sdraoul wrote on Apr 16, 2008 8:37 PM:IGNORANCE IS INVINCIBLE are words by a Brit I recently read. How true. Dick Durette of Vista personifies that statement with his letter in which he writes: "(the writer)claims that many billions of dollars are received by IRS. They even get Individual Taxpayer Identification numbers. Sorry, I just do not believe this story."

Let's see, the Social sEcurity Administration tells us that there are more than $40-billion in Social Security funds paid in by, presumabley, illegal aliens using duplicate or fictitious SS numbers.

The IRS reports that hundreds of thousands of people are being assigned TIN numbers, Temporary Identification Numbers, because they don't qualify for a Social security number. The TINs allow them to file income tax forms.

When someone refuses to believe the truth what can anyone do? Nothing, for IGNORANCE IS INVINCIBLE!

Chris wrote on Apr 16, 2008 8:41 PM:Howard Brenner's comment about vietnam is disgusting. I am sick and tired of these people who are willing to kill millions of people and then just talk about giving them freedom. They had an interview with an Egyptian woman and her comment was that the US has democracy but denies it to the rest of the world. Egypt is a good example. The US doesn't give a damn about the common people in the world (that includes here) and will never go to war for their benefit but we allways have people like Brenner who just shrug off our wonton murder of tens of thousands or even millions of people with this bald face lie about bringing them freedom

Disrespectful Issa wrote on Apr 16, 2008 9:57 PM:- - The main problem with Issa is not his opposition to Peace in Iraq. It is his rude demeanor with those who disagree with him. It was not necessary for him to boo a new member of Congress with whom he disagrees. All he has to do is make his own coherent statement, like a mature adult.

Thank you, Chris. wrote on Apr 16, 2008 10:04 PM:-- for daring to speak the blatant truth about the genocide the U.S. has caused in the false name of bring Democracy to other nations. (8:41 PM) These claims are demagogic lies.

SOLON … wrote on Apr 16, 2008 10:07 PM:… ISSA’s boorishness = I saw the video of the warm reception Congress was giving its newest representative, Jackie Speier, who just won the seat of the late Tom Lantos in a special election. Everything was so cordial, even among the GOP members. When Speier began to address the matter of the criminal Bush War, however, a few of the Republicans, notably Darrell Issa, began to boo the lady on her very first day in Congress. Speier has been elected by her district with an overwhelming 75% majority on a strong anti-war platform. The booing, and the walkout spearheaded by Issa made him look, at best, a man with no courtesy or chivalry. He looked like a juvenile bully. This just the latest in a string of embarrassments he has caused the people of the 49th district. I feel it is time to replace him with a person with a mature character.

Nick wrote on Apr 16, 2008 10:46 PM:2 letters grabbed my attention here.
(1)Bob Limpus actually used the term "wealthy farmers"......LMAO. That is to funny. Oh yeah, our local farmers are real wealthy bob.
(2)Ann Harter claims that Bush/Cheney are sucking away our money at the pumps and are to blaim. In a way she is right, but not the way she intended. Our high prices are definately due to Bush's botched abortion in Iraq. What she fails to tell you folks about our high fuel prices is that the State of California get's 50 cents a gallon in taxes and the Fed only gets 24 cents a gallon. Where is all that money going that California gets? Sure isn't going toward fixing our ailing and crowded roads.
If you folks really want to know what is going on in the gas station world, go talk to someone who owns a gas station and is not part of a giant oil company. I only patronize one establishment because he is the little guy and I've known him for many, many years. I'm paying $4.30 @ gallon for diesel at his place and he only makes 10 cents a gallon from it. If that's not just downright disgusting, I don't know what is.
Cheers, Nick.

SOLON … wrote on Apr 16, 2008 11:17 PM:… It is quite mystifying why his Holiness, the Pope, is so willing to expend so much moral capital by commencing his visit to the United States with a man like George W. Bush

OBAMA MAMA wrote on Apr 16, 2008 11:42 PM:~~~ Joseph Kraatz is correct in his letter today: The radical religious zealots of the right wing are for more radical than any of the progressive religious leaders. No thing ever said by Rev. Jeremiah Wright can in any compare with the bigotry of people like Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson and “reverend” John Hagee. How hypocritically this trio feels compelled to be obedient servants to big business, agents of unfettered carnal greed.
John McCain, a real maverick in his previous bid for president, this time has made the institutional rounds, figuratively kissing rings of the religious right’s holy men, including Falwell, and importuning John Hagee for his endorsement, which was readily given. This is the state of getting nominated in the party that Bush, and Falwell, and Robertson have managed to mold in their own image. And now McCain feels compelled to waffle his own image into that mold. This is sickening pandering.

SOLON … wrote on Apr 16, 2008 11:56 PM:… Are we really having discussions about whether or not to participate in the 2008 Olympics? Man, this country is really cracking up.
Extraordinary men and women, the absolute cream of our athletic crop, who have — for likely as long as they’ve walked — trained for the moment when they could participate in the Olympic Games, have now become the political pawns of our human rights discussions. And I’m not just talking about discussions with China; but discussions about China by a country that has no right to talk.

Remember us? We invaded a sovereign nation and blew it to smithereens. And according to a BBC report last week we have more than 28,000 Iraqis detained without charges. Several of these prisoners of war died during our brutal interrogations, their bodies bearing the injuries of our torture.
Yeah, let’s just preach to other countries about human rights. Especially since Bush and his war have resulted in the death of over one million Iraqis. This country has perpetrated Genocide.

ORACLE = wrote on Apr 17, 2008 12:10 AM:
= On the economy, 70% of Americans now give negative ratings to the president's stewardship of the sinking U.S. economy, according to a poll reported by the Washington Post yesterday. This is a double-digit decline from a year ago, and even Republicans have begun to abandon the president on the issue.
Among Republicans, 59 percent approve of the way he is handling the economy, down from 70 percent at the beginning of February. Only a quarter of independents and 6 percent of Democrats approve of Bush's performance on the economy. It seems government statisticians and politicians are way behind the curve compared to the public, where the pain is felt.

Asteroid wrote on Apr 17, 2008 1:29 AM:Two bits of good news yesterday to celebrate; #1 The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld the lethal injection method used to execute prisoners. The gallows will be open for business again soon. But not in California; rapist and murderers are still safe here. #2,Federal agents arrested hundreds of people Wednesday in raids and are intent on stopping immigration fraud and identity theft and will aggressively prosecute anyone who uses another person's name or Social Security number for the purpose of working illegally in this country." I think I'll pour myself a glass of wine and bask in the knowledge that occasionally sanity still wins out in dispite the liberal efforts to the contrary.

John wrote on Apr 17, 2008 1:41 AM:For Joseph, Just because there are blow hards of any stripe. does not justify of balance the anti-American anti-white comments and philosophy of J Wright, Obama's paster for 20 plus years.

