Jumping into the Vat

Steam Vat

When Barack Obama was running for President he kept promising that unless you were rich (an ever evolving standard of earnings) you would not have your taxes raised "even one penny." In fact, he told those with "tingles running up their legs", they would have their taxes cut.

Those greedy people with incomes over $250,000 were going to finally pay their fair share and therefore we could all enjoy buying health-care, cars and homes we couldn't afford, just like before it all came crashing down into a heap of government interference and crony capitalism.

 Forgetting for a moment that 10% of the earners are paying approx. 70% of the taxes and 43% of tax units (most of which are lower income households that may or may not file a return) will have no income tax liability or will have a negative income tax liability, meaning the government will actually pay them, it's not clear where the terminally gullible thought that money was going to come from.

I wrote a piece called "I Can't Hear The Howling Anymore" about a year ago which I hope you will re-read, but a more current essay has been written by Dr. Charles Krauthammer about his prediction of a coming VAT (value added tax) to pay for all the European (think Greece) socialism passed recently by the Bush/Obama combine. You can read it here, and I think you should.

Many think a national sales tax (instead of an income tax) is a better way for government to fund it's activities, and although the devil is in the details, I am one of them. This is not that tax, this is on top of the income tax and it taxes products and services at every single stage of the production chain. It is insidious and hidden. It has long been the political wet dream of the left.

And just as America has been the "steam control" for people from other failed countries, this scheme is the steam control for the over taxed "rich" people. It makes the gullible followers get their taxes raised like everyone else, even if their messiah promised them otherwise. Without more of your money, the currency will fail and hyperinflation will follow. The system will collapse.

Then, the tingle that ran up some legs, will become the tinkle running down.

Paging Dr. Cynical, Your Injection is Ready

While taking my beautiful proof-reader out to lunch/wine the other day we were accosted by a ridiculous image on the TV over the area where we were seated. Although there was no sound enabled on the set, we could still easily figure out what was about to happen- in the same way that one understands what a mime is trying to impart to his audience.  But in this case it was like some bizarre home party version of political charades, minus the amusement. I guess my sense of humor was lessened somewhat by the consequences of this stuff because I used to find these antics hilarious instead of just mildly humorous.

The TV showed a group of people as they came marching out in single file from behind a curtain, all dressed in KKK outfits (minus the masks) in a preposterous spectacle which seemed like a re-enactment of the Von Trapp kids presenting themselves for inspection in the Sound of Music.

A reader of this blog left a comment yesterday (on my last article regarding the "nuclear option") which made the case that; "it's all theater." The point was well taken by me.

I guess the genius behind this piece of theater thought that people were so dim that they would see all these alleged doctors and heath-care workers and immediately conclude that physicians in general are all behind the President while he made his latest speech in his quest to take over one sixth of the US economy. (One of these Oscar wannabes even had a stethoscope hanging out of his pocket, a detail which should actually get the prize for "Best comedic prop in a political theater presentation"- It certainly made us giggle.)

Unfortunately, that notion is as wrong as the prop was silly. The truth is, according to a poll of actual physicians taken by the Investors Business Daily, (IBD/TIPP) a few months back, 45% said they would consider early retirement or other options if Obama-Care were enacted. If you think waiting rooms are fun now, just wait until you have to bring camping equipment to your appointment if this gets done to us.

Meanwhile, aside from having your intelligence insulted once again by the ruling party, the "doc and pony show" gave you a peek at the beta version of Obama-Care 4.0.- a fictional proposal which has never had an actual legislator put it forth and which is impossible using the "nuclear option" anyway. Apparently this magic law has all 2200 pages of the last diaper-load intact, but makes some "concessions" to Republicans.

As Charles Krauthammer reported this morning, that concession was that he might consider a "tort reform" section which would suggest "a few ridiculously insignificant demonstration projects amounting to one half of one-hundredth of 1% of the cost of Obama's health care bill."  His excellent article on this subject can be read here.  His piece ends with a quote that I would give plenty to say I wrote; "You can only be disillusioned if you were once illusioned."

As a new essay by Michael Tanner of the Cato Institute says; "Dropping a few Republican ideas into a government takeover of health care is like sterilizing the needle before a lethal injection: a nice thought, but the ultimate outcome is the same."

As my lunch (and life) companion commented concerning the "new" proposal, "a half a pile of crap is still a pile of crap." (I wish I had written that too)

The Oddity of my Odious Extremism

I have just discovered that many of you, and certainly me, are Odious. And inexplicably, also Jewish extremists. How my jewish-ness got past me I'll never know. But I'm extremely frightened by the direction our country is moving so I plead guilty to being an extremist in that regard.

The above reference is to the description of any of us who even entertain the notion that the murderous army Major Nidal Hassan might have possibly, maybe, potentially been influenced by his interpretation of Islam to commit treason while shouting a jihadist slogan during his homicidal execution of thirteen fellow soldiers and attempt to kill scores more.

The description was given by Joe Klein of  Time Magazine when he wrote about, "odious attempts by Jewish extremists . .. to argue that the massacre perpetrated by Nidal Hasan was somehow a direct consequence of his Islamic beliefs."

I must confess that I think it possibly was "somehow a direct consequence of his Islamic beliefs."

Therefore, the list of things I (and possibly you) have become in the eyes of the leftist literary elite has thus expanded from racists (for opposing the 2000 page unread two trillion dollar healthscare reform recently passed by the U S House in the dead of the night) and "tea bag" people, to these new heights. Or depths, if you prefer.

It would be comforting on some level to merely believe that this demented imbecile went "postal" because, well, just because that sometimes happens. Then we could wait for the new season of "Snapped" on cable TV to find out what made him do it and why he deserves our sympathy in spite of what he has done.
Comfort with uncomfortable events and their consequences, seems to be the national goal in the last few decades, but I never have "been with the program" in that regard, so perhaps I'm just a slow learner.

Regular readers of the columns of Dr. Charles Krauthammer either have read or will soon read his piece concerning the motives/causes of the perpetrator of the attack and that column was the inspiration for this commentary. It is titled "Tales Of Woe No Excuse For Mass Murder"  You may read it here.  I highly recommend it.
In the mean time, you might calculate the happiness/regret ratio on your Time magazine subscription depending upon your tolerance for being insulted by the writers found there.

According to Casey, my personal book reviewer and brewed beverage expert, we live in a time when there is "a lot of awful" out there. And someone just added a heap of it to the pile. Your own perspective on the passing scene will inform you about whether it increased more by the addition of our "odious-ness", or by the quality of the writing and thinking by folks like Klein.