Rove who are acting like the Bush administration was above this sort of behavior when in fact that administration faced similar allegations of impropriety.
Exactly, it’s the moral superiority that is so irritating.
| 111 |
goddamnedfrank Tue, May 14, 2013 9:20:25pm |
re: #93 Dark_Falcon
Consider the IRS increased scrutiny in light of Clarence Thomas and his wife Ginny’s failure to list on financial disclosure documents hundreds of thousands of dollars in income from her association with Tea Party groups.
That should have raised red flags all over the place and it places the agency’s suspicion about the potential for unethical political activity by 501(c)s board members and their relatives in a whole new perspective.
| 112 |
Dark_Falcon Tue, May 14, 2013 9:20:44pm |
re: #107 HappyWarrior
I don’t think they’re excusing it all. More so, they’re calling out people like Rove who are acting like the Bush administration was above this sort of behavior when in fact that administration faced similar allegations of impropriety.
That proves nothing, since if this had happened to Moveon.org under Bush it would be the left side of the aisle that would be up-in-arms. Showing hypocrisy doesn’t accomplish very much, given how normal it is in politics.
| 113 |
goddamnedfrank Tue, May 14, 2013 9:21:30pm |
re: #103 Dark_Falcon
It was indeed the one from AlterNet. It came across as a big piece of warmed-over BDS to me. And even if it was right, that would still not make the IRS screw-up OK, owing to the O’Reilly Rule:
You cannot justify bad behavior by pointing to other bad behavior.
You didn’t read it. It had links that backed up every allegation it made.
| 114 |
HappyWarrior Tue, May 14, 2013 9:21:39pm |
re: #109 blueraven
No one is saying the IRS action is OK. Democrats have strongly condemned these actions and have called for investigations. But the hypocrisy (or may be it is amnesia) from republicans and Fox is staggering.
And that’s what FNB’s article was all about. I’ve got no problem with criticizing the administration if these allegations are true and having investigations but the right’s act of “Oh we would have never done that.” Even though, some of their own frigging party members were irririated when similar things came up in the past. It’s why Benghazi irritates me. It’s like they want to convince the American people that this is the first time ever a consulate was attacked and I think some people truly believe that because of the spin machine.
| 115 |
FemNaziBitch Tue, May 14, 2013 9:24:34pm |
It sounds preposterous: antibiotics for back pain? What on earth could antibiotics possibly do for back pain?
Then again, it sounded preposterous when Barry J. Marshall and J. Robin Warren said, back in 1984, that peptic ulcers were the result of bacterial infection (and could therefore be treated with antibiotics). Careful research proved Marshall and Warren right, and they went on to win a Nobel Prize.
Now comes evidence from researchers in Denmark and the UK that in some (not all) cases, lower back pain may actually stem from bacterial infection. It’s long been known that Type 1 Modic Change (MC, or “bone edema”) in vertebrae is a frequent sequel to disc herniation in patients with back injury, and it is strongly associated with lower back pain. Vertebral MC is actually a surprisingly common condition: it occurs in 6% of the general population and 35% to 40% of people who suffer lower back pain.
| 116 |
HappyWarrior Tue, May 14, 2013 9:25:27pm |
re: #112 Dark_Falcon
That proves nothing, since if this had happened to Moveon.org under Bush it would be the left side of the aisle that would be up-in-arms. Showing hypocrisy doesn’t accomplish very much, given how normal it is in politics.
Proves nothing? Read the article. The Bush administration got heat for doing the same thing to the NAACP and two Republican senators- Collins and Alexander were the ones who were upset about it. And yes it does serve a purpose so hacks like Rove can’t go on Fox News and tell the American people that his boss’s administration was above this sort of behavior.
| 117 |
FemNaziBitch Tue, May 14, 2013 9:26:54pm |
FOX NEWS is propaganda, nothing more, nothing less.
| 118 |
BigPapa Tue, May 14, 2013 9:30:08pm |
re: #112 Dark_Falcon
That proves nothing, since if this had happened to Moveon.org under Bush it would be the left side of the aisle that would be up-in-arms. Showing hypocrisy doesn’t accomplish very much, given how normal it is in politics.
I’d be interested to know what questions MoveOn had to answer when it applied for it’s 501(c)4 status.
| 119 |
jaunte Tue, May 14, 2013 9:31:09pm |
the O’Reilly Rule:
You cannot justify bad behavior by pointing to other bad behavior.
Sirota’s piece opens with a response to that:
As your kindergarten teacher probably told you, two wrongs do not make a right. But the discrepancy in reactions to wrongs does, indeed, show how Washington so often serves the interests of the political right.
That’s one of the big - if deliberately ignored - takeaways from the reaction to news that the Internal Revenue Service allegedly targeting conservative organizations for extra scrutiny in their larger review of political groups’ tax exempt status. In the last few days, the allegations have generated a wave of national headlines, a congressional investigation, federal legislation and ever-louder calls for impeachment.
Considering the gravity of the allegations against the Obama IRS from the Treasury Department’s inspector general, congressional scrutiny is certainly warranted. However, there’s just one problem: most of the lawmakers and pundits today decrying the use of public resources against a White House’s political opponents had little - if anything - to say about equally troubling revelations about the Bush administration’s deployment of public resources against its opponents. In fact, conservatives said so little back then that Fox News apparently doesn’t even know (or is pretending not to know) the Bush administration used the IRS in the same way the Obama adminstration allegedly did.
salon.com
| 120 |
AlexRogan Tue, May 14, 2013 9:31:13pm |
re: #65 Dark_Falcon
Left-wing trash, that’s all that piece is.
Instead of reflexively dismissing it out-of-hand, how about you provide evidence where it’s wrong?
| 121 |
FemNaziBitch Tue, May 14, 2013 9:34:22pm |
I’m not sure what this means …
| 122 |
FemNaziBitch Tue, May 14, 2013 9:35:29pm |
re: #120 AlexRogan
Instead of reflexively dismissing it out-of hand, how about you provide evidence where it’s wrong?
He say Alter-Net and dismissed it as if it were the Enquirer.
| 123 |
goddamnedfrank Tue, May 14, 2013 9:36:16pm |
I just think it’s funny that after watching partisan Republican politicians target and destroy ACORN over lies and defame Planned Parenthood we get to see them squeal like pigs when the IRS subjects Tea Party groups to a little bit of actual scrutiny.
| 124 |
Dark_Falcon Tue, May 14, 2013 9:37:29pm |
re: #121 FemNaziBitch
I’m not sure what this means …
Because there aren’t any laws to pass. Benghazi is just mud-slinging.
| 125 |
FemNaziBitch Tue, May 14, 2013 9:38:01pm |
IRS nonprofit division overloaded, understaffed
Amid withering accusations the Internal Revenue Service targeted tea party and other conservative groups with enhanced scrutiny, the agency faces another problem: it’s drowning in paperwork.
The IRS’ Exempt Organizations Division, which finds itself at the scandal’s epicenter, processed significantly more tax exemption applications in fiscal year 2012 by so-called 501(c)(4) “social welfare” organizations — 2,774 — than it has since at least the late 1990s, according to an analysis of IRS records by the Center for Public Integrity.
Compare that to 1,777 applications in 2011 and 1,741 in 2010, federal records show. Not since 2002, when officials processed 2,402 applications, have so many been received.
Meanwhile, Exempt Organizations Division staffing slid from 910 employees during fiscal year 2009 to 876 during fiscal year 2012, agency personnel documents indicate.
| 126 |
jaunte Tue, May 14, 2013 9:40:24pm |
re: #121 FemNaziBitch
ACT! For America is that group that’s been lobbying for anti-sharia laws in state legislatures.
| 127 |
FemNaziBitch Tue, May 14, 2013 9:42:06pm |
re: #126 jaunte
ACT! For America is that group that’s been lobbying for anti-sharia laws in state legislatures.
Everybody needs a job, I guess.
| 128 |
HappyWarrior Tue, May 14, 2013 9:42:27pm |
re: #126 jaunte
ACT! For America is that group that’s been lobbying for anti-sharia laws in state legislatures.
Ah that old racket. The paranoia about Sharia Law is probably one of the most silly things that have come about since Obama’s election and there have been many.
| 129 |
HappyWarrior Tue, May 14, 2013 9:42:57pm |
re: #127 FemNaziBitch
Everybody needs a job, I guess.
So, you’re saying that my lobby firm to ban whatever Ba’hais practice has a chance………….
| 130 |
FemNaziBitch Tue, May 14, 2013 9:43:34pm |
re: #129 HappyWarrior
So, you’re saying that my lobby firm to ban whatever Ba’hais practice has a chance………….
