BagBoy

Jon Huntsman, Jr. is your man. But you are correct that he is not politically possible for president. That's a shame, too, because he's a really good guy in every way.

Sweden and Canada played an exhibition game a few days ago. 7-6 Canada. 3 goals went THROUGH the net. Pretty embarrasing for the Finns.

She starts out by saying a flat tax wouldn't hurt charities, then attempts justify it by saying when Reagan reduced taxes, contributions went up. Well, no duh! That article is not addressing the removal of deductions for charitable contributions in any way, shape or form.

I couldn't agree more. Not getting a tax break for charitable contributions would adversely affect every single charity and would be the end of the vast majority of them. This is not who we want to be as a nation, and I don't think "we the people" would ever even consider removing deductions for charitable contributions.

People like Grover Nordquist would have you believe that the only way to simplify the tax code is to implement a flat tax. This is simply not true. He and his ilk just don't want to pay their fair share of taxes and hide behind the smokescreen of the simplicity and the false concept of the "fairness" of a flat tax. Simplifying the tax code is an idea with merit. Throwing out the progressive tax structure to do so is just a way to make the rich richer and the poor poorer.

You can order it online for delivery.

Excellent question. I wish all new voters would ask thoughtful questions like this. We used to have a truly progressive tax code, but the GOP/greedy/Tea Party have been chipping away at it ever since Reagan hit the scene. Back then paying for the infrastructure that helped make this country great was a given, a no-brainer. Back then investing in our educational system properly was a given, a no-brainer. Nowadays, nobody cares what's best for the country or what's best in the long wrong. They just want their taxes reduced, especially the wealthy. So we give them tax breaks and suddenly our bridges are collapsing and nobody can afford to go to college. How do you think this bodes for our future? Does this feel like we are going in the right direction? Let's get down to brass tacks to illustrate what I'm talking about and what actually happens. I'm fortunate and close to retirement. What happens if I get a tax break for $100? What am I going to do with it? I'm going to sit on it and put it towards my retirement, just like most people who are not living hand to mouth. Okay now let's give $100 to someone living hand to mouth. They are going to spend every penny of that money and spend it soon. Unlike my $100, that $100 is going straight into the economy. That extra $100 in the economy will then be further distributed with part of that money going to other people living hand to mouth, who will in turn spend every bit of that distribution. This discussion came up during Bush Jr's administration when he gave $300 rebates to most all taxpayers. Economists agreed that giving $300 to someone living hand to mouth stimulated the economy to the tune of $450-$500. The $300 given to people who didn't need it only produced about a $90 stimulus to the economy. Yes, it's true that a small percentage of the wealthy will take their money from tax cuts and invest it in a way that could create jobs, but don't ever let anyone tell you that the concepts of "wealthy" and "job creators" are interchangeable. They are not. I am considered wealthier than average. I'm not a job creator in any meaningful way. In fact, the truly entrepreneurial would be better off with tax breaks going to the needy by virtue of how much extra money would be in economy as a result. Naturally yacht makers and jewelers and the like wouldn't benefit, but the overall economy would.

It seems to me that for the GOP it's all ISIS, ISIS, ISIS. (reminiscent of Jan Brady's "Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!") The day that ISIS scares me is the day that ISIS kills more Americans than domestic gun violence does. I don't think the GOP are being very patriotic by implying that ISIS is a bigger threat than our own home grown killers. If we could focus all our crazy domestic gun-nut killers against ISIS, ISIS would stand about as much chance as a pepperoni pizza in front of Chris Christie - gone in no time flat. Fiorina, that condescending, self-righteous, ... (I'll stop there), says Obama and HRC are morons for thinking that climate change is a bigger threat than ISIS. ISIS is a drop in the bucket for things that Americans should be afraid of. Will ISIS manage to kill more Americans? Almost certainly. But if the level of domestic gun violence we face in the US is somehow acceptable, then shame on anyone for blowing the threat of ISIS out of proportion. They are piss-ants. Our future Darwin Award winners will surpass them in casualties 10 times over. On a completely different rant, Debbie Wasserman Schultz is disastrously over her head as the head of the DNC. She's awful and we Dem's are stuck with her at least until this time next year. I can only hope her incompetence doesn't torpedo the Dem's chances next November.

Trump's not my guy, but I hesitate to criticize him, because I have 0% of a clue about what his end-game is. He's a lot of things, but I don't think stupid is one of them.

