tea party groups: WHO ARE YOUR DONORS? we don't trust your claim that you're not engaged in partisan politics.

second amendment rights, second amendment rights! what are guns for, anyway? wasn't this guy "threatened" by the machete in the truck? wasn't he "standing his ground?" i think he should ask the nra to get him a lawyer. or, i suppose, people "of his kind" aren't entitled to nra and second amendment protection--unless he bought his gun legally from a proud nra supporter.

i certainly hope these "tea party groups" don't claim to be social welfare, non-politicized organizations legally entitled to tax exempt status.

irs employees asked for additional information for groups which applied for tax exempt status because many of those groups publicly proclaimed that they were involved in and organized for partisan politics--and thus not entitled to the status they sought.

they have been "targeted" in the same sense that the irs is now targeting apple computer--which paid no taxes on huge amounts of income, claiming that its subsidiaries were "stateless" and didn't own taxes to any jurisdiction. in other words, irs employees are trying to do a difficult job.

saying conservative groups were "targeted" by the irs is like saying police using radar "target" cars going over the speed limit to chase down and ticket.

sooner or later (and i think sooner) georgia voters will begin throwing off the "yoke" of talk radio, etc., and begin voting consistent with their collective self-interests. that means not voting for anyone in today's republican party. of course, demographic trends are likely to accelerate that awakening.

cong. barrow has "positioned" himself in many ways that he is a "dino"--democrat in name only--so he will be a tough opponent. i wouldn't be surprised to see him run for governor after deal is gone.

i've always admired coach perno, going back to when he was a player. he's had a very successful career so far, and i expect the best is yet to come. coach perno has had a very positive effect on many players' lives. still, big time college coaching does not accept too many unsuccessful seasons, measured by wins and losses, as every big time college coach understands when he/she takes the job.

obviously, this cartoon nails it. repubs in their echo chambers generally don't know where benghazi is or what the irs statutes require. it's just: attack obama.

and guaranteeing that "hillary will only be a two term president" is about right.

so far, so good.

one of the worst aspects of the adams regime was the top-down, circle the wagons, loyalty oath "leadership" structure. it sounds like jere will try to change things a bit.

but, of course, individuals and their respective motivations ultimately will make the difference. i hope jere will cultivate a culture opposed to "go along to get along" and be receptive to suggestions from all sources.

i wish him the best of luck.

this is mostly just more republican b.s., which the press is too lazy to report accurately. the irs never should have reflexively "apologized" without fully explaining its obligation under the law.

when a "non-profit" "charitable" organization applies to the irs for a tax exemption or other tax preference, the irs is supposed to investigate to determine whether that organization is legally entitled to the tax preference.

most "tea parties" essentially advertised that they were engaged in partisan politics, as part of the republican war on pres. obama. under those circumstances, tea party organizations should have been investigated carefully--which the irs normally has not done adequately--to assure a tax preference was authorized.

if a member of hezbollah, for example, complained that he was being treated "unfairly" by being investigated for inclusion on our "no fly list", would we laugh? how would journalists treat that kind of issue? the press should stop propelling republican ignorance and propaganda.

late draft pick. a risk, but worth it. i agree that he looked good this past season before his injury.

this lawsuit by "justice" makes no sense, comparatively, in view of whom "justice" has declined to prosecute. but then very little that attorney general holder has done, or not done, has made much sense.

i don't know enough facts to analyze the technical merit of the legal claims, but i do know enough to believe this litigation is badly misplaced, much like the various prosecutions of whistle-blowers. "justice" needs a massive dope-slap. i hope the courts/and or jury provides one.

many obama voters are unhappy with his decision-making, but that unhappiness is because obama has pursued too many republican programs and policies, including obamacare and various tax reductions (rather than more direct stimulus programs).

the unhappiness also is because he has been too quick to compromise with asinine, echo chamber republicans, who seem to be ruled by talk radio hosts and conservative "think tank" gurus. if they (republicans) really cared about the deficit, they'd agree to selectively increase taxes. but they won't. not even a dime. the key problem is and has been joblessness. the way to address that problem in the short term is to increase direct stimulus spending for needed services and facilities, not to reduce taxes.

the payroll tax issue is more complicated. yes, obama's reducing it for two years put more money into the system, but it created a danger--a danger to public support for social security. it was a bad idea, another republican idea that should have been rejected. i'm glad the payroll tax reduction has ended.

and the references to geithner in the editorial are absolutely correct, but why limit it to geithner? most of obama's economic and national security appointments have been poor, and his bagman attorney general has been a flop.

i voted for obama, twice, but i'd like to see him resign to take a court appointment, if a suitable one emerges. i have more faith in joe biden.

great editorial, myra.

there are far too many people/corporations making much much too much money in the testing industry. and the so-called "education professionals", or bureaucrats, are in league with them.

this is a non-partisan issue. certainly the obama administration is as guilty as was the bush administration. at the state level, parents and friends should be asking, "what are we allowing the bureaucrats and politicians to do to our children?" and at what cost, to everyone involved?

if it's not "charter schools", it's testing and "accountability". money talks. but we don't have to listen.

in nyc, many parents have decided "enough is enough" and are organizing to prevent their kids from being subjected to these tests. i really sympathize with teachers, who are put in the middle and not really allowed to "teach".

