If you wear clothes, Bush has a new tax on you.
 

This is what happens when Southerners control the GOP, and it controls the government: The Bush Administration just announced new protectionist tariffs on clothing imports. "The new rules, scheduled to be published today in the Federal Register, were posted in recent days on a government Web site. Word of their impending imposition has stirred anger among clothing retailers and importers, who contend that the barriers contravene an international agreement to open the worldwide textile trade starting in 2005." Maybe they believed that crap about balancing the budget, too.

smoke & mirrors
 

Sadly, AARP is far too powerful a lobby. Almost as powerful as the Bushies said the trial lawyers were....

And I agree that a big part of the SS question is an attitude of entitlement. Even my parents, who, through a lot of hard work and plenty of luck, are in a position where they don't really need the SS benefits. Nonetheless, my father bristles at the idea of not getting the benefits he "paid for."

Of course, this is the same phenomenon that causes people, implausibly, to resist means testing...

It is not if it is a bonifide job qualification. Pilots, for example, have a mandatory retirement age.

As do partners at some law firms (i.e. mine), but I have a feeling that is a different question of law.

Ad(yes, I know that wasn't really your point)der

too funny
 

Peggy Noonan channels Tupac on the Wellstone Memorial. An oldy but goody. So maybe it's not really Peggy.

too funny
 

Maybe not, but the slip towards the end of "mother fuckers" tells me that it probably is.

Get in line, you tools
 

Think that the things you're hearing from the Bush Administration about SocSec reform are a little dicey? Ill-considered? Unnecessary, perhaps? Perhaps you're even a GOPer?

Hate to tell you this, but David Brooks tells us that you're a Michael Moore-lovin', conspiracy-worshipping, fucking pinko commie.

This train is movin, pal, and unless you want to stand at the station next to a fossilized FDR, you better hop on. You may get a couple of seats in the last car, but no guarantees.

Oopsie!
 

One of Minnesota's electoral votes goes to John Edwards instead of John Kerry!

Now, if only Bush electors had made 270 similar mistakes, there'd be a new Sherriff in town.

here's your global test
 

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...ational_poll_6

Old Europe now hates us, not just our government.

We still have the Canadians

For now at least

The mandatory retirement ages at law firms and accounting firms is not age discrimination because (i) partners aren't employees and (ii) the mandatory retirement is a voluntary contractual arrangement.

Glad I'm Still Single
 

• Piscataway, N.J. — Researchers at Rutgers University have developed a trio of drugs they believe can destroy HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, according to a published report.
  
  The drugs, called DAPYs, mimic the virus by changing shape, which enables them to interfere with the way HIV attacks the immune system.
  
  Tests conducted in conjunction with Johnson and Johnson have shown the drug to be easily absorbed with minimal side effects. It also can be taken in one pill, in contrast to the drug cocktails currently taken by many AIDS patients.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servl...enceandHealth/

For Hank
 

http://www.cnn.com/2004/EDUCATION/12....ap/index.html

Shouldn't they have a warning sticker saying intelligent design is only a theory?

This Surprised Me
 

• NEW YORK Even as a new Gallup poll shows that the public values “values” less than November exit polls suggested, another survey from the same outfit released today showed a historic surge in Republican party affiliation.
  
  In Gallup's latest poll this month, those identifying themselves as Republicans jumped to 37% of the public, with Democrats now clearly trailing with 32%.
  
  Democrats have long held more party members than Republicans. During the Clinton years, the bulge was about 5% to 6%. As recently as late-October of this year the Democratic edge was 37% to 34%.
  
  Gallup noted today: “Post-election shifts in partisanship after presidential elections or midterm congressional elections are not routine, but are also not uncommon.”
  
  Another Gallup poll also released today showed that, contrary to many press reports, “values” ranked well behind the war in Iraq, terrorism and the economy as a prime concern of Americans.

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/ea..._id=1000736911

Already researching your options, eh?

Ad(that is what I thought)der

the gift that keeps giving
 

So the downtown apartment that Kerik was using for his two affairs was donated as a resting spot for police officers at ground zero.

the gift that keeps giving
 

eta: But wait, there's more! Bigamy!