Patriotic Millionaires for Fiscal Strength

It is Warren Buffet redux. Yes, 40 millionaires have banded together as the Patriotic Millionaires for Fiscal Strength and requested that their taxes be raised. When the Sage of Omaha proposed the same thing, I said he should just send the government a check. If these 40 want to pay more taxes, fine. Send in the money. The government will happily accept it and spend it. But demanding to have your taxes raised is also demanding that everyone else has their taxes raised.

 

These millionaires seem to believe what Joe Biden said: Paying taxes is patriotic. Hmm. This is a country founded on a tax revolt. Not paying taxes might be more patriotic. However, if they want to pay more, SEND IT IN and leave the rest of us out of your 'patriotism.'

Unreasonable Search?

The full body scan is coming to an airport near you. Yes, in reaction to the failed Christmas Bomber aka the Underwear Bomber, there are now scanners that will perform a virtual strip search. Have we not yet reached the point of unreasonable searches as defined by the 4th Amendment? Those who do not wish to suffer the indignity of the procedure or the 'harmless' dose of radiation may opt out and be sexually assaulted. Oh, it's just an 'aggressive' pat down, frisking like a cop might. However, if someone not wearing a TSA uniform were to perform such a pat down, it would be a clear case of sexual harassment. What is truly sad is that this is inevitably futile. The next bomber will have the anal cavity bomb (already used in Saudi Arabia). I can hardly wait for the TSA reaction to that.

This is yet another massive waste of resources for no benefit. We have a description of the perp and yet we search everyone. Imagine if a string of convenience stores were robbed and every cashier said it was a 'Middle-eastern man in his 20s or 30s.' The police then frisk every person they encounter - women, children, old men, etc. That would be crazy. And yet, that is what we are doing. We KNOW who is trying to blow up the plane but, to make sure no one feels singled out, we search every last person. We could cut 90% of the TSA if we just profiled. Heck, with the 90% cut of the TSA, we'd probably save more than enough to pay the lawsuits that would be filed.