Jew Bag

One recent rainy day, I didn't have enough time to have coffee before entering my office building. Before my morning coffee, I am a zombie-like non-responsive delusional cranky bastard. I barely acknowledge my dear wife before I have my morning coffee, which may be a reason why she'll usually make coffee in the morning before I get out of bed.

Anyhow, on this rainy morning, I walked into my office building and was noticed a peculiar sight:



Yes, I thought my Federal office building was calling out "jew," which immediately got my attention. This couldn't be right, could it? Upon closer examination, I took another view from the other side. Here's the frontal view:



That made more sense.

CNN's Ballot Bowl Sucks

I've had CNN's "Ballot Bowl" show on all afternoon. So much time, so little insight. I've learned nothing. My wife has fled the room.

Here's a sample.

4:46 PM. Hillary Clinton says she's been creating jobs for years in upstate New York. How many district offices does she have? (Answer, 9 total, 5 of which I could would consider upstate. Thanks, Hillary, for your job creation for upstate New York.)

4:48 PM. Barack Obama says Hillary Clinton voted for the war, like John McCain.

4:50 PM. Commercial break.

Ye Gods!

The Liberal Justice System

Last summer, I got a ticket for parking on my street during street sweeping hours. It wasn't totally my fault; my car just wouldn't start. Since I felt like circumstances were somewhat beyond my control, I admitted the violation "with explanation." At best, I hoped the penalty would be reduced. Well, 5 months later, I got the above letter from the DMV. In case you can't read it, it says in pertinent part:

A hearing examiner considered your written explanation and evidence and applicable District of Columbia traffic law and dimissed the ticket described below.... We have cleared your record of liability for this infraction.

I admitted the violation, yet I was absolved of all liability! God bless the liberal justice system!

A closer look at the NRCC scandal

I'm not talking about a run of the mill sex scandal. Or a run of the mill sex scandal. Or even a run of the mill sex scandal. I'm talking about allegations of fraud at the National Republican Campaign Committee (NRCC).

The blogosphere has circulated a story broken by The Politico that the NRCC is under FBI investigation. While it's always fun when the opposing party is under investigaiton, this could really be a long-term problem for the NRCC.

On February 6th, The Politico reported that the NRCC was under FBI investigation. On February 8th, Politico reported that NRCC's former treasurer Christopher J. Ward forged an internal audit and the NRCC notified the Federal Election Commission (FEC) that the committee may have filed inaccurate disclosure statements. These developments have not made the NRCC "In the News" website section. They also haven't made the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's "Newsroom" either. A tacit understanding?

Republican officials are concerned that illegal activity may have gone back as far as 2001.

What could this be about? I know that accounting procedures don't sound that interesting on their face.

Why would the NRCC have illegal or fraudulent accounting procedures? Not that I have any inside knowledge, but given the NRCC's role, the shady accounting could have been designed to cover up campaign finance law violations. For instance, the NRCC may have violated election contribution limits by collecting more money that is allowed from individuals or giving more than is allowed to particular campaigns. It is also possible, given the millions of dollars passing through it, that the NRCC used money as a slush fund for the private gain of insiders or other purposes.

I am by no means a tax or political law expert, but I could easily envision possible violations of Federal tax laws. As a "Section 527" political committee, the NRCC has to file IRS Form 1120-POL as its tax return. Line 7 of 1120-POL requires the NRCC to disclose "income and nonexempt function expenditures." This includes illegal expeditures as well as funds that were meant for political functions but went to other purposes.

Basically, political committees like the NRCC do not have to pay taxes on donations (called "exempt function income") because the government does not want to tax political donations, which are akin to speech under the First Amendment. However, income derived from other sources is taxable income. In addition, exempt function income that is diverted for other purposes is also taxable. According to the IRS, illegal expenditures are also taxable.

A political committee's bookkeeper would be in charge of preventing the commingling of exempt function income and other income. If Christopher Ward used NRCC donations for non-exempt purposes, that amount would be considered income. If Christopher Ward willfully covered up such shenanigans to the IRS, it would be tax fraud. If others were involved, it would a conspiracy.

Regardless of the criminal implications, the NRCC could be looking at a large tax liabilities including interest and penalties. Not to mention expected massive legal bills from Covington & Burling. In contrast to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the NRCC barely has any cash now. It's hard to imagine that the dispirited Republican faithful will be eager to pay legal bills and tax penalties.

I hope the nice NRCC building at 320 C St. SE, located just steps from the House of Representatives office buildings, goes on sale to keep the NRCC solvent. It would make nice condos.

Best ribbon ever

Seen at 3rd St. SE and Virginia Ave. at approximately 12:45 PM on February 6, 2008. Is this McCain's new slogan?

In other news, there is only one remaining U.S. veteran of World War I. As many of you know, I have an annual "Armistice Day" party to commemorate the end of that war. When I was a kid, I loved watching WWI documentaries on TV. I loved the primitive tanks, the primitive planes, the strange scenes of men on horseback going up against machine guns. When I got older, I more clearly understood the sheer pointlessness of WWI. Seriously, did anyone win the Great War? There were certainly losers--Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, Czarist Russia--but who really won? With unfortunate results, perhaps the only real winner was Japan. Frank Buckles, 107, of Charles Town, West Virginia, you are the last remaining World War I veteran. You have a standing invitation to the 80th Annual Armistice Day Party on November 11, 2008.

Irrational Faith

This is my first post. Obviously, I hope my blog doesn't suck.

The big news is that the Giants won the Super Bowl. A fan always hopes for a good season, but before the season I certainly wouldn't have put money on the Giants to even get to the Super Bowl.

In the New York sports venacular, the word "believe" is typically associated with the Mets, specifically the 1969 Mets. These days, that overblown word will be spotted on banners in May at Shea and even at other stadia. But this Giants team really was about belief.

My belief was not unwavering. On December 24, 2007, I declared in an e-mail to friends:

"The frustrating thing is I don't doubt Eli's ability to win some games, but the Giants are not going to win the Super Bowl with such an inconsistent QB. He hasn't had a complete, 4-quarter effective game in a long time. So, sure, he'll get to the playoffs with a strong defense and good running game, but his play does not indicate that he will lead his team to a championship."

I can claim that I believed, because I put money on the game. I bet $10 on the Giants to win and $10 against the spread. (Shoulda put $100 on the line. I also should have bought real estate in Washington in 1998, but never mind.) My confidence was on display only after the Giants had made it into the game.

But the truth is that somewhere during the season, I stopped believing that the Giants could win it all. Does that make me a bad fan? Don't fans put too much emphasis on what they do? Some wear lucky jerseys. Some pray. Others say cliches like "one game at a time" as if it matters what we think.

I was skeptical. I needed evidence to believe that the Giants could win a championship with Eli Manning at the helm. Like religion, being a sports fan should be an irrational matter of faith. Following your team is not about evidence, it is about faith, irrational faith, rife with superstition and ritual. I will never lose sight of this again. As Theodore Herzl famously declared, if you will it, it is no dream.*

* Does not apply to Redskins. The irrational faith of the drunken ignorant Maryland masses in the 400-level will never be redeemed.