Reality bites wrote on Apr 17, 2008 3:28 AM:The IRS doesn't care who writes the check. They collect the $ first, then maybe worry about the details. The system is a mess. I can't file my own return because someone else beat me to it. I have a huge mess to clean up due to what I consider IRS fraud.

Chuck wrote on Apr 17, 2008 5:47 AM:Let's all thank the liberals for their attempt to stave out the world. Their refusal to allow the US to develop massive new oil sources, and their absolute marriage to the phoney global warming kool aid, have cause massive run ups in oil and gas prices, to be matched only by the massive run ups in the commodity prices because of grain sugar fuel souce speculation. And this is how the liberals want to deal with the problem --- raise taxes so gas can up even more.

Alf wrote on Apr 17, 2008 6:49 AM:Yesterday "DD Wiz" at 10:11PM says "Every person pays exactly the same tax rate on income in equivalent layers and it takes into consideration marginal utility of money." and questions my ability to comprehend that statement. I understand the double-talk completely. It is still a rationalization and, translated, it means "Everyone who makes "X" (say, $100K) amount of money AFTER they have taken ALL the available deductions is taxed the same". What "DD Wiz" does not want to admit is the inherent inequity, unfairness and wrongness of taxing someone who makes $60K after deductions at one rate and someone who makes $120K after deductions at a HIGHER PERCENTAGE RATE. What "DD Wiz" is defending is the attitude that the "extra" $60K of the second person was EARNED through their EXTRA qualifications and/or degree of complexity of WORK should be considered something that is not needed and, as such, is fair game for HIGHER TAXATION. Why do we try to get a better job? More money and/or status. What "DD Wiz" is defending is the tax system that penalizes making more money, especially if you can't "write the "extra" off" and make your "extra" disappear via deductions. What "DD Wiz" is defending is a corrupt system whereby I can be taxed at the same rate as someone who earns 1/3 as much as I do AS LONG AS I have enough write-offs, but IF I DON'T have those write-offs, I PAY A HIGHER PERCENTAGE TAX. That is wrong. Regards, Alf.

Oilmania wrote on Apr 17, 2008 6:58 AM:In Ms. Harter's rant "GETTING THE LAST DROP" she identifies "Cheney-Bush oil cartels". I wondering where I can buy stock in these cartels.

Last year, on revenues of $404.5 billion, Exxon had a net profit of 40.6 billion. This 10% profit is far less than enjoyed by many other businesses. If Ms. Harter thinks this is "sucking off as much money as possible", I wonder how much profit she thinks they are entitled to?

It is also important to note that Exxon paid $31.7 billion in Sales based taxes, plus $40.9 billion in Other Taxes and Duties, plus $29.9 billion in Income Tax - for a total of 102.5 billion.

In other words, for each 1 dollar of revenue, Exxon got to keep 10 cents and governments got to keep 25 cents. Considering that Exxon made the investments and took all the risk, seems like the governments is getting pretty good deal.

Vista Granny wrote on Apr 17, 2008 7:30 AM:I met Darrel Issa on three separate occasions when he was running for office. He is an elitist. He looks and acts superior to most individuals. However, I do believe he is a self-made multi-millionaire which means he worked hard to get where he is. The problem is that he's on the wrong side of most issues. That happens a lot with the self-made types.

Jake to Chris wrote on Apr 17, 2008 7:32 AM:Somethings no matter how distasteful will never change. Conflict will always exist. Your stalwart preoccupation with the sanctity of life surely cannot be healthful to your psyche.

Au revoir, surge wrote on Apr 17, 2008 8:08 AM:As more bombs go off in Iraq, killing dozens more civilian innocents, we are near the point where we must say that the surge is no longer "working". The purpose of the surge, in any case, was to decrease the violence so that Iraq could get going on its infrastructure and its political processes. Neither of these happened to any measurable degree during the decreased violence of the surge's effectiveness. Now, with violence on the increase again, we can only scratch our heads and wonder what this is all for. The one semi-bright spot in Iraq is that oil production is back to approximate pre-invasion levels...given the purpose of the invasion, and the way it was only the oil ministries that warranted our protection as Baghdad fell, it's no wonder that of all things Iraqi, only the oil is up and running. But even as the oil revenues pour in (and with record high prices for oil), we are still footing the bill for this mess, and, on top of it, about a third of those revenues from oil disappears into the black market, most likely funding the militias. IMHO, "stay the course" can now be declared an official failure of policy. Actually, stay the course I (pre-surge) and stay the course II (the surge) can BOTH be declared failures. The ideas of both Bush and McCain have been given all the freedom they asked for to be tried, and they failed. Time for a change.

Alf wrote on Apr 17, 2008 8:17 AM:Yesterday, "DD Wiz" at 10:11PM spent many words defending our "progressive" tax structure. I have a real example of how it is WRONG. While working at a company in Costa Mesa in 1983 I got a 5 percent pay raise. When I got the first paycheck reflecting that raise I thought there was a mistake because it was LESS than my previous paycheck. I went to payroll and was informed that I had moved into the next higher "tax bracket". It was not until a year later that I got my annual review and 4 percent raise that I had a paycheck equal to or larger than the one before that 5 percent raise. What is so right or fair about that? Not a darned thing. Does that explain why I have good reason to HATE "progressive" taxation? Regards, Alf.

Alf wrote on Apr 17, 2008 8:22 AM:It would appear that Darrel Issa is not only out of touch with over 70 percent of the U.S. population but also needs to learn how to behave in an adult manner. Creating a disturbance because someone is representing their constituency is inexcusable. Regards, Alf.

Ron wrote on Apr 17, 2008 8:40 AM:You really gotta ask the question: When will people use facts in their letters?
I mean... take a look at Ann Harter's letter today. This letter sounds like a left-wing talking point from the Mover-over's of the Daily Kook'ers.
So, let me, as I always do, help you out with some facts, ok Ann Harter?
First of all, Exxon-Mobil is a world-wide corporation, so the profit numbers they post represent a world-wide profit, not just inside the US.
Second, It is a US corporation, which means they pay most of their taxes to the United States Government. And as a matter of fact, they paid a 40% tax rate in 2007.
Third, They literally employ thousands of Americans, who then pay taxes on their earnings, buy homes to house their families, buy cars, buy groceries, etc., etc., etc. In othe words, these employees helps to sustain the national economy.
Fouth, Everyone want to talk about profit, and how BIG it was. Exxon-Mobil is like anyother oil company where they make aprox. .9-.10 cents per gallon of gasoline. That's their profit, and that's a lot of gasoline.
On the other hand, the Government's of the US {Fed, State, Local, etc.} Make up the lion's share of profit, and they don't do anything to earn it. In fact, the Fed's get .18 cents a gallon, so does the State, and various local governments can & do have taxes they impose.
So.. Who's really getting rich here?
But, of course, this is meaningless to you, isn't it Ann Harter? Because all that matters to you is to run down those who deliver goods & services you use on a daily basis. If you think your entitled to cheap gas, your not. Might I suggest a bike, walking, or that new choo-choo? I hear they need riders, so the rest of us won't have to shell out the other 70% to run the darn thing.

