ANOTHER BUSH SCHEME DESTINED TO BE AS POPULAR AS SELLING OUR PORTS TO DUBAI-- NOW HE WANTS TO LET THE IRS SELL OUR PERSONAL TAX INFO! FORGET CENSURE!

Bush and the corrupt band of tribal cronies he's surrounded himself with are desperate to come up with ways to keep spending tax revenues on Iraq and other scams that make themselves wealthy beyond reason while making sure multimillionaires and billionaires don't pay their fair share of the tax burden. Bush and his rubber-stamp Congress have concocted a plan to sell off the nation's forests, threaten to sell the national parks, tried to sell the ports and outsource jobs and security and now have an outrageous new scheme-- selling access to our personal taxes!

In the midst of the country making it clear we are not comfortable with Bush's version of Big Brother listening in on our phone conversations and reading our e-mails, Bush has thumbed his nose at America and is allowing the IRS to move forward with a cockamamie new plan to sell access to private citizens' tax records! I think Russ Feingold needs to change his far too moderate censure motion to an impeachment charge. You think Americans are going to vote for senators and representatives who defend the government selling access to our taxes?

Americans don't want Big Government-- and let's be real: regardless of his lies and twisted propaganda we've never had government as big as the Bush Regime-- meddling and poking around in our private affairs. Yesterday I talked to Rick Penberthy, an earnest Democratic challenger to one of Bush's rubber-stamp congressloons in Florida, deranged right-wing fanatic Ginny Brown-Waite. One of the things Rick told me that really stands out was that "No one likes intrusive government. People around here want to keep government out of our private lives." Well, people in Florida's 5th CD have that in common with people everywhere in America-- none of us wants Bush and his crooked minions getting into our private lives.

In 2004 one of the most hopelessly narrow-minded and extremist people ever elected to Congress "Ernest" Istook (currently on a doomed quest to become Oklahoma's next governor), tried to sneak a clause into a complicated 3,000 page, $388 billion appropriations bill that would have permitted congressmen and their staffers to snoop into citizens' private tax returns. When Democrats exposed his ruse, the public outrage was universal and Istook was nearly hounded off Capitol Hill, not just by Democrats but by his embarrassed Republican colleagues. At the time many people started asking, "Why do Republican politicians want to look at my tax returns and why can't they ever play by the rules?" And even though disclosure of information from income tax returns is against the law and subject to severe penalties, they're at it again! Bush-Republicans are naturally authoritarian and they do not believe in privacy-- except for themselves.

And just the same way Istook tried to sneak in his 2004 provision "in the dark of night" (according to Republican Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas) and Bush tried to sell off American ports to his family's Dubai business associates (and then claimed it was too late and a done deal and threatened a veto when his plot was uncovered and Americans started screaming their heads off), weak, sneaky Bush cronies are claiming that the "formal comment period" is over and that the IRS is changing the rules that prohibit data mining from private tax returns. Yesterday's SEATTLE TIMES makes it clear that Barack Obama (D-IL) doesn't plan to let this slip by quietly the way the Bush Regime has been hoping it would. If this upsets you, let me suggest you get in touch with Dillon Taylor of the IRS' Procedure and Administration Dept. His number is 202-622-7752 and his e-mail address is dillon.j.taylor@irscounsel.treas.gov

I hate to make this a mere afterthought, because, clearly it is not, but Bush and his creeping fascists have other plans to invade citizens' privacy besides snooping into taxes. Today the U.S. Supreme Court decided in favor of privacy in a 5-3 decision. Who were the 3 favoring the right of police to disregard the sanctity of the home? Well, of course the neo-Nazi twins Clarence Thomas and Antonin Scalia. And they were joined by... none other than Chief Justice John Roberts. (The other right wing extremist Bush appointed, that Alito creature, wasn't allowed to vote on this one.) Justice Souter pointed out in the majority opinion, that when the views of the right-wing extremists prevail "The centuries of special protection for the privacy of the home are over." Hopefully American citizens will wake up by November and it won't be too late. Censure is too mild-- way too mild.


LATE MORNING UPDATE: SO WILL ARLEN SPECTER VOTE FOR CENSURE? IMPEACHMENT? DON'T COUNT ON IT-- HE'S A WEAK GUTLESS REPUBLICAN


Speaking about the Bush White House, the Senator said "They want to do just as they please, for as long as they can get away with it." Which Senator? Russ Feingold? Ted Kennedy? Harry Reid? Hillary Clinton? Barack Obama? Nah. It was the Senior Republican from Pennsylvania, Arlen Specter, Chairmen of the once powerful Senate Judiciary Committee. "I think," he continued, "what is going on now without congressional intervention or judicial intervention is just plain wrong." Does he think that? Well, most Americans think it too. So what's he gonna do about it? Just sit around wringing his hands like the pathetic and weak Republican he is? Why doesn't he endorse his Judiciary Committee colleague Russ Feingold's proposal to censure Bush?