On The Path (Again)

The White House Press Office delivers some light Saturday morning comedy:

President Seeks Path Forward Beyond Troubles

Their gist - the White House won't be distracted by these distractions and neither will the Times. Instead they will focus on the President's agenda, as soon as they develop one.

I can't wait for the musical: Somewhere, over the rainbow, states are Blue...

Comments

[henry]

OK. Now we know he is secretly using Louis XIV and Marie Antionette as role models. Did he ignore the results as stuff that happened a long time ago? Who cares about the little people, it's time for another WH concert bash!

[Captain Hate]

Focused like a laser on golf, fundraisers and vacations. Too bad in the spirit of bipartisanship, Boehner didn't invite the JEF to his daughter's ill advised marriage to some stoner a-hole. Or at least the bachelor's party.

In addition to everything else, the GOP was presented with another pinata in those IRS "bonuses". Is there any way in which this governmental agency doesn't resemble organized crime?

[rich]

nope. i'm in the comment block of silence.

[Account Deleted]

"states are Blue..."

Lyrics by Coleridge after a barrel of laudanum, right? The Baghdad Press Office needs much tighter coordination with the jackbooted IRS agents of the Democrat Party to maintain the hallucination the President has anything more than repudiation and destruction in his future.

The question I have is whether the GOP will increase control to 34 states or whether 32 is a more reasonable goal.

[matt]

The media are already warning the GOP of overreach. We haven't even gotten started yet and there they are.

No one is asking "what did the president know and when did he know it?". He is obviously lying his ass off.

Any surprises in the Friday night dump?

[narciso]

Their default is to be unresponsive, and then marvel about it;

http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/responding-washington-post-benghazi_724785.html

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

--OK. Now we know he is secretly using Louis XIV and Marie Antionette as role models.--

Was gonna point out that should be Louis XVI, but then the Sun King really is more apropos for how this fool wishes us to view him, despite the brass knuckles protruding from under his powdered wig.

[narciso]

Only in the sense, Matt, that Miller doesn't consider going after tea partiers illegal persay,
he just view it as his version of 'anti extremist
taskforce' work.

[Neo]

The DC reports on Lois G. Lerner's conflict-of-interest with Humane Society of the United States

[henry]

Iggy, I'd toss it up to a typo... but I get mixed up on history if I don't search first. Besides, all those Louis's look alike. ;)

[Corn-fed conservative (southern strategy version)]

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) said Thursday that President Barack Obama and the U.S. Treasury Department were "wrong" to claim that the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial reform law ended the too-big-to-fail problem and the threat of future bank bailouts."They're wrong," Brown said during an interview on HuffPost Live, when asked about previous comments from Obama and Treasury officials that Dodd-Frank had solved too-big-to-fail.Obama declared bank bailouts dead in July 2010 when he signed Dodd-Frank into law and later reiterated the theme during his 2012 reelection campaign. Treasury officials repeatedly stated after the bill's passage that the legislation empowered regulators so they wouldn't be pushed to save major financial institutions with tax dollars in the future.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04...

Obama's corporate nose needs to be rubbed in this 99-0 senate vote.The good thing is, I don't think he has the balls to veto.

[Neo]

WASHINGTON—Saying that those were definitely some good times, a reflective President Obama told reporters Friday that the current scandals plaguing his administration have made him long for the deeply frustrating, often maddening political climate of his first term in office.

Oh .. that was the Onion

[narciso]

We suspected this, but we didn't know this from the horse's mouth;

http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2013/05/17/exclusive-woman-who-asked-irss-lois-lerner-scandal-breaking-question-details-plant

Which puts the kibbosh on the 'dyfunctional state' nonsense, punish the running dogs, protect regime allies,

[Captain Hate]

Louis the XVI and Marie Antoinette were far better people than the trash in the White House now.

[Dublindave]

First on the agenda: the name of the scummy Republican aide who intentionally doctored emails on Benghazi to mislead ABC and the American public.

Who does he work for?

[Account Deleted]

Henry,

It's easy to remember - Louis XVI was a full head shorter than Louis XIV.