Event! wrote on Apr 17, 2008 8:46 AM:If you didn't know, Cindy Sheehan will be giving a talk at Cal State San Marcos tonite at 7 in Rm 240 Arts Building...free and open to the public. See you there!

bitter gun owner wrote on Apr 17, 2008 8:49 AM:It must be just awful for any liberal, progressive, or whatever else they are calling themselves today, to live in the 49th district, with Issa as your representative. LOL

Perhaps you should consider moving so that Speiers would be your representative. That way, you could all hold hands, and sing kum-by-ya, with the rest of your brotheren.
It just does not make sense to sit here in a solid Republican stronghold and whine about who represents you. What was Issa's numbers last time? 64%?

esteban wrote on Apr 17, 2008 8:54 AM:Chris, you're right...let the other countries of the world live in slavery and genocide!!!!!

Olaf wrote on Apr 17, 2008 9:20 AM:Poor Gary Myers and his Wal Mart. Do you want the rest of North County to look and resemble anything close to Texas? Do you want your 99 cent cookies from china that bad that you would condem the rest of us to the nightmare that is Wal Mart? You should do like most of us do who hate what Wal Mart is doing to this country. Clip Coupons, look for sales, shop around, I don't even have to drive, I can walk to three different stores with in a mile of each other, good exercise. In other words stop buying junk because they make you think you need it. After coupons and sales I spend less then if I did all my shopping in one HUGE MEGA STORE. Wal Mart bad for your economy, environment, region, etc... look up the company and the things they do and then figure out why so many with their eyes open do not like this retailer. China Mart is wrong. Unless you have to have that shirt that some poor chinese child stitched all day long for pennies. I guess child (or slave) labor is Ok if we can't see it.

Reardon wrote on Apr 17, 2008 9:37 AM:To SDRAOUL: Talk to me about Victor Navarro...(see today's front page article on Escondido rape.)

Concerned-1 wrote on Apr 17, 2008 9:42 AM:Brad Peterson has an interesting letter. Perhaps if our lawmakers would spend more time addressing such issues as Tort law, we wouldn't be in the shape we're in. But then, it's all about the lobby, isn't it?

esteban is too funny wrote on Apr 17, 2008 9:43 AM:In his peculiar world view, bombing villages and killing millions of people saves them from genocide. Really: can this be for real? LMAO

Oh, Asteroid wrote on Apr 17, 2008 9:54 AM:You must share esteban's peculiar world view if you celebrate murder by the state as sanity. Murderers and rapists are not "safe", they are in prison for the rest of their lives. But a few of them turn out to be falsely convicted and are still alive to have some freedom. Revenge is not the most admirable moral principle humans have come up with, you know. Try reading the New Testament.

to oilmania wrote on Apr 17, 2008 9:55 AM:Actually, it sounds like both the government and Exxon are getting a good deal. You think these two giants might be in cahoots?

GUZZLER wrote on Apr 17, 2008 9:56 AM:Ann Harter writes a letter complaining about the last-minute oils squeeze for Bush-Cheney cronies, and Oilmania (6:58 a.m.) wants to know where to invest.
Yes, the Cheney-Bush oil cartel is sucking the gas money out of our wallets.
The place to invest is Halliburton.
They are profiting from the war, and the war is sucking huge reservoirs of gas out of domestic supply, causing the prices (and profits) to go up for Cheney-Bush cronies who are profiteering both from war contracts and directly from oil prices.
And yes, they need to hurry and get it while the getting is good, because President Obama or President Clinton is going to put an end to the cash-cow that is bleeding the rest of us dry (and yes, "bleeding" is the right word - with respect to the fallen soldiers who have honorably served, but are dishonored by having their lives exchanged for 30 billion pieces of silver - a month).

Focal Point wrote on Apr 17, 2008 9:57 AM:John[-] wrote on Apr 17, 2008 1:41 AM:
You are correct. It does not excuse the statements of Rev. Wright. Wright is not a candidate. If you have a racist quote from Obama in context in the form of a statement, audio or video, please share it.

Liberal wrote on Apr 17, 2008 10:00 AM:Asteroid[-] wrote on Apr 17, 2008 1:29 AM:
Liberals do not support identity theft in any form. Some liberals support the death penalty and some do not. The majority of the cases that have delayed executions have been brought by the convicted.

DD Wiz wrote on Apr 17, 2008 10:07 AM:The post from "Alf" (8:17am) misstates how a progressive tax works.
I do not know the specific details of something that happened back in 1983, but that is not how progressive taxes work. When you move into a higher "bracket" the higher rate only applies to the PORTION of income in that bracket -- the marginal increase -- not the entire income. Bill Gates or Warren Buffet pay exactly the same rate on their first $10,000 of earned income as the minimum wage earner for whom that might be his whole income. It is impossible to actually earn LESS by moving into the higher bracket.
So I do not know if, in processing the change, they applied a different number of exemptions, applied a change in the deductions for healthcare, disability, retirement, or other benefits, or applied a general tax rate change, or just made a mistake (or corrected an earlier one), but that is not how the progressive tax works. Ask your CPA. If there was a mistake, it would get adjusted at the end of the year anyway, because interim paycheck deductions are only estimates, and include a lot of things besides progressive income taxes, including some of which are quite regressive.
Sorry, "Alf," there may be many possible explanations, but progressive tax rates is not one of them.
It is unfortunate that you have been holding a misdirected grudge for 25 years.

Chris to esteban wrote on Apr 17, 2008 10:22 AM:Well maybe I should rethink my point. Why should we let the rest of the world live in slavery and genocide when we could benefit by all that slave labor and we could do a much better job of committing genocide. So since there is such a thing as slavery and genocide then we might as well get in on it.

Jamie wrote on Apr 17, 2008 11:05 AM:To DD Wiz: Sorry, but I had the exact same sitcuatin as Alf, only mine occurred in the early 90's. After doing my taxes this year, I am thinking moving up the ladder wasn't such a great idea, I actually did better making less money. My child makes $6 hr less than I, both of us worked full time, after taxes, we made within $1000 of each other. On the other hand it was good for the kid next door, thanks to the single mom thing, she got back a couple of grand MORE than she paid in, while I get to make payments to the IRS. Yep, this system is real fair!

Focal Point wrote on Apr 17, 2008 11:06 AM:SOLON …[-] wrote on Apr 16, 2008 11:17 PM:
Hate to tell you this, Solon. Popes have met with a lot worse men than GWB. In fact, some of the Popes have been worse men than GWB.

Oilmania wrote on Apr 17, 2008 11:16 AM:If you are not on welfare, or working for the government, you probably already know the government is in "cahoots" with every business. The government operates sort of like the mafia. Under threat of force, they skim off the top, and if there is anything left for profit, they want a share of that too.

