In February 2010, the Champaign Tea Party in Illinois received approval of its tax-exempt status from the IRS in 90 days, no questions asked. That was the month before the Internal Revenue Service started singling out Tea Party groups for special treatment. There wouldn't be another Tea Party application approved for 27 months.Examples at the link.
In that time, the IRS approved perhaps dozens of applications from similar liberal and progressive groups, a USA TODAY review of IRS data shows. As applications from conservative groups sat in limbo, groups with liberal-sounding names had their applications approved in as little as nine months. With names including words like "Progress" or "Progressive," the liberal groups applied for the same tax status and were engaged in the same kinds of activities as the conservative groups.
May 15, 2013
"IRS approved liberal groups while Tea Party in limbo."
Greg Korte in USA Today today:
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«Oldest ‹Older 201 – 360 of 360From the OIG report:
For the 296 total political campaign interventionapplications TIGTA reviewed as of December 17, 2012, 108 had been approved, 28 were withdrawn by the applicant, none had been denied
OOPS!
Looks like garagie's "a liberal group was denied" talking point just fell through.
Totally shocking.
Oh man, this just hurts:
While the team of specialists reviewed applications from a variety of organizations, we determined during our reviews of statistical samples of I.R.C. § 501(c)(4) tax-exempt applications that all cases with Tea Party, Patriots, or 9/12 in their names were forwarded to the team of specialists
If you look at the article to which I linked, you'll see a graphic to back that up.
"The first head rolls: O announces that Steve Miller, acting commissioner of the IRS and a man who’s known for a year about the agency’s targeting of conservatives, is out. Worth noting, though: Miller wasn’t commissioner when most of the targeting occurred. That was Doug Shulman, who left in November."
http://hotair.com/archives/2013/05/15/open-thread-obama-to-address-irs-scandal-at-6-p-m-et/
Uh, 298 applications went through extra scrutiny.
295 were conservative groups
Once in a while I notice blogger eats a link. I'm sure that's what happened to Jay. Oh well, he can always just post it again?
Must be a bad day for blogger eating links. I've read about 12 posts today by Jay that had no source link.
"But in an email to IRS employees, Miller claimed he would only be leaving next month because his assignment would be over."
So, so far nobody is paying a price for this.
garage: ""Oh hey, remember the other day....!!??"
We all remember the other day!!
We remember your pathetic lies regarding a false charge from your lefty pals that was disproven by the very link you provided but neglected to read!
LOL!
Jay: "From the OIG report:
For the 296 total political campaign interventionapplications TIGTA reviewed as of December 17, 2012, 108 had been approved, 28 were withdrawn by the applicant, none had been denied"
Wow.
NONE had been denied!
But garage said that there had been liberal "groups" that had been denied.
Then, when confronted, he walked that back to a single liberal "group" that had been denied.
Now we find, once again, that an IG report actually negates, completely, utterly, what garage had asserted and referenced.
LOL
I mean, really?!
Is this what barely graduating high school in some Wisconsin backwater means in terms of ones ability to read/comprehend/reason?
It's gotta mean something!
We remember your pathetic lies regarding a false charge from your lefty pals that was disproven by the very link you provided but neglected to read!
Ah, no. You and Jaytard have no scruples, I do. If I erred I admit it.
bagoh: "So, so far nobody is paying a price for this."
This is SOP for Obama.
garage: "Ah, no. You and Jaytard have no scruples, I do. If I erred I admit it."
Hmmm, did you admit you got it wrong regarding the falsehoods you put forth the other day which were proven false by the OIG report you linked to?
I'll bet you didn't.
garage mahal said...
I've read about 12 posts today by Jay that had no source link.
We've read thousands of yours and are still waiting for a relevant point. Someone whose only goal is distraction and propaganda has no basis to whine about facts.
garage: "You and Jaytard have no scruples."
LOL
Shorter garage: daring to point out garages lies which are proven to be lies by reading the reports which he, garage, actually links to shows you have no scruples!!
LOL
Nice little logic train you got there tiger!
Give us more Kos talking points garage. Maybe there's one we haven't heard yet.
I'd ask for an original thought but we already know that's impossible.
"But garage said that there had been liberal "groups" that had been denied."
Three nonprofit advocacy groups that were denied tax exemption by the Internal Revenue Service were all units of Emerge America, an organization devoted to cultivating female political leaders for local, state and federal government.
Related
Political Advocacy Groups Denied Tax-Exempt Status (July 20, 2011)
The I.R.S. denied tax exemption to the groups — Emerge Nevada, Emerge Maine and Emerge Massachusetts — because, the agency wrote in denial letters, they were set up specifically to cultivate Democratic candidates. Their Web sites ask for evidence that participants in their training programs are Democrats.
LQQK! LINK! -------------> LINK <------------------
Courage! Obama administration asks someone to resign. He's already leaving.
Garage delivers again. The issue is targeting organizations because of their political beliefs. Garage points to an organization that was denied status under the existing rules and tries to pretend that's relevant.
I've presumed garage is a propagandist - essentially that he's missing the point on purpose because it helps Democrats- but I'm starting to think I might be wrong. He might really be too stupid to realize his "fact" doesn't address the point.
Garage code: LQQKSIE, Squirrel!
"The Internal Revenue Service asked tea party groups to see donor rolls.
It asked for printouts of Facebook posts.
