"I think liberals really do not understand emotionally the extent to which the Tea Party was created by the Affordable Care Act and the feeling that its government was simply steamrolling it. "

"From the Tea Party's perspective, you had an unpopular program that should have died in the same way, and for the same reasons, that Social Security privatization did: because sensible politicians saw that, no matter how ardently they and their base might desire it, this was out of step with what the majority of the country wanted."

IRS: We've "lost" more of the e-mails that you've asked us about. Totes Sorry!

If you didn't already know, the IRS has stated that they "lost" about two years worth of Lois Lerner's e-mails that the House of Representatives had subpoenaed. Because her computer "crashed".

Oops. We all make mistakes!

I mean, it's impossible that any sort of backup or retrieval could happen. I mean, computers are just magical things that no one really understands. Sometimes bad stuff just happens, right? I know, it's convenient that it just so happens these were e-mails that would possibly prove a criminal conspiracy, but I guess anything's possible, right?

Well, it just so happens that the IRS has now claimed that six more employees who were the target of a Congressional inquiry have all lost their e-mail as well - all in computer crashes. Essentially, they've lost another submarine.

This is simply not plausible. It's not plausible that seven different people, who all happened to be under investigation, all lost their e-mail in the same way, and there's no way to retrieve the e-mails.

We lawyers have a word for this. When you destroy or lose evidence in a civil case, it's called "spoliation". If you lose or destroy evidence, the trial court takes a negative inference against you, and then you lose the darn case. In my practice, I've had trial courts hold opposing parties accountable for destroyed digital information by taking a negative inference against them.

But the IRS is claiming that all this just accidentally happened. They're not criminal; they're just incompetent.

They ought to subpoena every single IT administrator at the IRS and question them under oath.

Ramius Killed Political Officer Putin Last Night in VA-7

Over on Facebook where I'm a newbie, Brad referred to Eric Cantor as the one time "zampolit" who kept Boehner in line, and how it was somehow fitting that Cantor would lose to a Tea Party challenger.

When I read the word zampolit, the first thing I thought of was of Political Officer Putin, who was similarly taken by a rouge agent, who then changed the standard orders.

The Tea Party is burning the orders from Moscow.

I think my attempt at humor works quite poetically, as Ramius killed Putin, and then covers it up by claiming he slipped on some....tea.

Watch out for that tea, Eric.

Everything always comes back to The Hunt For Red October.

SC GOP Primary Is Boring AND ERIC CANTOR LOSES??

Eric Cantor, please call your office.

It looks like Lindsey Graham will remain our Senator. There were some good challengers, and there were some not so good challengers. Hopefully, we can send Senator Graham back to Washington with a sense of renewed purpose.

In other news, Eric Cantor (the House Majority Leader) just lost his primary to a Tea Party challenger from his right, over what appears to be the illegal immigration issue.

This is a pretty big deal, y'all. I think this probably means that any big legislation on immigration is dead. I don't see any politicians sticking their head in the noose after they just saw what happened to Cantor tonight.

How does the saying go, some times you have to hang a few generals so that something something?

Do You Even Know A Tea Partier?

A Yale professor learned something about people who identify with the tea party: Tea Partiers are more scientifically literate than non Tea Partiers.

 Here's my favorite part though:

“I’ve got to confess, though, I found this result surprising. As I pushed the button to run the analysis on my computer, I fully expected I’d be shown a modest negative correlation between identifying with the Tea Party and science comprehension,” Kahan wrote. “But then again, I don’t know a single person who identifies with the tea party,” he continued.

So, this Yale professor has a negative preconception of a group of people, but he's never gotten to know anyone in that group. Guess who sounds kind of stupid to me?

Over at Brad's place, he's got a post/comment in which he compares them to "backwoodsmen who came to Jackson's inaugural and trashed the White House".

Much like the Yale professor, I don't think Brad actually knows any people who identify with the Tea Party. If he did, he would know that they're actually pretty polite and courteous people, and he probably wouldn't call them nihilists and arsonists.

It annoys me that my being in favor of smaller, more limited government and more personal liberty somehow brands me as a nihilistic, anarchist/arsonist.

Tea Party Cat

Yeah, I'm stealing things from Ace, because that's what the internet is for:

TEA PARTY CAT

I can laugh because there isn't much else to do.

Monday News 5-20-13

Happy Monday.

Here's what I'm seeing as the top headlines today and from over the weekend:

1. Tea Party Protest of the IRS Tuesday. Remember the people who think the taxes are too high and the government is wasteful? Yeah, those people are upset about the whole "IRS targeting them" deal. I can't imagine why. In any event, the Tea Party is planning to protest outside the office of IRS buildings Tuesday. I'm not even sure where the closest IRS building is here in in Columbia. Do we even have one here? I don't know. I've got to work, so I don't have time to go protest stuff.

2. City of Columbia Contemplates Issuing H-Tax Bond. Remember the "Hospitality Tax"? Yeah, the tax you pay when you go out to eat and stuff. The City of Columbia doles that money out to groups it chooses. (Hey, nothing could go wrong there.) Unfortunately, the only problem is the City wants to give out more money than it's currently taking in. I know, you're shocked. So, instead of doing the responsible thing and prioritizing, the City Council is contemplating issuing a bond (borrowing money) with the Hospitality Tax revenue stream as the collateral. Awesome.

3. Syria is still a mess. Remember Syria? Yeah, that's not really getting any better. Apparently, Assad is amping up his strike capabilities against Israel.

It's Monday. Make sure you get your coffee before you head out there.

Your Taxes Are Going Up in 2013

The GOP controlled House didn't have enough votes to put through the Plan B, that would keep the current tax rates in place for everyone up to $1M in annual income. Accordingly, the vote has been cancelled.

The GOP is definitely the party of dumb. I know enough to know that having the tax rates go up those who earn $1M and more is a better deal than having them go up on everyone. Apparently, the TRUE conservatives just decided that principle is more important. They're wrong. You retreat and take what you can get when you don't have the strength to win a battle. Failing to recognize this is what led to Pickett's Charge. Enjoy your "principle" now boys, you're about to get slaughtered.

If the House had passed "Plan B", the onus would have been on the Senate and Executive to fall into line. However, having DONE NOTHING, the Republicans play right into Obama's hands here. 

Merry Christmas you "True Conservatives". Thanks for being the party of stupid, once again. So, bottom line: Everyone's taxes are going up in 2013. Happy New Year.

One Actual Merger and One Potential Merger (Tea Party and #Occupy)

Via The State, the two groups will be meeting in Columbia.

 I'm not sure what their "exit strategy" is. Are they just going to stand around until....what exactly? Also, I thought this Venn Diagram was pretty accurate:

I think we can all agree on the middle statement. Who's ready for the Tea Party and the #Occupy movement to merge! That would be fun.

How's that Bus Tour Going?

The President is cruising around the Midwest, and he sees this: