If Sam really wants to bleed the rich, he’s absolutely fighting the wrong fight. He couches his argument in empirical terms, while everyone knows that any given belief can be illustrated with appropriately chosen figures. Those in favor of lightening the tax load on the rich have their own figures as well. Those of us … Read more
The conservative blogs are afire with Ayn Rand love. Apparently, by raising the top marginal tax rate back to where it was in the Clinton years, President Obama is “punishing” the most productive members of society. Au contraire. Here is my idea of “punishment.” You take a person who was born into poverty, who was … Read more
It’s noteworthy how some right-wing bloggers seem just as interested in the idea that the poor don’t work hard, as they are in the idea that the rich work really hard and ought not be “punished.” National Review’s Lisa Schiffren, who wrote an ode to the “professionals and entrepreneurs who make this country run,” had … Read more
Paradoxically, the more seats the Democrats lose in the House, the more likely it is to shift the agenda to the left. The current number of Democrats representing conservative districts empowers the Blue Dog Caucus, which has a moderating influence on bills passed through the House. If the ranks of the House Democrats are thinned, … Read more
So auditors are now reporting that GM’s long-term viability is, to put it charitably, a little bit doubtful. When this sort of language is going into GM’s annual report, then it is a virtual certainty that the depth of its problems are no doubt quite severe. Insofar as Citibank and BofA (and possibly all major … Read more
So I have not yet gotten around to Obama’s alleged secret note to Russian President Medvedev. In it, he seems to propose a quid pro quo, wherein the United States would agree to roll back our plans for a missile defense shield in Poland. Of course, since our missile defense shield is targeted towards Iran, … Read more
Michael Steele yesterday said on the air that Rush Limbaugh’s rhetoric was “incendiary” and “ugly”, and reminded the audience that he, not Rush Limbaugh, was the head of the Republican Party. Limbaugh’s response? ” “Michael Steele, you are head of the Republican National Committee. You are not head of the Republican party.” After the loss in … Read more
I’m surpised that Sam hasn’t blogged about this yet, but I’m happy enough to steal it from him: last Wednesday, the Supreme Court released a unanimous opinion in Pleasant Grove City v. Summum. For anyone who doesn’t recall, Summum is a small but gutsy religious faith that contributed a monument of its “Seven Aphorisms” to … Read more
A Harvard Business School study has found that Americans tend to consume online pornography at roughly constant levels among the various states. But, surprise surprise, red states tend to be the biggest consumers: “Eight of the top 10 pornography consuming states gave their electoral votes to John McCain in last year’s presidential election…. While six … Read more
When a Politico article gets an approving link, with no additional comment, from Kathryn Jean Lopez at the National Review, you know something’s wrong. The only substantive difference between Lopez’s take on the president’s budget and that of Politico reporter and ostensibly objective observer Jeanne Cummings is that the former calls it “class war” while … Read more