DISCLOSURE: I work for Abt SRBI. We do polling, public policy research, surveys, etc. My opinions should not be construed as representing those of my employer.

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Current standings for our weekly Set competition (2013):

• 8 Me
• 7 Leslie
• 3 JL
• 2 weeks called.

I won week 20.

Word blogging...

Travel notice.

Little or no posting this weekend, bringing the young 'un back from college. A new picture for Monday is guaranteed. (I never miss Memorial Day.) Might be something else in between here and there, but don't count on it.

Hey, guess who has a new CD out.

I'm told the singer lives here in Prospect Heights. I am not the neighborhood's only claim to fame.

Link | Comments | 8:58 PM
(DISCLOSURE: I work for Abt SRBI. My company does polling. My opinions should not be construed as representing those of my employer.)

Apparently it's not just the deficit.

Don't sell the American people short: Obama was one of the weakest incumbents in history, on the basis of a point-in-time snapshot of the economy; but voters understood the trendline and the cause of why the economy wasn't good. And they granted Obama another turn, based not on the snapshot but on the first derivative. (We all wish the second derivative -- not just improving, but picking up steam -- was positive.)

In the vein of my faith in the American people, I was pleased to see an article in the Los Angeles Times saying that a majority thinks climate change is an issue that should be dealt with, and that clean energy should be a priority (even though the percentages feeling so have dropped since the fall). Who wouldn't be glad to see this persistent awareness, assuming your last name doesn't begin with the letter "K" and rhyme with "bloke"?

When we read stories that make us shiver, be they about the shrinking ice cap or our dwindling aquifer (and recall the interest of the numb, who think the Keystone pipeline is a Cracking! Fabulous! Idea!) many of us on the left are of course concerned. But this is an issue which isn't really partisan, even if it plays out that way. The Pentagon, for instance, considers climate change a threat to the country.

You know, Issa's investigation into "Fast and Furious" never got any traction beyond the Internet obsessives. Maybe the same will be true with all the other huffing and puffing that's been going on. Maybe America knows that the GOP-controlled House has made 37 pointless efforts to overthrow Obamacare (and if not the number, chunked the concept of "too many") instead of actually doing something to govern.

I would love to be plopped down into some nameless Main Street. Certainly if you watch coverage of the devastation in Oklahoma, it's not like you see interviews with a bunch of tobacco spitting mouth breathers. It's probably high time we cut America some slack: we disagree with a lot of them on non-grey issues like abortion, but we are, on the whole, an intelligent country. Limbaugh and O'Reilly have a lot of ears, but their pervasiveness does not produce anything close to monolithic beliefs among conservatives.

Link | Comments | 8:45 PM
(DISCLOSURE: I work for Abt SRBI. My company does polling. My opinions should not be construed as representing those of my employer.)

Underfunding the IRS.

A rather long article in the New York Times takes the point of view that the targeting of groups with "Tea Party"-like sounding names wasn't the result of malice but from an effort to quickly cut through an immense case load. Even before sequestration the IRS was suffering from budget cuts, making it more difficult to enforce the law. And with a Presidential election looming last year, the load of applications for 501(c)(4) status was bound to increase.

If you believe in lowering the deficit, then not giving the IRS the resources it needs to collect taxes is the epitome of penny-wise-pound-foolish. That is, unless you disagree with the entire premise of the agency and/or want your rich friends to not pay taxes. (This is kind of what happened with Elizabeth Warren; the GOP couldn't find a way to wish "her" agency out of existence, so they blocked it from becoming effective by not approving her to lead it.)

The potential repercussions are not difficult to imagine (and with a little effort one can imagine some kind of armageddon, but for now let's restrain ourselves). Conservatives are fond of pointing to government errors, charging broad incompetency, defunding an agency as being "not worth it," and undermining the effort and creating more failure. It's not simply "starving the beast," it's creating a self-fulfilling prophecy of governmental inefficacy. (The process is pretty clearly laid out in Thomas Frank's book "The Wrecking Crew," if you suffer from low blood pressure.)

