-Submitted by David Drumm (Nal), Guest Blogger
Forget about the IRS, AP, and Benghazi. They all pale in significance to 
Umbrella-Gate. President Obama asked White House Marine guards to hold umbrellas for the President and the Turkish Prime Minister during an outdoor press conference. Male Marines are not allowed to use umbrellas while in uniform, except when they are “perform[ing] such other duties as the President may direct“. Female Marines are allowed to use umbrellas. Sarah Palin tweeted: “Mr. President, when it rains it pours, but most Americans hold their own umbrellas.”
To me this is arrogant. From my upbringing this would be considered demeaning to the man holding the umbrella, in a sort of master vs lackey sort of situation. The way I was socialized was men are expected to hold umbrellas for themselves or for women as a courtesy, such as opening doors. Not that my way is right, it is just how men were expected to behave in my time / neck of the woods.
” I’m feeling quite scatalogical this morning.”
Actually Nick almost all of what you say when you delve into most realms requiring logic and/or honesty is scatological. You should stick to sports and movies where you do know something.
“As much as I disagree with Mespo, Mike S, OS and Gene H, I am certain they would cut their own wrists before they used the IRS as a political tool against ideological opponents.”
Bron,
You’re correct on that point, however, this is not to say that some of the groups investigated weren’t in violation of IRS regulations. My problem with this whole thing is portrayed in the following: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/18/irs-conservative-groups_n_3298198.html . The IRS consistently goes after the “low hanging fruit” and leaves the “Big Boys” alone.
I have become more and more disaffected with President Obama because it appears that he is pretty much a Corporatist and sides with the Bush/Cheney
Crime Family on “national security” issues and foreign policy. The most legitimate criticism of him is that he has been weak and ineffective. I would further add that he has not managed the government bureaucracy well in that much of what has been badly done in the bureaucracy has been by Bush appointees to supposedly “non-political” positions and his Cabinet Secretaries have not been vigilant. Eric Holder is a good example of a lousy manager who is unaware of the pursuits of his underlings which often run counter to the professed aims of the administration.
The truth is that it is far too late in the game to assume that this or any President is allowed to be in charge by the oligarchy that runs this country.
nick:
it aint liberalism its totalitarianism. I doubt many of the liberals here approve of the IRS targeting groups based on political ideology.
As much as I disagree with Mespo, Mike S, OS and Gene H, I am certain they would cut their own wrists before they used the IRS as a political tool against ideological opponents.
A real Marine addresses umbrella-gate on Wonkette. Before clicking the link, be advised this is a really ticked off Marine responding, so not for the faint of heart.
http://wonkette.com/516692/guest-post-from-a-u-s-marine-about-barack-obamas-shocking-and-disgusting-use-of-an-umbrella
LOL, Gene, we are both in a movie quote frame of mind today, I was thinking that the Republicans need more fruit as in that great quote from “Signs”:
“Everybody in this family needs to just calm down and eat some fruit or something.”
More fruit might also help with that chronic constipation on every front they seem to have.
Of course, if the Republicans give up their scandal mongering people might start asking again why (still) nothing is getting done in Washington.
Bron, My hometown school in Madison, UW, is a pioneer in pc speech codes. And they’re damn proud of it. Liberalism has done a 180, in many respects, since I was in college.
“The scandals roiling Washington over the past two weeks involve troubling government behavior that had been hidden—the IRS targeting of conservative groups and the Justice Department’s surveillance of the Associated Press, among others. Largely overlooked amid the histrionics has been a shocker hiding in plain sight. Last week, the Obama administration moved to dramatically undermine students’ and faculty rights at colleges across the country. ”
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323582904578485041304763554.html?mod=djemEditorialPage_h
OS:
I agree, if the CIC tells me to hold the umbrella, I hold it. End of story.
But it is interesting to read that reg. I read the British carried umbrellas at Waterloo.
TheDisco, Bron is not. However, there are cariactures of many ilks here.
The marine is thinking: “Better to be holding an umbrella in the most secure place on earth, than to be anywhere near the middle east or Mali in Africa. Who knows, maybe I might get a better gig (job) after I leave the armed forces, by holding this umbrella for the President of the United States. Maybe, the President will give me a recommendation for one of those desk jobs at the Pentagon, making 100k a year.”
Marine still thinking: ‘Mr. President, Would you like a cup of coffee or see if lunch is ready?’
TheDisco:
That is yet to be ascertained; at present, I’m inclined to believe the latter.
Is Bron a real person or a caricature of a conservative cliche?
What is also a related issue on this IRS scandal is they are about to get MUCH bigger, hiring 16k investigators to handle the ACA. Flat tax, no deductions. Good bye tax attorney, bean counters and ~80% of the IRS.
nick,
In re IRS, it’s a little of both certainly. Whether the WH had direct input into the action or it was just an overzealous idiot in management is the question. There is also the matter that this kind of conflict was an inherent and probably unavoidable byproduct of Citizens United in some ways. It a big “CF” fed from multiple angles.
JH,
A quote from “Big Trouble In Little China” just for you . . .
[walking outside in the rain, Jack and Egg fight for control of the umbrella]
Wang Chi: A brave man likes the feel of nature on his face, Jack.
Egg Shen: Yeah, and a wise man has enough sense to get in out of the rain!
Incompetence is the spin so far. It may be correct, but I’m a patient man. It just smells like Chicago Machine politics to me. And, being aware of how counterintelligence works, I think the prez spinners may be spotlighting this “gnat” issue to distract from the real ones. Just my opinion, I could be wrong. I’m not a conspiracy nut or a partisan. But, I feel tremors of a shitquake coming. They may not be for the reasons you think, or I think..maybe a combo? But I think it’s coming. Sort of like being constipated for 5 years like the media has been. The AP was the enema the press needed. I’m feeling quite scatalogical this morning.
So Marines aren’t allowed to use umbrellas to stay out of the rain unless they are women. I think that says it all. (not smart enough to stay out of the….)
Re making mountains out of moleholes or gnats out of can’t think of an opposite)
“In a letter to members of Congress, which was obtained by NBC News, Heritage Action for America, the lobbying arm of the Heritage Foundation (which recently found itself in hot water over the racial IQ theories of the co-author of their widely panned immigration reform study, Jason Richwine, who resigned from the think tank last Friday), urged Republicans on Capitol Hill not to govern, and instead, to focus on the would-be “scandals” plaguing the Obama administration.”
I just love “patriots!”
Ehhhh, it’s a story, but it really pales in comparison to the rights threat presented by the AP story. Pols using the IRS as a weapon is nothing new, but in this instance the most damning part of the story is the sheer incompetence shown by the IRS management. It makes a good argument for simplifying the tax code (which is a mess and designed to allow tax avoidance for the wealthy and corporations) and reducing the size and scope of power of the IRS. The AP story though shows the DOJ directly attacking the 1st Amendment.
What about the IRS?