OBSERVATION wrote on Apr 17, 2008 11:32 AM:
Top Stories Auto-generated 23 minutes ago


KNX1070
20% of Iraq, Afghanistan veterans have depression or PTSD, study finds
Los Angeles Times - 2 hours ago
The Army has stepped up mental health screening at the end of tours, but the Rand study says many soldiers are still undiagnosed. Less than half of the 300000 affected veterans have been treated.

To Event @ 8:46AM wrote on Apr 17, 2008 11:34 AM:No Thanks!

Ron wrote on Apr 17, 2008 11:38 AM:The very best thing I've heard this election season was John McCain saying what the Government needs to do to "help the little guy" is to temporarily repeal gasoline taxes for the summer driving season.
Thank God, finally a politician who actually gets it!
While Democrats are waiting in the wings with tax increases as far as the eye can see. This guy has it right, for once. Can I get an "Amen" from any liberals?

OBAMA MAMA - wrote on Apr 17, 2008 12:00 PM:- - MAN! There is bitterness and frustration everywhere, not just in western Pennsylvania. I have never seen such bitterness as displayed by Hillary Clinton. Hers is a vicious bitterness. Now we have “bitter gun owner” (8:49 AM), exactly the type of person that is under discussion on all the news media. Has he also had such a loss of faith in his country, that he has become bitter and turned to his gun? Seems like he should relocate to western Pennsylvania

Event! tonite wrote on Apr 17, 2008 12:03 PM:Calling all Operation Chaos members!
If you didn't know, Cindy Sheehan will be giving a talk at Cal State San Marcos tonite at 7 in Rm 240 Arts Building...free and open to the public. See you there!

sdraoul wrote on Apr 17, 2008 12:24 PM:To all thsoe who claim I make up "facts" here is validation of my statements about JFK chickening out at the Bay of Pigs. From Hisotry.com:

"April 17, 1961

The Bay of Pigs invasion begins
The Bay of Pigs invasion begins when a CIA-financed and -trained group of Cuban refugees lands in Cuba and attempts to topple the communist government of Fidel Castro. The attack was an utter failure.

Fidel Castro had been a concern to U.S. policymakers since he seized power in Cuba with a revolution in January 1959. Castro's attacks on U.S. companies and interests in Cuba, his inflammatory anti-American rhetoric, and Cuba's movement toward a closer relationship with the Soviet Union led U.S. officials to conclude that the Cuban leader was a threat to U.S. interests in the Western Hemisphere. In March 1960, President Dwight D. Eisenhower ordered the CIA to train and arm a force of Cuban exiles for an armed attack on Cuba. John F. Kennedy inherited this program when he became president in 1961.

Though many of his military advisors indicated that an amphibious assault on Cuba by a group of lightly armed exiles had little chance for success, Kennedy gave the go-ahead for the attack. On April 17, 1961, around 1,200 exiles, armed with American weapons and using American landing craft, waded ashore at the Bay of Pigs in Cuba. The hope was that the exile force would serve as a rallying point for the Cuban citizenry, who would rise up and overthrow Castro's government. The plan immediately fell apart--the landing force met with unexpectedly rapid counterattacks from Castro's military, the tiny Cuban air force sank most of the exiles' supply ships, the United States refrained from providing necessary air support (This means JFK chickened out and betrayed the vrave Cubans who we led into this battle), and the expected uprising never happened. Over 100 of the attackers were killed, and more than 1,100 were captured."

Alf wrote on Apr 17, 2008 12:28 PM:Well, "DD Wiz" at 10:07AM, since my tax guy is taking a rest from long workdays of late, for the moment I will not argue your explanation of "progressive" tax structure. I still maintain that any tax that increases its percent rate as the income goes up, is inherently wrong. Even using your statement "Bill Gates or Warren Buffet pay exactly the same rate on their first $10,000 of earned income as the minimum wage earner" does not point out that at certain points the rate goes up, hence the "25 percent bracket" or "the 35 percent bracket" for total tax "liability". When last I checked, the highest Federal rate was about 40 percent with California at 9 percent, meaning that between the two they CONFISCATED 49 percent of one's money (income- congratulations, you have made it to the income where you get only a little more than half your pay) based on the incorrect ASSUMPTION that "the more you make, the greater percent you can "afford" to "Pay" (that's bunk, by the way). The quote is NOT "for the laborer is worthy of FIFTY-ONE percent of his hire". Regards, Alf

Ron wrote on Apr 17, 2008 12:30 PM:Last night Charlie Gibson and George Stephanopoulos were GREAT!!! They finally got around to asking questions, based in fact, that totally had both the Obamamam & Hilster stumped. With the nomination coming down to the wire, they had to shake things up, and begin to seperate these two. But did they really? Up til now, most of these debates have been real sleepers, carping over minor differences of socialist policy. But last night, we got to finally hear answers to questions most Americans were not aware of, because the Media has been asleep, or perhaps, in cahoots with the Democrats. Riding the Obama exress, not one in partcular had asked him anything about Bill Ayers & the Weatherman Underground.
Not according to the left wingers & the blogosphere. They have responded by pointing out that Hillary served as an law intern for a radical law group, and they used the word "communists", folks!
Hehehehe
It is really... Really getting good now!
A poll was taken, where 38% of left wingers who answered said the questions were Atrocious. 17% they were Out of touch with what Americans care about.
18% said they were Fox News clones. LOL
And I'll bet the press never saw this coming...
"Just doing what their corporate superiors told them to do: "Destroy!" @ 22 %.
But, perhaps I'm just bitter and hanging onto my religion?

Cluck wrote on Apr 17, 2008 12:55 PM:Hey everybody, everyone's favorite Elitist Chuck is back to remind ya'all that all the problems in the world, and now especially the rising oil prices, is the fault of the evil boogeyman Liberals! HAHAHA LOL!! Spoken like a true snob. Typical conservative "personal responsibility." You can tell it's tax seaon with all these "bitter" conservatives having just paid for all these evil entitlement nanny state programs. It really burns their hides having to send money for some poor americans instead of feeding the war machine and the propaganda machine to keep their flock in a constant state of fear. Poor souls. We will pray for you.

obvious insanity wrote on Apr 17, 2008 1:22 PM:Eric Parish QUOTE: "because I had faith in Jimmy Carter doing the right thing."
Now ole Jimmy "Hussein" Carter" is hugging Hamas. How do ya like him now?

What's fair got to do with it wrote on Apr 17, 2008 1:43 PM:The word "fair" only applies in things like games, where there are specific rules. In situations like taxation, there is no way to judge whether something is fair. What rule is violated under our tax code? None! No, our tax code is devised by our elected representatives, as the poster said earlier. It's our job to change that if we can muster the power to do so. Otherwise, we have to just accept it. Some people don't think the big tax breaks for the wealthy under Bush have been "fair" and will vote for the Democrat as a result. That's how it works here. Appeals to "fairness" are childish...when kids say "no fair", what they really mean is "I don't like it" and nothing else.