And it asked what books people were reading.
A POLITICO review of documents from 11 tea party and conservative groups that the IRS scrutinized in 2012 shows the agency wanted to know everything — in some cases, it even seemed curious what members were thinking. The review included interviews with groups or their representatives from Hawaii, New Mexico, Ohio, Texas and elsewhere.
LINK
Garage delivers again. The issue is targeting organizations because of their political beliefs. Garage points to an organization that was denied status under the existing rules and tries to pretend that's relevant.
Two things:
1. Jay at 7:55 barfed up a post that said no liberal group(s) were denied c4 status. Drago, his brain-dead sidekick, piled on with some sort of unintelligible gibberish relating to that. So I had to post again the fact that Emerge was denied.
2. You don't find ironic that Emerge was denied status based on their political views? Isn't that your gripe?
It has begun.
"In the final years of the Roman republic, the government was split between two factions, the optimates, or "best men", faction, which championed the traditional organization of Roman government which kept most of the government in the hands of the senate and patricians, and the populares, which used the special rights and powers of the popular assemblies, to enact their own agendas. The populares, were of course, not led by the actual "people", but rather by an aristocratic party that sought power to circumvent the majority of the senate, and in order to win the support of the plebeians, supported popular measures such as land-reform. The division between these two factions had begun in earnest during the era of the Gracchi, two generations earlier, and the contest between them eventually led to the Caesarean Civil War which brought about the fall of the republic."
http://www.heritage-history.com/www/heritage.php?Dir=wars&FileName=wars_sullacivil.php
O announces that Steve Miller, acting commissioner of the IRS and a man who’s known for a year about the agency’s targeting of conservatives, is out.
Steve Miller has been running the IRS?
The Space Cowboy?
The Gangster of Love?
The Joker?
The Smoker?
The Midnight Toker?
Well, the gangster part I can believe, and a spaced cowboy would fit right in with the Choom Gang.
garage mahal said...
2. You don't find ironic that Emerge was denied status based on their political views? Isn't that your gripe?
They weren't denied because of their political views. They were denied because they were set up specifically to engage in a prohibited activity: cultivating electoral candidates.
So are you just hoping to influence lurkers or are you really incapable of understanding what being targeted for your political beliefs actually entails?
Why on earth would anyone think that a belligerently anti-taxation group might have issues when it comes to paying their taxes?
It makes no sense. Completely illogical.
garage is an amusing little monkey isn't he?
So are you just hoping to influence lurkers or are you really incapable of understanding what being targeted for your political beliefs actually entails?
No the irony in all of this is that all these orgs are scams to skirt campaign finance laws. All of them. Karl Rove's Crossroads is a social welfare outfit? Give me a break.
We should like totally racially profile but under no circumstances ever ever ever should we ideologically profile. No Siree Bob.
Alpha troll: "Why on earth would anyone think that a belligerently anti-taxation group might have issues when it comes to paying their taxes?"
What evidence exists that any tea party group has "issues" when it comes to paying their taxes?
You know who had issues last year paying their taxes?
Yep, you guessed it!
"36 Obama aides owe $833,000 in back taxes"
http://news.investors.com/politics-andrew-malcolm/012612-599002-obama-white-house-staff-back-taxes.htm
LOL
good little monkey, good little monkey...here's a cookie...
Looks like the Ritard has come out of hibernation.
Like the cicada, but sadly returns much more frequently than 17 years.
Maybe Althouse and/or Meade can start deleting his latest sock puppet as well.
Oh, and Bitchtits continues to be a fat worthless liar spewing nonsensical talking points from links he doesn't bother to read.
garage: "Karl Rove's Crossroads is a social welfare outfit?"
Why didn't you use media matters as your example?
LOL
good little monkey
"We should like totally racially profile but under no circumstances ever ever ever should we ideologically profile."
Well then, we better hop to and get those occupy types into interrogation to make sure we protect women from being raped and police vehicles being shat upon!!
LOL
Drago, it's pretty honorable of you to kick a man when he's down, admitting to an error or agreeing to conceding a point when you would never do any such thing yourself.
It completely convinces us of the anti-authoritarian traits that you would so like to convince us that you have.
Kiss up, kick down. That's the way Drago likes to pwn.
He's like the Two Live Crew of Internet Bullies.
Don't never change, man.
Should the guys who support obamas selection of Tim Geithner as Treasury Sec really be talking about people who have "issues paying their taxes"?
LOL
Should the side that worships Charlie Rangel really be lecturing others on paying their taxes?
LOL
Rhythm and Balls said...
Why on earth would anyone think that a belligerently anti-taxation group might have issues when it comes to paying their taxes?
Hardly belligerent. They were the ones getting beaten up.
And the concept, "Presumed innocent until proven guilty", a little difficult to comprehend? These people weren't even accused of having "issues when it comes to paying their taxes". They just indulged their First amendment rights of free speech and peaceable assembly to petition the government for address of grievance.
Another detail that slipped under his radar.
Why is it all the Lefties think they're just too, too cute when they call themselves stupid stuff like "Rhythm and Balls"?
Looks like our little electronic village has just acquired another idiot.
Alpha troll: "Drago, it's pretty honorable of you to kick a man when he's down, admitting to an error or agreeing to conceding a point when you would never do any such thing yourself"
I was speaking about what happened yesterday.