[narciso]

Surely as with Czar Nicholas, he was aloof, some might say 'in over his head. but as compared to his predecessor Alexander 111, who Volodya styles himself after.

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

--Iggy, I'd toss it up to a typo... but I get mixed up on history if I don't search first.--

Henry,
The only reason I remember is because I've said the same thing so many times myself. :)

[matt]

I'm not sure, narciso, Vlad the Derailer may be channeling Peter the Great.

[Captain Hate]

narc, he was kind of like Poppy Bush. He knew something was going on but was hapless on how to respond to it. That "vision thing" seemed to elude them both.

[Corn-fed conservative (southern strategy version)]

It's not known if the aide was republican, or not.

Double-Agent.

[rse]

Tom-

I can assure you that the political agenda is for ALL states, 57 if you ask bo, are to become purple in outlook and policies. That's the reason for the federal revenue sharing to coerce Red states into adopting economic planning around Green Energy and reinvigorating urban areas. Then the Purple Mentality gets developed in the schools as well. Although those Swarthmore students have switched to quite a shade of Red.

But it's not Republican Red. It seems to be the shade of maroonish Red Billy Ayers favors. So maybe Purple is just a transition stage.

[Charlie (Colorado)]

Is there any way in which this governmental agency doesn't resemble organized crime?

Is there any way in which ANY government agency doesn't resemble organized crime?

[Charlie (Colorado)]

We suspected this, but we didn't know this from the horse's mouth;

Mouth?

[Captain Hate]

Is there any way in which ANY government agency doesn't resemble organized crime?

The military submits to civilian oversight.

[Corn-fed conservative (southern strategy version)]

"Is there any way in which ANY government agency doesn't resemble organized crime?"

Well, the VIG is usually a lower interest rate.

[James D.]

Louis the XVI and Marie Antoinette were far better people than the trash in the White House now.

It's difficult to name anyone who isn't a better person than the trash in the White House now

Nero, maybe? Caligula? Jim Jones? The Manson family?

[jimmyk]

I knew of Louis XVI at an early age from the old Alan Sherman song "You Went the Wrong Way Old King Louis," done to the tune of "You Came a Long Way from St. Louis." It starts out to the tune of Marseillaise:

Louis the Sixteenth was the King of France in 1789.
He was worse than Louis the Fifteenth.
He was worse than Louis the Fourteenth.
He was worse than Louis the Thirteenth.
He was the worst . . . since Louis the First.

[Frau Libelle]

IRS Obamacare division here to help

">http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2383/2337988451_6a0c18de4d.jpg?v=0">

[crazy]

Their scandal management is actually working pretty well. The media's got lots to right about. The politico's have lots to use against one another. And DOJ remains the ultimate authority in doling out punishment, which ain't gonna happen as long as the D's control the WH.

The only mechanism of accountability the D's don't completely control is the Constitutional process of impeachment for corrupt government officials - NOT the President, but officials such as Lois Lerner.

There is no other way to stop the professional bureaucracy from serving their political masters rather than the people. The President won't punish them and the AG won't prosecute them. Impeach the bureaucrats!

[crazy]

Sorry, "write" about.

[rse]

Crazy-we all do homonyms here as we type what we are thinking without always taking time to reread.

[Clarice]

exactly,crazy, though I'd start with Holder.

[pagar]

Wait till she starts soliciting donations for the death panels.

http://shark-tank.net/2013/05/18/obamacare-donor-gate-scandal-looming-over-white-house/

[Frau Eulenspiegel]

Good choice, Clarice. Who is up to calling for Holder's removal?

Andrew Malcom (IBD) notes that Obama-- although smartest man in any room--wasn't smart enough to come in out of the rain:

The commander-in-chief ordered two U.S. Marines to bring umbrellas and hold them over the leaders' heads while standing at attention. So, as the two politicians droned on, including translation, the professionals in their dress uniforms got drenched. As did the attending crowd.