DD Wiz wrote on Apr 17, 2008 1:44 PM:The post from "Jamie" (11:05am) demonstrates very clearly that this person does not understand how paycheck deductions for taxes work.
Note that s/he says: "thanks to the single mom thing, she got back a couple of grand MORE than she paid in."
This has NOTHING to do with the graduated rate structure!
This ONLY has to do with other factors, such as special credits/benefits (such as an Earned Income Credit or others), filing status, and how much you paid in relative to how much you owed.
As for making "within $1000" of your child who makes $6.00 less per hour, again, income taxes are not the only thing being deducted, and additional deductions such as for benefits and other things vary widely from person to person.
Yes, "Jamie," your situations is very similar to that of "Alf": you are both blaming a progressive tax structure for something that has nothing to do with it. The higher rate ONLY applies to the PORTION of income in the higher marginal bracket.
Please, people, do your homework and check your facts before you spout off about something you don't understand at all.

Research wrote on Apr 17, 2008 2:04 PM:sdraoul[-] wrote on Apr 17, 2008 12:24 PM:
So document the source.

Research wrote on Apr 17, 2008 2:08 PM:Richard M. Nixon proposed it | Dwight D. Eisenhower planned it | Robert F. Kennedy championed it | John F. Kennedy approved it | The CIA carried it out | 1,197 invaders were captured | 200 of them had been soldiers in Batista's army (14 of those were wanted for murder in Cuba) | One CIA soldier fired the first shot | A volunteer teacher was the first Cuban casualty | 4 American pilots and over 100 Cuban invaders were killed in battle | 1,400 Cuban invaders felt betrayed by their sponsor | One U.S. senator lied to the United Nations | One U.S. president was embarrassed in front of the world From: historyofcuba.com

snerd wrote on Apr 17, 2008 2:11 PM:So last week I told you I was taking copies of your blogs to a Sunday School class I teach for high school and college age kids. I promised I'd get back to you about what they thought about what you had to say. Here goes: First of all they didn't believe most of what you say here, especially about yourselves. They used the word Avatar and said you guys just make stuff up as it suits you to make a point. "It's the net, so it's all fake". They thought we were all pretty much out of touch with the world as anyone younger than "ninety" would see it. In seriousness, they thought DDWiz seemed to "get it" better than anyone else. They thought that we reinforced the feeling that"most old people are mean and selfish and just trying to keep all their money for themselves. Don't care much about America as a country just what it can do for them as long as it doesn't cost them anything." Mostly though they just didn't believe or care what we had to say. Ah, the innocense of youth. Little do they realize we vote, they don't.

Chris to obvious insanity wrote on Apr 17, 2008 2:11 PM:Why do you call Carters meeting with Hamas insanity. But that is typical of you Israel supporters. Israel continues to take Palestinian land and treat them all like prisoners in what was once their land. Israel does all they can to force the Palestinians to leave the homeland they have known for centuries so then they can build their greater Israel,and Carter recognizes this. But the attitude of you Bush and Israel supporters is that if anybody fights back against the attrocities committed by the US or Israel then they are to be treated as crimminals. So in short you concervative types, that don't have a clue what is happening in the so-called holy land, have the attitued that we and Israel can do what we want and if anybody doesn't like it then kill or imprison them.

snerd wrote on Apr 17, 2008 2:12 PM:hey reardon, wasn't bill clinton a rhodes scholar?

DD Wiz wrote on Apr 17, 2008 2:14 PM:The post from "Alf" (12:28m) still gets the tax math wrong!
First, the top marginal Federal rate is 35%, not 40%, but that is not really the main error.
Let's say it was 40% and the top California state rate at 9%. You still are not paying 49% of your net adjusted income (taxable, after deductions and loopholes). You are only paying 49% on the top layer that spills into that bracket. So again, "Alf," please get the facts right.
I do understand that there are some people on this board who deliberately mislead or make up facts but, "Alf," I know you are not one of them. You're a smart guy; please try to understand this!
As to fairness and marginal utility, let me try to illustrate the concept.
Let's imagine that, instead of 35%, the top marginal rate was 70% (which is what Kennedy lowered it to). And to make things simpler, let's say that it did apply to one's entire income, and not just the top stratum. If one person earned $10,000 for the whole year and paid only 10%, he is left with %9,000 for the whole year. That $1,000 is a serious bite out of basic survival, and a major trauma to part with.
On the other hand, let's say Bill Gates has $100 MILLION of EARNED income, and that a full 70% tax applied to all of it (again, please, it doesn't really). He would still be left with $30 MILLION. In terms of being able to live a good life, a person can do pretty good at that level. We are not talking about cutting back ANY luxuries, much less survival necessities. The per-dollar marginal value of each dollar is simply not the same.
The reason "Alf" feels the pain of the progressive system is because he is in the solid middle class, a small-business owner like me. It is the middle class that keeps getting squeezed. Both Bill Gates (Republican) and Warren Buffet (Democrat) lobbied AGAINST the Bush tax cuts, even though they ostensibly had the most to gain, because they both deal in marketing to middle class consumers, and the damage to their consumer base would be worse than the tax bite!

Substance? Finally? wrote on Apr 17, 2008 2:25 PM:Oh, Ron, you must be so happy. You, the man that gave Bush a free pass on his entire previous lifetime of sex, drugs and AWOL discovered that 20, 30, or 40 years ago, Hillary and Obama had "links" to leftist people or organizations. Yeah, now we're at the meat of what's really important for America right now. Great work, Ron. It was only ten years ago that on 60 Minutes, your hero John McCain said that he was a war criminal for bombing innocent women and children. I guess this too gets a free pass from you (and the so-called liberal media). Killing innocents and admitting to crime is nothing compared with knowing a leftist a few decades ago. Careful Ron, your twisted values are showing again.

Ron wrote on Apr 17, 2008 2:33 PM:Throughout this primary cycle, the Obamaman has tried to say he is not part of "The Washington Scene", that "He's an Outsider", he's coming to "Change the way Business is being done in Washington." Hence, he says: He's not tied to any lobbyists, and boasts of not taking their money. In fact, he has been quoted as saying:
he is "the only candidate who isn't taking a dime from Washington lobbyists."
But.. is that the truth?
Well, sort of...

According to several sources Barack Obama's fundraising team includes 38 members of law firms that were paid $138 million last year to lobby the federal government.
As to Obama's claim of independence?
Thirty-one of the 38 are law firm partners, who receive a share of their firm's lobbying fees. At least six of them have some managerial authority over lobbyists.
The real truth is it simply makes no difference whether the person is a registered lobbyist or the partner of a registered lobbyist, if the person is raising money to get access or curry favor.

While the Obamaman's camp concedes it "isn't a perfect solution or symbol, it does reflect Obama's record of trying to change the way that Washington does business."

But isn't that the way it was done in the Senator's home State and with Tony Resko?
To Curry favor for large contributions?

