Monday Open Thread [5.13.13]
On Friday afternoon, Marcos at dKos posted up a great analysis of how the new gun safety groups — Mayor Bloomberg’s and the one headed up by Gabby Giffords — are changing the state of play over gun safety legislation. Kos’ piece focuses entirely on the money in the game, not on any of the organizing that might be done by either group, but if Bloomberg can keep this up, I’m hopeful:
The Michael Bloomberg-backed gun control group is spending $500,000 to attack Ayotte’s vote against expanded background checks on Boston TV and another $150,000 on WMUR in Manchester, N.H. Ayotte has emerged as a top target for gun control groups after she declined to support expanded background checks. It comes on the heels of a $25,000 ad buy in defense of Ayotte by the National Rifle Association.
And while we live through the IRS giving tea-party groups extra scrutiny, Balloon Juice reminds us of Bush-era genuine targeting of liberal groups by the IRS put together by David Waldman:
Remember the outrage over IRS targeting of Emerge America, seeking nonprofit status to train women Dem candidates? nytimes.com/2011/07/21/bus…
— David Waldman (@KagroX) May 12, 2013
Remember the outrage over Bush-era IRS auditing of the NAACP? articles.baltimoresun.com/2004-10-29/new…
— David Waldman (@KagroX) May 12, 2013
And I remember President Obama’s then church being investigated by the IRS when he was running for President in 2008. Anyone remember when the wingnuts were upset about this? Right, I thought so. Personally, I think that the IRS should be looking pretty closely at all 501(c)4s. All of them.
Lots of amendments are being filed to attach to the Immigration Bill, but have you heard about the “Downton Abbey Amendment”? This one is being offered by Rep. Mike Lee (R-UT) in order to:
exempt “cooks, waiters, butlers, housekeepers, governessess, maids, valets, baby sitters, janitors, laundresses, furnacemen, caretakers, handymen, gardeners, footmen, grooms, and chauffeurs of automobiles for family use” from E-Verify
.
Right? You need to check potential employees in E-Verify if you are hiring a busboy in your restaurant, but not if you are hiring a housekeeper for your manse.
What interests you today?
President says he called Benghazi attack terrorism three days after it happened.
We all know that the administration was still blaming it on a video, two weeks later. What’s going on here?
Who cares? Really, who the fuck cares? The issue isn’t whether it was terrorism, the issue is why security was not beefed up on the eve of 9/11 on what we now know — and terrorists probably did, too — was a CIA site, and how to make sure it doesn’t happen again.
I’ll care about this as soon as the investigation into the lying that got us into Iraq wraps up its work.
The administration cared enough to do the entire talk circuit that weekend, and blame it on an obscure internet video that no one ever heard of. Then they made some sort of apology/blame it on the video commercial and broadcasted it all over the affected area.
You could even argue that the administration is to blame for the many deaths that happened, do to protests that never would have happened ,were it not for the publicity of the obscure video.
Sure, sure they were. Even though the protests were already happening in several other cities.
I get it: Obama is evil incarnate. Once you accept that premise, everything conservatives say makes some sense. Unfortunately, nobody who isn’t already in the cult gives a flying fuck.
The only thing people in this country are getting sick of is conservatives blaming everyone but themselves and their childish philosophy for the mess we’re in.
3 year old shot in the hand on Sunday up in Wilkes-Barre.
I don’t think Obama is “evil incarnate”. He or whoever, was just irresponsible to play politics with the information they had.
Please. While conservatives might be able to parse some meaning in whether or not it was a “terrorist” attack, this is precisely the kind of hair-splitting nobody with a life has time for. News flash: Government officials lie to us. If you want me to care, you’re going to have to find an issue on which the lies actually affect me. Neither Benghazi or the IRS targeting of Tea Party groups reaches that level.
Again, those who care an awful lot about these minor issues were conspicuously silent while the Bush administration, and Dick Cheney especially, were lying their asses off for months, and have shown no concern about it since. Nor did they show the slightest bit of concern when Homeland Security spied on peace groups. Sorry, but I’m in more in favor of the IRS keeping an eye on people who have stated their desire to evade taxes than the FBI keeping an eye on the Quakers.
He or whoever, was just irresponsible to play politics with the information they had.
If so, then Obama should suffer the same consequences George Bush did.
The best one was Joe Scarborough arguing with Carl Berstein this morning calling Watergate a partisan attack by liberals on conservatives, when something was said about how the baggers were the only ones complaining about Benghazi. I had to change the channel before I vommitted
Minnesota is the 12th state to approve same sex marriage — passed the Senate this afternoon 37-30 and Gov. Mark Dayton should sign tomorrow.
The Senate GOP has demanded that Obama’s nominee to head the IRS be immediately approved, so he can then be fired.
In that case then Democrats need to filibuster him.
Today’s latest Obama scandal. Obama Justice department secretly seizes phone records of 100 AP Journalist and editors.
This guy is going to make Bill Clinton look like a Boyscout before it is all over.
Sure makes you proud to be an American.
It’s intervention time. Morning joe show on MSNBC is running an eight person split screen with all the top brass including Andrea Mitchel, and David Gregory.
Party is over people. This administration is about to enter political rehab.
Ooh! Intervention, political rehab. That’s good stuff. I may have to start quoting myself like Don Ayotte does.
I just got an email from Joe Sestak announcing his exploratory committee for US Senator from PA. I don’t know if this is news or not but it is the first I heard it.
Geezer, who care, who the bleep care?. The problem with this is that it is corruption. And any time you have the government being corrupt, you comprimise the integrity of the system. When everything is running nicely this may not be a big problem, but when issue really come up, and you need an un biased and fair government, and they are partically corrupt, then the government may not be able to do their job. Perfect example is the drug wars and killings in Mexico. I live 4 hours from the border. I do business in El Paso Texas, literally 30 seconds from the border. I have numerous customers who keeping a low profile visit their families in Juarez Mexico several times a month. Their families are scared, these customers have told me the names of people in Juarez who are on the take, people in the police force, people in the militia, a high percentage of people in the government positions in Mexico are on the take. So when they need the police and Militia to stop the murders and violence, they can’t do it, (It has been six years), because to many of them are on the drug cartels payrol. I had a friend who went over their, he was kidnapped, the bandits asked his family for $200,000. His family could only raise $100,000. they gave the money to the bandits and received back a corpse. That is what is the problem with corruption, it leads to bigger problems. What about when Government bureaucrats are sitting on death panels created by Obama care, and whatever party is in office, they decided to give preference to that party, and Keep only their parties old people alive (I know your old geezer, and democrats are not going to be in power forever). That is going to be a big problem. So, who the bleep cares, I Do, and you should, but you don’t, because you are a liberal.