Not today.
Do try to keep up.
If you can.
Which is not likely.
Still, try.
Well then, we better hop to and get those occupy types into interrogation to make sure we protect women from being raped and police vehicles being shat upon!!
Why not? It's your goons are are so anti-law enforcement that they would force rape investigators away with a 2nd amendment DIY approach.
I was speaking about what happened yesterday.
Not today.
Do try to keep up.
Some of us have a life, Nazi boy.
alpha troll: "It completely convinces us of the anti-authoritarian traits that you would so like to convince us that you have"
LOL
the side that is utterly, completely supportive of the lates Obama admin authoritarian maneuvers now seeks to lecture us about how to demonstrate you are an anti-authoritarian!!
LOL
You. Can't. Make. This. Stuff. Up!
Alpha troll: "Some of us have a life, Nazi boy."
LOL
Now the guy who is completely and utterly supportive of the heavy handed maneuvers of the Obama admin is launching Nazi-references at the other side!!
LOL
You. Can't. Make. This. Stuff. Up!
Alpha troll: "Some of us have a life, Nazi boy."
Is that your excuse for being a bit (quite a bit actually) slow on the upside?
LOL
the side that is utterly, completely supportive of the lates Obama admin authoritarian maneuvers now seeks to lecture us about how to demonstrate you are an anti-authoritarian!!
Assholes like you make it all that much easier.
Suppressed any votes lately? It's probably not too late to find a way to suppress votes in 2014, Dragon.
Jesus guys don't feed the fucking troll.
Alpha troll: "Assholes like you make it all that much easier."
LOL
Shorter alpha: "I am an authoritarian, but it's YOUR fault!!"
LOL
You. Can't. Make. This. Stuff. Up!
Please alpha, do go on!
Why the new screen name Ritmo?
Althouse still blocking and/or deleting the other one?
I sense another thread hijack/meltdown/cry for help coming.
Off the meds again?
Ah, some phony folksy and Ritmo, together again for the 9000th time.
Obviously, we';re back to, "I can't rebut that, so say something stupid".
PS and OT (not really): Looks like Axelrod and ValJar aren't waiting for Friday to start the document dump:
Released Benghazi emails making liars out of them.
alpha: "Suppressed any votes lately?"
I'm having a heck of a time trying to suppress my amazement at your colossal stupidity and lack of self-awareness!
LOL
Of course, you probably consider your shortcomings a feature, not a bug.
Jesus guys don't feed the fucking troll.
Marshal was hoping to beat up his interlocutor with his hands tied, and allowing only himself and Dragon and Jay to use the tactics that I have no problem using back against them.
You know you can't win a fair fight. None of this crap you're trying to scandalize Obama with, right or wrong, is going to carry through. There is a reason Republicans are going down. Everything about them is bad faith. Every argument. Every policy. Every one of their henchmen. Bad faith is their veritable credo.
9 PM... shift change!
Thanks for trolling with us, Garage. Have a good night.
Admitted troll Ritmo is now on the clock!
Marshal said...
Jesus guys don't feed the fucking troll
Just a minor diversion with our dead-ender Marxist "pals"
Nice manners there, guys.
Admitted ignoramus Matt is just in the background, as always.
Rhythm and Balls said...
Nice manners there, guys.
5/15/13, 9:09 PM
Yeah, be nice to the "new" guy! You frigging NAZIS!!
alpha troll: " Everything about them is bad faith"
LOL
Shorter troll: good faith is demonstrated by using the levers of federal power to attack and harass your political opponents!!
LOL
Keep it up troll.
You're doing fantastically well!
Surprise surprise, the head of the IRS department that oversees tax exemption rulings for organizations is a Choom donor.
Who could have predicted that?
http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/348441/director-irs-tax-exempt-determinations-office-obama-donor-eliana-johnson
I'm having a heck of a time trying to suppress my amazement at your colossal stupidity and lack of self-awareness!
You guys seem really fixated on this concept of "self-awareness". Are your necks fixed at an angle conducive to nothing but inward-looking navel gazing? Does that explain the lack of knowledge or interest in anything in the world around you?
Is that the reason Althouse gave up the elementary-level, Wiki-derived "history of the world's countries" series for adults?
Gaze on, Navel Gazers!
The more alpha troll comments, the more flashbacks I'm getting from "Animal House":
"Daniel Simpson Day... HAS no grade point average. All courses incomplete."
Of course, that could just as easily apply to garage.
That's right, Matt.
Just because you're a Nazi, doesn't mean I couldn't be nice to you.
But you have no manners too, you see. So it makes that a bit problematic.
alpha troll: "You guys seem really fixated on this concept of "self-awareness". Are your necks fixed at an angle conducive to nothing but inward-looking navel gazing?"
LOL
Being "self-aware" does not mean you have to gaze at your physical self.
Didn't you know that?
I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that alpha troll is probably a 25 yr old liberal arts undergrad.
Dragon Guy apparently thinks that emulating Dean Wormer is a great way to go far in life.
He can't even get straight the literary lesson of a fucking comedy movie!
Note to Dragon: Whatever you do, don't ever try Moby Dick. You might end up with an aneurysm.
alpha troll: "Is that the reason Althouse gave up the elementary-level, Wiki-derived "history of the world's countries" series for adults?"
Gee, I hope Althouse hasn't done that!