Service regulations expressly forbid male Marines from ever carrying an umbrella in uniform. But nothing should ever stop the Real Good Talker from talking at a photo op. Just as oppressive heat and a fainting audience didn't slow his mouth last summer.

At one point Thursday Obama reached over to show the highly-trained Marine corporal how the president wanted the umbrella positioned to keep his face open to cameras.

[Ranger]

RSE,

I've been meaning to post this for a while. It's an e-mail I got a little while ago because, for some reason, I am still on the American Federation of Teachers e-mail list (long story, not worth going into here) All bolding here was in the original e-mail:

Dear .......,

This morning I addressed a group called the Association for a Better New York and spoke about the Common Core State Standards for math and English language arts that have been adopted by 45 states and the District of Columbia. I predicted these standards will result in one of two outcomes: They will lead to a revolution in teaching and learning, or end up in the dustbin of abandoned reforms. Educators want these standards to succeed—we know; we’ve asked them. But, in order for that to happen, we must have a chance to implement them before someone starts assessing how they’re working.

So today I called for a moratorium on the consequences of high-stakes testing associated with the Common Core standards until states and districts have worked with educators to properly implement them. Stand with me.

We are committed to the success of getting the transition to Common Core right. To do that, we must help teachers and students master this new approach and not waste time punishing people for not doing something they haven’t yet been equipped to do. Can you imagine doctors being expected to perform a new medical procedure without being trained or provided the necessary instruments? That’s what is happening right now with the Common Core.

We have the ability to transform the very DNA of teaching and learning, to move away from rote memorization and endless test taking, and toward problem solving, critical thinking and teamwork—things I know we have been advocating for years. It’s kind of amazing that we have to call on states and districts to implement the Common Core State Standards before making the new assessments count. But that’s what we’re doing.

Send a message to Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and your state education commissioner: When states and districts get the alignment right—which will require moving from standards to curriculum to field testing to revising—success will follow. But, until then, a moratorium on the stakes is the only sensible course.

Making changes without anything close to adequate preparation is a failure of leadership, a sign of a broken accountability system and, worse, an abdication of our moral responsibility to the kids we serve. The Common Core standards have the potential to be a once-in-a-generation revolution in education, but there must be a tangible commitment from leadership that says very clearly, “We support you, and the Common Core, and these are the concrete steps we are going to take to help you and them succeed.”

Stand with me, because if we are able to put our foot on the accelerator of high-quality implementation, and put the brakes on the stakes, we can take advantage of this opportunity and guarantee that stronger standards lead to higher achievement for all children. Help me send that message.

In unity,
Randi Weingarten
AFT President

I thought you might find it interesting. They know if Common Core is assessed, it will fail, unless they have time to completely re-write the assessments so that they no longer measure knowledge.

[Frau Eulenspiegel]

Isn't this IRS scandal unimportant to the 47%-49% who do not have to pay federal income taxes? There are probably many more who are cheering that the IRS targeted conservatives and religious citizens.

Everything is permitted to those who act in favor of the revolution.
1792-Callot d'Herbes at the French Convention

Whatever it takes to win.
Markos Moulitsas

[Jeff Dobbs]

Yes, but everyone with income has to file, even if they owe no taxes.

[Old Lurker]

Here we go again:

The Hill: "Treasury Secretary Jack Lew on Friday urged congressional leaders to raise the debt limit and insisted that the White House is not going to negotiate over the increase because lawmakers have "no choice."
"We will not negotiate over the debt limit," Lew wrote. "The creditworthiness of the United States is non-negotiable. The question of whether the country must pay obligations it has already incurred is not open to debate."

Of course the problem is that Progs score as "obligations incurred" all transfer payments provided under current law as if Congress has no right to redefine such transfer payments at any time. In their world the debt ceiling must be unlimited forever to pay for such transfers over and above the actual obligations that have written IOUs (like bonds) attached. Food Stamps = Treasury Bonds.

[Threadkiller]

Which voters are they trying to appease?

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/05/15/chatter-about-cruz-presidential-run-already-raising-birther-questions/#ixzz2TemsctXE

So much attention given to a rag tag miniscule group of loons.