You can try to get donations, but I won’t give a dime.
| 131 |
Mich-again Tue, May 14, 2013 9:44:48pm |
In my opinion the 501c3 organizations are a bigger problem than the 501c4 organizations. When people donate to 501c3 they get a tax deduction. Not so with the 501c4 status.
And by the way ALEC and Heritage Foundation both claim 501c3, so to the IRS they are equivalent to a Church. On the application there is a specific question, Does the organization engage in lobbying activities? Heritage has a one-word answer. No. If they answer yes, they have to show how lobbying is less than 25% of their cash outlays, which is still a lot of money for a group like ALEC that sucks in millions of contributions.
And part of ALEC’s $25,000 yearly “gold” membership, includes a couple meet and greet dinners with a roomful of Republican Congressmen, which should preclude the $25K from being tax-deductible, seeing as the corporate donor gets something in return for the contribution.
I could go on and on, but the point iss, the IRS should just blow up the entire 501c3 and 501c4 tax exempt status and let these organizations raise funds and operate without a taxpayer subsidy. We are freaking broke right?
| 133 |
HappyWarrior Tue, May 14, 2013 9:45:52pm |
re: #130 FemNaziBitch
You can try to get donations, but I won’t give a dime.
Ha, I wouldn’t send me one either. Really, what makes the Sharia paranoia most hilarious is the states doing it are the ones with the smallest Muslim populations. It’s embarrassing.
| 135 |
HappyWarrior Tue, May 14, 2013 9:46:52pm |
| 137 |
Gus Tue, May 14, 2013 9:48:38pm |
Guess he found some spare time in between trolling people on Twitter and fawning over Rand Paul and whining about drones.
| 138 |
Gus Tue, May 14, 2013 9:49:18pm |
Oh, and David Sirota, who once likened PBO supporters to the KKK, can have a theater full of seats. |angryblackladychronicles.com/2011/09/26/clu… cc @goldietaylor— Imani ABL (@AngryBlackLady) February 6, 2013
| 139 |
Sol Berdinowitz Tue, May 14, 2013 9:50:24pm |
If our nation has been dysfunctional up to now, from now on it is going to be positively catatonic. We have enough idiots out there who think the IRS has no right to take away our hard-earned money to redistribute to slackers in the form of Free Government Stuff.
We are not able to solve the social, environmental and economic problems we are facing, and if we do have to deal with a major crisis, we are going to be embarrasingly - if not catastropically - unable to do so.
| 140 |
jaunte Tue, May 14, 2013 9:51:50pm |
i think the real #IRS scandal lies in the fact any political group is considered a charity. that needs changing!
— josh (@yungjoshw) May 15, 2013
| 141 |
BigPapa Tue, May 14, 2013 9:53:02pm |
Here’s the form to apply for 501(c)3 status. Lots of questions.
Seems rational to ask all of these questions for a break on taxes.
| 142 |
HappyWarrior Tue, May 14, 2013 9:53:12pm |
re: #140 jaunte
That’s food worthy for thought too. Don’t understand why political groups aren’t subject to tax.
| 144 |
Gus Tue, May 14, 2013 10:00:48pm |
re: #140 jaunte
Right. And PBO’s Priorities USA Acton is also a 501(c)4. There are plenty of left/liberal/Dem 501(c)4s. Careful what you wish for. You remove the built in public subsidization of these PACs and you open the door to PACs “that can afford it.” You literally begin to create a “free market” environment for these PACs. Is that what people want?
| 145 |
Gus Tue, May 14, 2013 10:02:06pm |
| 146 |
bratwurst Tue, May 14, 2013 10:03:06pm |
Give me a fucking break already…second story of this nature in two weeks:
| 147 |
Mich-again Tue, May 14, 2013 10:06:28pm |
re: #141 BigPapa
Here’s the form to apply for 501(c)3 status. Lots of questions.
Seems rational to ask all of these questions for a break on taxes.
And there ought to be a penalty for lying on those forms.
Which would mean we need to define what it is to “lobby”. To me, lobbying means something along the lines of using influence to affect proposed legislation. But look at ALEC. They claim to not be a lobbying group because they do not use influence to affect proposed legislation.. Because they freaking write the proposed legislation itself and hand it to GOP politicians to enter as Bills in the State and Federal legislatures.
ALEC goes beyond what any lobbyist could dream of doing, they don’t have to promote a particular cause or Bill, they write the Bills exactly as they want to.
Its a joke that ALEC can claim tax exempt charitable status and get away with claiming not to be lobbyists.
| 148 |
BigPapa Tue, May 14, 2013 10:07:34pm |
re: #145 Gus
Not a fan of Sirota. Screw him.
Which is ironic, as that’s exactly what Sirota is writing about.
| 149 |
Single-handed sailor Tue, May 14, 2013 10:17:27pm |
re: #146 bratwurst
Give me a fucking break already…second story of this nature in two weeks:
Even worse,
Soldier assigned to coordinate sexual assault prevention at Ft. Hood under investigation for “abusive sexual contact” and being a pimp.
| 150 |
FemNaziBitch Tue, May 14, 2013 10:20:49pm |
| 151 |
Dark_Falcon Tue, May 14, 2013 10:25:46pm |
re: #149 Single-handed sailor
Even worse,
Soldier assigned to coordinate sexual assault prevention at Ft. Hood under investigation for “abusive sexual contact” and being a pimp.
Sometimes the bad guys pose as good guys. Its especially common with criminal enterprises: Infiltrate the organization assigned to oppose people like you and you’ll not only know if you’re on the org’s radar, you might be able to deflect the investigation onto someone else or discredit the complaining witness.
Note: The foregoing passage was tactical analysis, not a defense of that asshole pimp’s actions. People like that are also why I persist in regarding the word “pimp” as a negative. “Pimp my ride” takes on an ugly ring when you read stories like this.
| 152 |
FemNaziBitch Tue, May 14, 2013 10:32:25pm |
re: #151 Dark_Falcon
Sometimes the bad guys pose as good guys. Its especially common with criminal enterprises: Infiltrate the organization assigned to oppose people like you and you’ll not only know if you’re on the org’s radar, you might be able to deflect the investigation onto someone else or discredit the complaining witness.
Note: The foregoing passage was tactical analysis, not a defense of that asshole pimp’s actions. People like that are also why I persist in regarding the word “pimp” as a negative. “Pimp my ride” takes on an ugly ring when you read stories like this.
They got to the position because good guys didn’t pay attention and allowed these criminals in their ranks.
Good guys are not off the hook.
| 154 |
freetoken Tue, May 14, 2013 10:44:41pm |
Ah yes, this is America:
Christianity meeting at JCPS raises questions, concerns
A religious-based organization that leased space from Jefferson County Public Schools to hold a meeting last week that featured district principals talking about bringing Christianity into the classroom has raised concerns from community members, including a Jewish group.
JCPS administrators say the group was within its rights to host the meeting, but they subsequently emailed the district’s principals to remind them of policy on school prayer and incorporating religion into curriculum.
The Louisville Area Christian Educator Support, or LACES, leased meeting space at Durrett Auditorium at the Gheens Academy on Thursday for a kickoff event designed to “encourage Christian educators, provide information about religious rights, instructional strategies and support.”
The event featured retired Southeast Christian Church Senior Minister Bob Russell and was organized in part by retired JCPS administrator Joe Burks and Bryce Hibbard, the principal at Southern High School. Approximately 100 people attended.
According to media reports from the event, Hibbard told the crowd that many teachers don’t know that they’re allowed to teach creationism in science class, which prompted concerns over whether teachers are trying to evangelize students. Neither Burks nor Hibbard could be reached for comment Tuesday.
[…]
So, the Principal thinks that creationism is allowed in science classes?
| 155 |
Dark_Falcon Tue, May 14, 2013 10:48:07pm |
And for our final “Have you lost your mind?! item of the night, we leave both wingnuts and moonbats behind and head to Japan, where Osaka mayor Toru Hashimoto decided to unleash a piece of shit remark guaranteed to anger every other nation that borders the Pacific, plus any other nations that fought in World War II:
Toru Hashimoto, the brash mayor of Osaka who is a leader of an emerging conservative party, also said US troops stationed in Japan should patronize local prostitutes to reduce rapes and other assaults
Hashimoto went on to tell reporters that there wasn’t clear evidence that the Japanese military had coerced women to become what are euphemistically called “comfort women.”
“To maintain discipline in the military, it must have been necessary at that time,” Hashimoto said. “For soldiers who risked their lives in circumstances where bullets are flying around like rain and wind, if you want them to get some rest, a comfort women system was necessary. That’s clear to anyone.”
