There is not, never has been and never will be a politician in the US who will ever advocate and then fight for any tax plan that does not soak the middle class down to the last nickle. Every plan every statement is merely a shell game moving money I think is protected and money I know is not protected around and around.

I live in a "red" state proud oh so proud of it's staunch anti Tax stance on everything. I pay a state income tax. A sales tax and a property tax on cars, and a road tax, and a sales tax on all services, and a catering tax, and a tax on rent, a food tax in the supermarket, and a non food tax and some goods qualify for BOTH of those. Our gasoline taxes are the 7th highest in the country. The state gets 15% of my phone bill and takes 15% off the top of Time Warner + a regulated tariff from me. We have an extra 0.25% sales tax surcharge to pay for a stadium. There is a tax on all insurance premiums.

But they're all over that red state low tax shit. They're all up in that libertarian redneck trailer bride twaddle bout da damn gubmint.

It's a joke and the joke's on you. There is no such thing as a tax cut. In my 30 years of paying them I've never seen one. Because it's a shell game.

And I got news for you. Take a look at your end to end expenses on medical care. Between premiums, out of pocket, deductibles, copays and non covered charges YOU bear most of the direct cost even with insurance. That's kind of how taxes work in the US - they trickle in and you delude yourselves that it's nearly free.

I'll tell you what's a fair tax you fat bastard Neal Boortz androids. 50% income tax across the board. No forms, no loopholes no appeals. And for that 50% I want medical, dental, subways and all the junk government is supposed to get paid to do. If you don't like that plan move to the goddamn Ukraine.

The elections in Kenya that essentially devolved into low level ethnic cleansing at this point. I think sometimes poorly run elections are more dangerous than all the threats the demagogues themselves want to convince you to cower from. If you trace the GOP line of reasoning thus, it would be healthier and safer for us not to have elections at all. Ever. So why are they running?

Their successes? C'Mon, be sensible. You're not selling mouthwash, you're selling the fear of bad breath. We are a fear based anger based nation. On both sides. For every "Brown People will cut your head off" There's some nanny state retard handing out tickets to someone who doesn't have their 11 year old in a baby seat in the car.

That great line from "The Big Lebowski".

There are two types of undecided voters at this point: a) people who are dangerously stupid and who can't be trusted not to electrocute themselves in the bathroom, and b) people who recognize that across each party, the sum total of difference among all of them is like the difference between fully reclined and fully upright in a coach airline seat.

Soon enough most of you are going to have to put your fav candidate's cheerleader sweater away and fight those creepy bastards in the GOP. Get your act together.

We have become so obsessed with our differences we have come to hate our common ground.

I'm afraid the US is about 10 years into a long generation of deadlock and partisan knife fights. None of these elections has been about the commonwealth of the republic for some time now and no one cares about that. All Obama (or anyone) can accomplish is a consensus sufficient to stave off the most militant fringe elements. For example were Hillary to be elected, you would see a move for immediate instant impeachment before inauguration day. Obama at least can play the "Let's get along card" for a year or two, until the 2010 election at any rate and the rightwingotards start clutching their chests and screaming about the 'the war in Iraq that democrats started...' or some such shit. And since American voters are shallow and dull, Congress will switch back to to the GOP for another 2 years of sitting around with their heads up their asses.

these are the same people who fought like hell to rollback the estate tax even though 98 out of 100 of them could never in a million years ever be subject to it.

I mean other than Gordon, who truly believes Jews are satanic beasts to be sent straight to hell in the crematoria, is there anyone here who doesn't understand that a newspaper column, is, at the end of the day, a newspaper column? Even NPR has its Maura Liason. I think it's called having a fig leaf of unbias or something like that.

When we run out of oil we won't sell you our solar power either. I hope there's enough hydro for you to buy. Or coal. Whichever. It's odd that the Great Lakes wants to resurrect this notion that national natural resources belong to them alone. But I can work with that. All the seacoasts are ours and you now have to pay a special interstate tariff to trans ship goods from them. 10th Ammendment be damned I say. You did.

When you pick up your $9 "Buddha's Hand" citron. Wanna know what I do? I get a cold salad for lunch at WF and then take the bag to go to Aldi for groceries. $68 for organic jeans? That's precious.