How is Obama going to learn that they don't speak "Austrian" in Austria!
LOL
Ritzy, don't you have something better to do?
Being "self-aware" does not mean you have to gaze at your physical self.
Didn't you know that?
I knew that "navel gazing" is metaphorical language. But then, you're a guy who thinks that Dean Wormer is the hero of Animal House. So coming from you, it's hilarious.
Rhythm and Balls said...
You know you can't win a fair fight. None of this crap you're trying to scandalize Obama with, right or wrong, is going to carry through. There is a reason Republicans are going down. Everything about them is bad faith. Every argument. Every policy. Every one of their henchmen. Bad faith is their veritable credo.
If you ever needed a textbook example of projection, you just had it.
Enjoy these comments while they last, I wouldn't be surprised if they end up deleted before too long.
And President Foodstamps even manages to fuck up firing the acting director, with him now saying his term was scheduled to lapse anyways.
Pathetic.
Not tonight, CEO.
Plus, it's my civic duty. I'm a patriotic guy.
Preventing fossilized reactionaries from ruining the country with bad ideas gives me hope for America.
alpha: "He can't even get straight the literary lesson of a fucking comedy movie!"
LOL
Oh, do tell, what is the "literary lesson" of Animal House?
LOL
This should be fun.
Oh, and shorter alpha: quoting movies means you see yourself as the real-life equivalent of the character quoted!!
LOL
alpha: "I knew that "navel gazing" is metaphorical language."
No, you don't.
alpha: "But then, you're a guy who thinks that Dean Wormer is the hero of Animal House."
LOL
There is no way a sane person could derive that from what I wrote.
So, there you go...
Alpha: "So coming from you, it's hilarious"
Says the guy who doesn't understand metaphorical language.
Thing is Ritzy, you're not preventing anything. Not changing hearts or minds, not accomplishing anything but pissing off a couple of people who actually enjoy it.
So what's the point?
Oh, and shorter alpha: quoting movies means you see yourself as the real-life equivalent of the character quoted!!
No, it just means you try to teach life lessons by quoting one of the biggest, most memorable and most beclowned buffoons of modern cinema.
Which says something about you, Dragon.
alpha: "Plus, it's my civic duty. I'm a patriotic guy"
LOL
Don't tell the IRS that!
I hear they frown on that kind of stuff.....
Someday an enterprising graduate student is going to write a dissertation on what makes the Ritmos of the world become a troll. The student will track them down, interview them and study their day to day existence. I am hoping, for the sake of the study's subjects, that the answer is that "the pay is good". Sadly, I do not think that will be the case.
alpha: "No, it just means you try to teach life lessons by quoting one of the biggest, most memorable and most beclowned buffoons of modern cinema."
LOL
I would just love to see the reaction of the National Lampoon boys to alpha's nose-in-the-air discussion of their movie and the "modern cinema"!
LOL
They would probably call you an asshole...and they're on your side politically!
LOL
Thing is Ritzy, you're not preventing anything. Not changing hearts or minds, not accomplishing anything but pissing off a couple of people who actually enjoy it.
So what's the point?
Funny. I asked myself the same thing recently.
I suppose the point is to remind myself that there are dangerous people in America, who lack both hearts and minds, and yet, want to pretend that they are part of a lively and constructive, dynamic political dialog.
It reinforces my understanding that there are die-hard partisans in this country who are out to destroy it.
So, like going to the zoo every now and then and watching the caged, dangerous animals, or the snake exhibit, it allows me to remember that benighted danger exists in this world.
That's an important lesson for civilized people like me.
All you need to know about alpha is what he exposed in his last posting.
There my friends, is a classic Stalinist mindset.
Classic.
Someday an enterprising graduate student is going to write a dissertation on what makes the Ritmos of the world become a troll.
The horrendous definitions of the equally horrendous forum in which they have found themselves.
This place is like the black hole of the internets, morally and intellectually speaking.
As I said, it gives me background research data for Ground Zero in the Republican War on America.
I like to know how far behind you guys are. ;-)
Ritzy, you're not civilized. You're just as mud-covered as the rest.
There my friends, is a classic Stalinist mindset.
Says a guy with an avatar of a patrolman.
We should call you Kapo, Drago. It rhymes perfectly with your name. ;-)
I look forward to when the Ritards threadjacking is deleted, so then he can start crying about censorship again.
And a hearty laugh will be had by all.
alpha: "Says a guy with an avatar of a patrolman."
LOL
Ok, I'm going to take a swing at this one.
alpha, little prognosticator on "modern cinema" (LOL), do you know which particular "patrolman" (actually not a "patrolman") is the basis for my avatar?
This is going to be fun.
Ritzy, you're not civilized. You're just as mud-covered as the rest.
Well, at least you're admitting that the jerks attacking me are jerks. ;-)
That sort of even-handedness is much appreciated, and very rare around here. And as mild in its fairness as it is, it's probably the most that your typical Althousian will ever admit to.
Small victories, small victories. Slow and steady. ;-)
Alpha: "Well, at least you're admitting that the jerks attacking me are jerks. ;-)"
Actually, his comment is much deeper and broader than that.
And you consider yourself educated?
Changing the subject, Kapo Drago (as ever)?
What is it about your Rod Steiger avatar that you want to teach me some earth-shattering life lesson about?
