Happy war on holiday.
* Mitt Romney gave a speech about freeance and religiosity. And he was introduced by a jackass.
* And, speaking of freedom needing religion, how about those moderate Muslims?
* And speaking of Romney, Goddamn are some of his supporters sensitive.
* And speaking of (is there a pattern here? I’ll stop) GOP whining. It’s bad that Democrats are allowed to ask questions of Republicans. And of Democrats.
* Democrats need not jump to defend the CIA when it obstructs justice.
* Political journalism is tough. But at least it’s easy to find the bias when people take short cuts and make up the news.
* Michelle Malkin and Freepers are delightful people.
Locally:
* It’s nice to know what’s a real emergency.
* The complaint against Dino Rossi was dismissed, but to the Republicans who seem to think that makes him clean, you are an idiot.
* Dino Rossi’s idea man is having trouble reading the Constitution.
This is an open thread
Carl, why are you surprised by Republican whining and crying? It’s the only thing they do well. Let’s review:
Winner of 2004 governor’s election: http://tinyurl.com/yop3xo
Loser of 2004 governor’s election: http://tinyurl.com/refm2
More Important News For Those who Value Horse Turds:
Obama Revealed to be a Muslim
Bush’s Flack Fails High School Soc Sci: Cuban Missile Crisis?
How to Strip Search a Nun at Airport
Nobel Laureate Watson is an African American!
Scientific Study Says Conservatives Use less Water to Flush
The Xannukah Ham
Radical Religionistas Kill Each Other Off! ..
Legos For Radicals: Building the No-Nos
Oh please Piper. Don’t say anything. Let Puddybud be the dumbass in this thread.
Huckabee Supports Unfair Tax
Mike Huckabee supports the misnamed “Fair Tax” movement, which was concocted rightwingers and funded by conservative businessmen.
The self-described “Fair Tax” would replace the federal individual and corporate income and capital gains taxes, capital gains taxes, social security and medicare taxes, and estate and gift taxes with a national sales tax.
Right out of the gate, advocates lied about how much the sales tax would be. Advocates claim it would be 23%, when in fact, under the bill they introduced in Congress, it is 30%. However, a Brookings Institution economist calculated that to be revenue-neutral (i.e., to avoid large, permanent, structural deficits at current spending levels), it would have to be 44% to 53%.
This tax would apply to food, medicine, mortgage interest paid above a “basic” rate, legal expenses, doctor bills — all new (i.e., not previously taxed) goods and services.
The Brookings Institution study also concluded that the “Fair Tax” would redistribution the federal tax burden downward; that is, it’s regressive. The percentage of total federal taxes paid by households in the $15,000 to $50,000 would nearly double, while high income households would get a large drop in their tax burden.
Advocates of the “Fair Tax” also falsely claim it is a progressive tax. This is ridiculous. Since low income households tend to spend all of their income, and high income households tend to save and invest the bulk of their income, and the “Fair Tax” is imposed only on consumer spending, a household earning $30,000 a year and spending 100% of it would pay the same amount of tax as a household earning $500,000 a year and spending $30,000 of it while investing $470,000.
Furthermore, if such a tax were enacted, there would soon be demands for exemptions, and a Republican Congress could easily manipulate exemptions for the benefit of the rich. For example, they could exempt yachts, country club dues, and cosmetic surgery. And, of course, the upper class’s fancy European vacations wouldn’t be taxed because that money isn’t spent in the U.S.!
Imagine the effect a 50% sales tax would have on consumer spending, which represents 70% of the U.S. economy. How much stuff would you buy if you had to pay a total of 60% sales tax on it (including state and local)? Consumer spending would go into freefall and the economy would go into a depression that would make the 1930s look tame by comparison.
This ludicrous scheme was invented by Republicans, is supported by Republicans, and nobody but Republicans is supporting it in Congress. In the House and Senate put together, only 1 Democrat has cosponsored it. That should tell you something right there.
Of course, it’s not surprising that Huckabee supports it, considering that he also supports replacing the teaching of evolution in public school science classes with the Ten Commandments and creationism.
Huckabee is such a whackjob it’s hard to believe he’s even in the race, let alone a contender. That shows how far out of touch with the mainstream — and with reality — that Republicans have become.
I’ll bet if Malkin’s house dropped 25% in value, she’d wail like a stuck pig.
That is, if she owns a house.
Roger …
Did you ever answer my question about an initiative requiring a tax impact statement of any development over a certain size in Seattle?
