August 27, 2012

It's official: Mitt is a "legitimate" candidate.

The body politic has a way of shutting things down.

Great timing on the slogan, pal.

August 11, 2012

Screwed six ways to Sunday: Paying Zero Taxes Edition.

As I listen to Republicans' outrage -- OUTRAGE! -- that Harry Reid would accuse Mitt Romney of paying zero taxes, it's clear that "paying zero taxes" has now been successfully defined in the public sphere as an Awful, Terrible Thing that no one should be accused of.

In fact, there could be good reasons that someone doesn't pay income taxes in a given year. Even wealthy people, under benign circumstances where their net worth contracts for one reason or another, might have an obligation of zero.

But instead of being able to say, "Sure, I paid no taxes in years X and Y, because of various losses in investment value and income, while other years I a paid pretty big sums", by virtue of the Republican outrage "paying no taxes" is defined as something criminal.


I'm very confident that Harry Reid didn't make this up, that Mitt really had years with a zero tax obligation, and that now he has nowhere to go.

August 1, 2012

I propose a new term: LaTourette's Syndrome

LaTourette's Syndrome Noun: la/to͝oˈrets/

{fr. Steve LaTourette, U.S. congressman from Ohio} A neurological condition afflicting Republican politicians who experience the realization that the GOP has been commandeered by extremists, and feel obligated to leave the services of that party.

Often preceded in its early stages by involuntary and inappropriate utterances of the truth.

E.g.: Sen. Hagel was a decorated military veteran who served the state of Nebraska and later succumbed to LaTourette's Syndrome.