I haven't been around here long enough... Is Ritmo "AlphaLiberal"?
alpha: "What is it about your Rod Steiger avatar that you want to teach me some earth-shattering life lesson about?"
Oh, there is nothing earth shattering that you could possibly comprehend.
We'll have to keep it much, much more basic for you.
You're welcome.
Actually, his comment is much deeper and broader than that.
Hey! Leave the broads alone!
If it is, that doesn't mean that his even-handedness is typical around here. So I can take liberties in enjoying it. It's a pretty rare thing, after all. So why not?
And you consider yourself educated?
Thank you for letting us know how contemptuous you feel of higher learning, Drac.
alpha: "Changing the subject, Kapo Drago (as ever)?"
LOL
The Stalinist is calling me a kapo.
Again, you can't make this stuff up!
This has got to hurt Obamacare. Who are we going to trust to fairly enforce that -- the IRS?
The government will soon be in a position to withhold or delay life-saving treatment from the dissidents, just as they have been willing and able to punish dissidents through the IRS.
It's just like the old Soviet Union. Please explain why this wasn't the outcome Obama wanted in the first place?
You mean, Matt, you have so many more cycles of right-wing bluster to post yet? A few years as the Head Know-Nothing in Charge?
Yeay! That explains a lot. May your tenure usher in a new era of lows in the attempted popularization of right-wing ideology. If you can even call it that.
I just call it cackling.
alpha: "Thank you for letting us know how contemptuous you feel of higher learning, Drac"
LOL
This is an interesting tactic that I've seen lefties employ to varying degrees of effectiveness: the purposeful mischaracterization of what was written and then using that false baseline to make an accusation.
I wonder how effective it is as a blog tactic overall.
I wonder how effective it is as a blog tactic overall.
I expect that someone like you wonders about such things often.
Ritmo, did you use to post here as "AlphaLiberal"?
Quaestor: "It's just like the old Soviet Union. Please explain why this wasn't the outcome Obama wanted in the first place?"
One of the more interesting tactics the soviets would employ with dissidents who wanted greater liberty was to label them "insane" and lock them away.
Could it happen here?
I give you: Alpha troll
You're funny, Matt.
Is that the most sincere effort at understanding anything about me that you can attempt? Because, if so, that really says something.
I think it's Vlad Drac's attempt at coming up with something clever, while involving not only his knowledge of lines said by the dean in Animal House, but the Greek alphabet as well.
That's your Drac!
alpha: "I expect that someone like you wonders about such things often."
In the same way one wonders what happened when they see an occupy wall streeter crapping on a police car and we think: what happened to that young man to make him think that is an effective tactic.
You know alpha, your kind of guy.
Similar to wondering why Columbia would feel the need to offer up a plum teaching position to a domestic terrorist (of the left, your kind of gal alpha). A gal who wanted to blow this country up and is cheered by the left.
Thanks for trolling with us, Garage. Have a good night.
I've been on this blog since 2006. I never troll.
Drago, is Ritmo "AlphaLiberal"?
Drago, is Matt too credulous and insipid to get a simple answer from someone in the know directly?
Why yes. I believe he is.
Thanks for the signature paranoia, guys. It proves what we already knew.
I've been on this blog since 2006. I never troll.
And yet, he still gets called one.
Which shows you that, in Althouse-Land, good faith is a one-way street. Always.
Matt: "Drago, is Ritmo "AlphaLiberal"?
Who knows?
They are all from casting central.
To be fair, garage is unique and I'm fairly certain that he and his on-blog persona cannot be mimicked.
alpha troll is a dime a dozen.
At least garage has a personality.
I would have to say that Robert Cook is also pretty distinct.
Drago, is Ritmo "AlphaLiberal"?
No. Although Drago could be any dull, uninteresting reinvention of a former screen name.
At least garage has a personality.
Wow. What a deep, sincere compliment.
Also note: No response as to good faith intent. Again, only one side is given that assumed benefit, however doubtful.
How can you guys believe the things you do? Where is the "good faith" in that?
garage: "No. Although Drago could be any dull, uninteresting reinvention of a former screen name."
LOL
See what I mean.
That is a garage comment!
Keep that up garage and I will not buy you a beer in Denver!
Ah, thanks Drago. When you mentioned "alpha" I thought that he have been posting from a different account might have been why. If he WAS AlphaLiberal, then I had a question for him.
Thanks again!
Ritmo, I called garage a troll because he continually posts claims with links that actually demonstrate his claim is false yet he never acknowledges that he was wrong. In fact, he will later claim that he was right or he will just post a new self-defeating claim and link.
But you know this and are just trolling too. A role you have acknowledged is your reason for being here. Do you get paid to troll? Just for kicks?
Since you seem fairly new here Matt, I'll spell it out for you.
Ritmo will continue posting nonsense about how persecuted he is and the lack of good faith in Althouse commenters, in the very thread he started out by calling people Nazi's.
He will continue to post 2 out of 3 posts for the next several hours, until people give up attempting to post about the topic of the thread, the unfolding IRS scandal, or until Althouse starts deleting his comments. At which point he starts to cry about censorship.
Everybody who has been posting for any length of time knows how the story ends, its like a bad rerun.
He will continue to post 2 out of 3 posts for the next several hours, until people give up attempting to post about the topic of the thread, the unfolding IRS scandal, or until Althouse starts deleting his comments. At which point he starts to cry about censorship.