Why DO we subsidize Vulcan .. if we do? Would such an initiative be lawful:
Resolve:
Any development in King County with a total investment over $10,000,000 must su8bmit a statement of the net impact on the real estate tax burden. Such statements will be prepared by the Assessor’s Office at a fee not to exceed .1% of the toal intended investment.
Take from the rich (whether they’re rich or not) and give to the poor (whether they’re poor or not). All I see here is government-forced re-distribution of wealth.
A “fair” tax is a tax that’s the same for everybody. A is “favorable” tax is one designed to accomplish some socialist goal, like the goal of total wealth redistribution.
If you want to fix the AMT problem, get rid of the “normal” tax code and just have the AMT. The AMT is flatter, and thus, “fairer” than the other part, the socialist tax code we now have.
If we’ve gotta have a goddam income tax, then it ought to be a single rate for every payer, with only one decuction: the poverty level for the number of people supported by the taxpayer’s income. If the poverty level for a family of four is $20,000 of income per year, then subtract $20,000 from the yearly income for that particular family and tax the remainder at a single flat-rate tax, say 10%, for example. If it’s sixpeople supported by the same income steam, subtract whatever the poverty level for a family of six in, then apply the single rate.
A “fair” tax is a tax that treats everyone the same. A “favorable” tax is one that doesn’t. I’ve had it with this esoteric and ridiculously complicate tax code. Time to simplify it all.
@7 why is this fair?
Wouldn’t it be more fair to tax people in some proportion to the benefits they receive from our society?
One way of doing this is to tax WEALTH instead of income. If I own a large esatte, I obviously get service the studeo apt dweller does not get.
So how would you feel about a flat tax PLUS a wealth tax?
That way we tax everyone based on what they earn and then tax them based on what portion of our national wealth they hold.
The neat thing about a welath tax is that it is very progressive. poor folk own very little.
Also, used well, a welath tax can discourage a lot of tax gimmicks ..e.g. depreciati9on of atheletic teams and real estate.
The presidential debates seemed symmetric. Democratic operatives planted in the audience of “undecided voters” asking questions of Democrats. And Democratic operatives planted in the audience of “undecided voters” asking questions of Republicans.
Fair, it was not.
We could ask some wedge questions of Democrats, like-
Do you believe the Government had something to do with the attack on 9/11?
Where do you stand on gun control?
Now that the surge is working, what are you going to do about Iraq?
Who is Norman Hsu, and is he any relation to Johnnie Trie?
Why are y’all up in arms about the destruction of video tapes, when y’all were dead silent when Sandy Berger did the same thing to Clinton’s notes about terrorism meetings in the National Archives.
Ditto, Nancy P. and Jane Harmon getting the tour on waterboarding and asking why is wasn’t tougher.
Just askin…
Enough already says: “Oh please Piper. Don’t say anything. Let Puddybud be the dumbass in this thread.”
EA: You won, DUMBASS Congratulations!
SeattleJew you forgot the Goerge Soros tax. Bury your wealth overseas in tax haven locations, pay no income tax, and use your “interest” to fund Media Morons and other 527 web sites!
Carl, as I stated yesterday your “Radical Religionistas Kill Each Other Off! ..” link is about a Christian hater not people killing each other off.
Rosie O’Donnell, ACLU, Most Lefty HorsesASSHoles, Barbara Walters, Joy Behar, etc. etc. etc. spew this hate Christians everywhere.
Good try on the attempt though! You try to use faux jedi mind tricks like Pelletizer (TM). I see your mind is malleable for trying it.
I’d normally give out a shout out to “I am Puddy, Not” (crap) but I’m not feeling inspired this morning.
Too much on the plate.
Ohh I see a little Rosie paranoia.. Ehhh. not worth it.
7 PI
“A “fair” tax is a tax that’s the same for everybody. “
By “the same” one could mean that
– every tax payer pays the same number of dollars in tax regardless of income.
– every tax payer pays the same percentage of their income, regardless of income
– every tax payer pays the same percentage of the net income left after some floor of personal need is excluded
– every tax payer has all sources of income taxed in exactly the same way (unrealized growth in investments, inheritance, profit on sales of investments, money earned overseas, gifts, passive gains, fees for services rendered, barter, wages, salaries, tips, taxable interest, dividends, taxable refunds, credits, or offsets of state and local income taxes, IRA distributions, pensions and annuities, rental real estate, royalties, partnerships, S corporations, trusts, unemployment compensation, Social security benefits, and so on)
But regardless of how one views “the same” (and believe me many people have views that differ from yours), it’s a fraction of those who would disagree that yours is an adequate definition of “fair.”