According to historians, some 200,00 women from the Korean Peninsula and China were forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese. China’s Foreign Ministry criticized the comments:
“We are appalled and indignant about the Japanese politician’s comments boldly challenging humanity and historical justices”
For a rarity, I am in agreement with China’s Foreign Ministry. Mr. Hashimoto wins the “Rape-Excusing/Enabling Shithead of the Month Award”. I know the month is only half over, but its going to be hard to top this line.
| 156 |
stabby Tue, May 14, 2013 10:56:51pm |
Good quote from Pablo Pantoja, the former Florida GOP hispanic outreach guy (whatever that title is).
Democrats embrace Hispanics and the culture as a positive thing. Democrats seem more in tune with the reality of what happens in diverse communities. Some solutions in governmental policy are better than others, but there is room for fiscal sanity in the Democratic Party. People’s rights, from voting to other protections, are important. We can’t just dismiss those because of some eugenics-based study [emphasis mine].
That’s a good characterization of the Heritage Foundation / Patrick Buchannan stance, eugenics. Perhaps we should use that word more.
| 157 |
Kragar Tue, May 14, 2013 11:21:36pm |
Soldier In Charge of Sex Assault Prevention Accused of Abuse, Pimping
A soldier assigned to coordinate a sexual assault prevention program in Texas is under investigation for “abusive sexual contact” and other alleged misconduct and has been suspended from his duties, the Army announced Wednesday.
The announcement came just one week after an Air Force officer who headed a sexual assault prevention office was himself arrested on charges of groping a woman in a parking lot.
| 159 |
Tigger2 Wed, May 15, 2013 12:19:19am |
| 160 |
boredtechindenver Wed, May 15, 2013 2:30:00am |
| 161 |
Sol Berdinowitz Wed, May 15, 2013 2:59:52am |
re: #155 Dark_Falcon
And for our final “Have you lost your mind?! item of the night, we leave both wingnuts and moonbats behind and head to Japan, where Osaka mayor Toru Hashimoto decided to unleash a piece of shit remark guaranteed to anger every other nation that borders the Pacific, plus any other nations that fought in World War II:
For a rarity, I am in agreement with China’s Foreign Ministry. Mr. Hashimoto wins the “Rape-Excusing/Enabling Shithead of the Month Award”. I know the month is only half over, but its going to be hard to top this line.
The only piece of corn I can pick out of this turd is that we should not be so quickt in just blaming the soliders, they are just trying to cope with their difficult circujmstances: we should focus the true blame the assholes who send the soldiers to fight far from home in the first place.
| 164 |
freetoken Wed, May 15, 2013 5:40:26am |
So, I’m wondering if the wingnuts will now like Rangel, after hating on him for so long?
| 165 |
Bert's House of Beef and Obdicuts Wed, May 15, 2013 5:41:54am |
re: #164 freetoken
Back in the better-old-days, the rivalries in government weren’t between democrats and republicans, they were between the senate, the house, and the executive branch. It’d be nice to get back to that.
| 166 |
freetoken Wed, May 15, 2013 5:46:01am |
As a society we’re addicted to sensationalistic headlines.
If some tragic event didn’t occur today, we’ll generate whatever substitute “news” story is necessary, and make it as big a deal as possible, just so we can be entertained.
re: #165 Bert’s House of Beef and Obdicuts
Yeah, but the good ol’ days are gone. Rangel might have who knows how many agendas, but if he thinks he can score a win out this then he’s just foolish. The GOP spent 4 years trying to scare Americans into how horrible Obama was… and it didn’t work. So now they are trying to make him out to be someone worse than Nixon, though the first 4 years of the Obama administration has been one of the cleanest I can remember.
| 167 |
A Mom Anon Wed, May 15, 2013 5:46:05am |
re: #61 FemNaziBitch
Thank You. I also heard some twit on the radio yesterday saying that TP groups are going to sue the IRS because of all the invasive questions asked that cost them millions in legal fees. What? I think I smell a whiff of horseshit coming from somewhere…..
| 168 |
lawhawk Wed, May 15, 2013 5:56:37am |
re: #164 freetoken
Well, everyone - Democrat and Republican can run against Obama now. Obama’s not up for reelection, but the critters in the House are up next year. Railing against the IRS is low-hanging fruit, though it’s rather ballsy for Rangel to quip about taxes after his own tax mess and loss of the chairmanship on the Ways and Means Committee. But his constituents voted him back with the greatest of ease.
The GOP thinks that they’ve got Obama right where they want him - the IRS scandal will have legs, but Benghazi still preoccupies their attention.
If anything, the IRS scandal shows just how unworkable many of the tax provisions are or have become because of Congressional intentions. It’s past time to clean up the Code - and make it easier for everyone to navigate the tax code and file their returns accurate and on a timely fashion - and for the IRS to be able to clearly understand itself what the tax obligations and requirements are.
What’s lost in much of the discussion is that the IRS should be examining closely every 501(c) applicant, but how it’s done - particularly in relation to the political action issue needs to be resolved. I suggest eliminating the exemption for all such entities other than homeowners associations and volunteer emergency associations and social welfare entities (501(c)(4)), but others are suggesting that all 501(c) entities must release lists of donors, instead of allowing them to remain anonymous. There’s quite a bit of pushback on that issue since some groups may benefit from maintaining the confidentiality of their donors. Either way, something has to be done - and it’s not just going to happen through a few scalps at the IRS or WH.
| 169 |
ProTARDISLiberal Wed, May 15, 2013 6:16:09am |
And I am done with Network News.
CNN (Anderson Cooper & David Gergen) said that the IRS things was serious in regards to the Tea Party, and a special prosecutor is needed.
Then, on NBC this morning, I see one of the Today Show hosts talking to David Gregory, and Gregory is saying that the President doesn’t have enough control over the agencies, and is trapped in a bubble. They were taking Benghazi seriously as well.
| 170 |
Targetpractice Wed, May 15, 2013 6:20:43am |
It’s the next act in this three-ring circus, the press couldn’t ding Obama for being the evil mastermind behind these “scandals,” so now they’ll instead ding him for not having stopped from ever happening. Seriously clashes with the whole “WORSE THAN NIXON!” bit, but nobody’s ever accused the MSM of consistency.
| 171 |
Bulworth Wed, May 15, 2013 6:22:57am |
re: #167 A Mom Anon
Thank You. I also heard some twit on the radio yesterday saying that TP groups are going to sue the IRS because of all the invasive questions asked that cost them millions in legal fees. What? I think I smell a whiff of horseshit coming from somewhere…..
Tort Reform!! Well, right after we sue, sue, sue the IRS!
| 172 |
lawhawk Wed, May 15, 2013 6:24:09am |
Europe is dipping back into recession, due in no small part to the austerity packages that were crammed down by the bigwigs at the ECB and it’s going to slow growth worldwide.
If you think that wont have an impact on the bottom line of US companies, you’d be sorely mistaken. Global companies are already feeling the pinch. US automakers, for one, have seen significant losses in Europe even as profits roll in from the US and Asia. GE and other companies producing durable goods are seeing slack demand there while growth in the US.
That comes on the heels of reports in the US that sequestration is having, well, foreseen consequences that include higher spending and costs over the long term. It’s counterintuitive, but when you defer spending on key infrastructure or items now, it will cost more down the road. Cutting spending on public defenders means that you’re going to spend more to reimburse private sector pool defense attorneys. Defer FAA spending on key upgrades to pay for air traffic controllers now, and it will mean higher costs and congestion later.
Oh, and the CBO has found that the deficit is shrinking in the US greater than expected due to higher than expected revenues.
How to fix all this? Well, the optimist in me says that this could form the basis of a grand bargain deal - combine the tax reform I wrote about above, along with spending reforms to replace the sequester with something more focused, and you could get the genesis of a deal - something that even GOPers might be able to get behind even if it means that Obama gets some amount of credit.
But the realist in me says that the GOP will squander this opportunity in demanding nothing but spending cuts and entitlement reform or else stalemate will persist. Oh, and for the WH to can any and all members of the Administration including AG Holder, Sec. State Kerry, and their underlings who may have been involved in the IRS scandal, Benghazi, or just by reason of being part of the Administration (and if they can go after Hillary, that’d be a bonus for them).
| 173 |
iossarian Wed, May 15, 2013 6:28:45am |
re: #172 lawhawk
[…] something that even GOPers might be able to get behind even if it means that Obama gets some amount of credit.
Happy face!
But the realist in me says that the GOP will squander this opportunity in demanding nothing but spending cuts and entitlement reform or else stalemate will persist.
Sad face. This, of course, is what will in fact happen.
| 174 |
Lawrence Schmerel Wed, May 15, 2013 6:28:56am |
David Byrne is so cool. I have always appreciated that guy. He still sounds great.
| 175 |
Romantic Heretic Wed, May 15, 2013 6:33:04am |
re: #53 FemNaziBitch
scroll down to the 2nd picture!!!!
It’s not an order, just a suggestion.
