So a national point-of-sale tax would be just about the stupidest way to apply a transaction tax, because it hits only once in the cycle, and basic items are taxed the same as luxury items. A VAT works a little better, because the more processing an item requires, the more tax is built in to the final cost. Thus, fresh vegetables are taxed maybe once or twice, the components that eventually go into creating a Rolls-Royce are taxed multiple times. Since the rich don't necessarily care about the cost of their luxury goods, besides them being priced out of the reach of normal citizens, so much the better. And if fresh food items become substantially cheaper than processed foods, we have a win for the poor.

However, I don't know if the average American taxpayer understands exactly how much money it takes to run our government. Either way, a VAT or a sales tax will add substantially to the prices at the register. You may not see a drain on your paycheck any more, but you'll see a drain on your receipts.

I've known Bill Kristol was a smarmy, toothy-smiled huckster.

I need to see Brokaw taking Matthews down in real time.

The world is whatever they say it is, lalalalala I can't hear you laalalalalalala.

The letter "e" is medium gray-green. Always has, always will be. Thought I'd clear that up.

;)

Sorry, I think the last seven years belies this statement. Why start following the law now?

Thanks for playing, Mike, your consolation prizes include Lee Press-On Nails and Rice-a-Roni, the San Francisco Treat.

Oh, those kids with their loud music and their Dan Fogelberg, their Zima, hula hoops and Pac-Man video games, the hippity-hop music and YooToobs on the Interwebs, it's all gonna come crashing down, and when it does, mark my words, you'll be regretting the day you didn't mark my words.

I think we should start drafting David Caruso, Mark Harmon, Dann Florek or any of the other older denziens of the procedural crime dramas to replace Thompson as the Republican candidate of choice.

...so what are you going to do about oxygen, water, various vital organic materials, insulation and power?

A homesteader on Earth at least has three of those taken care of.

"What if we had just let the South go and skipped the civil war? What would have happened to them in the lead up to WWI? Would they have allied with Hitler in the 30's? Would they have been a huge 3rd front for us in WWII (sapping our resources like the USSR did to Germany)?"

You realize, of course, that without a US Civil War the subsequent history of this nation and probably others would have been completely different. There might have been World Wars, and they might have involved the USA and CSA, but not the ones we know and love.

"What if we had just let the South go and skipped the civil war? What would have happened to them in the lead up to WWI? Would they have allied with Hitler in the 30's? Would they have been a huge 3rd front for us in WWII (sapping our resources like the USSR did to Germany)?"

You realize, of course, that without a US Civil War the subsequent history of this nation and probably others would have been completely different. There might have been World Wars, and they might have involved the USA and CSA, but not the ones we know and love.

"What if we had just let the South go and skipped the civil war? What would have happened to them in the lead up to WWI? Would they have allied with Hitler in the 30's? Would they have been a huge 3rd front for us in WWII (sapping our resources like the USSR did to Germany)?"

You realize, of course, that without a US Civil War the subsequent history of this nation and probably others would have been completely different. There might have been World Wars, and they might have involved the USA and CSA, but not the ones we know and love.

I think an hour's worth of genuflecting, maybe with the help of those aerobic step things and some dynamic workout music, could be the Next Big Thing.

But more important, is America really this sadistic, or has Fox crafted a solid business plan from pandering to our worst impulses?

Yes.

What happened to his Eleventh Commandment? I thought Republicans were supposed to be more disciplined than all this dogfighting would indicate.

Yeah, I know it's hard, but you can't get over her when she's always around. Change the locks and smile when she freaks.

I feel like mentioning that if she left you and the kids for a hipper-than-thou guru, has jumped on the raw food bandwagon, and lets your kids play with your embarrasing sex toy, you need to run, not walk, to the locksmith.

They will keep us safe by pontificating the enemy to death. Take that, Great Caliphate!

...what? Is it because the Bushes have been cozy with the royal family for so long? Is it because they see a shared vision of religious fascism they long to emulate? Maybe it's because they just love the petrodollars that get kicked back to their campaign coffers.

You get the point, elephantman.