Politics As Usual

[Tyrone Slothrop]

We sorely lacked your perspective yesterday. Do you think that dipping into the strategic reserve would have any non-transitory effect on retail gasoline prices, or is it simply a way for a president (Clinton, Bush, etc.) to make a hollow gesture that shows that he cares about working stiffs?

[Gattigap]

Originally posted by SlaveNoMore
Well, for one thing, only one of them has ever promoted the flat tax...

Really? I thought Bush has done so.

As an aside, remember that the Coalition Authority instituted a flat tax in Iraq. Grover Norquist is still laundering his bedsheets daily over that one.

The flat tax, long a dream of economic conservatives, is finally getting its day -- not in the United States, but in Iraq.



It took L. Paul Bremer, the U.S. administrator in Baghdad, no more than a stroke of the pen Sept. 15 to accomplish what eluded the likes of publisher Steve Forbes, Reps. Jack Kemp (R-N.Y.) and Richard K. Armey (R-Tex.), and Sen. Phil Gramm (R-Tex.) over the course of a decade and two presidential campaigns.

"The highest individual and corporate income tax rates for 2004 and subsequent years shall not exceed 15 percent," Bremer wrote in Coalition Provisional Authority Order Number 37, "Tax Strategy for 2003," issued last month.

Voilà! Iraq has a flat tax, and the 15 percent rate is even lower than Forbes (17 percent) and Gramm (16 percent) favored for the United States. And, unless a future Iraqi government rescinds it, the flat tax will remain long after the Americans have left.

"It's extremely good news," said Grover Norquist, head of Americans for Tax Reform and a Bush administration ally. Bremer's vaguely worded edict leaves open the possibility that Iraqis could face different levels of taxation below 15 percent, but "they told me it's a flat rate and it appears as though it's a flat rate," Norquist said. The tax fighter added: "It might be a hint to the rest of us."

In a slightly related point, Bush was quoted in the article as apparently liking the general idea.

President Bush, in Russia last year to see President Vladimir Putin, said: "The good news is that the flat tax in Russia is a good, fair tax -- much more fair, by the way, than many Western countries, I might add."

Gattigap

[Secret_Agent_Man]

Originally posted by Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)
Why the fuck is Hastert questioning McCain, a former POW, on sacrifice?

""If you want to see the sacrifice, John McCain ought to visit our young men and women at Walter Reed and Bethesda."

JFC, Mr. Speaker, at least know the background of the people you're insulting.

He knows the background. That is irrelevant, because John McCain was criticizing the fiscal policies of the Bush administration and the GOP leadership in Congress. That sort of thing is just unacceptable.

Here is from McCain's response:

"'The Speaker is correct in that nothing we are called upon to do comes close to matching the heroism of our troops,' McCain said.

"'All we are called upon to do is not spend our nation into bankruptcy while our soldiers risk their lives. I fondly remember a time when real Republicans stood for fiscal responsibility. Apparently those days are long gone for some in our party.'"

S_A_M

[Replaced_Texan]

Originally posted by Say_hello_for_me
Does the media in your city ever ask about the response plans for the next 9/11? If not, now would be a great moment to start the inquiries. Because I guarantee you, 95% of the 100 largest cities in this country, do not have a plan, and couldn't coordinate between two agencies if 3000 lives depended on it.

Hello

It may not be perfect, but I actually think we have a good plan in Houston. Tropical Storm Allison in 2001 sort of got our collective asses in gear, and the city and county have been running all sorts of dry runs to work out the kinks in the event of another disaster. Our biggest weakness is that both of our level one trauma units are next door to each other, and that didn't really help matters when the Med Center was brought to its knees by the flood, but they designed the new convention center to double as a field hospital in the event of a disaster. Last year's simulated disaster (I think it was a suicide bomb on a bus followed by a release of mustard gas) seemed to go fairly well by all reports, though I'm sure they could use some improvement.

[Secret_Agent_Man]

Originally posted by ltl/fb
So which is it -- rates would not go up, or rates would go up? Your ability to put together coherent sentences, while appreciated, does not negate the fact that you are completely contradicting yourself.

I understood what he said, I think.

You may wish to either drink more or post less when drinking.

S_A_M

[SlaveNoMore]

Tyrone Slothrop
So you flood part of Wyoming. Would anyone notice?

Sure, why not. Give all the extra oil to the Cheneys.

[dtb]

Originally posted by Not Me
To do it by state and not by those who actually voted is not kosher. The states with the lower IQs, also have larger black populations percentage wise. Blacks don't do as well on IQ tests as whites.* Yet blacks voted overwhelmingly for Gore.

Certainly someone has pointed this out, but wtf. You're not going to tell us that Montana, Oklahoma, S. Dakota, Wyoming, Idaho, and Utah have larger black populations percentage wise, are you?

Furthermore, New York, New Jersey, Mass, Maryland and Illinois also have large black populations.

[Gattigap]

Originally posted by Gattigap
[musings on Bill Kristol interview]

Originally posted by Not Me
You are late to the party.

Originally posted by Not Me
They refuse to open their minds.

Originally posted by Tyrone Slothrop
Which is exactly why Gattigap turned the station to KPFA in disgust when he heard that Terri Gross was going to interview Kristol, and why I wouldn't be caught dead linking to a Kristol article, let alone reading one.

Originally posted by Not Me
Therein lies the (or at least one) difference between me and you. I do read and listen to what liberals have to say. On occasion, I have even been persuaded by what they had to say when it made sense.

Originally posted by Not Me
I don't pick my positions based on the Rep platform. I pick them by informing myself about the issues, which means listening to both sides. This is why I advocate positions on both sides of the political spectrum. Because I am not a blind partisan, but rather, a thinking person.

Originally posted by Tyrone Slothrop
You are, once again, the Queen of the Literal.

Lovely. Motivated in part in response to earlier complaints about Dems listening only to the sissified liberal media, my musings generate this shit.

Next time y'all* feel motivated to bring up the topic. please remember that when it's volunteered, it's generally met with either studious silence or the NotMe rant machine, verion 2.3.1 (though inexplicably still in beta).

Gattigap

*Because of its pointlessness, I exclude NotMe from this recommendation, as it's becoming clear that the caricature of "Dem close-mindedness" is the horse of the day to flog. I would take solace in the knowledge of the apparent death of the polygamy horse, except that now we should expect to see a digital photo of her posing over its dead carcass sometime soon.

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally posted by Tyrone Slothrop
Did someone steal your log-in, Hank, or is this a Gilligan episode I missed?

No, this is just me trying to jump start an evolution fight.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

Originally posted by bilmore
I think our situation there has turned a rather huge corner in the last three weeks, and we are very close to having an actual, honest-to-goodness country over there. Support for Sadr is almost completely gone....

Uh oh. "An Iraqi poll to be released next week shows a surge in the popularity of Moqtada al-Sadr, the radical young Shia cleric fighting coalition forces." 68% of Iraqis now support Moqtada al-Sadr. Of course, the poll was conducted before pictures of Abu Ghraib starting coming out, and before we recommenced our strategy of bombing wedding parties,* so maybe the Iraqis will be won over by our newfound resolve and will turn on Sadr now.


* This is what Bill Bennett had in mind when he talked about it being time to unsheathe our sword, right?

eta: Is "turning the corner" going to be the new "light at the end of the tunnel"?

[Tyrone Slothrop]

Originally posted by Hank Chinaski
No, this is just me trying to jump start an evolution fight.

I would not date to argue about evolution with someone who knows Latin words and how to italicize them. Ixnay onway ethay intelligentway esignday, then.

[taxwonk]

Originally posted by SlaveNoMore
Well, for one thing, only one of them has ever promoted the flat tax...

Read the particulars of Shrub's tax plan (well, the tax plan of whoever drafted it for him). In substance, there isn't a whole lot of difference, except that Shrub's goes for an extreme bracket compression instead of a single flat rate.

[taxwonk]

Originally posted by Tyrone Slothrop
We sorely lacked your perspective yesterday. Do you think that dipping into the strategic reserve would have any non-transitory effect on retail gasoline prices, or is it simply a way for a president (Clinton, Bush, etc.) to make a hollow gesture that shows that he cares about working stiffs?

Dipping into the strategic reserve will have a minimal impact. At most, it might pressure the Saudis to start upping production, which would have a more lasting effect. However, that's assuming the Saudis are in a mood to help us out right now. I'm not detecting any warm fuzzies from that quarter, though.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally posted by Tyrone Slothrop
cartoon

I like this.

I remember a Reagan cartoon where he escaped from his cage/handlers just before a debate, ran on stage and caught and ate a rat in front of the cameras. If I can find it I'll post...

eta link to previously-posted cartoon -- the image didn't post for me, so I put something else in its place -- T.S.