Since Bush didn't, maybe the next one will make us safer... wrote on Apr 17, 2008 2:50 PM:From Reuters QUOTE WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States has failed to eliminate the terrorist threat in Pakistan's tribal areas and has no comprehensive plan to do so, U.S. government investigators said on Thursday. Instead, Washington has relied on Pakistan's military to address U.S. national security goals since 2002, the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office said, adding that al Qaeda has now regrouped in the region called the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. "The United States has not met its national security goals to destroy terrorist threats and close the safe haven in Pakistan's FATA," the congressional investigations agency said in a report.
"No comprehensive plan for meeting U.S. national security goals in the FATA has been developed, as stipulated by the National Strategy for Combating Terrorism, recommended by the independent 9/11 Commission, and mandated by congressional legislation." ENDQUOTE How do you defend an administration that has failed in the one thing it claimed to be best at? Can you read? It says they have NO PLAN! Can you imagine? Once again we say: anyone who voted for Bush, especially the second time, should give up voting privileges for at least a decade based on sheer ignorance. And votes for McCain, who wants to stay the course, should not count. This rule should be forever known as the Patriot Act, for no patriot would vote for stay the course knowing anything about what the course actually seems to be.

To Ron wrote on Apr 17, 2008 2:52 PM:I completely agree with you, last night's debate was most excellent! After all, wearing a flag pin and consorting with criminals when you are eight years old is much more important stuff than the economy, the war, taxes, etc. I too, think wearing a flag pin is the most critical issue we face today. Thanks for your inspiring post, Ron.

Focal Point wrote on Apr 17, 2008 2:57 PM:snerd[-] wrote on Apr 17, 2008 2:11 PM:
I rather doubt that the opinion of a sunday school class is representative of American youth and their opinion. Want to know what the real kids think? Ask a cross section in the gaslamp on Saturday night after they have had two or three beers.
That will be veracity.

Reardon wrote on Apr 17, 2008 2:59 PM:I have a general rule of thumb (Heuristics): Alf gets obsessive but is usually right. DD is always wrong.

When Alf disagrees with DD, there is little reason to read further, except to see if one or the other can “turn a phrase.”

When Alf and DD agree, obviously they are both wrong, because DD is always wrong.

Now as to taxes, the debate last night was instructive. Obama was asked by Charlie Gibson about cutting the Capital Gains Tax. Obama said he would raise it but no higher than it was in the Clinton Administration, or in effect he would double the Capital Gains tax.

Gibson told Obama that every time the Capital Gains tax was slashed (in the past 20 years), it generated MORE income to the government, and when Capital Gains tax was raised, tax revenues went down!

Obama replied that it was not about getting more tax money, it was about “fairness.”

And right there you have it. The purpose of taxes, to the Left, is income redistribution by punishing the achievers. Tax as a social program to punish the rich, not as a revenue program. QED

Pretty amazing left-wing stuff for a couple who made $4.5 million LAST YEAR!

Reardon wrote on Apr 17, 2008 3:07 PM:SNERD: Yes, Bill Clinton was a "ROAD Scholar."

One motel room to another.

(Ask the Arkansas State Police.)

(One would have thought you would have stopped when you were behind.)

Oh, Chris wrote on Apr 17, 2008 3:09 PM:haven't you learned yet that to a conservative, any leader or organization that doesn't fall into line with American policies can only be dealt with in two ways: sanctions or bombing. Talking = hugging, and neither are sanctions or bombing. Because the penalty for not going along with the conservative foreign policy is, and can only be, death. The slow death of civilians via sanctions or the shock and awe of overwhelming force. If you disagree, you're a pantywaist commie terrorist-lover. (And this is the world view that Bush and McCain pander to, with great success.)

good one, snerd wrote on Apr 17, 2008 3:14 PM:and with all the complaining some people do here about public education, here come the kids to hold up a mirror to our selfish, intolerant, ignorant selves. I can just imagine the pleasure or boredom your kids got from reading most of this junk. Out of the mouths of babes, as they say. Good job!

speaking of scholars wrote on Apr 17, 2008 3:26 PM:It's no coincidence that the Presidents we elected for the last 16 years got there by pretending to be Bubba and Forest Gump. If you display any intellectual ability, you're toast. Americans seem to loathe the "elitist" notion that the most powerful person in the whole complicated world should be very smart. Incredible.

Oh, Reardon wrote on Apr 17, 2008 3:37 PM:Are you really convinced that achievement is measured in dollars? I don't think you are. After all, you probably have disdain for Al Gore for being in on a money-hungry scam (global warming). If you really believed money = achievement you'd only applaud him. Unless, of course, his idea would cost YOU achievement, I mean money. I do believe that confusing achievement with money is one of the great moral errors that people make. Amazingly, even people who claim to be Christians believe this a lot. Despite what Christ did to the money-lenders. Despite the saying that a rich man's chance to get into heaven is about zilch. I happen to think a rich person CAN be extremely admirable, but this depends on his wealth least of all. And many impoverished people are among the most admirable (e.g., all those Buddhist monks who've been standing up against Chinese and Burmese tyrants). Even snerd's children are bored with the people on this blogspace bragging about how successful they are.

Alf wrote on Apr 17, 2008 3:42 PM:I agree, "DD Wiz" at 2:14PM, that a FLAT Tax (say 10 percent for discussion's sake) PROBABLY hurts the "poor" more than the "middle-class" or "rich", that is not my point. My point is that the PRESUMPTION by the government that they are ENTITLED to MORE of ANYONE'S money than ANYONE ELSE'S is inherently wrong. YES, we all must pay for that which our government provides (as defined by the Constitution). The ultimate equity in taxation is sort of like a "fee for service", however, as a system, that ain't gonna happen. In one case it does, because rich or poor, young-ish or old we all pay for our roads and freeways through gas taxes, those who are smart drive fuel-efficient automobiles or use public transit. No matter what, the roads are a "fee for service" and a truly equitable one at that, even electric cars use tires and other things that have "hidden" highway taxes. One more thing, the "Chinese credit card" that funds GWB's stupidity in Iraq is being used SPECIFICALLY because GWB does not want people to feel, RIGHT NOW, the REAL financial burden of his insanity, for if they did, even the Republican holdouts would stop supporting Iraq in a heartbeat. Regards, Alf.

Alf wrote on Apr 17, 2008 3:49 PM:I have to do this, "Reardon" at 2:59PM, I'm not obsessive, I'm not obsessive, I'm not obsessive, I'm not obsessive, I'm not obsessive, I'm not obsessive, I'm really not! Regards, Alf.

Alf wrote on Apr 17, 2008 3:55 PM:Well, "speaking of scholars" at 3:26PM, GWB can stop his Jethro Bodine now. What? It isn't an act? We're in real trouble now! Regards, Alf.

Floyd The Scientist wrote on Apr 17, 2008 4:06 PM:I think it's interesting that whenever people relate something that really happened to them with respect to taxes, DD Wiz is quick to respond with "that's not true!", demonstrating that he values his opinions more than actual fact.