How is it by you?
Doing well.
| 176 |
Romantic Heretic Wed, May 15, 2013 6:37:24am |
re: #58 Dark_Falcon
The IRS must be apolitical, and in this case it wasn’t. That is a problem Congress must do its part to fix.
Unfortunately, since Congress can’t even order lunch without the GOP agreeing, and the GOP disagrees with the fact that the sun rises in the east (
The east?! Do you know what comes from the east? Socialism!
) if the IRS gets fixed it will be fixed the same way a dog gets fixed.
| 177 |
Targetpractice Wed, May 15, 2013 6:37:26am |
re: #172 lawhawk
I must say, I admire your optimism:
Conservatives Seek More Spending Cuts in Debt Limit Strategy
Looking to up the ante on debt limit negotiations, House conservatives will push to enact spending changes included in the House-passed budget in exchange for an increase in the nation’s debt ceiling.
The House Republican Conference will meet Wednesday afternoon to discuss the way forward on debt limit negotiations, and a conservative aide said that instead of making cuts to discretionary spending, members are seeking a structural overhaul.
“We do expect many conservatives to make the point that the debt ceiling needs to be tied to reforms from our House-passed budget that get us on a path to balance in 10 years, especially via mandatory spending that drives our debt,” the aide said.
| 178 |
A Mom Anon Wed, May 15, 2013 6:37:27am |
re: #175 Romantic Heretic
OMG, that’s adorable. And it made my dog howl, rotflmao.
| 179 |
Romantic Heretic Wed, May 15, 2013 6:44:34am |
re: #117 FemNaziBitch
FOX NEWS is propaganda, nothing more, nothing less.
It’s why I call them ‘The Ministry of Truth.’
| 180 |
Mattand Wed, May 15, 2013 6:49:54am |
re: #175 Romantic Heretic
Doing well.
I think I posted this before, so apologies. Still cracks me up, but I’m biased.
| 181 |
Bulworth Wed, May 15, 2013 6:56:44am |
OK, well, one of the headlines at CNN.com is this:
GITMO DETAINEES HURL INSULTS, EXCREMENT
Guards Hit With Feces
Exclusive: The men and women guarding detainees at Guantanamo deal with abuse every day.
I wonder if CNN will interview any of the detainees’ lawyers? I wonder if CNN will ask any questions about how people should be expected to deal with being confined for 10+ years without charges.
| 182 |
Bert's House of Beef and Obdicuts Wed, May 15, 2013 6:58:16am |
I love Canadians.
| 183 |
iossarian Wed, May 15, 2013 7:08:07am |
re: #182 Bert’s House of Beef and Obdicuts
[Embedded content]
I love Canadians.
That’s some great “woah crap”-ing right there.
| 184 |
William Barnett-Lewis Wed, May 15, 2013 7:08:39am |
re: #181 Bulworth
OK, well, one of the headlines at CNN.com is this:
I wonder if CNN will interview any of the detainees’ lawyers? I wonder if CNN will ask any questions about how people should be expected to deal with being confined for 10+ years without charges.
Gitmo
Manzinar
Wounded Knee
and so on all the way back to earliest Indian wars such as King Phillip’s War.
We have a tendency to, in times of fear and stress, to lash out and our worst side comes to the fore. And the worst thing is knowing full well that we, as a nation, will willfully refuse to learn any lessons from the disaster of Gitmo any more than we have been willing to from all our other travesties of justice over the centuries.
| 185 |
Feline Fearless Leader Wed, May 15, 2013 7:12:39am |
Good morning Lizards.
Overcast and cool today in Philly.
Building site across the street making progress. They laid down concrete pad on about 2/3 of the foundation last week. Now putting up structural steel all across the site while still doing concrete work in one corner - I presume the latter is going to be support for something like an access ramp.
The window plants are doing well for the most part. I am starting to harvest basil and rosemary for cooking. The cilantro, thyme, and dill are up, but still quite small. The peas are having cat-related issues since one of the cats is grazing on them. (And she has bypassed obstacles placed in her way twice - so she wants to get to these plants badly. The other cat just goes to nibbles a few catnip leaves when he gets peckish.)
| 186 |
Decatur Deb Wed, May 15, 2013 7:14:17am |
re: #172 lawhawk
There will be no grand bargains between the TPGOP and the Socialist Muslin Antichrist. They would filibuster the Kenyan’s “Free Banana Splits for Congress” initiative. Fuck them—I’m using all my spare change and energy for the next two years to get rid of a vulnerable Republican.
| 187 |
Eclectic Cyborg Wed, May 15, 2013 7:46:33am |
American dies trying to dribble soccer ball to Brazil
He left Seattle on a long journey to Brazil, but got killed after being hit by a pick-up truck in OREGON. That really, really sucks.
| 189 |
NJDhockeyfan Wed, May 15, 2013 7:56:48am |
re: #164 freetoken
So, I’m wondering if the wingnuts will now like Rangel, after hating on him for so long?
He sounds like he isn’t very happy.
“I don’t think anyone truly believes that the president has given us a sufficient answer for America, much less the press,” Rangel said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” “I think this is just the beginning and the whole idea of comparing this with Nixon, I really think is just, it doesn’t make much sense. But the president has to come forward and share why he did not alert the press they were going to do this. He has to tell the Americans, including me: What was this national security question? You just can’t raise the flag and expect to salute it every time without any reason and the same thing applies to the IRS.”
| 190 |
Mattand Wed, May 15, 2013 8:01:50am |
re: #189 NJDhockeyfan
He sounds like he isn’t very happy.
Rangel isn’t happy because he got caught doing something illegal, and was probably expecting the Democratic party to cover his ass.
Since that didn’t happen, he’s going to join all the other mouth breathers, a.k.a. conservatives and Republicans, in looking for some sort of horseshit “scandal” to blame on Obama.
| 191 |
Bert's House of Beef and Obdicuts Wed, May 15, 2013 8:04:34am |
re: #189 NJDhockeyfan
It’ll be really funny if the same right-wingers who rightly castigated him now champion him.
| 192 |
Eclectic Cyborg Wed, May 15, 2013 8:07:15am |
re: #191 Bert’s House of Beef and Obdicuts
It’ll be really funny if the same right-wingers who rightly castigated him now champion him.
Sounds like a Daily Show bit in the making.
| 193 |
NJDhockeyfan Wed, May 15, 2013 8:07:34am |
re: #190 Mattand
Rangel isn’t happy because he got caught doing something illegal, and was probably expecting the Democratic party to cover his ass.
Since that didn’t happen, he’s going to join all the other mouth breathers, a.k.a. conservatives and Republicans, in looking for some sort of horseshit “scandal” to blame on Obama.
It isn’t just him. There are more Dems questioning the WH over this scandal as well.
…Republican outrage is predictable, maybe even manageable. Democratic outrage is not.
The dam of solid Democratic solidarity has collapsed, starting with New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd’s weekend scolding of the White House over Benghazi, then gushing with the news the Justice Department had sucked up an absurdly broad swath of Associated Press phone records.
Democrats are privately befuddled by the White House’s flat-footed handling of this P.R. and legal mess, blaming a combination of bad timing, hubris and communications ineptitude. The most charitable defense offered up on background is that Obama staffers are scandal virgins, unaccustomed to dealing with a rabid press.
Add the entire press and this is going to get really ugly for the POTUS before it’s all over.
| 194 |
Decatur Deb Wed, May 15, 2013 8:07:53am |
re: #189 NJDhockeyfan
Rangel’s statement is pretty close to the direction of most of our commenters over the last few days—not happy, not freaking, wanting a good justification.
| 195 |
Eclectic Cyborg Wed, May 15, 2013 8:08:28am |
re: #194 Decatur Deb
Rangel’s statement is pretty close to the direction of most of our commenters over the last few days—not happy, not freaking, wanting a good justification.
That describes me.
| 196 |
Feline Fearless Leader Wed, May 15, 2013 8:08:44am |
re: #194 Decatur Deb
Rangel’s statement is pretty close to the direction of most of our commenters over the last few days—not happy, not freaking, wanting a good justification.
But us lockstep liberals are not allowed to criticize the tyrant and Lord of Sharia!
///
| 197 |
leftynyc Wed, May 15, 2013 8:09:34am |
re: #103 Dark_Falcon
Nobody is justifying anything - just pointing out revolting hypocrisy of the right.
| 198 |
Decatur Deb Wed, May 15, 2013 8:13:23am |
There’s a whole list of things about the Obama presidency that make me unhappy, and I’d be attacking him from the left. One thing stops me—disgust at the hyena-pack tactics of his disloyal opposition. So I just sit here imagining the Romney presidency working hand-in-hand with Cantor, Boehner, McConnell and Paul. Then I suck it up.
| 199 |
Bert's House of Beef and Obdicuts Wed, May 15, 2013 8:14:04am |
re: #193 NJDhockeyfan
I think a lot of people have lost the ability to differentiate between people saying that something is a problem that needs to be fixed and a ‘scandal’. People who have bough into the stupid shit over the years, like ACORN, anti-global warming conspiracy theories, Fast and Furious, etc. have gotten into this mindset that every ‘scandal’ is going to be something that goes Right To the Top!