Of course, defunding the IRS is something the right would love, since most of America is against more tax cuts for the rich; if you can't get the tax cuts for your rich donors, make it more difficult for the IRS to trace through all your friends' arcane tax filings and shelters.

Tangentially, Steve Kornacki (on MSNBC's Up With Steve Kornacki) was just outlining the potential political ramifications for the 2014 midterms. He pointed out what many of us have heard, that the onslaught of Obama White House controversies in the last couple weeks could energize the Republican base, increase their turnout, and make the midterm results worse for Democratic Party hopes of diluting the GOP House majority. But on the other hand, he pointed out, the same thing was supposed to happen in 1998 in the wake of the Clinton scandals; but America was sufficiently disgusted with the GOP acting like Javert that the '98 midterms were a stunning victory for the Democrats. Boehner and McConnell, Kornacki pointed out, are challenged with keeping their base active but not letting the scandals become so dominant that they provoke a strong Democratic counter-reaction. If I were Boehner and McConnell I'd give Issa a serious talking to.

Link | Comments | 9:06 AM
(DISCLOSURE: I work for Abt SRBI. My company does polling. My opinions should not be construed as representing those of my employer.)

I'll HUFF! And I'll PUFF!

And America still won't care, Rep. Issa. Polling from Pew shows that the whole Benghazi thing just isn't getting you the traction that you and Chaffetz thinks it deserves. Here's a graphic from Pew:

It's odd that Issa et al have continued on what appears to be a non-starter. Obama pretty much buried it in his debate with Romney when CNN's Candy Crowley corrected Romney that Obama had called the attack terrorism. I suspect that America's patience with GOP efforts to rekindle the campfire is pretty limited; some marshmallows just have to go untoasted. (Oddly, WaPo's Glenn Kessler, their resident pedantic, awarded Obama a bunch of Pinochios because he only called it an act of terror and not a terrorist act. Such is the world we live in.)

There are beefs to be had with the Obama administration, and I'm kind of glad the IRS and AP thing have been pitched into the GOP wheelhouse. Issa said early on that he wanted his committees, subcommittees, knitting circles, and Thursday Night Scrabble Players to be investigating anything they could (while ignoring torture, of course). Perhaps the IRS and AP thing will actually have them doing something useful for a change, instead of playing in the land of unfounded "who cares?"

Last point which I couldn't work into an organized narrative: the NYT has a pretty critical write-up on Chaffetz's visit to Libya. Please don't miss the part where he refers to a State Department person as a "yahoo." That's shorthand for "asshole," if you're not attuned to sophisticated language.

Link | Comments | 8:51 PM
(DISCLOSURE: I work for Abt SRBI. My company does polling. My opinions should not be construed as representing those of my employer.)

Just what the hell is going on?

It was bad enough that some low level brainiacs in the IRS were targeting groups with names that sounded too Republican, and that management heard about it in 2011. But now this? The DOJ has been tapping the phone lines of the AP?

Faced with tiny angels of different persuasion on opposing shoulders, no one is circumspect enough to say "this isn't right"? (Darrell Issa is already ascribing this to "top Obama Admin officials" within hours of the story breaking, as if he already knows how high it goes; he doesn't of course, but relishes the opportunity for exposure and slowing Obama II down.)

Link | Comments | 8:13 PM
(DISCLOSURE: I work for Abt SRBI. My company does polling. My opinions should not be construed as representing those of my employer.)

Today is Steve Winwood's birthday.

And if you're surprised that he's only turned 65, that's because he was only 7 when he recorded "Gimme Some Lovin'."

Link | Comments | 7:04 PM
(DISCLOSURE: I work for Abt SRBI. My company does polling. My opinions should not be construed as representing those of my employer.)

I could get behind an investigation of the IRS.

They shouldn't have targeted any group based on its name, and an investigation is being called for, fairly. But just as the IRS wasn't even-handed in giving greater scrutiny to groups with names that sounded like they were conservative political organs, I think those calling for investigations into the IRS should also show some even-handedness and call for investigations into our country's use of torture. Or the the partisan use of investigations.