Ernest Sparks, huh? wrote on Apr 17, 2008 4:43 PM:Yesterday, letter writer Ernest Sparks recalled that under Ike, not one square foot of land was lost to Communism, and remembered how safe the nation felt. He contrasted this with JFK's blundered Bay of Pigs invasion. What a strange memory Mr Sparks has! Uh, why did Kennedy consider invading Cuba? Because it was taken over by communists DURING THE EISENHOWER YEARS! As for everyone feeling so safe under Ike, it's funny, but I recall being told to practice repeatedly hiding under my desk at school, away from the windows, so we'd be ready for armageddon. Maybe Mr Sparks did not live in the USA at that time.

Oh, Ron part II wrote on Apr 17, 2008 4:48 PM:Obama and lobbyists. You say "He's not tied to any lobbyists, and boasts of not taking their money. In fact, he has been quoted as saying: he is "the only candidate who isn't taking a dime from Washington lobbyists." But.. is that the truth? Well, sort of..." Sort of? No, it's the truth. Hiring someone who has other business with lobbyists that don't have anything to do with you (get ready) is not the same as taking money from lobbyists. So let's see Ron's cases against Obama. He attends a church whose Pastor says some things that are "unamerican", which Obmam has criticized. He had some connection to a leftist when he was a child. He does business with a law firm that does other business, unrelated to Obama, with lobbyists. Hmm, I see a pattern here, do you? A pattern of "I got nuthin' but trying to smear guilt by association"? Yeah, I see that one too!

Expat Doug to Ron wrote on Apr 17, 2008 4:49 PM:Ron asks, "You really gotta ask the question: When will people use facts in their letters?"

Of course, being a long time follower of Ron's posts here (it seems he uses this space as a personal blog site), I can't help but wonder why he expects facts in letters, but doesn't hold the same standards to his same prolific postings.

Here's the deal Ron...Letter are opinions. Anyone believing opinion is fact based is a fool that doesn't understand that opinion allows for the cherry picking of "facts" to support, what...opinion.

Ron, this stacking of facts is the only thing that give any of your diatribes any credence. When you demand "facts" in letters to the editor, opinion page commentaries, or postings here,you transform opinion to academic writing.

Nobody, myself included, or yourself, Ron, should be confused with academics, but rather old opinionated dudes who think they have the world figured out.

Therefore, instead of fretting about the absence of fact in their opinion, take the opion of other contributors, including myself and yourself, for what it is worth...the price you paid for it...nothing!

To: Most, Not All, But Most Of You. wrote on Apr 17, 2008 5:05 PM:The problem with all you (so called) scholars and know it alls, is that you actually believe that you are 100% right, 100% of the time with 100% of the topics. And anyone that does not agree with you is 100% wrong, 100% of the time, with 100% of the topics. Your arrogance is the only thing thats 100% around here. News Flash! Humans are not perfect, Stop trashing others to make your point, Grab a ladder and get over yourselvs.

Surfer wrote on Apr 17, 2008 5:47 PM:Alf[-] wrote on Apr 17, 2008 3:49 PM:
This is why Alf is the kahuna of wit.

DD Wiz wrote on Apr 17, 2008 5:48 PM:The post from "Alf" (3:42pm) sets an unrealisitic ideal for taxes as a governmental "fee for service" which he defines very narriowly as infrastructure ("roads anf freeways"). Actually, the social contract is such that we do have to pay for what we get.
And the fact is that no one is truly "self made." If you took the infant Bill Gates and dropped him on an island rich will all the food, water, shelter (caves, perhaps) that he could possibly need, and just left him there, he would be dead in short order.
Aside from that extreme example, if you took the infant Bill Gates and plopped him into the loving, nurturing care of adoptive parents in Europe of the Middle Ages, or in tribal sub-Saharan Africa or a middle eastern Islamic nation or even in modern times in a Soviet state without the market incentives of capitalism, I can assure you he would not have created the Microsoft we know today.
Without the regulated capitalism he was born into, with a supply of educated workers available through universal free public education, Bill Gates would not be who or what he is today. This system made that possible and he beneifited from it more than most.
Not only that, but it is not just a "fee for service" -- he is benefitting more from the government in other ways, too. If you see the role of government as maintaining order, settling disputes and protection of the common well-being through law enforcement, the judiciary and the military, Bill Gates simply has more assets being protected. He has benefited from this system the most, and he continues to have more assets and interests being protected. There is no such thing as a free ride. He benefits the most. He has the most being protected. He needs to pay the most. And, guess what, he is not the one that is complaining. The ones who are complaining are the ones in the middle class who keep getting squeezed, which is exactly what my point was, so thank you for confirming that for me.
Quick footnote to the post from "Floyd the Scientist" (4:06pm), though his snippy, inaccurate misrepresentation of my comments does not deserve it. He says that when real people related their experiences, I said, "That's not true!" Well, "Floyd," you are the one who is misrepresenting, because that's "not true" what you said. I did not deny their experiences, I provided a different explanation, because they simply misstated the reality of how progressive taxes work. Again, ask your CPA -- it isn't my job to educate you.

RichardM wrote on Apr 17, 2008 5:52 PM:To Chris, Why don't those who are interested in helping Palestinians spend more time building schools, hospitals, etc. rather than firing missiles and mortars into Israli towns? They draw the retaliation upon themselves when Israel would be perfectly happy to be left alone.

Reardon wrote on Apr 17, 2008 6:13 PM:What high school students think about ANYTHING is absolutely immaterial to me. They know neither the cost or the value of nothing, except Trojans and Xbox 360. My undergraduate students at the university had the mental capacity of a half-dozen Road Island Reds, and the few high school classes I have guest lectured were much, much lower yet.

Anyone who has raised children knows that with a few exceptions, maturity begins at 25.

Before that, children live in perfect familial socialism – Big Daddy sets the rules and provides for all. They think the world either does or should be the same – and they will take the Big Daddy money and break the rules as they please, anyway.

I met with a group of students at the University of Moscow right at the Perestroika speech (1987), ostensibly to discuss computers. They cared not a bit about computers – they wanted to know how much I made, how many cars and of what type, and did I own my own home.

I tried to explain Capitalism 101 to them, and started by saying that they would have to give up their subsidized housing, subsidized food, and subsidized mass transit, and ...

One of the students said, “Oh. No, want that to remain, we just want Capitalism – you know, to make more money!”

That is the level of high school students in America, in fact, everywhere. Families in all advanced countries are paternalistic and practice familial socialism – because they can. If a breadwinner gets sick, or abandons, then we bring governmental socialism in the home to replace familial socialism.

(Governmental socialism as a system depends on the health of the producers, and if they tire of the burden the governmental system, like the familial system, also fails.)

I remember my own high school daughter, 18, when I told her that some day soon she would move out and marry. She said, “Oh, no, Daddy. When I get married we will live here. Nobody can take care of me like my Daddy can!”

(That turned out to be prophetic, except they did not live in my home.)

A high schoolers opinion is worth that described so graphically (and edited by reporters so that it could be printed) by former VP John Nance “Cactus Jack” Garner.