Clarice, would you please contact Fox and ask them to not discuss this?

;-)

[Danube of Thought]

Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid are not "obligations already incurred." Payments for those programs can be reduced overnight. No one has a right to sue for any part of the reduction.

[Abu-ibn-Al-Jacki (Tea Party Taliban)]

Frau,

They may not pay Federal income taxes but most of them still have to file. This affects everyone who has to fill out any federal tax form, even your declarations for payroll with-holding. And they are going to get sick and their medical records are now at risk regardless of HIPPA. The GOP and others outside the Congress need to make this an issue that will not go away but rather expand both vertically and horizontally in the political spectrum.

Actually, I think the Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette comparisons not fitting to this regime. Remember the French Revolution was led by the left against the Royals and nobility. This is going to be a "right led" revolution because of the deeds of the radical left elitists. This regime is acting more Stalinist than noblesse oblige.

[Captain Hate]

Does anything have bomb written on it more convincingly than "Mork and Buffy"? When's the last time anybody can remember Robin Williams being funny? I'll submit the (very) short cameo in "The Adventures of Baron Munchausen". That was in 1988.

http://www.cleveland.com/tv-blog/index.ssf/2013/05/cbs_announces_2013-14_tv_lineup_robin_williams_and_sarah_michelle_gellar_co-star_in_comedy_vegas_and.html

[Jane -]

So now we know that the WH knew about the IRS targeting in June -which to me is a joke as I have no doubt that the order came from the oval office.

I agree with Clarice, altho I think we should impeach several people, not just Holder and make it very clear we are also considering impeaching the king himself.

Next I would defund the IRS.

Then I would hold ongoing hearings from the bottom up with everyone at the IRS.

And on and on and on...

[narciso]

The parallel was to reactionary czars following reformists, the longest span was Alexander 11, the one who sold us Alaska, by comparison Kruschev was eight years, the Gorbachev/Yeltsin period was 15, before the full reversion, Bely, in Petersberg, points out that there were some stars like Stolypin and Witte, in Nicholas's court, but the first was two easily snuffed out,
which was Solzhenitzyn's complaint.

[narciso]

They cancelled CSI NY and Vegas, what is wrong with these people, is Goodell a boardmenmber everywhere,

[Old Lurker]

Right you are, DoT, and also food stamps, rent support and all sorts of other Federal handouts.

This definition must not be allowed to stand or we are indeed sunk.

[Frau Eulenspiegel]

Jack Lew, in an interview, said he doesn't know Ms. Lerner personally but has heard she has the highest professional reputation. He has no concerns about her current placement with ObamaCare.

Albert Speer just wanted to build beautiful buildings for Germany and was the only one tried at Nuremberg to apologize for things he did and for things done by others in Onkel Adolf's murderous government.

[Jack est de Retour! (Certified Guillotine Operator)]

I don't suppose we could get a reverse app?

New app allows liberals to avoid buying from conservative companies.

[narciso]

And they moved PoI, to the last Tuesday bracket, which is not a propitous timeslot.

[Frau Eulenspiegel]

Abu Ibn JiB and hit - I agree, but I'm not sure the LIVers think it through to the personal involvement and negative impact on their lives.

[Jack est de Retour! (Certified Guillotine Operator)]

Frau,

Lois Lerner is not doing Obamacare. That privilege belongs to that skank, Sarah Hall Ingram. Lerner heads the Office of Exemptions I believe. We need a scorecard with lineups of all the players at both IRS, WH, Treasury and even DoJ. Its getting bloody confusing.

[Captain Hate]

They cancelled CSI NY and Vegas, what is wrong with these people, is Goodell a boardmenmber everywhere,

I was a fan of both of them but neither is particularly surprising to me. CSI NY was getting pretty long in the tooth, even though I liked all the cast changes; getting Sinise to emote so much was taking him away from what he does best, ie being a hard ass. Even though I thought Vegas was well developed, I can see where its appeal is limited.

