Bush's Brain

Last night I watched the documentary "Bush's Brain," based on the book by James Moore and Wayne Slater. It's a fascinating look at the "man behind the strings" of George W. Bush, that being his Senior Advisor Karl Rove. I imagine the book is even better than the movie, but the film was very helpful in putting faces to the many names I've heard in relation to some of the Iraq War controversies and scandals (especially the Plame Affair).

Not only does the movie show Karl Rove as a very intelligent, skilled, and ruthless political strategist (and some say lacking any sense of ethics), but it futher solidifies the image of George W. Bush as borderline incompetent and owing his presidency primarily to Rove's thirty years of working to get him there.

I have been so frustrated during the past few elections at what poor selections we've had for candidates. What will it take to get some real fresh air in the White House?

Have you heard about the FairTax?

One of my biggest frustrations is seeing so much of my paycheck disappear in the form of income tax and then finding out all the wasteful ways the government spends my income. The government has become so bloated and wasteful and it's nothing short of a travesty that my hard work is going to pay for it.

Why aren't more people making a big deal about this? A big part of the reason is due to the way our tax system is now structured--since income taxes are withheld, it's easy for people to forget just how much is being taken away. They just think about it in terms of the refund they get each April.

Besides the general issue of government waste, my big problem with our income tax system is that it's become so complicated and unfair due to the influence of special interests over the years. There are so many loopholes and exceptions for various causes, and I resent that some people (and most corporations) get to pay less tax because of special rules in the tax codes.

For a while, I was a supporter of the flat tax--use a tax system where everyone pays a fixed percentage of income, no loopholes allowed. Its fairness and simplicity really appealed to me. But about a year ago, I found out about the FairTax plan that's currently (finally) receiving some attention in the media and elsewhere. The FairTax would eliminate the federal income and payroll taxes and replace them with a national sales tax. It would be very simple since most states already collect sales taxes. Each household would receive a "prebate" check each month to cover the cost of the sales tax on basic necessities. Extremely fair. Extremely simple. I really like that we would get to keep our entire income and have better control of how and when we spend it.

I'll have more to say about the FairTax in the days to come. I encourage you to read more about it: Americans for Fair Taxation, Wikipedia, Sponsor Representative John Linder.

OK, this time I'm serious

I set up this blog over a year and half ago but then haven't written anything in it since. This week I decided to dust it off and get serious about it.

A lot of various topics jump into my mind day to day and some of the issues really get me fired up. A lot of my frustration is because I'm so shocked that society seems to be deteriorating so quickly and yet the majority of people just blindly let it happen. Why doesn't anyone seem to think for themselves anymore? Why does everyone just believe what the media and our politicians tell them?

I want to get some of these topics out in the open for some good discussion. I'll give you my thoughts and I'd love to hear yours, so please comment on any posts that strike a nerve or a chord with you.