Beats me. The Carter thing was awful, just awful. On bad days I think that J. Edgar is still alive, that there’s a neat little file on every progressive politician, and that when they step too far out of line they get a phone call from their “reminder”.

But that would be paranoid, wouldn’t it.

I’m with you, Heraclitus. If it’s not dirt on them personally, it’s some family member with an embarrassing secret or vulnerability. It all goes in the file.

The “reminder” comes in the form of a manila envelope and a smiling visitor (lobbyist) who says “We wouldn’t want you to get hurt by this, Congressman, and we’ll make sure it doesn’t ever get out. We’ll fight for your re-election. We just need your help on occasion with some of our issues. That’s only fair.”

And each official so approached probably thinks he’s the only one.

But that would be paranoid, wouldn’t it.

Do you doubt this? If so, just look at the “inheritance tax” Community Chest card in a Monopoly game. Up until the Heritage Foundation began influencing national discourse in the early 1980s everyone called it “inheritance tax”.

As a term, “inheritance tax” really describes what it is. You inherit something, you pay tax on it, just like you would any other income. There is no pretense that you somehow have “earned” it — the term inheritance implies that just getting the money is a bit of good fortune.

The term “estate tax” is a euphemism that intentionally removes some of the meaning of the term “inheritance tax”. “Estate tax” doesn’t sound like you are getting taxed on additional income that you had the good fortune to receive — it sounds like the government is taxing your property. Yes, technically/legally the inheritance is referred to as an “estate”, but the use of this term in the common (as opposed to legal) language makes the “inheritance tax” sound like another form of “property tax”.

You see, you couldn’t just jump from “inheritance tax” to “death tax” — most people would see right through that. You have to first take the personal aspect out of “inheritance tax” by calling it “estate tax”. THEN, after a few years, you can reintroduce the personal aspect in a wholly different form with “death tax”.

The term “Death tax” adds more confusion to the reality of the inheritance tax. It sounds like poor Joe is so overtaxed that he even has to pay when he dies. Nevermind that if Joe donates his fortune to charity no tax will be paid — the tax only applies on receipt of the income by an individual or for-profit group. Nevermind that Joe won’t care if he’s dead. The purpose is to make the tax sound unfair.

The absurdity of the situation is captured in the following example: Mary works for 20 years building a business she sells for $20 million. George spends the same 20 years using his father’s connections to skip military obligations and generally do nothing but booze and snort cocaine, but he inherits $20 million at the same time Mary sells her business. Under the Republican’s plan, which one pays no tax?

“Read the polls”

…

“Do you consider the war in Iraq to be part of the war on terrorism which began on September 11, 2001, or do you consider it to be an entirely separate military action?”

Part Of Entirely Separate Unsure
………… % % %
5/4——6/07 43 54 3
1/19—21/07 40 57 4
8/30-9/2/06 45 53 1
.

“Who do you think should be primarily responsible for setting U.S. policy in Iraq: Congress or the President?”

Congress President Both Equally vol.) Neither (vol.) Unsure
………. % % % % %
5/4- 6/07 47 36 14 2 1
3/9-11/07 47 33 14 2 3
.

“Do you think that the U.S. war in Iraq is lost, or don’t you think so?”

Lost Don’t Think So Unsure
……………. % % %
5/4-6/07 41 55 4

If these polls are to be believed, then they’re very troubling. What is the source?

If they’re correct:

Far too many people still think Iraq is somehow tied to 9/11 and they don’t realize it’s entirely lost (as it could never be won without a real enemy to defeat). Perhaps strangest though is that they feel foreign policy is to be decided by Congress. That is expressly an Executive Branch Duty as expressed in the Constitution (as I recall).

If the public is not informed it’s bad, but if they’re intentionally misinformed then we truly are in Orwellian territory and EastAsia has indeed always been at war with us.

We’ve got a lot of work to do to set this right.

CTuttle @ 160

Unfortunately, Shrub’s poll average is 55%, and Carter’s was dismal!!!

Bush hasn’t been above 40% in ages as far as I have seen. I do, however, have to admit being really scared when Carter was President in regard to foreign affairs at the time. …

What was it about the Carter era which left you feeling nervous?

Mutant Poodle @ 159

60-40 on most things – 68-32 on who rates higher on improving America’s image abroad…

Unfortunately, Shrub’s poll average is 55%, and Carter’s was dismal!!!

You still believing MSM poll results?
How about MSM election results?
How about the New York Times?

Really? Hmmm

VictorLaszlo @ 20

… This is Bill Murray stepping in a puddle. For Congressional Dems, every morning is Groundhog Day. …

Democrats lack the discipline and party loyalty necessary to frame issues.

I think we have several problems, but they’re we can overcome them. One, Liberals have been out of power so long they don’t see themselves as being Powerful or In Charge and they’re too comfortable standing outside the tent pissing in. Two, we have to separate our political fight with the Republican party and our internal arguments over policies and priorities. If we simply play on the same team — Democrats — to win elections and this fight with Bush & Co., then we’ll get to play the second round called governing.

Remember, winning is good.