I got stuck with that one once. They didn't withhold taxes and I didn't know I would be responsible for them. The next year I was surprised to find out that I owed taxes, and I was not in a very good financial position to pay them. I suspect that most people who are unemployed have that problem - unemployment income doesn't come close to matching your pay, and savings tend to disappear quickly. And nowadays it's not uncommon to end up in a lower paying job, or to take a long time to find another job. What happens when taxes come due and you still aren't working? At the very least they should allow unemployment income to be amortized over several years to lessen the impact.

Otherwise, why do we need tax cuts on people who are working and are able to pay taxes? This is just more of the same "tax cut and spend" Republican strategy that got us into this mess in the first place.

...I'd be surprised if the GOP compromised on what to have for lunch during the discussions. It was as dumb as Pelosi rubbing in the fact that we needed a bailout because of bad right-wing policies right before the vote on the first bailout bill. I don't know who leaked the comment to the press, but it wouldn't surprise me if it was one of the Republicans in the room, not an Obama aide. Any Republicans who were inclined to go along with Obama's plans in order to look as if they were cooperating were forced to "stand up" to him the moment that comment was released to the press.

That comment is going to cost Obama, and it's going to cost all of us. He embarassed them, so they have to embarass him back. That's the way the boys in Washington play their games, and even Obama can't change the rules.

She teaches a much better lesson - love yourself. She isn't afraid to promote healthy eathing, but she certainly doesn't suggest that loving yourself requires controlling every aspect of your body. Since the health Nazi's won the smoking battle, they have turned to battling fat. Overweight/Obesity has been defined in a manner that means that many otherwise healthy people cannot meet the ideal weights set by the standard (many athletes and tall people would be emaciated if they tried to hit a bmi of 25). They imply that not having a rail thin body means that you are weak and lack character and use the excuse that it's "unhealthy". It isn't. A person who eats decently and exercises and is still overweight is healthier than someone who is thin by nature and eats badly or lives a sedentary life. I wish they had stuck to smoking. Their "take no prisoner's" approach worked better when they were battling something that was actually unhealthy. Their current obsession with thin at any cost is simply causing massive frustration and even health problems (i.e. bulemia, anorexia) for millions of people, especially women, who do not meet the standards for perfection that they set out.

She's not actually pro gay marriage. She is in favor of nationalized civil unions. Besides, nobody is claiming she isn't a Democrat. She is. She is a conservative Democrat, aka a "blue dog Democrat". That means that with her appointment, the Democratic Party just moved a tiny bit further to the right.

There are reasons besides needing cash that rental companies might want your money now. Cash up front makes it less likely that a person will back out of the rental, leaving them with extra cars that could have been rented if they had known they would be available. I think we probably would have heard if a couple of major car rental companies were close to going out of business.

I have to keep reminding myself that during the bulk of the housing bubble the media promoted the meme that everything was wonderful and gave glowing reports about the economy and they are doing the same thing in reverse right now. Yes, things are bad. They have been worse, and could get worse, but they also could get better. But "we don't know what will happen" doesn't make a good headline. It's so much more interesting to quote some academic who thinks we will end up in a depression greater than the great one. Two years ago, it was "happy days are here again". Now, "they sky is falling". As always, I suspect the truth is somewhere in between.

It's nice that the media are covering this, given that it had a happy ending. They don't always do that. Often, it seems that only the sad stories get covered. But it's good to hear about things going right. And, as far as I'm concerned, this pilot IS a hero. Okay, not the kind who sacrifices his life for a cause, but a hero nonetheless. He's the kind of committed person who takes the time to learn and do his job instead of just coasting through life. His dedication to excellence saved a lot of lives, which, imo, makes him the kind of everyday hero who often goes unnoticed. You don't actually have to save lives to be a hero, even though he did. Sometimes it's enough to just take that extra step and get lucky enough to be noticed.