In most places and cases, ‘scandals’ are localized. In Fast and Furious it was one asshole pretending to be a whistleblower who was responsible for most of the bad shit, in ACORN there was really no problem at all, a few places had very minor problems that were made to look like more, in ‘climategate’ the emails were a little nasty, etc.
| 200 |
NJDhockeyfan Wed, May 15, 2013 8:20:43am |
re: #199 Bert’s House of Beef and Obdicuts
I think a lot of people have lost the ability to differentiate between people saying that something is a problem that needs to be fixed and a ‘scandal’. People who have bough into the stupid shit over the years, like ACORN, anti-global warming conspiracy theories, Fast and Furious, etc. have gotten into this mindset that every ‘scandal’ is going to be something that goes Right To the Top!
In most places and cases, ‘scandals’ are localized. In Fast and Furious it was one asshole pretending to be a whistleblower who was responsible for most of the bad shit, in ACORN there was really no problem at all, a few places had very minor problems that were made to look like more, in ‘climategate’ the emails were a little nasty, etc.
Those stupid ‘scandals’ ended up to becoming nothing but the Right trying to get something on Obama and nothing became of it. Since last week with Benghazi, the IRS, and AP stories becoming questionable the MSM has all of a sudden become an attack dog. I’m curious to see how the WH handles this. It’s not just the GOP and RW going after him. There are some Dems and the MSM demanding answers now.
| 201 |
BigPapa Wed, May 15, 2013 8:25:04am |
re: #193 NJDhockeyfan
It isn’t just him. There are more Dems questioning the WH over this scandal as well.
Add the entire press and this is going to get really ugly for the POTUS before it’s all over.
It sure is, thanks for playing.
By MIKE ALLEN and JIM VANDEHEI | 5/14/13 9:10 PM EDT
The town is turning on President Obama — and this is very bad news for this White House.
Republicans have waited five years for the moment to put the screws to Obama — and they have one-third of all congressional committees on the case now. Establishment Democrats, never big fans of this president to begin with, are starting to speak out. And reporters are tripping over themselves to condemn lies, bullying and shadiness in the Obama administration.
Buy-in from all three D.C. stakeholders is an essential ingredient for a good old-fashioned Washington pile-on — so get ready for bad stories and public scolding to pile up.
And you’re participating in the pile on. Use the term ‘scandal’ profusely.
Why are you linking to such hyperbole?
| 202 |
Eclectic Cyborg Wed, May 15, 2013 8:25:04am |
I’m wondering how big a factor Obama’s youth and relative inexperience plays in all this. He does seem a bit unprepared in certain areas does he not?
| 203 |
Eclectic Cyborg Wed, May 15, 2013 8:26:31am |
Establishment Democrats, never big fans of this president to begin with, are starting to speak out.
Am I right in assuming they are not big fans because they don’t feel he’s Liberal enough?
| 204 |
Interesting Times Wed, May 15, 2013 8:28:14am |
re: #203 Eclectic Cyborg
Am I right in assuming they are not big fans because they don’t feel he’s Liberal enough?
No, sorry, I don’t see that at all. Establishment Dems tend to be corporatists.
| 205 |
Interesting Times Wed, May 15, 2013 8:31:01am |
And have I mentioned lately how much I hate, hate, hate the worse-than-useless corporate media? GOPers were allowed to get away with actions hundreds of times worse than anything Obama’s done here. But oh no, impeachment calls against a Dem president are a-okay, but if you dare question a GOPer for doing the exact same thing or worse, you’re an un-American traitor 9_9
| 206 |
Eclectic Cyborg Wed, May 15, 2013 8:31:33am |
re: #204 Interesting Times
No, sorry, I don’t see that at all. Establishment Dems tend to be corporatists.
Corporatists as in “owned by business interests”?
| 207 |
wrenchwench Wed, May 15, 2013 8:31:37am |
re: #202 Eclectic Cyborg
I’m wondering how big a factor Obama’s youth and relative inexperience plays in all this. He does seem a bit unprepared in certain areas does he not?
There are only two living people with more experience than Obama at his current job.
| 208 |
Decatur Deb Wed, May 15, 2013 8:31:55am |
re: #204 Interesting Times
No, sorry, I don’t see that at all. Establishment Dems tend to be corporatists.
Commie Socialist corporatists!!
| 209 |
Eclectic Cyborg Wed, May 15, 2013 8:33:07am |
re: #207 wrenchwench
There are only two living people with more experience than Obama at his current job.
I didn’t mean inexperience at being President, I meant political inexperience. Obama was one of the youngest men ever elected to the White House.
| 210 |
BigPapa Wed, May 15, 2013 8:35:07am |
Politico is Hyperbolico:
Charlie Rangel: Obama answers not enough
Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.) said Wednesday that he believes President Barack Obama owes the American public explanations for both the seizure of Associated Press phone records by the Department of Justice and the IRS targeting of conservative groups.
“I don’t think anyone truly believes that the president has given us a sufficient answer for America, much less the press,” Rangel said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” “I think this is just the beginning and the whole idea of comparing this with Nixon, I really think is just, it doesn’t make much sense. But the president has to come forward and share why he did not alert the press they were going to do this. He has to tell the Americans, including me: What was this national security question? You just can’t raise the flag and expect to salute it every time without any reason and the same thing applies to the IRS.”
The White House has said Obama wasn’t involved in either the IRS decision to target conservative groups — a position backed up by an inspector general report released Tuesday — or in the DOJ’s decision to broadly subpoena phone records for 20 Associated Press phone lines in three cities.
Rangel is a member of the House Ways And Means Committee, which will hold a hearing on why the IRS gave tougher scrutiny to conservative groups’ non-profits applications on Friday morning.
“In Watergate, Senator Baker said it all, everybody uses this: ‘What did he know and when did he know it?’” Rangel said. “I am confident that the President is angry as hell about this, as he should be. The IRS is no place for partisanship, Democrat or Republican.”
But Rangel, a staunch Obama ally, said the press should give Obama time to sort out what happened.
“We have to give him an opportunity to root out any wrongdoing, whether it’s just negligence or criminal,” Rangel said. “But, for right now, to say that the president should be doubted? No. He has to come forward and give more of an answer than he has done.”
Header doesn’t really match the story again. It appears that most media outlets are trying to capitalize on the sensational feeding frenzy of potential scandal when there really isn’t one, but better get in on the hype just in case because everybody else is.
| 211 |
Interesting Times Wed, May 15, 2013 8:36:54am |
re: #206 Eclectic Cyborg
Corporatists as in “owned by business interests”?
Exactly. It applies to practically all politicians, though of course is much for some than others. That’s where “jokes” like this come in:
| 212 |
wrenchwench Wed, May 15, 2013 8:37:51am |
re: #209 Eclectic Cyborg
I didn’t mean inexperience at being President, I meant political inexperience. Obama was one of the youngest men ever elected to the White House.
Yeah, I know, but I couldn’t not make that comment.
What I really mean is that it’s too late in his Presidency to blame inexperience. It’s time to blame the people he surrounds himself with. And I don’t think a lack of political experience necessarily equals a lack of political savvy.
| 213 |
Mattand Wed, May 15, 2013 8:39:56am |
re: #193 NJDhockeyfan
It isn’t just him. There are more Dems questioning the WH over this scandal as well.
Add the entire press and this is going to get really ugly for the POTUS before it’s all over.
Gee, Maureen Dowd criticizing Obama. What a shocker.
I’d agree that being “No Drama” Obama at a time like this has its drawbacks. And things like the IRS picking on the poor widdle Tea Baggers, as much as I despise those idiots, is a problem.
These aren’t scandals. They’re problems that need to be deal with. Unfortunately, the American Taliban is desperate to take out Obama by any means other than lynching (and I’m not even sure that’s off the table.)
Mix that in with an idiot press hungry for ratings and taking their cues from Fox, and you’ve got “Oh noes! The Kenyan Socialist is a horrible person!”
Forgive me if I’m not running around with my head on fire.
| 214 |
Bulworth Wed, May 15, 2013 8:40:30am |
re: #203 Eclectic Cyborg
What are you doing, trying to add substance to this discussion? Tiger Beat on the Potomac don’t play that.//
| 215 |
wrenchwench Wed, May 15, 2013 8:40:59am |
re: #187 Eclectic Cyborg
American dies trying to dribble soccer ball to Brazil
He left Seattle on a long journey to Brazil, but got killed after being hit by a pick-up truck in OREGON. That really, really sucks.