Speaking as someone who is rarely in the Buffalo area, I actually WANT to see the local Buffalo ads. It makes me feel a bit more more connected/nostalgic. CenterIce used to show them, but they seem to black out all the local ads now.

Here's a quick overview of winners and losers (for lack of a better term) of the bill. http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/12/17/460169383/winners-and-losers-tucked-inside-the-spending-and-taxing-bills I hate when Congress wastes time on frivolous stuff that they have no business getting involved with, but I think the part about the sledders may have helped to lighten things up a bit, and bring the two sides together on at least one issue. Sledders. Kids living in the Capitol Hill neighborhood defied police last year and slid down the snow on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol. The bill urges, but does not order, authorities to look the other way should sledders appear this year.

I wondered what happened to Yuri. He was probably my favorite. Good thing I'm not a mod. I wouldn't ban anybody.

So if he comes back with a pseudonym will it be Ghost of Ghost of Dwight Drane?

It's a pretty decent movie. Maybe check it out during the holidays if you get the time to do so.

Fargo season 2 ended last night. I was waiting for Lou to get shot in the hip. In season 1 he said it happened at "the Massacre of Sioux Falls", but it didn't happen at all. I don't mind little inconsistencies like this. It keeps things interesting/makes you think. I did find Hank's explanation of the strange symbols in his office pretty unsatisfying, however. I was glad they didn't kill off Betsy, even though we know the cancer gets her. Sure was a surreal return to Kansas City for Mike Milligan! I really love this show and can't wait for season 3. Pretty sure I'll be watching the first 2 seasons all over again before the third one gets here. edit: I will miss the Solverson's crock pot in their kitchen. I had the EXACT same one from 1985 until last year when it finally conked out. Whenever they'd show it I would always fixate on it.

Maybe the Witness Protection Plan has changed their strategy on new names?

Just when you think the GOP race couldn't POSSIBLY get any weirder, it gets weirder. This is about the 20th iteration of this perception for me. I have given up on thinking I have any idea what's going on and what's going to happen next. Tomorrow's debate is must-see-TV. That's the only thing I know.

Great stuff, MODO!

To hear most GOP supporters, 10.000 Syrian refugees was going to destroy the entire fabric of the US and cause torrents of American blood to run in the streets. With 25,000 going to Canada now, I figure they'll be flying the Syrian flag in Ottawa before New Years. On a more serious note, at least one of those 25,000 is going to have a child who will be born a Canadian citizen, and become a good enough hockey player to play on Team Canada and help them beat the US yet again. That guy could have just as easily become a member of Team USA if we weren't so dumb and scared. I think we can all agree that this proves the GOP hates hockey. Well, maybe that's a reach, but my point is that those 25,000 Syrians are going to do a lot more good for Canada than anything bad that the bad apples in that group can do. Put yourself in the shoes of one of those 25,000. First of all, you weren't even sure you would live this long, no matter how young you are. You have faced death and despair for years and years with little or no hope, and then Canada welcomes you and your 25,000 compatriots there with open arms. How much do you think these people are going to absolutely LOVE Canada? As a group, these Syrians will become fantastic Canadian citizens, because they will be so grateful.

--dumb comment deleted--

Fargo quote of the week... "It's just a flyin' saucer, Ed. We gotta go."

Sometimes not even ONE legit candidate.

The National Post is only a few decades old, but it has a very good journalistic reputation, perhaps the best in Canada. http://news.nationalpost.com/sports/nhl/when-will-the-nhl-be-ready-for-quebec-city "This time around, there are no objections because (a) while there will be some defections in the fan base, the Canadiens brand is the strongest in the NHL and (b) a Quebec City franchise could help Bell, another media conglomerate with ties to the Canadiens."

I've probably been naïve, but I always figured The Habs would love to have QC back. That was a glorious rivalry while it lasted. Can't the Habs get some extra $$ out of QC since they would be within X number of miles of Montreal? I don't have a problem with them milking that for what it's worth, but I don't want them to try to actually block QC. This is the Habs we're talking about here. They are an institution like no other and having a team in QC isn't going to detract from that at all, just like it didn't the first time around. In fact, it might even help Montreal in the grand scheme of things.

Yeah right. The media is too busy talking about all those black kids shot and killed in Chicago. NOT.