Everybody who has been posting for any length of time knows how the story ends, its like a bad rerun.
Actually, this happened exactly one time.
But like any paranoid and smear artist, President Mom-Jeans sees patterns in single instances.
I don't think that garage really fits the troll definition.
It's true that he posts quite a few "squirrel" posts but they are usually quick hitters and are not disruptive.
garage will also reengage on the topic even after his squirrel moments, so, in terms of impact (if not intent), garage doesn't qualify as a troll.
And I'm someone who gives garage as much crap as anyone.
Well, maybe not as much as a few posters I've seen.
Garage would have to determine who his biggest nemesis is.
Ritmo, I called garage a troll because he continually posts claims with links that actually demonstrate his claim is false yet he never acknowledges that he was wrong. In fact, he will later claim that he was right or he will just post a new self-defeating claim and link.
How does this make him different from any conservative on Althouse?
It's true that he posts quite a few "squirrel" posts but they are usually quick hitters and are not disruptive.
Which makes his technique a bit different from those employed by FOX News and its viewers here.
While we wait for the next shoe to drop on Obama's "perfectly reasonable use of Executive power to harass his political "enemies""(per alpha), what other lefties that show up here would actually be missed if they left?
Drago,
Now I have a mental image of a troll under a bridge who, instead of preventing people from crossing the bridge, throws a squirrel out to distract them. Could Chip make an animation, please?
Chip is not as original as you think. Plus, the ultimate troll image has already been created. I like to think of Jay when I see it.
LOL
"Media Matters for America monitors, analyzes, and corrects conservative misinformation in the media and was not involved with the production of the document focusing on the DOJs investigation. That document was issued by 'Message Matters,' a project of the Media Matters Action Network, which posts, through a different editorial process and to a different website, a wide range of potential messaging products for progressive talkers to win public debates with conservatives.
"As a media watchdog organization, Media Matters for America recognizes that a free press is necessary for quality journalism and essential to our democracy. A healthy news media is what we fight for every day. Yesterday, 52 news organizations signed a letter to the Department of Justice expressing concerns that the DOJ’s broad subpoena of Associated Press reporters’ phone records runs counter to First Amendment principles and injures the practice of journalism. We stand with those news organizations and share their concerns."
http://www.volokh.com/2013/05/15/media-matters-v-media-matters/
I'm going to post something actually related to the topic of the thread.
This NFL player may just be my new hero. He instagrams a photo of him pissing on the IRS building with the caption "Audit this."
http://mashable.com/2013/05/15/nfl-evan-mathis-instagram-peeing-irs/
Awright. I'll let you in on something.
Perhaps these little things are interesting to go after. In a technical sense.
In a political sense, there is no damn resonance.
Now I know that conservatives will say, but politics is a show (as if this whole blog isn't). Principles are what matter.
And so, Obama will go after the IRS. Make a statement. Call someone out. Crack down on a bad egg here or there.
The problem the Republicans have right now is in not accepting how petty and irrelevant they are, though. I almost want to encourage them to pursue these things with as much volume and energy as they do. It keeps the focus off of the big things. Not that there's anything wrong with focusing on big things. We really should.
What Republican Scandalitis does is it leaves space for the Democrats to maneuver on actually implementing smart, sensible policy. The Republicans have given up trying to challenge or moderate or redirect any policy at all. For them, there is no such thing as the small prize, politically - with a big prize in terms of policy or principle.
So allowing Republicans to fixate on these piddly little mini/almost scandals is great. It's like if Democrats could have said, "Yeah, ok. Lewinsky. You go there. Let's tie up the nation's business with this."
The difference is, the country has moved on. They know a really big and demoralizing scandal from mistakes here or there that the president didn't neglect or have direct oversight of. They know that he is genuine and has ideals that rise above politics and that Republicans don't.
This is how you know my faith is good. I'm actually admitting to you right now how it is that Republicans are screwing their own proverbial pooch.
But such is probably politics in America. 40-year generational cycles from left-wing to right-wing ascendancy. Gerald Ford didn't foreshadow right-wing ascendancy any more than Obama does for the left... right now at least.
But in hindsight, you'll see.
My only issue is, how ignoble do Republicans want to act in light of that? And why? Can't they just accept that some political backlash and disinterest is a small price to pay for how arrogantly they dismissed their forfeiture of any right to lead after 2008?
Of course not.
So I come on here occasionally to remind Republicans of that.
Not very hard. But it sure does get under their skins.
As I said: Funny.
Enjoy.
Yup, definitely off his meds.
alpha: "............
......
.......
.......
......"
Thanks for stopping by.
LOL
Explain why that is, PMJ?
Of course, we know you know how to come up with petty and unoriginal insults.
What I want to know, is, what you object to in what I just said.
I don't think you can object to any for it, and feel that scoring pot shots for Team Red instead is, as pathetic as it is to everyone else, somehow a great thing in your own mind.
Talk about "no there, there".
LOL
alpha: "Explain why that is, PMJ?"
Because you forgot to take them?
You also know how to come up with petty and unoriginal insults, Draco.
Again, you can't argue against what I said. But you can manage to say that thoughts longer than sound bites are beneath you.
I guess this is how you will convince America that you offer them wise, mature and reasoned leadership. Somehow...