That’s so sad. Last Saturday a cyclist was killed near here by a pick-up truck.
BAN PICK-UP TRUCKS!!!!
Or at least give their drivers some remedial education.
| 216 |
blueraven Wed, May 15, 2013 8:41:49am |
re: #212 wrenchwench
Yeah, I know, but I couldn’t not make that comment.
What I really mean is that it’s too late in his Presidency to blame inexperience. It’s time to blame the people he surrounds himself with. And I don’t think a lack of political experience necessarily equals a lack of political savvy.
I tried to make the case yesterday that the WH advisers were not doing Obama any favors. The crisis management has been abysmal.
| 217 |
stabby Wed, May 15, 2013 8:42:52am |
I don’t get the IRS scandal.
1/4 of the PACs being scrutinized were tea party, isn’t that about the right percentage?
I don’t see any scandal except for the usual right wingers assuming that they’re being victimized by the tools of Satan for being Godly Christians
| 218 |
Interesting Times Wed, May 15, 2013 8:43:35am |
re: #209 Eclectic Cyborg
On an OT note, is there a way I can contact you off of LGF? A few days ago you mentioned driving on the Texas portion of I-40 near Groom, and I’m interested in knowing more about that particular area (it’s research for a book I’m writing)
| 219 |
BigPapa Wed, May 15, 2013 8:44:34am |
Pressure cookers? Scary. But this is barely worth your time.
Morford kills it.
| 220 |
wrenchwench Wed, May 15, 2013 8:45:22am |
re: #216 blueraven
I tried to make the case yesterday that the WH advisers were not doing Obama any favors. The crisis management has been abysmal.
It’s so hard to know the best way to approach these things. You want to see some wingnut heads explode, but then you need cooperation on other issues…..
| 221 |
blueraven Wed, May 15, 2013 8:48:13am |
re: #220 wrenchwench
It’s so hard to know the best way to approach these things. You want to see some wingnut heads explode, but then you need cooperation on other issues…..
My main complaint was the tepid statement about the IRS…who no one likes anyway. Pres didn’t react until Monday and then it was IF this is true, when the IRS had already admitted to targeting conservative groups. I think that was a huge missed opportunity.
| 222 |
Decatur Deb Wed, May 15, 2013 8:48:21am |
re: #206 Eclectic Cyborg
Corporatists as in “owned by business interests”?
Not just owned, but in-tune-with philosophically.
| 223 |
chadu Wed, May 15, 2013 8:56:10am |
re: #24 Kragar
I’ll found my own media! With blackjack and hookers!
Let’s have a bachelor party media with chicks and guns and fire trucks and hookers and drugs and booze!
| 224 |
wrenchwench Wed, May 15, 2013 8:59:26am |
Controversy over #beatingdeath of a #California man by several officers.They said he was drunk and resisted arrest.fxn.ws/10MCr0b— Hernán Rozemberg (@scribehernan) May 15, 2013
| 225 |
NJDhockeyfan Wed, May 15, 2013 9:00:40am |
Uh oh, the IRS has another problem to deal with.
IRS faces class action lawsuit over theft of 60 million medical records
The Internal Revenue Service is now facing a class action lawsuit over allegations that it improperly accessed and stole the health records of some 10 million Americans, including medical records of all California state judges.
According to a report by Courthousenews.com, an unnamed HIPAA-covered entity in California is suing the IRS, alleging that some 60 million medical records from 10 million patients were stolen by 15 IRS agents. The personal health information seized on March 11, 2011, included psychological counseling, gynecological counseling, sexual/drug treatment and other medical treatment data.
“This is an action involving the corruption and abuse of power by several Internal Revenue Service agents,” the complaint reads. “No search warrant authorized the seizure of these records; no subpoena authorized the seizure of these records; none of the 10,000,000 Americans were under any kind of known criminal or civil investigation and their medical records had no relevance whatsoever to the IRS search. IT personnel at the scene, a HIPPA facility warning on the building and the IT portion of the searched premises, and the company executives each warned the IRS agents of these privileged records,” it continued.
| 226 |
Mattand Wed, May 15, 2013 9:10:31am |
re: #225 NJDhockeyfan
Uh oh, the IRS has another problem to deal with.
IRS faces class action lawsuit over theft of 60 million medical records
Again, if the charges are actually true, they should be dealt with harshly. I noticed you left this part off, though:
The class action lawsuit against the IRS seeks $25,000 in compensatory damages “per violation per individual” in addition to punitive damages for constitutional violations. Thus, compensatory damages could start at a minimum of $250 billion.
A minimum of a quarter of a trillion dollars? Really?
| 227 |
A Mom Anon Wed, May 15, 2013 9:11:02am |
And now for some good news….
The Husband got a job offer this morning!! Not as much money as we’d like to see, but it’s not insulting either. I hope this all works out, this is not the first time in the last 11 weeks a job offer turned out to be crap. He seems to be confident this is a good offer, so I feel optimistic.
| 228 |
Eventual Carrion Wed, May 15, 2013 9:14:35am |
re: #202 Eclectic Cyborg
I’m wondering how big a factor Obama’s youth and relative inexperience plays in all this. He does seem a bit unprepared in certain areas does he not?
No one is ever prepared for the Inquisition. Guilty until proven innocent is a tough way to have to do your job effectively. Would be better if he could just fuck a prostitute in a diaper and get a standing ovation from the floor of congress, but he doesn’t get that option. If he farts it is a fucking earth shattering affront to all that is good and holy to the USA.
| 229 |
A Mom Anon Wed, May 15, 2013 9:15:37am |
re: #225 NJDhockeyfan
So what the hell was the purpose of all this? I’m not sure what the hell the IRS would be trying to do with that info for 10 million people. It makes no sense, unless I’m just a bit slow on the uptake today.
| 230 |
NJDhockeyfan Wed, May 15, 2013 9:20:07am |
re: #229 A Mom Anon
So what the hell was the purpose of all this? I’m not sure what the hell the IRS would be trying to do with that info for 10 million people. It makes no sense, unless I’m just a bit slow on the uptake today.
That’s what I was thinking. I thought the IRS collected taxes, not health records.
| 231 |
darthstar Wed, May 15, 2013 9:20:32am |
Getting ready to move office this weekend. I’ve packed all of my personal items from my desk into the box. I just need to get a bunch of popcorn to protect it.
| 232 |
lawhawk Wed, May 15, 2013 9:21:18am |
re: #225 NJDhockeyfan
Here’s the actual court filing. The allegation is that the IRS sought information about one particular individual and that when they didn’t get it, they took the entire server containing information about millions of other people and millions of medical records. That constitutes 4th Amendment violations of search and seizure, as well as HIPAA violations on medical privacy.
The alleged incident occurred in 2011, and the filings were made in March 2013.
Oh, and these are the same attorneys who defended Wesley Snipes in his tax case.
| 233 |
lawhawk Wed, May 15, 2013 9:21:54am |
re: #231 darthstar
Getting ready to move office this weekend. I’ve packed all of my personal items from my desk into the box. I just need to get a bunch of popcorn to protect it.
Need more cowbell!!!
| 234 |
darthstar Wed, May 15, 2013 9:23:03am |
| 235 |
NJDhockeyfan Wed, May 15, 2013 9:24:56am |
Top Dem tax-writer calls for IRS officials to resign
The ranking Democrat on the House’s tax-writing committee on Wednesday called for two senior officials at the IRS to step down over the agency’s targeting of conservative groups.
Rep. Sandy Levin (D-Mich.) said the acting commissioner of the IRS, Steven Miller, and Lois Lerner, who runs the IRS’s section on tax-exempt organizations, should resign.
“My own judgment is that, based on the report from the inspector general, I think there’s reason to believe that Mr. Miller should be released of his responsibilities as well as Ms. Lerner,” Levin said in an interview on MSNBC. “There was such total mismanagement.”
| 236 |
danarchy Wed, May 15, 2013 9:26:10am |
re: #229 A Mom Anon
So what the hell was the purpose of all this? I’m not sure what the hell the IRS would be trying to do with that info for 10 million people. It makes no sense, unless I’m just a bit slow on the uptake today.
My guess is they were doing an audit and just grabbed images of a bunch of servers. I doubt they were going after the medical records but ignored the warnings that they were there as they collected their data. Probably because it was easier than trying to sort through everything and just grab what they needed.
| 237 |
blueraven Wed, May 15, 2013 9:26:14am |
re: #230 NJDhockeyfan
That’s what I was thinking. I thought the IRS collected taxes, not health records.