Cluck wrote on Apr 17, 2008 6:45 PM:I absolutely agree with Ron! Charlie and Georgie were fantastic last night!! They completely showed just how idiotic some people can be. Asking question after question having nothing to do with anything and embarrassing themselves in the process. I'll tell you what folks this operation Chaos is working EXACTLY the way it needs to. By the time the general election comes around people will be so tired of hearing about Wright and the lapel pin they will be sick to their stomachs. Man oh man, it's really getting good now. I almost feel sorry for..who's the republicant candidate again? And wRONg thinks it was a great debate! LOL HAHAHAHA!! Oh, he's just too much.

Cluck wrote on Apr 17, 2008 6:51 PM:gee whiz, Reardon. Chill out. With the disdain you have for your students it makes one wonder what kind of teacher you are. It's like a store owner deriding and berating his customers. Your contempt for American youth and people in general is typical. Typical of a conservative. Sounds like you failed at your endeavor to educate the minds of children, and even allude to include your own, and somehow it's the failing of the child. Blame the victim. Typical conservative "personal responsibility".

Karl wrote on Apr 17, 2008 7:20 PM:To "Event! tonite @ 12:03 PM:"

I have a previous committment and am leaving town at midnight tonight. Please report back on the event.

Karl wrote on Apr 17, 2008 7:30 PM:To "To:To: Most, Not All, But Most Of You @ 5:05 PM:"

Bravo

hardtack wrote on Apr 17, 2008 7:48 PM:Alf . . . . I respect your tenacity in the tax debate with DD. Trying to convince DD of an economical/moral truth is like nailing Jello to the wall.

Focal Point wrote on Apr 17, 2008 7:50 PM:RichardM[-] wrote on Apr 17, 2008 5:52 PM:
Schools and hospitals have been built. In fact, there is a university in Gaza. Hemas fires the missiles because once again the Israelis are building homes on Arab land.
It is a horrible tit for tat vicious cycle. But, I do not think that the Israelis are all together victims.

OH PLEASE! wrote on Apr 17, 2008 7:56 PM:Oilmania: Gee, if they are taking all the risk, then let us end the subsidies. Government should not be giving money to oil companies. The oil companies do take any risk. Any loss is passed right on to the pump, to you and to me. Just like Prince William sound. Exxon doesn't care. Wonder why? It's is easy. It is Exxon.

Chris to RichardM wrote on Apr 17, 2008 8:02 PM:I agree as far as the missle firing as I can't see any thing to be gained by it. However your comment about Israel wanting to be left alone is nonsense. The fact is that if none of the Palestinians did anything, Israel would still be taking more of their land and making things harder for them with these barracades, demolishing houses and orchords. The Israelis want all of Palestine for themselves and their ultamate goal is to get rid of all the Palestinians.

Sorry Reardon wrote on Apr 17, 2008 8:05 PM:"Gibson told Obama that every time the Capital Gains tax was slashed (in the past 20 years), it generated MORE income to the government, and when Capital Gains tax was raised, tax revenues went down!" Actually, Gibson was wrong. Additional, DD Wiz is NOT always wrong. No one is wrong all the time, even you, Reardon.

Sorry Reardon II wrote on Apr 17, 2008 8:09 PM:Your daughter's Big Daddy Complex sounds like something to do with the way you raised her. Not impressed.

SOLON … wrote on Apr 17, 2008 8:12 PM:… There are MANY moments of sheer idiocy and blatant muckraking on these blogs, but there are islands of absolute brilliance that make it worth paddling through all the muck to reach those rare islands. We see TWO of them today. The first such excellence was by DD Wiz wrote on Apr 17, 2008 2:14 PM, giving a succinct and very lucid explanation of why the graduated tax system is just.

The even more excellent statement was also by DD Wiz on Apr 17, 2008 5:48 PM on the ethics underpining the graduated tax system, delving into the belief that those who profit greatly from our society OWE a greater debt for the greater good of the Country. This bores right to the heart of true patriotism and love of country and posterity; humanity and the building of great societies. Thank you, DD Wiz for your great writing. And I thank Alf, for being the contra point man who provoked DD into his profound explanations. Alf is perhaps the second most provocative writer on these blogs, and I have great respect for him.

RichardM wrote on Apr 17, 2008 8:47 PM:That's funny. The reason Israel does the things you mention is that Hamas and Hezbolla use those areas to attack Israel. They gave Gaza to the Palitinians with hopes they could broker a land for peace deal. Those who predicted it wouldn't work were right. The Arabs who hate Israel and want it gone are persistant in their attacks. The wall and the retaliations would all be unnecessary if the attacks on Israel would stop. Peace is possible but those who hate Israel are not above sacrificing the lives and prosperity of Palastinians to achieve their goal of the destruction of Israel.

Reardon wrote on Apr 17, 2008 9:12 PM:Cluck: Not disdain, but challenge! I had devised a “Cultural Exam” which undergraduates could take VOLUNTARILY. Few would submit to such an exam – it was done without names, but only the brightest who thought they were smart would dare risk it.

It had 80 question I thought any educated person would know – and college students presume to be educated people. It had many current events questions -- the current Mayor of San Diego, their Congressperson, the Governor, the VP., The Secretary of State. Then there were current sports questions about who is the Padres manager, Chargers coach, Tony Gwinn, etc.

What was Mark Twain’s actual name; What state can voluntarily divide into 5 states by popular vote; Who is the president of this university; etc.

Then there were questions on music (Who wrote 1812 Overture) (War and Peace)(Uncle Tom’s Cabin), art (Who painted the Mona Lisa) (Who sculpted the statue of David) (The Thinker) – REALLY HARD QUESTIONS! (This is sarcasm.) Since it was a computer course I asked questions that a high school math person should easily get. What is the Pythagorean Theorem (formula), the Quadratic Equation (formula),

I had previously given the test to friends. My editor and my wife tied for “Best’ with 67 right answers. Superb!

My undergraduates over a 3 year period averaged 7 correct answers – the highest grade was 12. My undergraduates averaged 28 years of age!

Now you understand why Professor Kingsfield referred to his student’s “skulls full of mush!”

Educator wrote on Apr 17, 2008 9:17 PM:Re: Reardon at 6:13 p.m.
The idea of Reardon trying to explain capitalism - of which he clearly has no grasp whatsoever himself - to Russian students or recent high school graduates, is truly a frightening spectre. He notes he was hired to teach computers, but instead of doing what he was hired for, he tried to teach economic and/or political theory, a subject he has repeatedly proven unqualified to discuss at even the most basic levels.
What a shame for these poor students.

Reardon wrote on Apr 18, 2008 9:17 AM:To Educator: I have taught Junior Achievement in schools; been president of North County Junior Achievement; started a computer sales company; managed another; successfully turned around a computer company for the bankruptcy court; started a sales company; been the CEO of a $300 million LA corporation; and the chairman of a broadcast company. I think I am qualified to discuss capitalism -- what is your C.V. in this area?