Talk about "no there, there".
LOL
Every comment you make demonstrates that insubstantial is your defining characteristic.
Even right down to the obsessive, trendy phone-text lingo.
alpha: "I guess this is how you will convince America that you offer them wise, mature and reasoned leadership. Somehow..."
I guess I could convince them of my wise, mature and reasoned leadership by officially "not knowing" a single thing that is happening in my administration and then having my top aide go on tv to say it's not my fault because the dog gone government has just gotten too darn big...
LOL
Ritmo,
I much prefer your 10:29 post to, well, pretty much all your others. There is actually something there! Though I disagree about much of it. If Republicans were rebuked in 2008, they rebounded well in 2010 and, though they lost the Presidency in 2012, the contest was much closer. Plus, they have enjoyed success at the state level.
Regarding whether or not the current scandals are a big deal or not, I disagree with you. They are a big deal. Now, we could go back and forth on this but we will likely not change each others' minds.
I am not sure what maneuvering and smart policy you think Democrats are doing and implementing behind people's backs right now. Care to expand on that?
I do not believe Obama is "genuine and has ideals that rise above politics" and I think that what we are experiencing now is more and more people coming to that realization as well. But, again we can respectfully disagree on that.
Much of the rest is a "wait and see" which we will just have to do.
I guess I could convince them of my wise, mature and reasoned leadership by officially "not knowing" a single thing that is happening in my administration and then having my top aide go on tv to say it's not my fault because the dog gone government has just gotten too darn big...
LOL
And you think this complaint resonates with anyone other than the most committed, right-wing partisan hack?
LOL
alpha: "Even right down to the obsessive, trendy phone-text lingo"
Well now.
That is almost the precise phraseology utilized by Inga not several days ago.
I'll let your little screed speak for itself, Ritmo.
I really don't have much to add after your insane ramblings about how you are sharing the secret that the republicans exposing scandals allows the democrats to enact their agenda, and somehow this all demonstrates your good faith.
What is the internet equivalent of starting a slow clap?
Of course, Axelrod's comments beg the question: How much smaller would our government have to be for Obama to "know what's going on"?
alpha/Inga is one of those folks that you give a wide berth to when walking on sidewalk.
It's also best not to make eye contact if you have small children with you...
Drago said...
alpha: "Explain why that is, PMJ?"
Because you forgot to take them?
An alternate theory is that Obamacare has caused his premium or co-pay to jump up and he can no longer afford them.
That theory has some problems however, as it would be predicated on Ritmo being gainfully employed.
Which I highly doubt.
I will modify your supposition, in that his mother/caregiver neglected to ensure he took them.
alpha: "And you think this complaint resonates with anyone other than the most committed, right-wing partisan hack?"
Why did axelrod state this complaint?
Should axelrod really be complaining about the size of government?
Didn't his boss know that he was going to grow government?
Was Obama caught unawares when he grew the government?
Hmmmmm
Ritmo,
I much prefer your 10:29 post to, well, pretty much all your others. There is actually something there!
Thank you! Appreciation is good. As you can see, I was hoping and anticipating that there would be someone more reasonable than the typical Tourette's sufferers to recognize it. Glad it was you.
Though I disagree about much of it. If Republicans were rebuked in 2008, they rebounded well in 2010 and, though they lost the Presidency in 2012, the contest was much closer. Plus, they have enjoyed success at the state level.
Midterms are a bitch for incumbents. Second terms are harder to argue for than what Obama was left with in '08 (and probably Romney was a better candidate than many gave him credit for), and state level things... well, I actually don't know how well they track or have much to do with national politics. But I'm willing to guess, probably not much.
Regarding whether or not the current scandals are a big deal or not, I disagree with you.
Well, that is why we differ politically.
They are a big deal. Now, we could go back and forth on this but we will likely not change each others' minds.
Sure. And I think that is why Obama's doing the right thing on this. Taking it seriously, (or he seems to be, at least), even if I'm not sure what will come out of the whole thing politically. Which of course, shouldn't be the point anyway. He should be responding to the principle of these things. And perhaps on Benghazi, he didn't as soon as he could have. But I think he will if he hasn't started to already.
I am not sure what maneuvering and smart policy you think Democrats are doing and implementing behind people's backs right now. Care to expand on that?
Well, there are probably executive orders going on, but a lot of it is my (admitted) hindsight with the healthcare legislation. There is now a lot of rule-making and experimentation related to it that will take place, that's the phase we're at now. As far as environmental issues, that could be a lost cause. But I haven't lost hope that they can get somewhere on better financial regulation before the term is up. And then there were those other "social issues", like gay marriage, etc. Much progress there that we totally take for granted now.
I do not believe Obama is "genuine and has ideals that rise above politics" and I think that what we are experiencing now is more and more people coming to that realization as well. But, again we can respectfully disagree on that.
I think we can and appreciate and respect that.
I think Obama's strength is that, while he has ideals above politics, he gets there by being a shrewd political tactician nonetheless and seeing the long-game that no one else seems to want to pay attention to. Except, maybe a few Republicans are right that "he's drastically (or dangerously, as they see it) changing the direction of the country". I think he is insofar as he's reaching for a compromise back to something between what FDR built and the track Reagan put is on. The problem with Republicans' understanding of policy right now is that even Reagan wouldn't have been conservative enough for their agenda.