Golden Boy might be a victim of just having too many cop shows on. That said it was extremely good at roping me in against my will. I just want to know when they'll pull the plug on "How I Met Your Mother"? How many times can you ask the same people to do the same thing and expect the seals to applaud on command?

[Jack est de Retour! (Certified Guillotine Operator)]

BTW, Terrific Heineken Cup Final at Aviva Stadium in Dublin: Toulon v. Clermont. All French final but with the finest Rugby Union players from around the world. Currently Clermont is up 6 points but never bet out a team that has Jonny Wilkinson on it. Most prolific kicker of the ball in the last 25 years.

Next up, Cricket scores, so stay tuned:)

[Danube of Thought]

I have long adhered to what is known as "The Williams Rule," which is that I won't watch a film in which Robin Williams appears. (See, also, The Streisand Rule, The Fonda Rule, The Sarandon Rule, The Carrey Rule, etc.)

[Frau Eulenspiegel]

Thanks, Jack. I'm shell shocked just looking at their faces until it's a blur and I guess, just like Pres. Bystander, I'm angry!

[Captain Hate]

And they moved PoI, to the last Tuesday bracket, which is not a propitous timeslot.

That's where Golden Boy was so that's not a "ratings bonanza" slot although I'd expect the POI fan base to take it in stride. People expected the last Friday slot for Blue Bloods to be the kiss of death and that didn't happen.

Good riddance to Rules of Engagement btw.

[Captain Hate]

Those are good rules DoT.

[Jack est de Retour! (Certified Guillotine Operator)]

I love it when I am right:) Just as I posted my Rugby comment, the Toulon fullback just scored a try and Jonny Wilkinson kicks the two point conversion for Toulon to go up 16-15 over Clermont with 15 minutes left in the game.

/Not Stuart Barnes.

[daddy]

Worth a mention.

We have a new Abortion Doctor Trial going on in America.

If you hit Goole and enter "Houston Doctor Accused of Abortions", you get a link to a CBS story from one day ago, which says "a Houston doctor is also accused of performing illegal abortions." That is the limit of the description of what this Abortion Doctor is supposed to have done. That same story runs in the Houston Chronicle---"illegal abortions." That's the extent of the description of what this Abortion Doctor did in the US Newspaper write-ups.

But if by chance you hit the Brit Tabloids, you get much more detail on the case, with blaring headlines that say: Second 'house of horrors' abortion clinic where doctor 'twisted heads off fetus' necks with his bare hands' is investigated in Texas:

---Houston doctor Douglas Karpen is accused by four former employees of delivering live babies during third-trimester abortions and killing them

---Witnesses said he would either snip their spinal cords, stab a surgical instrument into their heads or twist their heads off with his hands

Just another example of the corruption of the American press.

[maryrose]

DOT:
I agree with all of those except. Williams.
CH; The last season for "How I Met Your Mother" is the one for 2013-2014. In the last episode ,we got a glimpse of "Mother". I love Gary Sinise ever since "Forrest Gump. How come the original CSI is still on?
Jack Lew and Bammy are engaging in "magical thinking" wrt the debt ceiling. Repubs were so successful with making an albatross of the sequester around Preezy's neck that they are loaded for bear. Bammy will be beggibg for a deal . Anything with the Obama "signature tax increase" is dead on arrival as Reid loves to say.

[Danube of Thought]

The WaPo on why nobody is likely to go to jail over the IRS stuff.

[Danube of Thought]

I think Gronkowski is finished.

[Frau Eulenspiegel]

DoT rules!

I know why the preezy buried his academic records:

When one girl had a hard time coming up with the answer to one equation (two minus one), Obama said in a sympathetic tone that “subtraction is tougher than addition.”

He just carped on a real teaching moment by implanting the idea that subtraction is *harder* than addition. The president said so.

[Pops]

It has to be comforting to ambassador Stevens and his fellow dead that the President and Hilliary lied over their caskets and denied them the truth of their deaths...because Mitt Romney had put his dog in a cage on his SUV.

