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The esteemed senator from Kentucky is so concerned about federal debt that he refuses to extend unemployment benefits past Sunday. Because of his single NO vote, millions of people will lose their unemployment on Monday.

So, Mr. Bunning, how concerned have you been about debt, and about everyday people, in the past? Let's take a look, shall we?

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What an ass. What an unmitigated ass.

Jim Bunning sets a new low for even him by being the single vote against extending unemployment benefits. Because of his NO vote, the benefits for millions of Americans -- thousands of them in Kentucky -- will run out Sunday night.

That didn't matter to Jim Asshole Bunning. Instead, he griped about having to hang around Thursday night to cast his NO vote and missing the UK basketball game. No way to buy groceries or medicine? That's nothing -- I had to miss a ballgame!

And when challenged on his vote on Friday, when another senator begged him to change his mind, you know what his response was, right on the floor of the Senate?

"Tough shit!"

What an ass. What an unmitigated ass.

If you were listing characteristics of a well-designed tax system, what would you include? In today's Courier-Journal, Rep. Jim Wayne gives his list, and I think it's a good starting point:

Fairness. The tax code should promote justice, with every Kentuckian paying their fair share, including the wealthiest.

Adequacy. The revenue stream should be stable enough to support schools, social services, prisons, law enforcement, environmental protection and other programs and services people depend on.

Elasticity. Revenue should grow as the economy changes. If a certain section of our economy is expanding, as our service-based sector is, tax revenues should reflect that.

Simplicity. The system shouldn't be too complicated to understand. Taxes should be as low as possible — with everyone paying their fair share — and the tax base should be broad.

I've been yelling for months about the lack of leadership in Frankfort. Why? Because all the people in Frankfort know that our tax system fails ALL of these tests, and has for years -- and yet they have done nothing.

Here's what the cowardice in Frankfort has gotten us:

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Ever heard this line about some bill or another? "It's just common sense -- why can't these idiots in (Washington / Frankfort / Metro Council / the PTA board) see that?"

I bet you've not only heard it, you've probably said it. Me too. But here's the problem: ideas that seem so easy, so common-sense when said to a friend, sometimes become very difficult to write into a good law.

From Jake over at Page One, here's the latest example -- an example that the Family Foundation says is "just common sense":

Strippers should have at least something on.

Make the jump to learn why legislating pasties is a bad idea.

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There are days, indeed many days, when I get tired of the constant partisanship at all levels of government. The constant game of Gotcha is both draining and destructive.

Then I read a quote like this, and I realize why it's important to keep fighting:

"Every major milestone in American history has been won after a major protracted and partisan battle. Go back to the Emancipation Proclamation, the 19th Amendment, the New Deal, Medicare, Social Security, the Voting Rights Act. These were big partisan battles -- one of them involved a civil war. And so the idea that somehow we can all come to the middle and do what? Free half the slaves? Or free them from 12 to five? These are major issues that people have very definite differences on."

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With leaders like these, who needs enemies?

First it was Steve Beshear presenting a budget that relied on a non-existent revenue source to make up the shortfall. Now it's state House leaders trying to get around hard choices by using another non-existent revenue source: a possible Federal stimulus to Medicaid that wouldn't happen until next year.

House leaders are proposing a daring budget maneuver that would strip $227 million in General Fund money from the state’s Medicaid program for the next budget year in hopes that the federal government will approve additional stimulus funds for the program starting in 2011.

So now we're reduced to playing Russian roulette with the budget, and the poor are the ones with the gun to their head.

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Sarah Palin, the intellectual leader of the TeaBag WingNut Republican party, uses a new high-tech tool to prompt her memory while speaking and answering questions:

Her palm. Really.

More below the fold, including pics and video.

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I stumbled across this while doing research on something else, and just find it so amazingly ironic that I decided to share. Think about the mortgage and banking crisis of the past eighteen months, and one of the major players, and then check out this story:

Fannie Mae Opposes Mortgage Legislation

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