It could be related to a medicare or medicaid fraud case…who knows?
| 238 |
A Mom Anon Wed, May 15, 2013 9:27:27am |
re: #232 lawhawk
OK, now it makes sense. It’s fucked up, but it answers my WTF.
| 239 |
Lidane Wed, May 15, 2013 9:31:53am |
Is that a gun in your pocket or are you just glad to see me?
Florida Man Shoots Himself While Bowling | wpbf.com/news/south-flo…— Florida Man (@_FloridaMan) May 15, 2013
| 240 |
NJDhockeyfan Wed, May 15, 2013 9:32:30am |
re: #237 blueraven
It could be related to a medicare or medicaid fraud case…who knows?
That’s true. Getting the health records of 10 million people instead of one person is a problem though.
| 241 |
Lidane Wed, May 15, 2013 9:38:01am |
Because RWNJ sexism doesn’t just apply to women:
Pat Robertson tells viewer whose husband cheated on her to remember, “well, he’s a man” bit.ly/14ogmDv— Right Wing Watch (@RightWingWatch) May 15, 2013
| 242 |
darthstar Wed, May 15, 2013 9:39:13am |
re: #239 Lidane
Is that a gun in your pocket or are you just glad to see me?
I love Florida Man. He gets all the fun.
| 243 |
NJDhockeyfan Wed, May 15, 2013 9:39:23am |
| 244 |
darthstar Wed, May 15, 2013 9:40:38am |
| 245 |
Mike Lamb Wed, May 15, 2013 9:51:11am |
re: #217 stabby
I don’t get the IRS scandal.
1/4 of the PACs being scrutinized were tea party, isn’t that about the right percentage?
I don’t see any scandal except for the usual right wingers assuming that they’re being victimized by the tools of Satan for being Godly Christians
I’m with you on this. Unless someone can show that liberal groups have a similar name “theme” and that the key word searches didn’t use words associated with that theme, then I’m not seeing the issue. Isn’t it the IRS’s job to make sure these groups meet the requisite standards?
| 246 |
HappyWarrior Wed, May 15, 2013 9:51:51am |
| 247 |
lawhawk Wed, May 15, 2013 9:54:49am |
re: #245 Mike Lamb
I’m with you on this. Unless someone can show that liberal groups have a similar name “theme” and that the key word searches didn’t use words associated with that theme, then I’m not seeing the issue. Isn’t it the IRS’s job to make sure these groups meet the requisite standards?
The IRS is supposed to check every entity to make sure that they comply with IRC provisions. Political activity should disqualify an entity from 501(c) status, but the problem is how to identify that activity and how deep the IRS should dig to determine whether the entity complies. The TIGTA report found that the IRS set up a litmus test based on entity name, and that was not sufficiently apolitical. That’s a no-no.
They also found that the Department didn’t have sufficient oversight on how to determine political activity.
It can and will lead to abuse - as it did in this case.
| 248 |
William Barnett-Lewis Wed, May 15, 2013 10:00:28am |
re: #232 lawhawk
Oh, and these are the same attorneys who defended Wesley Snipes in his tax case.
Imagine my surprise…
| 249 |
leftynyc Wed, May 15, 2013 10:00:35am |
re: #230 NJDhockeyfan
That’s what I was thinking. I thought the IRS collected taxes, not health records.
The President should have thrown out every single person involved with the prior administration….nothing but trash left behind.
| 250 |
Lidane Wed, May 15, 2013 10:01:11am |
Report: White House Asks Schumer To Revive ‘Media Shield’ Bill livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/report-w… via @igorbobic— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) May 15, 2013
| 251 |
Lidane Wed, May 15, 2013 10:01:48am |
Obama to GOP: Put Up or Shut Up on DOJ Investigation bit.ly/19tCMnW— Mother Jones (@MotherJones) May 15, 2013
| 252 |
leftynyc Wed, May 15, 2013 10:02:35am |
re: #241 Lidane
Because RWNJ sexism doesn’t just apply to women:
The Christian rights sounds more like the freeking taliban every single day.
| 253 |
makeitstop Wed, May 15, 2013 10:02:46am |
Some RWNJs just refuse to let go of that Benghazi bone… why, just this morning on Facebook…
One of my resident RWNJ friends took issue with Obama saying we dishonor the people who died by turning Benghazi into a political circus, and claimed that Obama played politics with it all along and that Republicans would never do such a thing.
I responded by posting the still-delicious link of McCain skipping a Benghazi briefing to hold a press conference demanding more information about Benghazi, and asked for a simple yes or no as to whether that would qualify as ‘playing politics.’ Haven’t seen him on Facebook since. Heh.
Otherwise, how is everyone today?
| 254 |
Mike Lamb Wed, May 15, 2013 10:03:40am |
re: #247 lawhawk
The IRS is supposed to check every entity to make sure that they comply with IRC provisions. Political activity should disqualify an entity from 501(c) status, but the problem is how to identify that activity and how deep the IRS should dig to determine whether the entity complies. The TIGTA report found that the IRS set up a litmus test based on entity name, and that was not sufficiently apolitical. That’s a no-no.
They also found that the Department didn’t have sufficient oversight on how to determine political activity.
It can and will lead to abuse - as it did in this case.
I can understand that to a degree. On the other hand, the IRS was also attempting to do their job—not do something outside of the scope of their activities. I also look at the practicalities of the situation. There was an explosion of applications, coupled with downsizing of staff. They looked for a short-cut to assist them in their investigations. It was somewhat lazy, and I also can see the potential for abuse. The process clearly needs revision, but the idea that this is some sort of “scandal” devalues the term.
| 255 |
Lidane Wed, May 15, 2013 10:07:29am |
re: #253 makeitstop
Otherwise, how is everyone today?
Awkward.
I share an office with a co-worker. Right now she’s in some major conference call with two of our company directors. I’m thinking I should’ve gone to Starbucks for a half hour or so. I figured that just putting my earbuds in and turning them up a bit would be easier, that way I could still work and ignore the drama.
Not so much. ARGH.
| 256 |
GeneJockey Wed, May 15, 2013 10:10:21am |
re: #253 makeitstop
I got de-friended by a relative after responding to one of her many posted links to the usual Wingnut crap. I asked her if she really thought we would create more jobs by giving even more money to the folks who are taking the largest slice of national income, and who now have more money than anyone ever in the history of the world.
She said that yes, she believed it. I asked how she thought that would work. She de-friended me.
Apparently, many people see Facebook as a place where they can post whatever political stuff they want without ever being challenges.
| 257 |
AlexRogan Wed, May 15, 2013 10:12:02am |
re: #256 GeneJockey
I got de-friended by a relative after responding to one of her many posted links to the usual Wingnut crap. I asked her if she really thought we would create more jobs by giving even more money to the folks who are taking the largest slice of national income, and who now have more money than anyone ever in the history of the world.
She said that yes, she believed it. I asked how she thought that would work. She de-friended me.
Apparently, many people see Facebook as a place where they can post whatever political stuff they want without ever being challenges.
Thinking is apparently too much to ask of some people…
| 258 |
GeneJockey Wed, May 15, 2013 10:12:17am |
re: #247 lawhawk
Did the IG report suggest the abuse was intentional? Or just folks with a job to do and not enough resources to do it, who came up with a clever, but biased way of filtering for likely violations?
| 259 |
GeneJockey Wed, May 15, 2013 10:12:56am |
re: #257 AlexRogan
And she’s a teacher. A teacher in West Virginia, but still.
| 260 |
Lidane Wed, May 15, 2013 10:13:24am |
re: #256 GeneJockey
I have a lot of friends like that. Interestingly enough, the most political folks on my FB list are conservatives.
Most of the time I just ignore it and scroll on by, but there are times I have to say something, like when a former prof of mine posted a link agreeing with McConnell saying that Obama shouldn’t stonewall. I laughed about McConnell criticizing anyone for stonewalling. I couldn’t help it.
| 261 |
darthstar Wed, May 15, 2013 10:15:36am |
Fucking market-hating marxist socialist kenyan muslims…
Image: 946859_10200917413473544_9124325_n.jpg
And yes, the guy’s battery is low…I pointed that out to him.
| 262 |
GeneJockey Wed, May 15, 2013 10:16:04am |
re: #260 Lidane
My brothers, both more Liberal than I, often comment on Conservative posts, but all that does is put that post on THEIR page and make it appear on all their friend’s feeds, and you can never find their comment.
| 263 |
Sol Berdinowitz Wed, May 15, 2013 10:16:19am |
re: #256 GeneJockey
Apparently, many people see Facebook as a place where they can post whatever political stuff they want without ever being challenges.
