Lois Lerner's emails.

[Minimalist]

A buddy of mine sent me a copy of a part of an internal document this morning in which they pointed out that the problem with this batch of emails that they can't find was because they had recycled the tapes that were used for backups.

The subject of the email he sent was "WHO THE FUCK STILL USES TAPE!"

This guy is no computer whiz but even he knows that the rest of the world has moved on.

Show me a technology for reliable intermediate-term storage of high-volume archival data that isn't tape, which can come close to being as economical.

Tape is still widely used.

As I said, I've been retired for 10 years and long before I left I saw a presentation about replacing the tape system - which is old and slow and very expensive - with a large compact disk system. The presentation was very professional but, of course, they never got the money to implement it.

The note I saw yesterday mentioned that the tapes had been re-cycled as a cost control measure. It seems that until the witch hunt erupted the policy had been to retain 6 months of backed-up emails on tape and then recycle the tapes. Yes, its Microsoft Outlook but it is buried behind layers of security software and it is this software (encryption shit) and multiple passwords which breaks down constantly and causes all the problems.

The note, btw, was propaganda for the work force which the IRS incorrectly assumes gives a rats ass about management issues.

True story: In the Spring of 2001 the IRS fully implemented a computerized system for its Revenue Officers (tax collectors) in the North East. All paper records were done away with and they patted themselves on the back for creating a system which took at least twice as long to do something as the old way.

Then, 9-11 happened and one of the side problems was that the telephone company building on West Street was heavily damaged when the WTC fell on it. It was only then that they discovered that the switch which controlled the data transmission for the whole fucking system was located at West Street. For three months my guys sat around with their thumbs up their asses while I, as their shop steward, got a daily briefing from the manager which usually consisted of "no news." These were short briefings but since this manager was a pretty good guy we'd usually shoot the shit for a while about how stupid the designers were. At one point my guys got so bored that they asked me to petition the chief to go back to writing out paper records. The request was denied because anything written out would have to be typed into the system when it came back up. Some of my guys read a lot of books that fall. There was even an office Trivial Pursuit Tournament between the workers.

After 3 months the phone company managed to rig a temporary switch which worked...occasionally. The entire operation ground to a standstill.
The punchline is that 5 years later, and in spite of what happened to the Collection Division, the Auditing Division implemented the same type of system for its Revenue Agents. They never fucking learn.

[Jackalope]

Show me a technology for reliable intermediate-term storage of high-volume archival data that isn't tape, which can come close to being as economical.

Tape is still widely used.

As I said, I've been retired for 10 years and long before I left I saw a presentation about replacing the tape system - which is old and slow and very expensive - with a large compact disk system. The presentation was very professional but, of course, they never got the money to implement it.

So the plan was to replace something old, slow and expensive, with something new, slow, and expensive. Interesting plan.

Ten years ago, optical may have actually been a viable option - barring any nonsense like proprietary formats, etc. Today your options are basically archiving to disk (fast, but by comparison insanely expensive if you're maintaining multiple archival copies and backup sets), or tape (actually, lots of tapes, and in an operation the size of IRS, a robotic system).

The note I saw yesterday mentioned that the tapes had been re-cycled as a cost control measure. It seems that until the witch hunt erupted the policy had been to retain 6 months of backed-up emails on tape and then recycle the tapes.

That's typical - define some length of time for data retention, do periodic full snapshots and archive them offsite, and once an archive "expires", you put the tape back in the rotation. This is in addition to regular full and incremental backups which get routinely re-used (and replaced as they age).

Yes, its Microsoft Outlook but it is buried behind layers of security software and it is this software (encryption shit) and multiple passwords which breaks down constantly and causes all the problems.

I can imagine.

The note, btw, was propaganda for the work force which the IRS incorrectly assumes gives a rats ass about management issues.

True story: In the Spring of 2001 the IRS fully implemented a computerized system for its Revenue Officers (tax collectors) in the North East. All paper records were done away with and they patted themselves on the back for creating a system which took at least twice as long to do something as the old way.

Job security and saved paper! Win/win.

They never fucking learn.

Amen.

[Minimalist]

I saw some amazing shit in 33 years. Its incredible that it functions at all.

[Jackalope]

I saw some amazing shit in 33 years. Its incredible that it functions at all.

I don't doubt it for a second.

[Dragonetti]

As a government network engineer. I can attest the networks are horribly ran. I refuse to even touch some of their networks due to the instability.

The government usually lags about 10 years in terms of technology compared to a corporation. The only thing that is current or ahead is the forward government entities.

[Minimalist]

Let us remember that prior to the last VA scandal the previous VA scandal was that in 2012 the US government still had paper files for vets which it could not process.

There is a recurring problem in which the computer systems are not integrated to "talk" to each other. It is not as if the problem is unknown.

In the late 90's a man by the name of Arthur Gross noted that the IRS lacked the "intellectual capital" to re-design computer systems. The IRS hires accountants.... not programmers. So he recommended the project be outsourced to the private sector.

That didn't work out so well, either. The IRS is always in the budget cross hairs of Congress.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-24...-cuts.html

A long-awaited modernization of the Internal Revenue Service’s computer system for processing individual tax returns has evaded lawmakers’ efforts to slice the agency’s budget by $600 million.

The plan suffered expensive glitches a decade ago and so far has cost $3.7 billion.

[Brakeman]

..you claimed that there was, and I quote, "a legitimate line of investigation that points to him (Obama)."

.. Now in the course of that investigation it is learned that certain emails were "accidently" destroyed; emails to and from people outside the IRS. This suggests that maybe people outside the IRS were involved....possibly even the administration.

A hole that is big enough for a unicorn is not evidence of unicorns..

Missing emails are just that, missing emails. The fact that wackaloons can imagine that they contained evidence of Obama ordering the middle tax people to attack right wing groups, attack christians to favor the taliban, or to admit his birth in Kenya after his dad shot JFK, does not change the fact that they are just imaginations of imaginary connections.

There is no legitimate line of investigation that points to Obama. You lied about this, and you aren't man enough to correct yourself publicly, choosing instead to weave and dodge.

[Ryantology]

Most pictures of Tea Party events I've seen consist of old folks with US flag pins and country music lovin' rednecks. Is there evidence that these people are by and large dangerous or violent?

They don't have to be, by and large. Any terrorist organization has (indeed, likely can't exist without) a large number of somewhat more lax people who simply cheer them on (or don't do anything to stop them).

Do those right-wing extremists who do promote violence warrant suspicionless surveillance of everyone who holds right-wing, anti-government views? THAT would be crazy talk.

The majority of them surely voted for the man who gave birth to the warrantless police state because they thought it would only be used against filthy brown-skinned turban-wearing Muslims. Surely a great many of them considered it absolutely warranted then, so it would be no less warranted when used against domestic terrorists and those who support and finance terror operations. Or maybe a drone strike or three.

Of course I don't support warrantless policing (or drones), but at the same time, I don't feel sorry for people who reap what they so enthusiastically sowed.

[Minimalist]

Most pictures of Tea Party events I've seen consist of old folks with US flag pins and country music lovin' rednecks. Is there evidence that these people are by and large dangerous or violent?

That is not an issue at all. They are applying under Sec. 501 © (4) as social welfare organizations - which is bullshit when it comes to these tea party fucks - and such organizations are defined:

http://www.irs.gov/Charities-&-Non-Profi...anizations

The promotion of social welfare does not include direct or indirect participation or intervention in political campaigns on behalf of or in opposition to any candidate for public office. However, a section 501©(4) social welfare organization may engage in some political activities, so long as that is not its primary activity. However, any expenditure it makes for political activities may be subject to tax under section 527(f).

In short, they are seeking to obtain a tax exemption for political contributions in partisan elections which is not legal. Put another way, these republibertarianeo-conazi fuck bags want to get a tax exemption for their political payments and expect the rest of us to subsidize them

Fuck 'em all. Especially Woodie.

[Heywood]

The IRS Commissioner gets ripped a new asshole courtesy of Paul Ryan. Ryan is a little pissed because as it turns out, 6 other people also being investigated also had their hard drives crash about the same time. Coincidence or coverup?





I would have liked to have seen the rest of it but the video cuts before the Commissioner can make his own statement.