more writing on this subject, myra--especially around election time.

it would be worthwhile to trace the source( of "information" and belief of the global warming deniers. is it talk radio? and those who "fund" talk radio and similar information sources?

similar sources produce ignorance about our economy, our taxes, public education, etc. if we could pinpoint those sources, i suspect we all would benefit from a civil trial for negligence and/or fraud, in which witnesses and other evidence were cross-examined--because in most cases the dissemination of false information has costs. jurors usually can tell when a witness is lying.

if find it most interesting when people are persuaded to believe things that are directly contrary to their economic self-interests, as in the acceptance of georgia's highly regressive tax system.

how many georgia voters are aware that their legislators have created tax preferences for people like my wife and me--who derive our incomes from pensions, investments, and social security--so that we pay far less in state taxes than working people?

how many people rail against public education? why?

in each case, it's money that feeds ideology. money (we're certainly not "job creators"; most people can't afford to send their kids to private schools). people believe what they do because someone, somewhere, is paying out lots of money to make them believe falsehoods.

regarding global warming, the funding for the fraud comes, essentially, from those, like the koch brothers, who profit extravagantly from their private energy businesses and want to keep it that way. why the "true believers" allow themselves to be bag carriers for the ultra-wealthy, i guess, is one of those unknowable questions.

i actually hope obamacare runs into lots of problems, so that we can get to single payer much faster. obama wasn't willing to fight the insurance companies, but if insurance premiums keep going up, maybe others will. so, republicans, keep those complaints about obamacare coming.

if broun were just a clown and simply another ignorant ideologue, so what? we have more serious problems than that.

but in this case his views on the dangers of the deficit, combined with calls to reduce taxes further (rather than increase them), and his endorsement of a balanced budget amendment, suggest he is dangerous as well as embarrassing and may spread that ignorance to others.

i've wondered whether to vote for him in the republican senate primary, hoping that his nomination might give the senate seat to a democrat.

but that course of action would be perilous: would georgia voters vote for broun for u.s. senator? would georgia republicans--common sense, rational people (many of them)--place political party over the common good? i hope now that we will never have an answer to that question. but then, who is the republican alternative?

hey, where are all the gun rights people? doesn't he have a second amendment right to carry in the locker room? i'm waiting to hear the evidence. but i wonder if he's an NRA member.

we don't know all the facts. and the size of the bonds initially set suggests something stinks here. maybe local government engaged in cya. some obvious cheaters--for money--but all of them? i need to hear more. high stakes testing is not the answer.

just proves: don't believe everything you read in the papers until/unless you have real confirmation. most of the time, we members of the public just don't know the "facts". i'll bet, when the allegations first surfaced, most readers assumed banks was guilty and wanted him put away for a long time.

marriages should be left to churches--who should adopt whatever "rules/principles" the respective religion prescribes. and marriage should convey no benefits authorized by government. same sex couples wishing to "marry" plainly would be able to find churches to marry them.

the state should open civil unions (which would precede marriages where marriages are to be sought) to everyone (and the supreme court should announce this constitutional right), and civil unions should be the source of all governmental benefits.

"fair tax"--means wealth transfer tax from the poor and middle class to the wealthy. when will most georgia voters realize that the repubs represent the interests of the wealthy and larger corporations? every time all but wealthy voters vote republican, they reaffirm their dedication to masochism. or ignorance.

i think pro gun legislators should allow everyone to carry a weapon into the spectator sections of the gold dome, so they are armed when watching the legislative process.

marshals in the old west knew enough to keep guns outside town. i would think classroom teachers at any level should have the right to keep guns outside the classroom--or at least announce that grades might be affected by carrying weapons.

sorry to hear this. time for professional attention, i think, sooner rather than later.

the board of regents in georgia, like the governing boards of universities around the country, are mostly comprised of politically connected business people. in many places (see, eg., univ of virginia) they are undermining higher education by thoughtless and short-sighted decisions.

this particular decision by our board of regents is just another example of short-sighted bowing to the political winds. it will harm not only the individuals denied entrance to, for example, uga (most of whom were brought to this country at very young ages) but also our state. the regents should have let the yahoos howl and toughed this one out with an appropriate explanation for allowing "illegal" applicants, brought to this country while children, to enroll in and benefit our colleges.

but lack of spine and integrity among the regents, who "go along to get along", is nothing new.

my question is: how many of the victims of republican economic policies actually voted for republicans? (yes, i know, many democrats also have been complicit--even now--but the policies that damage the middle class are identifiably "republican"). i'll bet quite a few.

i've met quite a few business clients who have been "abused" by one version or another of the "conspiracy" identified here--and marvel at the number of times i have had to explain that, sorry, they have no "legal case" because policies or persons their votes helped put in place legitimized the conduct that damaged them.

in extreme cases--as when the client or potential client has been somewhat of an "activist" for these policies, i confess to feelings of schadenfreude. as is sometimes said, "experience is the best teacher".

@riff-raff: believe it or not, not all lawyers are "scumbags". now, if you had written, "future scumbag republican politician", no one could reasonably disagree. i am curious, though, how this kid had such easy access to a lawyer--and why the lawyer "jumped" at his call.