Friday, May 17, 2013

Obama finally does something the GOP loves

Here's a bad idea, I'm going to make a prediction:

The AP phone records grab story is going to fade fast.

I mean come on. Does anyone believe the GOP will really do anything about a covert investigation that included seizing private phone records from the "liberal mainstream" media?

Nope. After all, the right side of the aisle certainly doesn't want any real reforms or legislation in place when it's their turn to spy on journalists.

Now they do have to act like they're upset about the issue because it's associated with Obama, so they might bellyache and get all red-faced, but then this thing is going to disintegrate like a wet Kleenex.

Folks, if something this public and this egregious gets glanced over by our government, say goodbye to the last thin remaining strands of privacy festooning the Constitution.

Aside: How funny is it that the Second Amendment zealots are afraid of a gun registry? As if the gov doesn't have every single one of them on a list anyway. They can find out anything about anyone without any reason, including what guns you own and whether or not you wear ladies' underwear.

Man-o-man, it ain't easy for libs. We put a "lefty" in the Oval Office and he starts doing stuff that would make Nixon blush.

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37 comments:

Bill said...

You might be right about this, Erin. But, you might be wrong. I'll predict that it's going to mean the end of Holder's reign.

Anonymous said...

There really is no left or right, conservative or liberal in our government. They are all self serving millionaires protecting only themselves. It is all theatrics.

Anonymous said...

"You might be right on this...But, you might be wrong."

I'll tell you, I had to brush away a tear or two when I read that.

I don't think there has been such a heart-wrenching, gut-churning, tension-filled moment as this since the Supreme Court granted cert on the infamous case of 'Tastes Great v Less Filling' in 1973.

MR

Harry Finch said...

All scandals are stupid, but not all stupid things are scandals.

Erin O'Brien said...

FINCH!

Harry Finch said...

Hi O'Brien - I dropped by for a cup of sugar, and a dose of Bill, the Darrell Issa of O'Brienville.

Erin O'Brien said...

Aw, I'm glad to see you no matter what, Finch. I hope you found some sugar--or at least a green bean sammie.

Harry Finch said...

I contest your assertion that Obama has done anything that would inspire a Nixon blush. I believe Nixon was incapable of blushing.

Harry Finch said...

There you go. Bowlers never blush.

philbilly said...

"There really is no left or right, conservative or liberal in our government. They are all self serving millionaires protecting only themselves. It is all theatrics."

Word.

Harry Finch said...

But isn't most of life theatrics? Are we always concerned about performance, about how it - whatever it is - comes off? Politics is merely human behavior on an actual stage.

(Italics are for you, Ms OB)

Jon Moore said...

Well, Harry Finch, I'll be damned. While I must say that I miss Crowded Ruins immensely, The LBGR is not without its pleasures.
Nice to see you out and about.

Hal said...

You're right about the AP, but I doubt anything will come of any of the big three "scandals."

There is no there to the Benghazi story - even when Republicans try to create a "there" out of thin air by doctoring emails to suggest there was an attempt to hide the State Department's role in the incident.

AP? Schmay pee. Like you say, the GOP will huff and puff about it because it's something they can throw against Obama, even though the victim is an organization they despise as much as, or maybe even more than Obama.

That leaves the IRS scandal, and this really is the only scandal with substance. Those responsible will and should be out of a job, and that will be that. Though there will be profoundly idiotic attempts to connect Obama to it (I mean the first letter of Obama's last name comes right before the second letter in "IRS." What is Obama trying to hide???).

The GOP is the most nihilistic political entity I have seen in my lifetime. Hopefully they will end up hoisting themselves on their own petard.

And @Bill you're probably right. Holder will eventually pay for casting aspersions on Louie Gohmert's asparagus.

Hal said...

And Erin, Obama is, and never really was a lefty. He is the latest example of a Democratic president who may sound like a liberal or even progressive, but ends up governing much like George H.W. Bush or Dwight Eisenhower.

Anonymous said...

@Hal...Word is that Michelle Bachmann is FURIOUS with Gohmert. Due to Screwy Louie she is now only the third stupidest person in the Congress.

Seriously, there are people in Gohmert's district who have tree stumps smarter than he on their property.

@Harry-good to see you again...

MR

Anonymous said...

The worst thing about Nixon's Lanes is that he had the temerity to build it over the swimming pool in which Marilyn Monroe sucked the chrome off of JFK's trailer hitch.

The nasty little spud probably wouldn't even swing for an open bar: "Leonid, the Blatz went up to four bits, and if I have to tell you again there's no more wheat!"

Anyone remember Ackroyd as Nixon? "No one ever had sex in the White House while Dick Nixon was President! Never!"

MR

Bill said...

A mention from Harry and Hal! I'll take it! I know off topic irritates but isn't it weird that there's really no coverage of Kermit 'snip snip' Gosnell? Convicted of murdering babies who survived the abortion process. No outrage? If he had just let them die, like Obama prefers, he'd only be guilty of running a filthy clinic.

Erin O'Brien said...

Jon: LBGR?

Hal: In the end, the GOP won't do a damn thing about the IRS debacle that would in any way interfere with its ability to pull the same shenanigans when its guy is in office. TRUTH.

Benghazi is undiluted bullshit and isn't going anywhere.

Obama as a disappointment? You bet. Where do we turn if the Left is Right and the Right is plain batshit crazy? Dunno. But hey, at least he got us out of Iraq.

Bill: Here's your coverage: Man does something illegal and gets convicted. Let's hope the same goes for George Zimmerman.

Harry Finch said...

