Taxing Matters

Say what you will about President Obama, but one thing is now certain: the "second term curse" is in full swing.  Ronald Reagan had Iran-Contra, Bill Clinton had Monica Lewinsky, Bush 43 had the triple-whammy of Scooter Libby, a failing war, and Hurricane Katrina. Our current president has a situation in three different fronts: alleged IRS penalties on organizations tied to the Tea Party, suspected invasions of privacy on White House reporters, and of course Benghazi.

After some initial waffling, the White House is taking some accountability for the IRS conspiracy.  The story of President Obama's chief of staff knowing three weeks before he did is troubling, to put it mildly. The layman's theory --one I'm still debating in my head-- is that these Tea Party organizations and their established opposition to any and all taxation made them easy targets. At the same time, maybe they really are tax cheats, it's all politics and they're simply crying foul to get the president right where they want him. Even then, the Watergate comparisons are tricky to ignore.

Other notes:

+ It's a shame of sorts that "Other Voices," The Doors' first album after Jim Morrison's death, has been largely forgotten. It was written immediately after "L.A. Woman" with the assumption that Jim would return from France and do his thing. Instead, the three surviving members (but mostly Ray Manzarek) would take turns on lead vocals; collectively they couldn't match Morrison's power and charisma, but the effort was noble. All in all, "Other Voices" is a forgotten gem of the early '70s. Break on through, Ray.

+ I am not doing that well in fantasy baseball this year. Both of my teams are second-division, a mild indignation for some but a rarity for me. My pre-season rankings were erased by a glitch on Yahoo Fantasy the day before my first draft, forcing me to piece something together. I did alright during the first week but I've been lagging over since.

Next week: my 8th Annual Fantasy Emmy Ballot.

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