United Liberty

Now that I have alienated all of the conservatives that read my articles, it is only fair that I explain how I should not be classified as a liberal either.

A few weeks ago, I went to see “An American Carol” with high hopes for an atypical Hollywood film. It reinforced something I have been working on. When you look at the spectrum of topics I have written about, I am difficult to pigeon-hole by the average American. The two-party system forces people to consider politics in a linear manner, one is either a conservative Republican on the “right” or a liberal Democrat on the “left,” with no room for anything else. Interestingly, most Americans are not able to fit their beliefs into one of those two options, but they settle for the side they feel most comfortable with.

The Tax Policy Center, a joint project of the Urban Institute and the Brookings Institution, released this analysis (see graph below) of the tax plans proposed by both Barack Obama and John McCain. The first thing that jumps out at me is the stark difference for the top .1% of income earners. John McCain’s tax plan will decrease their tax liability by nearly $270,000, while for the same 147,000 families, Barack Obama plans to swing their tax liability in the other direction nearly $1 million annually by increasing their tax liability by just over $700,000.

According to Ohio state law, convicted child pornographers are required to carry a Tier 2 sexual offender classification, requiring registration as a sex offender for twenty years. In this case, a teen girl from Licking Valley High School is charged with illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented material, a second-degree felony; and possession of criminal tools, a fifth-degree felony.

During Tuesday’s debate, John McCain discussed briefly a plan to spend $300 billion taxpayer dollars to transform households in foreclosure into FHA guaranteed fixed-rate mortgages. Yesterday afternoon, he followed it up with an e-mail to supporters (of which, I am not, but I like to keep abreast of general asshattery) that gave us a link to follow to learn more.

Please join us on Tuesday evening at 8:30 PM as we cover the second of three Presidential Debates between Barack Obama and John McCain.  Log into the discussion and add your commentary as well as we watch the debate.

By: Brett C. Bittner

So, much to my chagrin the House of Representatives voted to pass the bailout bill yesterday, after it was made into a mashup of the proposed bailout, the Energy Improvement and Extension Act of 2008, and the Tax Extenders and Alternative Minimum Tax Relief Act of 2008. In addition to the EIEA to woo Democrats, and the TEAMTRA to woo Republicans, many specifically targeted pork projects were added to entice lawmakers to vote for it. The sections and their “enticements” are listed below: