Semi-Daily Journal

Here is the rest of what Yglesias wrote that Brad omitted:

"And check out the GOP reaction:

"Call your blueprint what you will, Senator Lieberman, but Americans understand that a tax increase is a tax increase is a tax increase," [Republican National Committee chairman Ed] Gillespie said. "Raising taxes won't create jobs. In fact, it will make job creation harder."

If raising taxes is always wrong, no matter what the money's being spent on, even if the purpose is to raise funds for cutting other taxes, and if the deficit is never a concern, then why shouldn't we just eliminate taxes outright and finance the government entirely through borrowing from future generations? Taking a look at the latest tax-cut binge,
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A21513-2003Oct13.html,
a series of lobbyist-driven corporate giveaways being ginned up under the pretense of eliminating a WTO-banned export subsidy, I suppose that's the direction we're headed in, so why not just come out and say it?"

John Lott: "In 1997, I hired a group of graduate students, equiped with straight edges and carpenter's levels, to measure the curvature of the earth's surface at 50 different locations around the University of Chicago campus. Their results were consistent with the flat hearth hypothesis at the two sigma level..."

Instapundit: "I'm no expert in statistics, but Lott's results sound pretty convincing. I'd be more inclined to listen to these round-earthers if they weren't so obviously desperate to smear Bush..."

Andrew Sullivan: "Flat Earth? Round Earth? It's all so confusing! I'm baffled."

Paul Krugman: "Archimedes measured the curvature of the Earth to a remarkable degree of agreement with the many others who have measured the curvature of the Earth using a variety of methods in the thousands of years since. The spherical nature of the Earth is universally understood and its measurement known to a high degree of precision. Yet, this administration continues to assert that the Earth is flat. There can be only one explanation for this: they ALL SUFFER FROM DEMENTIA ASSOCIATED WITH THE ADVANCED STAGES OF SYPHILLIS. Bush has exhibited characteristic hand tremors, and it's clear that he consults in late-night paranoid hallacinatory prayer-sessions with Cheney and much of his staff. Indeed, Bush was obviously "patient zero" and the infection began to spread via his early Gnostic Christian orgiastic prayer sessions during primary campaigning several years ago. Now, with the failure of his literal sexual machinery, Bush projects his virility onto the world stage via warmaking and, not incidentally, intentionally bad economic policy. Yet the Washington media establishment refuses to discuss the obvious fact that the US is being run by syphilitic madmen. This is probably because they have become unwittingly corrupt. Also, Bush's tax cuts won't have the short-term stimulative effect on the economy that he claims they will."

Eugene Volokh: "Whether the Earth is flat or round is *not* a topic I have a particular interest in discussing. It may matter, or it may not, I don't know. I prefer to talk about Missouri gun control laws."

Robert Novak: "Prester John, a CIA operative and King of the Far Domain, wishes to lure us off the edge of the World with false sphericist flights of fancy."

Richard Perle: "I intend to sue Archimedes, and other sphericists, for libel in England. If I can figure out how to get there."

Jack Shafer: "Flat or round, no one seems to really know what is true. And it's unlikely that we'll learn the truth in any event."

Tom Delay: "This Prester John fellow...is he Republican or Democrat?"

I like to call this the "Myth of the Golden Mean". People in the media use it all the time as a way to validate their own positions: hey, we get criticized on the Left, we get criticized on the Right, obviously we must be on to something. The goal is to find someone whose opinion is even more lunatic than your own, as in: "Johnny believes that ten thousand people should be taken out and shot while Sally thinks that only ten will do." Obviously, Sally is the picture of moderation.

Can't the headline be explained by "Man Bites Dog"? That is, it's not news for a politician to promise to lower taxes on the Middle Class. On the other hand, it *is* news when he says he's going to raise taxes - that doesn't happen too often nowadays. So that's what's in the headlines.

Tim Russert's contribution to the flat vs round earth debate would be, during an interview with Condi/Cheney, he would put the text of their statement that "The Earth is Flat" on the screen and ask them whether they stand by that statement. They would. He would then move on to the next issue. Howard Kurtz would write a piece in the Post praising Kurtz for the brilliant innovation of putting the text of statements on the screen.

Why write the headlines as tax increase on the wealthy? Because the WaPo and most other newspapers are owned by very wealthy people and make their money selling ads to very wealthy people. These people greatly benefit (in the short term) from the Bush tax cuts and they are using their power and influence to buy and bully the issue.

Money buys power and power helps make money. Greed is good.