The GOP says it wants the government to operate like a business, and so the IRS did. The Cincinnati office was underfunded, understaffed, overworked, and demoralized; so they took shortcuts to get through the workload. Anybody in the private sector knows the drill.

Bill said...

Couldn't disagree more, Harry. IRS wasn't operating like a business. They were/are operating like the government. Big government. And, it'll get worse. This is the agency that will be the collector for Obamacare. God help us.

Harry Finch said...

They were operating like a huge organization. Doesn't matter if it's public or private, the bigger the organization, the more stupid stuff happens.

You drink your Kool-Aid, Bill, and I'll drink mine. At least mine tastes like wine.

Anonymous said...

Harry
When the company goes rogue, the CEO is fired.

Erin O'Brien said...

May 15, 2013

The internal message to IRS employees from acting IRS Commissioner Steven T. Miller:

Dear Colleagues,

It is with regret that I will be departing from the IRS as my acting assignment ends in early June. This has been an incredibly difficult time for the IRS given the events of the past few days, and there is a strong and immediate need to restore public trust in the nation’s tax agency. I believe the Service will benefit from having a new Acting Commissioner in place during this challenging period. As I wrap up my time at the IRS, I will be focused on an orderly transition.

While I recognize that much work needs to be done to restore faith in the IRS, I don’t want anyone to lose sight of the fact that the IRS is comprised of incredibly dedicated and hard-working public servants. During my 25-year IRS career, I am profoundly proud to have worked alongside you and to be part of an institution that has worked hard to support the nation. I have strong confidence in the IRS leadership team to continue the important work of our agency.

I want to thank everyone for all of their support and friendship during my career in government service. And I especially want to thank each and every one of you for your continued commitment to the nation’s taxpayers.

--Steve

Harry Finch said...

When the company goes rogue, the CEO is fired.

We're talking about some members of a staff in an office of a division of a bureau of a department of the US government. And they didn't go rogue. They were people struggling to do their jobs.

The IRS is not made up of political appointees. It is a permanent bureaucracy, staffed with civil service employees.

I've seen lots of commentaries about how if Obama were a CEO he'd be fired. If it were a valid analogy - which it is not - he would not be fired, given the facts as we now know them.

(I tell you, my Obama Kool-Aid is lip-smackin' good)

Erin O'Brien said...

Got Jamie Dimon?

Bill said...

I didn't realize, Erin, that self defense was part of Gosnell's defense at trial. Seriously, though; it is strange that the press isn't talking about this. I mean, how can an aborted fetus be murdered? Don't ya'll keep saying that a fetus isn't a person?

Erin O'Brien said...

Spittin' out the bait here, boss.

Anonymous said...

@Erin-

When someone from the right side of the spectrum complains about press coverage, the say "Why isn't the press covering this?" In reality they mean to say "Why isn't the press covering this alone, with attention given to nothing else, and by the way why are they not in total agreement with my point of view?"

Google returns over 53 million results for "Kermit Gosnell". Kermit Gosnell doesn't have 53 million friends of Facebook. The press is covering Kermit Gosnell.

MR

Anonymous said...

@Erin-

The AP "story" is especially entertaining as one watches the nutsack fringe of the GOP trying to pretzel up a sense of outrage, since they are the same nutsack fringe who tried to flambé the administration for the leaks that generated the story in the first place.

I just don't understand why so many in the nutsack fringe seems so angry and disgruntled all the time. I would think it would be a blast to be able to speak out with a faux sense of outrage on any topic with ZERO regard for logic, their own previous contradictory statements, or the truth. It must be like spending a day at Six Flags over Lewis Carroll.

MR

Hal said...

Chris Hayes had a reall
y nice take on the AP story Friday:

http://video.msnbc.msn.com/all-in-/51923335

Hal said...

The real lesson of Kermit Gosnell is that if abortion is criminalized, or overly restricted, more like him will come out of the woodwork.

Bill said...

I'm trying to figure out when the murders occurred. Is it a matter of when the snip took place?

Not sure I get your logic Hal. Abortion IS legal and you have to think there are plenty more, like Gosnell, around. But, the question remains; why were just 3 of the thousands considered murder?

Bill said...

RE: IRS Sucks

The Daily Beast sheds some light

Bill said...

It's so difficult keeping up with all of the scandals. Has Bush been blamed for any of them yet? I'm pretty sure he had something to do with the hurricane.

Erin O'Brien said...

Can't even stop the political sniping long enough to let the Oklahomans bury their children, eh?

Real nice, Bill.

Anonymous said...

@ Erin-He's a tragic case: he shows all the signs of early-onset Tourette's/Alzheimer's syndrome, or TAZ.

In its most common manifestation, a patient will make loud and nonsensical noises and insults, mostly gibberish but with the occasional, very rare identifiable actual word. Towards the end of the screed the individual tapers down and realizes that s/he has no idea whatsoever who or what s/he was brassed off by at the beginning of the outburst.

MR
W/V: 'ffeevai': A giant individual getting warmed up for his performance ie, 'Fee-vai-fo-fum'



Anonymous said...

Ave Erin!

In the name of human decency, I implore the chairs of the various committees that are investigating the I.R.S. and A.P. “scandals” to ban from committee membership any congressperson who voted for, or votes to continue, such atrocities as the Bank Secrecy Act or the P.A.T.R.I.O.T. Act. Authoritarian nosey-pokes such as they have no standing to pose as defenders of privacy and freedom. “Cast out the beam from thine own eye that thou mayest more clearly see to cast out the mote that is in thy brother's eye.”

Vale,
«Civis Tammsiensis»