[Jack est de Retour! (Certified Guillotine Operator)]

DoT,

That is all based on what we know now and how much we know now. What happens if this does expand to sworn testimony to Congress and someone or lots of someones are caught lying like hell? Do we not have perjury?

Then, what if we find out that there was a collective partisan and deliberate strategy to deny an American citizen his right to petition his government. I cannot believe that that is not a criminal conspiracy.

But then I am not a lawyer, not eve a google lawyer. But I do know a guy who plays one on JOM:)

[Pops]

I would not single out an target the IRS for punishment like they did with conservatives.
I would simply cut government funding for any government agency that has a Capitol I, R and S in their names, regardless who that hurts. Lets say an across the board 20 % cut in funds and personnel.

[Jack est de Retour! (Certified Guillotine Operator)]

BTW, since others brought up Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, I am not off topic by telling you that Toulon won 16-15. Never, never bet against any team with Jonny Wilkinson on it.

[MarkO]

Where were the lawyers? John Dean, anyone?

http://thehill.com/opinion/columnists/lanny-davis/300325-white-house-counsel-should-resign-if-she-knew-about-irs-abuses

[Pops]

Did anyone ask Mr Miller during his testimony if he would find it acceptable for Americans to answer the questions on IRS forms the same way he dodges questions from congress?

Should the Republicans pass a bill giving each American five free "Millers" on their tax returns.

A Miller being a fudge, an incomplete answer, a nitpick of the question, a definition twist, etc.

[Gus]

Jack Lew. Such a nice man! Nice man who eatw at his desk. Very simple man with simple tastes. Nice nice nice nice man!! He keeps Wisconsin cheesemakers in business.

[Jack est de Retour! (Certified Guillotine Operator)]

Pops. LOL.

I use an Obama from time to time when I play golf. An Obama is where you have committed a penalty but don't take the extra strokes and in some cases you deduct strokes. Also an Obama can be used anywhere on the golf course, the clubhouse, home or at work. But not in church.

[jimmyk]

New app allows liberals to avoid buying from conservative companies.

What the h*** is a "conservative company"?

Incidentally, I was at a investment meeting recently where the topic of "ethical investing" or some such came up. One of the finance people said that those funds always underperform, and that there's a fund out there that actually does the opposite (avoids companies that the "ethical" funds invest in) and it has outperformed the market, as it would almost have to. I didn't catch the name, though. Mel, do you know?

[Pops]

These IRS employees could certainly go to jail if anyone really pushed...which of course won't happen with Obamas justice department.

There are plenty of crimes here from fraud to malfeasance, to conspiracy to obstruct, etc. etc.

You could easily throw the book at them and then offer them a plea simply to make the cost of lawyers and being drug through the mud go away. Democrats do it all the time.

[Pops]

We certainly are seeing quite good evidence that the IRS released confidential information to liberals groups from conservative groups confidential files. That is certainly a crime.

[narciso]

Well true, 'Golden Boy' and 'Vegas' had traded places, but to replace with something as trite
as a sitcom, with the former KGB handler from 'the Americans', seriously.

[rich]

maybe one of my comments will go through.

[rich]

“It is not illegal, sir, but it was unusual,” George said.

Which means that, in the end, it’s quite possible nobody will go to jail for what happened at the IRS.

so the spin as I see it from a rainy day in Fairfax...

1. These aren't real scandals-just a bunch of idiots doing idiot things.

2. No laws were broken.

3. The real issue is that the GOP is going to "overreach" on these non-scandals (and no less than Mr. Bipartisian McCain went to the White House to console the president after his bad week).

This is all unsatisfying.

[maryrose]

Pops
I agree that lawsuits should be filed. I think civil lawsuits will show that the American people are not going to let the IRS get away with this.
I feel better that Jack Lew is in charge. I didn't trust tax cheat Geithner as far as I could throw him. IRS is circling the wagons now. But the release of private records to media outlets is bad news.Someone will have to answer for that.
Obama,Holder Carney offered "faux outrage" I say along with clarice, impeach Holder first, then move along to the others. Even the possible threat of impeachment of Obama will have him whimpering like a little girl.

