"It was supposed to be an easy win: The most loathed federal agency engaged in what amounted to discrimination against tea party-backed nonprofits. But 10 months out from the first IRS scandal headline, some Republicans are unhappy with their party's investigation -- and they point a finger at the man who helped sustain the national uproar: Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.)."

(Sigh!) Setting aside for the moment my observation that Politico continues to use obsolete abbreviations for U.S. states from the 1940s and '50s, you can pretty much see from the opening sentence where this is going.

In this instance, Politico thoughtfully sought to provide a loudspeaker and platform for malcontented House Republican wingbats who are angry that Congressman Issa has lately shown some understandable reticence in carrying their water for them -- which is completely understandable, given the extensive criticism he's received for the high-handed and misleading manner in which he's conducted this "investigation," such as it is.

Word to the editors at Politico -- the notion that the IRS singled out GOP-allied right-wing groups exclusively for additional scrutiny and political discrimination with regards to their applications for non-profit 501c(4) status was thoroughly debunked months ago. In short, this has been a completely manufactured political scandal from its very outset -- though you'd be hard-pressed to ascertain that from Politico's continued flogging of this D.C.-centric faerie tale, which in and of itself should be considered scandalous.

The only way the top folks at the Beltway's version of "Hollywood Confidential" are worth the six-figure salaries they reportedly command, is if one first moves the decimal point on their paychecks a further two places to the left. And anyone who continues to cite Politico as a credible source of information and analysis deserves all the ridicule they'll subsequently get from me.

"Sherlock" has a "season" of three - count 'em three - shows.

And some other have seven or twelve a year and that's it.

Some of this is due to the unconscionably bloated budgets of these programs. I harken to programs of a bygone era in which a story was told with a cast - often with one or two sets. And these shows have lasted for generations. Mary Tyler Moore for example.

The programmers have substituted scenery for content.

And then the other shows - with about 22 per year - they have lapses of three weeks sometimes between programs - for no apparent reason. Who can follow the plot threads?

One can no longer count on a particular show being on at a particular time on a particular day.
Except for the "news" - or those horrid clones of night shows - with the millionaire semi-comedian talentless hosts. That, we can count on.

It felt to me as if the funding for this program came directly from government interests.

In this episode, in passing, we were made to feel that "rendition" and putting people in black holes were faits accomplis, no big deals, and we should accept it and move on.

This took about a minute of time during a discussion in the middle of the "plot". I think it was a subliminal indoctrination. It went by so far you couldn't think about it.

How would it be possible to allow Bush with getting away with saying, several times, to us and to the world, "We don't torture"?
Does this not constitute a bald-faced lie - and easy to prove?

The answer to this dilemma was found by a real sneaky genius - Mr. Cheney.

When confronted the other day with the well-known fact that he and Bushy endorsed and encouraged the widespread use of waterboarding, Cheney-pie simply answered majestically:

"Some people called it torture. It wasn't torture."

Case closed.

v. 314
v. 313

Only 50 more of these to go to reach my goal of 365 within a year. And I will be glad to quit for awhile, my creative OCD needs a new pursuit.

Dadler Jr., the 8th grade trombone virtuoso, currently has viral bronchitis and will be lucky to blow his horn before a month from now. But young bodies heal fast if they can. Here's hoping he does. Because I am a Jewish mother trapped in the body of an atheist father and, damn, I get worried sick about my beautiful boy (link).

New York I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down