Crux

Gov. Hosni Walker show signs of desperation: Wisconsin Capitol blocks pro-union website

Indiana Democratic Legislators Flee State To Block Votes

I prefer my Vegans raw.

One wonders what kind of professional future there can be for a lab rat who acts as though hard-wired to falsify data.

Back from lunch, hard at work already?

Making a list.

The way you are violating the terms of your employment now?

"So it’s not about the budget; it’s about the power." Krugman: Wisconsin Power Play

For the past few days, I've noted that the governor of Wisconsin has been lying about his state's financial status, saying there's a budget crisis while passing on to the nation sound bites that say all he's doing now is what he was elected to do: Fixing the state's fiscal crisis. But the lie is obvious to anybody who gets more news than what's relayed via media such as the standard AP News snippets: When he took office, last month, the Republican governor inherited a substantial budget surplus. What happened? [video:youtube]

Madison, 17Feb2011: Dem State Senators Leave State To Block Budget Quorum. NBC affiliate in Madison reports that Democratic lawmakers may have left the state entirely, in order to avoid arrest by the state police, as ordered by Republican chair to force a vote. (Governor went on record last week, in favor of calling up the National Guard if necessary.) (As long as Democrats can stay off the Assembly (Senate) floor, the vote cannot happen, per Wisconsin law. Yet Wisconsin law provides for police and/or military force to be deployed to force lawmakers to the floor.) (!)

Games are fun, and, yes, I played this one. (My results varied from yours, but were no less confined to the corporate box.) Anyway, for your critical thinking pleasure, here's another game published by the New York Times, very popular around eight years ago: How would you deal with the threat from terrorists? Choose one: [1] Bomb and invade Iraq [2] See mushroom clouds over American cities

Get out of the Bush wars and roll back the Reagan tax cuts: Fiscal problems solved.

Why do you hate National Republican Radio?

All right, thanks for the correction! Now I'm thinking that an early version of the bill did have the wording to provide a tax/credit tactic, precisely in order to make the bill more resilient against a constitutional test. (Maybe this was bargained out?) In any case, I'm about to read the law, as it is... not that Spray isn't worthwhile...

My understanding is that Obamacare already does exactly that: It includes a flat income tax provision that generally applies to everybody, but to everybody who has health insurance it gives a tax credit that negates that tax. For the taxpayer then, the choice is a simple one: Don't have insurance and don't get the tax credit. Else, have insurance and do get the credit.

An argument I've heard rarely, but one that seems compelling to me, involves this question: If it is constitutional for the government to grant a special tax deduction to buyers of home mortgages, then why would it not be constitutional for the government to grant a tax credit to buyers of health insurance?

Don't be so negative about the GOP chances for finding an experienced one of their kind for 2012. From where I sit, it's looking like Ahmadinejad will be looking for a job.

Your reminder that Republicons are sexually deviant inbred morons is an affront to banjo music everywhere!

If P, then Q. Q. Therefore, P.

Tumultuous Tehran - videos

They're on the NFL's version of welfare: it's called revenue sharing. Actually, I was thinking about the community ownership of the Packers, in contrast to the other NFL teams, which are privately owned. Just the same, your point about the entire NFL being socialist does underscore the efficiency with which that system does empower the individual teams.

The Green Bay Packers are a victim of big-government socialist interference. Oh, wait... never mind.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/ns/msnbc_tv-rachel_maddow_show/#41417998

Wow. What an idiot.