[jimmyk]

The "socially irresponsible fund" I think is this one, the Vice Fund.

[Pops]

Other famous incidence where no one was targeted:

- I just said people named Rosa had to sit in the back.

- no, colored means colorful people on that water fountain.

- no, we turned the water hoses onnthenpeople marching, we didn't target no cool reds. Famous democrat Bull Conner

[maryrose]

richatgmu:
Don't give up hope yet. This is the DEM magical thinking point of view. This is the result that they want. It isn't likely to be what happens in the real world where we all live. Magical thinking is what keeps progressives afloat. They just can't imagine anyone thwarting their agenda. Well right now they have hit the iceberg. For them to say this early that there is no hole in the boat or any water leaking in is ludicrous.

[crazy]

Clarice, Danube's WaPo article reporting "But violating the Constitution isn't technically a crime" is why Congress should impeach the smaller fish first. They're a lot easier to catch and a lot harder to defend than a big fish like Holder.

The real scandal is what they did with the data (political intelligence) they collected, stored, processed and/or distributed. Plus, that trail's a lot easier to follow and I suspect a lot easier to get the courts to support. If the little fish lead you to the bigger fish then go get 'em.

[Jane -]

Okay this is what I want to know, and what someone should ask: First WHY did Holder recuse himself, and 2nd did they find the leaker?

[richatuf]

i give up. can't comment. into lurker mode for a while

[richatuf]

of course now typepad is taunting me
of course that didn't go through , this one probably won't either
Frenandez over at The Belmont Club has "The Poisoned Chalice":
There is still some way to go until things become crystal clear ...

Can't write like this either. The MSM that we are counting on to get the story out, we will find was working hand-in-glove with the IRS to target conservatives. I recall when Bill Bennett had a book out someone leaked his tax records that showed 7 years worth of 5754's. The media made it out to be his hypocrisy when it should have been IRS and media officials going to jail.

back to not being able to comment

[daddy]

From Websters online Dictionary:

Definition of CONSPIRACY

1: the act of conspiring together

2a : an agreement among conspirators
b : a group of conspirators

Way behind, but technically do you guys think this fits the definition of a Conspiracy?

From USA Today: Planted question gambit backfires on IRS officials

1) It was the day after Lerner had testified to Congress.

2) The damning inspector general report would come out any day, and Lerner and Miller wanted to figure out a way to disclose the news publicly.

3) Lerner called Celia Roady, a Washington tax lawyer, and asked if I would pose a question to her after her remarks.

4) Roady did so.

5) later that day, Lerner emphasized that her apology came in response to a question. "I was asked a question at the ABA meeting to give a status update of things that have been in the press"... .Asked why the IRS chose that day to make an apology that day, she said, "Someone asked me a question today, so I answered it."

That, to my mind, is a Conspiracy. A minor one to be sure, but nonetheless a "Conspiracy."

For the benefit of themselves and their Agency, Lerner and Miller conspired together, (with the acquiescence of Roady,) in an effort to allow themselves to unethically manipulate the Public, the Media, and Congress, and to make it appear as if they were not the orchestrators of any conspiracy, but were merely diligent Public Servants responding to a Legitimate question from the Media.

I think it is valuable to have a proven, readily available example of an IRS Conspiracy at hand, since we are so often hammered as being nutty tin-foil hat types who believe in "Conspiracy Theories" by members of our Government.

I suggest we use this one as Example (A) of a proven Conspiracy, engaged in by our Federal Employees. It removes the burden of proof from our backs to prove that federal Employees are engaging in Conspiracies, and it places that burden where it rightfully belongs, upon "them", to prove they are not.

So, What do you guys think---Conspiracy, or not?

[narciso]

Roady who goes back to the IRS witchhunt against Newt, in the 90s. Then the excuse that the proliferation of tea party groups forced the issue, but the Chronicle of Philanthropy's survey proved that wasn't true.

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

--When's the last time anybody can remember Robin Williams being funny?--

What is never, Alex?