Much of the rest is a "wait and see" which we will just have to do.
Sure. And thanks for being even-tempered on this. Sincerely. My hopes for a good discussion were not in vain!
PMJ: "I will modify your supposition, in that his mother/caregiver neglected to ensure he took them."
I will see your modification of my supposition and I will raise you an addendum in the form of a guess that alpha/Inga/ritmo's caregiver neglected to give them to him because, they too, are off their meds.
Let's face it, that acorn probably didn't fall too far from that tree.
Draco, PMJ:
Don't feel neglected or unimportant in that little peanut gallery. Even peanut galleries are important! In their own way.
Feel free to take as many pot shots as you want at any bipartisan discussions taking place that you refuse to, and will always refuse to be a part of.
Eh, at least the Jekyll side of his bi-polar personality is coming out.
When an hour or two ago he was calling people Nazi's. Quite an improvement, maybe his comments won't be deleted today. That was almost quasi related to the topic of the thread. Hope it keeps up.
PMJ, I've got it at better than even odds that alpha/Inga/ritmo hijacked Matts name and created a Matt posting to which alpha/Inga/ritmo then "graciously" responded to.
This particular troll has a habit of waiting until a challenging poster has exited the scene and then he jumps in with a posting where he'll claim that challenger agreed with him or complimented him prior to leaving.
Hilarious, but sad.
LOL
It's almost as if alpha/Inga/ritmo has a real need to be recognized and lauded.
Something very fundamental is awry in his psyche.
Drago:
Twenty bucks says that you can't make less than 90% of your posts about me in any thread in which I'm commenting.
I wouldn't want you to put a whole weeks worth of your income at risk.
I just wouldn't feel right about that.
You're welcome.
I appreciate your attribution of your fixation of me to concern for me financially.
Does anyone see what I mean about the pettiness?
Good night, Drago.
Matt - thanks for the opportunity for a decent discussion.
That's right alpha.
It's all about you.
It really is.
You're special.
Very special.
I hope that helps.
alpha: "Matt - thanks for the opportunity for a decent discussion."
LOL
Matt left a long time ago....
LOL
No, this was me. Ritmo said something cogent and without invective so I replied in kind. And as proof that it is me let me say that, when I saw the troll image that Ritmo linked, my first thought was that its eyes looked a lot like Inga's.
As it happens, Ritmo's present demeanor makes me want to throw many questions at him and ask his opinion about many things; however, they would be off topic and lengthy so I will save it in the hopes that there is another opportunity down the road.
Though he is welcome to answer the challenge I threw out in the "At the Why Tree Cafe..." thread! It was the question I had when there was the chance he might have been AlphaLiberal.
Not buying it.
But thanks for playing.
Yeah Matt is really me, I admit it.
Is it really going to Memphis vs San Antonio in the western conference finals?
I can just feel the ad revenue slipping away.......
I'm definitely not that guy, not AlphaLiberal. I can't remember much about him... it seemed that he was not much beyond partisan, though - as is obvious by his name. I change names sometimes to alleviate boredom (the way Palladian or others do avatars) but don't have DID.
Another night. More to discuss. Thanks again.
Inga said...
Yeah Matt is really me, I admit it.
Well that certainly made the thread more interesting.
It's like we have a live "Clue" game going on. Or better yet: "Blogger on the Orient Express"!
Where's Poirot when you need him?
Probably eating a waffle.
Drago, when I posted my first response to Ritmo's 10:29 post, I cringed a bit. I saw that you had referenced the "There's no there, there" meme. My usage of it appeared like a backhanded insult at you; however, it was just a coincidence.
I am a slow typist and I almost always proofread/edit what I write so, between when I first started to reply to the comment to the time it appeared, you had made your comment.
I have no opinion on how you engage with Ritmo as I have no knowledge of the history between the two of you. My experiences with Ritmo have mostly been negative; however, when presented with the opportunity for a fair exchange of ideas, I jumped at the chance. That is what I hope for from this site!
As such, I understand your doubts but I am me and I hope Ritmo posts more like he did at 10:29.
And Matt, how can you insult our beautiful eyes so? Our eyes are enchanting!
It's OK if y'all call us Minga from now on.
garage mahal said...
1. Jay at 7:55 barfed up a post that said no liberal group(s) were denied c4 status.
Dum-dum,
I quoted the OIG report.
garage mahal said...
Ah, no. You and Jaytard have no scruples, I do. If I erred I admit it.
Actually, no you do not.
See, on Monday you were perpetrating the lie that the FBI "spied on" anti-war groups merely because they were anti-war. You linked to a left wing blog in support of this moronic assertion.
When the actual OIG report was linked to and quoted extensively, you ran away. You're still pretending you were not lying.
The FBI did not "spied on" anti-war groups merely because they were anti-war. That is a fact.
You are a liar, also a fact.
This is hysterical.
garage mahal said...
Three nonprofit advocacy groups that were denied tax exemption by the Internal Revenue Service were all units of Emerge America,
Note From the OIG report:
For the 296 total political campaign intervention applications TIGTA reviewed as of December 17, 2012, 108 had been approved, 28 were withdrawn by the applicant, none had been denied
Garage actually came here to try and pretend "liberal groups" were denied under the same review scheme that that the conservative groups were caught up in.
garage is a silly liar.
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