How come it took PuddyJackass so long to show up?
@9 Delbert: the reason nobody asks such stupid softball questions is that all the democrats could hit these out of the park:
Do you believe the Government had something to do with the attack on 9/11?
Yes – it was the incompetence of the Bush administration. they ignored the presidential daily briefing that specific said bin Laden would attack – probably by airplane.
they ignored the warnings from the clinton adminsitration on the dangers of bin Laden.
Better question for the republicans: Why are we as poorly prepared for a terrorist attack today as in 2001 and what will you differently from Bush?
Where do you stand on gun control?
You mean the lack of gun control. Nowhere in the constitution does it say that everyone (mentally deranged or not) is entitled to an automatic weapon. The reason we have the terrible shooting incidents and our murder rate is higher than any other industrialized country is a perculiar fascination with guns and the gun lobby that promotes gun ownership of any type of gun for anyone.
Better question: What will you do to lower the murder rate (and don’t say lock more people up – that has not worked) in the US?
Now that the surge is working, what are you going to do about Iraq?
Umm – the surge has temporarily decreased violence. The history of the situation is that the insurgents will lie low and then come back out. In the menatime, the whole purpose of the surge (according to Petreus himself), was to give the Iraqu government time to shape a political solution.
So – since there has been no political progress – this is a temporary lull before things get worse again. The surge is NOT working for the ultimate goal – enough stability in Iraq for the withdrawal of US troops.
Better question: When will you pull US combat troops out of Iraq?
Who is Norman Hsu, and is he any relation to Johnnie Trie?
Norman Hsu is a crook who contributed to Hillary’s campaign. Will the republican candidates disavow all money from crimials and how will they check on this?
by the way, Abramoff is a convicted briber of republican congressmen and David Safavian in the bush administration. It is much worse to accept money for political favors than to have someone contribute to your campaign who happens to be a crook.
Why are y’all up in arms about the destruction of video tapes, when y’all were dead silent when Sandy Berger did the same thing to Clinton’s notes about terrorism meetings in the National Archives.
Umm – again there is not comparison. Berger walked out with classified documents. Here we have torture tapes (Illegal torture) destroyed in a clear obstruction of justice – and we have the CIA lying to the courts.
this is the biggie – the executive branch doing illegal acts, lying about it and then destroying the evidence (obstuction).
why did the president not know about the tapes when he should have been briefed and the OLC lawyers were consulted?
Bush is lying again.
Union Machinist said nuthin worthwhile today!
New Subject –
Father killed daughter for not wearing hijab, her friends say
http://www.breitbart.com/artic....._article=1
Interesting article on how asinine the total Muslim religion is. They are over a 1000 years behind where the current Christian religions are (discounting the Irish) and I have not heard of other religions like the Buddhists having similar problems.
So what is wrong with the Islam/Muslim religion where they have absolutely no concern or cares about life itself.
NeverCorrectNotRight:
THe MSM is trying to pin the tapes on Bush. You should hang George Tenet since it happened in his tenure.
Unfortunately for your side Harriet Myers told the CIA not to destroy the tapes. Look it up. But the liberal MSM will try any angle to pin this on Bush.
Puddy –
Actually, the real story is comming out now – the White House winked and nodded – destroying the tapes is not a good idea (wink) but go ahead since the court will now find out about interrogations at black sites not at Gitmo.
See: http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/004886.php
It is a tangled web of lies, constitutional mayhem and illegal activities that they are covering up – Waterboarding is illegal – we tried Japanese and our own soldiers for war crimes for waterboarding. It is against the Geneva convention and our own military are against it.
I don’t believe a word that CIA stooge says – they are setting us up again. If waterboarding is not torture and we got so much good info from it – where are the tapes and why did they need to destroy them. This is obstruction of justice and a cover-up.
Liars!
Anyone who tolerates this does not understand or care about our constitution and is no patriot (just an excuse making republican sycophant with no mind of their own). this is the executive branch gone wild – thumbing their nose at the courts and at congress.
Stillincorrectandnotveryright: What does the leftist pinko site Muckraker say in that article?
As you proscribe by placing this on ASSWipers: “the White House winked and nodded’
Oh really? Please give me a credible source. The very left leaning Mewsweek? SHOW ME SOMETHING credible the White House hand in it and I’ll join you. Until then…
18
It is interesting that neither moderate muslims (if they really exist) nor liberals ever speak up to condemn these actions. Nor do they ever seem to remember them when preaching how “peaceful” the religion is and how muslim americans were so “screwed” after 9/11.