Give us a break, GOP: we're not children, and it doesn't pass the smell test if the only time you care about justice is when it's your supporters' ox getting gored. Like I said about the IRS: at least try to make it look like it's not all about politics?

Link | Comments | 6:21 PM
(DISCLOSURE: I work for Abt SRBI. My company does polling. My opinions should not be construed as representing those of my employer.)

Republicans just aren't into that whole "democracy" thing.

There's nothing more anathema to them than Obama and the Democrats succeeding in anything, which is why they basically kicked and screamed to block health care reform. (Remember Hatch's cute amendment, for all states whose name begins with the letter 'U'?) I don't need to repeat the litany of filibusters, but it should be mentioned that the recent blockage of background checks (despite support from 90% of Americans) is a great example of how happy they are to disregard public opinion. So when they cite polls about how "unpopular" Obamacare is with the American public, you can tell them where to shove it.

Now we're blessed with a different variety of obstruction: Presidential nominees. You of course saw it with Elizabeth Warren; they didn't want Consumer Protection Bureau to have teeth, so they blocked her from the authority to enact the legislated reforms, and the same with Obama's second choice. And as we head into Obama's second term (four months in!), the GOP still won't accept the results of the 2012 Presidential election. If America had wanted a Romney cabinet, America would have voted for Romney. But America didn't. And the GOP is telling us that they know what's best, and are refusing to let Obama's nominees in.

The game didn't end with Susan Rice or Chuck Hagel; the game is just beginning.

Link | Comments | 12:48 PM
(DISCLOSURE: I work for Abt SRBI. My company does polling. My opinions should not be construed as representing those of my employer.)

Happy Mothers Day.

Best of wishes to all the mothers out there, for all your hard work, patience, nurturing, and affection. None of us thank you enough.

And for those of you getting ready to give thanks, make sure you visit Momsrising.org. While you're there you'll learn a lot about how underappreciated working mothers are, motherhood and gun safety, the fallacious Working Families Flexibility Act, and so many other issues.

Link | Comments | 9:38 AM
(DISCLOSURE: I work for Abt SRBI. My company does polling. My opinions should not be construed as representing those of my employer.)

Leroy Justice.

Till yesterday (and excusing a presentation in Fort Lee) I have not been out of NYC since last August. I took the opportunity of a work respite to take Friday off and head up to Beacon (shots to come). In the storefronts on Main Street I saw fliers for the Klezmatics and Leroy Justice (different gigs). I knew the Klezmatics, but not Leroy Justice. So I sampled them when I got home, was pleased, and downloaded their latest. So have some Leroy Justice.

Link | Comments | 8:19 PM
(DISCLOSURE: I work for Abt SRBI. My company does polling. My opinions should not be construed as representing those of my employer.)

Why you won't see Darrell Issa being so relentless in investigating our torture.

Because State had nothing to do with torture.

New details from administration e-mails about last year’s attacks on the U.S. compound in Benghazi, Libya, demonstrate that an intense bureaucratic clash took place between the State Department and the CIA over which agency would get to tell the story of how the tragedy unfolded.

Yesterday, Glen Kessler noted that "Benghazi" was much more a CIA outpost than a State one:

Although the ambassador was killed, the Benghazi "consulate" was not a consulate at all but basically a secret CIA operation which included an effort to round up shoulder-launched missiles. In fact, only seven of the 30 Americans evacuated from Benghazi had any connection to the State Department; the rest were affiliated with the CIA.

So who should have been in charge of protecting Benghazi? Is there a reason why "State" is not the first department which comes to my mind?

Let's be clear: Issa's dogulence(1) is a fine talent. No matter whether it's a nothingburger like Fast and Furious or Benghazi, it's a display of something. My reaction is like how I feel when I encounter an incredibly intricate Ship In A Bottle. It accomplishes a proof that tough stuff can be accomplished. But in the end, there's less here than Issa and the Republicans act like there is. And at this point, the only part of government which is under suspicion is Issa and his fellow Republicans. THIS is the best carpet you could look under? Huh?

