A Letter to the Editor in today’s IR extolled the virtues and benefits of taxes. The author, Sarah Wilhelm, is the research director at the Montana Budget and Policy Center, which provides in-depth research and analysis on budget, tax and economic issues. And pretty much has never found a tax or government spending plan it couldn’t embrace, or a corporation it couldn’t excoriate. After extolling the virtues of tax revenues and bemoaning the lack of sufficient resources for more and bigger state programs, Ms. Wilhelm justifies her call for increasing state revenues with the following:

Across the country, state leaders from both parties have responded to the recession by creating new revenue instead of just cutting services. They have closed corporate tax loopholes, collected lost revenues, and in some cases raised taxes. These states’ economies have not been harmed in the short run and will reap the benefits of sound public investments in the long run.

I have just one question: Which states would you be referring to? California? New York? New Jersey, Florida, Nevada, Colorado? C’mon, Sarah – give us a hint. Which states are rolling in all that new cash? The media seems to have missed the good news. And I know our legislators would just love to know where to find a new stash.

Sheesch!

A bunch of us political junkies were discussing campaigns the other day and the the conversation eventually became a laundry list of “things a candidate MUST do in order to win an election”. Naturally everyone was firmly convinced that they knew exactly the most critically important, never to be ignored, always to be done, campaign tactics, particularly for the low-budget, local races.

Just like the King of Siam, sometimes I’m confused about conclusions I concluded long ago.

So… here’s the deal: You tell me – as a voter – what works for you. Which of the following things do you find helpful? (You can pick more than one!) What did we leave off the list? As long as you’re at it – leave a comment about the things that annoy you too. This could be really interesting. I wonder if what we absolutely know is so????

…Celebrating your birthday was this much fun? Me neither. But I bet this makes you smile:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MICAH!!!!

There’s a serious outbreak of a deadly disease that has taken the political life of another victim. Bart Stupak – erstwhile “Leader of the Pro-Life Coalition” during the health care debate – announced today that his congressional career is kaput. Fini. Over. Stick a fork in it – it’s done. Put some jam in his pockets – he’s toast. Done.

Using the ever popular meme of wanting to spend more time with his family and garnishing it with a touch of “I’ve accomplished everything I’ve set out to do”, Stupak attempted to gloss over the obvious: His odds of winning reelection in November were about equal to the odds of Tiger Woods getting the “Husband of the Year” Award. A quick look at the campaign checkbook and his latest poll numbers were confirmation that his decision to abandon his touted pro-life principles was a fatal one.

There’s a moral to this story: If you’re going to sell out, better hope the price you’ll pay is worth whatever it is that you sold out for.

I was just taking a break in my party preps to rest my feet and check the intertubes for the latest news and views and sure enough I stumbled upon a treat that I have to share.

Frequent visitors here have been directed to visit HillBuzz – one of my favorite blogs – more than once. The Boyz have posted a delightful piece about a possible Palin/Bachman ticket in 2012. Mid-way down they posited this:

But, could two women win, running together, when the MSM worked so hard to prevent a female president from taking office in 2008…and when so-called “feminists” themselves, bitter harridans mostly, did everything they could to stop Hillary Clinton from being our 44th president?

Well, in 2008, the winning ticket was a black man and an idiot.

And to this day, not many people realize Joe Biden is black.

Ok – go get the tissue to wipe the coffee/pop off the computer screen. And then read the whole piece here. Enjoy!

Internet Video Is the Mother of All Media for Getting the Message Out.

So for those who have not yet seen what really happened in Washington DC on March 20, take a few minutes to watch this:

Who ya’ gonna believe the LSM or your lying eyes?

What more could be said? But I sent the census form in anyway.