-- (See, also, The Streisand Rule, The Fonda Rule, The Sarandon Rule, The Carrey Rule, etc.)--

Heh.
Speaking of Jim Carrey, the other night on Psych, Shawn noted that Bruce Jenner has become a dead ringer for Fire Marshall Bill.
He has indeed.

[Ignatz Ratzkiwatzki]

If you mean criminal conspiracy daddy, then no.

[narciso]

They really are direct over there, not all this nuanced misdirection;

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2326558/Revealed-Obama-administration-knew-investigation-claims-IRS-harassing-tea-party-groups-June-2012-ousted-head-agency-insists-illegal.html

[Jane -]

Rich,

I see all your comments where you announce you can't comment, so maybe it's something else.

[rse]

Ranger-

I had seen bits and pieces of Randi saying that but the full quote is helpful. In part because teaching and learning is a defined term and a dialectical relationship that does not get measured by CRCTs or current tests.

When I read Pearson's paper on what they intend to do, it is clear that the assessments are to be an excuse for a particular type of group interaction around a particular type of problem. The end result is to frame how the world is seen. So the students will begin to recognize the need for change.

Randi knows that is was Growth means but now with tests of knowledge still around there is still the kind of gap that led to ATL cheating scandal.

Eldest leaving. Got to run.

[MarkO]

Of course it is a conspiracy and, it might be criminal because they are false exculpatory statements used to obstruct justice.

The WaPo has a reason for suggesting there are no crimes here. I read, today or last night a specific statute that could relate to this conduct. Appoint me special prosecutor and . . . OK, don't.

[Danube on iPad]

I think the legal definition of acriminal conspiracy is an agreement to commit an unlawful act.

[MarkO]

Don't forget the overt act.

[Pops]

Got a call from IRS. They said I had to claim my salary as income on my return. I told them that is salary money, not income money. It's like targeting, without using specific names and according to your boss it's perfectly legal.

It's the Miller technicality..look it up.

[matt]

CSI? que es CSI? In our house we watch sports and movies and that's about it. maybe a little Duck Dynasty or Pawn Stars for a change.

Finally got to watch Zero Dark Thirty and it was a heck of an education. It really brought the search for OBL to life.

That the agent had gone through the waterboardings as a participant and the Islamabad Marriott bombing and being so close to the action when the Jordanian blew up the CIA team at Camp Chapman was very interesting.

In other words, the agent who nailed Bin Laden was one of the people closest to the waterboarding brouhaha and would have been collateral damage if Holder had his way.

That she then nailed Bin Laden must have frosted the entire command structure with perhaps the exception of Panetta.

I don't know if the script used dramatic license or was it was a composite character, but that kind of work deserves an Intelligence Medal at the least. I wonder how Obama felt about all that?

By the way, the chatter at the National Defense University and Annapolis and the staff colleges is how screwed up the senior command is these days. Our government is collectively sweeping Iraq and Afghanistan under the rug as fast as possible.

In Iraq, Maliki is unwell and the militias are spinning out of control. Western Iraq has become part of the Syrian war zone as it is a sieve. Iran is flying weaponry into Syria with complicit approval from Maliki, who is an Iranian tool.

Erdogan's primary mission while here this week was to urge the U.S. to get more involved in Syria, and even there, the border is becoming a badlands.

The Israelis are rumored to be arming Assad as well. It would seem they are more concerned with the jihadis than a mythic ideal of democracy.

The Russians just upped the ante with next generation AA missiles.

As Dennis Hopper said in Apocalypse Now, "bad things, man...bad things".

[Captain Hate]

The Israelis are rumored to be arming Assad as well. It would seem they are more concerned with the jihadis than a mythic ideal of democracy.

The JEF is against Assad, right? At least that's what I think I remember from the last Smart Diplomacy update. That means it's in Israel's interest to be pro-Assad, per the JEF Costanza rule.

[peter]

Maryrose I love you, but your trust in Jack Lew is misplaced. He's a partisan hack and will do whatever Axelploufe, Schumer and Jarrett tell him to do.