1. A search on Google for "Dogulence" turns up no results. So I claim credit for its coinage. And trademark. T-shirts and CafePress site to follow soon.

Link | Comments | 8:02 PM
(DISCLOSURE: I work for Abt SRBI. My company does polling. My opinions should not be construed as representing those of my employer.)

Guilty of political profiling.

So yesterday, you might have heard, the IRS apologized for having targeted Tea Party political groups during the 2012 election season. I'm sympathetic to both sides here: the Tea Party groups should not have been singled out, but if you think a crime is in progress, you should do something. The IRS's mistake, in my view, is that they didn't have enough common sense to make themselves look as if hthey were even trying to be even-handed.

I think we can all agree that anonymous-donor groups are pushing the envelope, if not breaking the law. Does anyone really expect me to believe that a group pushing a political agenda and supporting candidates is really interested in charity? The burden of proof should be on the group claiming the expemptions, not on the under-funded government. Make them file regularly.

Better luck next round, IRS.

Link | Comments | 9:08 AM
(DISCLOSURE: I work for Abt SRBI. My company does polling. My opinions should not be construed as representing those of my employer.)

Just you wait, SOMEday those deficits are going to crush us.

What's that old saw about the definition of insanity being hoping for outcome X when every time to this point that you've done "A" you always get outcome Y? You know the one I'm talking about. Well, Josh Barro catches John Boehner in the same fallacy:

"We have spent more than what we have brought into this government for 55 of the last 60 years. There's no business in America that could survive like this. No household in America that could do this. And this government can't do this."

Well, of course there's that thing with the unrealistic comparison of a household's finances to a government's. But Barro's point (and you should read the whole thing) is that Boehner pointing to the paucity of problems with the government having run deficits all these years is baseless fear-mongering. As in, Boehner needs to show evidence of the havoc, rather than all the years that the US government has gotten away with it.

Link | Comments | 7:46 PM
(DISCLOSURE: I work for Abt SRBI. My company does polling. My opinions should not be construed as representing those of my employer.)

James MacMillan, the Scottish classical composer.

In my ongoing search for new (modern) music, I was recently thumbing through the CD racks at J and R, a retailer down by Manhattan's City Hall. Bought a CD of James MacMillan's 3rd Symphony, and have been thrilled. I'm reshaping my shopping list as a result.

For all the collaborative filtering which Amazon offers, they don't seem to be able to do me right on classical music suggestions. If I buy a cycle of Vaughan Williams symphonies, for instance, Amazon will suggest individual recordings from the set that I bought rather than extrapolate to Walton or Elgar or Bliss or Bax. Forget about Robert Simpson or Havergal Brian. There's nothing in their models which covers this. But in a bricks and mortar store, dealing with the staff that can apply intelligence and expertise, they might hear that I like the edge in Hindemith and recommend something a little bit chaotic to push my envelope.

Having seen a good number of brick and mortar retailers fall by the wayside, I'm very glad to see that there's momentum behind an Internet sales tax; I regret the loss of Soundtrack in Park Slope (though let's be fair, downloads haven't helped music retailers either). But downloads should probably be taxed too, along with other data like eBooks and software. I'm just tired of the concept of people using brick and mortar outlets as showrooms and then either ordering online or downloading. I don't think it's fair.

So I'm a little surprised that Amazon supports the Internet sales tax. You can rest assured they wouldn't have supported it while they were strapping on their boots; and if I recall correctly they fought it when California wanted it. It's kind of sickening; they may feel that they now have sufficient critical mass, have slain enough Main Street businesses, that at this point the taxes are as gnats. But I'll tell you this: J and R frequently prices what I want lower than Amazon has it for. Let them continue on!

Link | Comments | 8:06 PM
(DISCLOSURE: I work for Abt SRBI. My company does polling. My opinions should not be construed as representing those of my employer.)