Have An Issue?

Torture. I'm appalled that this is one of the issues we need to be addressing, but there you are. Even now, some of the louder voices from the Right, along with some prominent bloggers and other voices I've read on-line insist that it's right and necessary and a "valuable tool" that the Federal government needs.

Domestic spying. Ditto. It's not legal for the Federal government to just randomly spy on citizens of this country, okay? I don't care about your semantic twister games. Not. Legal. What happened to the Republican Party for whom issues of personal privacy were paramount?

War. How are we going to wage war from now on? Are we going to invade countries because they won't take orders from us, bring down regimes we don't approve of through both covert and overt methods (as has been our policy up until, now) Are we going to keep trying to develop our own new "pocket" nuclear arsenal while threatening to destroy any other country that looks in a nuclear direction? Ignore attempted genocides when it suits us? Or are we going to intervene to stop gross human rights' abuses, develop and use an array of effective diplomatic tools, and be an example of how it should be done?

Taxes. Yes. Taxes. They should be equitable, and, yes, the rich should pay more. I'm not all of that excited over the argument that someone who makes $150,000 a year in salary or dividends loses sleep over paying an extra percentage point or two. (Anyone making more than that probably shelters a lot of their money and pays less than I do.)

$245, 614,770,000. That's about where the Iraq war cost counter was when I looked at it.

$423,000,000,000. I think that's about where the deficit is these days and, when you set that number beside the one above, well.... That's future tax revenue the government will have to spend "servicing the debt" instead of on things that might benefit our country.

(Also? It's not true, especially under the current government, that we all get the same services and should all pay the same for them. Rich people get better police protection, cleaner streets, better schools, special legislation to protect their business interests, and even "white-collar prisons" when they get smacked for criminal wrongdoing. They deserve to pay extra.)

Less facetiously, a higher level of prosperity across the board is better for all of us, even the rich.

And, while we're still in that neighborhood? Iraq. Afghanistan. There are wars happening in both countries. Neither of them is going well. I did, and still do, support Afghanistan. We never had any business in Iraq and nothing we're doing there is making it any better. Can the Democrats please have some courage on this topic?

Equality. You know. One of those things we supposedly revere as a founding principle of this country? Are we for it or agin it? Because if we're for it, then we ought to be for it for everyone. Even if they are named Bill and sleeping with Jim. Even if Sue is sleeping with Sara. Even if Rebecca needs an abortion.

There are more, but that will do to be going on with.