Education

Image by wstera2 via Flickr

http://www.forbes.com/2010/03/18/tea-party-ignorant-taxes-opinions-columnists-bruce-bartlett_3.html#

"Whatever the future of the Tea Party movement in American politics, it's a bad idea for so many participants to operate on the basis of false notions about the burden of federal taxation. It only takes a little bit of time to look at one's tax return to see what one is actually paying the Treasury, calculate the percentage of one's income that goes to taxes, and compare it with what was paid last year and the year before."

There's a big flaw in this argument - part of the strategy is to make sure no one knows enough arithmetic to actually do this. Seems to be working...

Doom

Image via Wikipedia

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0310/34808.html

“Unless this trillion-dollar assault on our freedoms is repealed, it will force Americans to purchase Washington-approved health plans or face stiff penalties,” DeMint said in a release. “It will fund abortions, raise taxes and insurance premiums, while reducing health care choices and quality.”

He left out mandatory euthanasia, forced gay marriage, one-world currency, re-education camps for Republicans and occupation by UN troops (every single one of which has been threatened by members of Congress and/or Republican leadership at the nation level, seriously).

http://www.salon.com/news/2010/03/11/us_forgotten_lawmaker/index.html

"When Juanita Goggins became the first black woman elected to the South Carolina Legislature in 1974, she was hailed as a trailblazer and twice visited the president at the White House.

"Three decades later, she froze to death at age 75, a solitary figure living in a rented house four miles from the gleaming Statehouse dome."

It's hard to understand the arc of some lives, but it's easy to understand the insensitivity of society.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Juanita Goggins Dead: Once-Revered SC Lawmaker Freezes To Death Alone (huffingtonpost.com)

Health

Image via Wikipedia

Now here's a solution that hadn't occurred to me... Make the US look better by comparison!

http://techdirt.com/articles/20100306/1804328453.shtml

"US Government Working With Pharma Companies To Raise Drug Prices In Other Countries"

Trim

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/03/09/florida_crash/

"Trooper Gary Dunick, who attended the scene, gasped: "If I wasn't there, I wouldn't have believed it. About 10 years ago I stopped a guy in the exact same spot ... who had three or four syringes sticking out of his arm. It was just surreal and I thought, 'Nothing will ever beat this.' Well, this takes it."

In case you're wondering just why Barnes was trimming her hedge, she explained that she was on her way to a rendezvous with her boyfriend and wanted to be "ready for the visit"."

But her husband was driving??

Gay

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/03/04/anti-gay-lawmaker-reportedly-gay-club-dui-arrest/

"A California state senator who reportedly has voted against every gay rights measure since he took office eight years ago was charged with driving under the influence on Wednesday, reportedly after leaving a gay nightclub in Sacramento."

What, another one?

"He was arrested after leaving Faces, a gay nightclub in midtown Sacramento, according to cbs13.com. A male passenger, who was not identified as a lawmaker, was also in the car but was not detained, the TV station reported."

Shocking!

Republican Ideas

Image via Wikipedia

http://www.blueoregon.com/2010/03/when-will-republicans-get-serious.html

"Twenty years ago, Republicans hypothesized that cutting taxes and deregulating industry would spark an economic boom that would make up for lost tax revenue. It seemed plausible, and even moderate Democrats played along. We ran the experiment. Guess what? Cuts mean cuts. Republicans refused to make any hard choices about which programs they wanted to scrap, and instead were content to watch tax cuts lead to fiscal crises and ultimately to unplanned, indiscriminate cuts in services."

I was listening to the radio this morning when I heard a story about a local Republican that opposes a certain idea that was floated by the state's governor - the exact idea is not significant to my point. The speakers objection was that if the state needs to save money, which it does, then instead of the governor's idea, the state just needs to "cut unnecessary spending."

I thought, cut unnecessary spending! Why that's brilliant! Why didn't we think of that at any time over the past TEN YEARS as revenues declined. Why, it's so simple! Just cut unnecessary spending.

I picture a bureaucrat someplace in the capital running a finger down a list of line items until it comes to "Unnecessary Spending". All we have to do is zero that out. It's so obvious!

Foreign

This morning I saw this story before coming to work:

http://thinkprogress.org/2010/03/03/afa-seaworld/

Then when I get to work and see this:

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6230J720100304

I tell you, there is no future for this civilization. In 4 or 5 generations people will be living in mud huts and terrified of eclipses. For a thinking person, this is becoming a very strange and unknown land.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Miss Beverly Hills hates gays even more than crazy queen Carrie Prejean (trueslant.com)