I just block people when they get political on Facebook. or me, there are political blogs for politicking, dating sites for dating, etc, FB is for sharing info about personal events with my friends and family.
| 264 |
AlexRogan Wed, May 15, 2013 10:16:40am |
re: #261 darthstar
Fucking market-hating marxist socialist kenyan muslims…
Well, at least they hate Apple…
///
| 265 |
lawhawk Wed, May 15, 2013 10:17:47am |
re: #258 GeneJockey
The full report is re: #258 GeneJockey
here.
The Determinations Unit developed and used inappropriate criteria to identify applications from organizations with the words Tea Party in their names. These applications (hereafter referred to as potential political cases)13 were forwarded to a team of specialists14 for review. Subsequently, the Determinations Unit expanded the criteria to inappropriately include organizations with other specific names (Patriots and 9/12) or policy positions. While the criteria used by the Determinations Unit specified particular organization names, the team of specialists was also processing applications from groups with names other than those identified in the criteria. The inappropriate and changing criteria may have led to inconsistent treatment of organizations applying for tax-exempt status. For example, we identified some organizations’ applications with evidence of significant political campaign intervention that were not forwarded to the team of specialists for processing but should have been. We also identified applications that were forwarded to the team of specialists but did not have indications of significant political campaign intervention. All applications that were forwarded to the team of specialists experienced substantial delays in processing. Although the IRS has taken some action, it will need to do more so that the public has reasonable assurance that applications are processed without unreasonable delay in a fair and impartial manner in the future.
| 266 |
Stanghazi Wed, May 15, 2013 10:18:05am |
| 267 |
blueraven Wed, May 15, 2013 10:18:07am |
re: #258 GeneJockey
Did the IG report suggest the abuse was intentional? Or just folks with a job to do and not enough resources to do it, who came up with a clever, but biased way of filtering for likely violations?
It doesn’t really matter if it was intentional or just a misguided “shortcut”. The appearance of an agenda by IRS employees is enough.
You know damn well we would all be having a fit if this was done under Bush and the groups singled out had “progressive” in their name.
| 268 |
GeneJockey Wed, May 15, 2013 10:18:17am |
re: #263 Sol Berdinowitz
I don’t block, but I do just scroll on by. I do the same thing with my niece’s perennial “Thank you , God!” posts, and my sister’s animal welfare/Richard III/beading posts.
| 269 |
Kragar Wed, May 15, 2013 10:19:13am |
Pat Robertson has advice for women who are struggling to forgive their cheating husbands: “Well, he’s a man.”
On today’s 700 Club, Robertson told a woman whose husband was cheating on her that she should stop focusing on the adultery and instead ponder, “Does he provide a home for you to live in, does he provide food for you to eat, does he provide clothes for you to wear, is he nice to the children…is he handsome?”
After encouraging the woman to focus on the positives rather than her husband’s adultery, which Robertson imagined to be a one night stand with a stripper in a hotel room, he said she should “give him honor instead of trying to worry about it.”
He also suggested the woman could have done more to prevent her husband from cheating: “But recognize also, like it or not, males have a tendency to wander a little bit and what you want to do is make a home so wonderful that he doesn’t want to wander.”
“What you have to do is say, ‘My husband was captured and I want to get him free,’” Robertson said, concluding that the woman should still be grateful that she lives in America: “Begin to thank God that you have a marriage that is together and that you live in America and good things are happening.”
Seriously?
| 270 |
GeneJockey Wed, May 15, 2013 10:20:20am |
| 271 |
GeneJockey Wed, May 15, 2013 10:22:53am |
re: #267 blueraven
It doesn’t really matter if it was intentional or just a misguided “shortcut”. The appearance of an agenda by IRS employees is enough.
You know damn well we would all be having a fit if this was done under Bush and the groups singled out had “progressive” in their name.
I don’t agree that the motivation doesn’t matter, though I agree with you that the appearance is bad enough either way. Or, put another way, it won’t matter to the Right, or to the Media, but it matters to me. I see a big difference between an innocent screwup and intentional politically-based targetting.
| 272 |
Lidane Wed, May 15, 2013 10:30:01am |
re: #257 AlexRogan
Thinking is apparently too much to ask of some people…
The worst is when I see a lot of people posting the same debunked shit. If I clear it up by posting a Snopes link I end up with the inevitable “well, I still believe it” response.
| 273 |
GeneJockey Wed, May 15, 2013 10:32:13am |
re: #272 Lidane
The worst is when I see a lot of people posting the same debunked shit. If I clear it up by posting a Snopes link I end up with the inevitable “well, I still believe it” response.
Of course! It’s not about KNOWLEDGE, it’s about BELIEF. And an anonymous outrage email that conforms to your beliefs is MUCH more credible than actual data that refutes them.
This article has been archived.
Comments are closed.
Comments are closed.
Create a PageThis is the LGF Pages posting bookmarklet. To use it, drag this button to your browser's bookmark bar, and title it 'LGF Pages' (or whatever you like). Then browse to a site you want to post, select some text on the page to use for a quote, click the bookmarklet, and the Pages posting window will appear with the title, text, and any embedded video or audio files already filled in, ready to go.
Or... you can just click this button to open the Pages posting window right away.
Last updated: 2023-04-04 11:11 am PDT LGF User's Guide RSS Feeds
Or... you can just click this button to open the Pages posting window right away.
Last updated: 2023-04-04 11:11 am PDT LGF User's Guide RSS Feeds
- Featured PagesClick to refresh
Alone in a Bathroom: The Fear and Uncertainty of a Post-Roe Medication Abortion Angel tucked two white pills into each side of her mouth, bracing herself as they began to dissolve. Her deepest fears and anxieties took over. Angel had wanted to talk to a doctor before she took the pills to ...
Cheechako
1 weeks ago
Views: 1,205 • Comments: 0 • Rating: 3
They Were Desperate to Get Pregnant. Then IVF Gave Them Extra Embryos. One morning last spring, Ashley Harrolle put her 1-year-old daughter down for a nap and went to the kitchen. She pulled up her fertility clinic’s contact information. It was time to make the call. In a freezer several hundred ... Cheechako
2 weeks ago
Views: 270 • Comments: 0 • Rating: 1- Pictures From Today’s Exhibition of Paintings Done by Jane LilienthalPROPS TO MICHELE AND SAGEHEN FOR CATCHING THE SPELLING ERROR IN THE TITLE THAT MY DIABETIC EYES COULDN'T CATCH I wanted to share pictures of the art show I visited today. The portraits were created by the mother of my ...Joe Bacon ✅
2 weeks ago
Views: 380 • Comments: 1 • Rating: 11 
March FavoritesYou've seen these all already but looking back, just because. These are my favorite shots of this last month. That 1937 Zeiss Sonnar is such a gloriously wonderful bit of glass. Thanks for looking.
William Lewis
3 weeks ago
Views: 510 • Comments: 2 • Rating: 9
Russia’s New Combat Robots Blown Up by Drones Near Avdiivka When we landed on the moon, I thought about how science fiction had become real. Now, the robot wars have begun. It's more poignant somehow on the ground than in the missile wars we have in the air as ...
Rightwingconspirator
3 weeks ago
Views: 533 • Comments: 1 • Rating: 5
Why Did More Than 1,000 People Die After Police Subdued Them With Force That Isn’t Meant to Kill? An investigation led by The Associated Press has found that, over a decade, more than 1,000 people died after police subdued them through physical holds, stun guns, body blows and other force not intended to be lethal. More: Why ... Cheechako
3 weeks ago
Views: 521 • Comments: 1 • Rating: 5- A Closer Look at the Eastman State Bar DecisionTaking a few minutes away from work things to read through the Eastman decision. As I'm sure many of you know, Eastman was my law school con law professor. I knew him pretty well because I was also running in ...KGxvi
3 weeks ago
Views: 427 • Comments: 1 • Rating: 4 
Abortions Outside Medical System Increased Sharply After Roe Fell, Study Finds The number of women using abortion pills to end their pregnancies on their own without the direct involvement of a U.S.-based medical provider rose sharply in the months after the Supreme Court eliminated a constitutional right to abortion, according ... Cheechako
4 weeks ago
Views: 754 • Comments: 0 • Rating: 4
- Recent PagesClick to refresh
Once Praised, the Settlement to Help Sickened BP Oil Spill Workers Leaves Most With Nearly Nothing When a deadly explosion destroyed BP’s Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico, 134 million gallons of crude erupted into the sea over the next three months — and tens of thousands of ordinary people were hired ... Cheechako
Yesterday
Views: 69 • Comments: 0 • Rating: 0
Texas County at Center of Border Fight Is Overwhelmed by Migrant Deaths EAGLE PASS, Tex. - The undertaker lighted a cigarette and held it between his latex-gloved fingers as he stood over the bloated body bag lying in the bed of his battered pickup truck. The woman had been fished out ... Cheechako
4 days ago
Views: 169 • Comments: 0 • Rating: 1
