Reid’s Super-Com picks: Tax lovers and earmarkers

‘Reid Leads Senate as Compromise Avoids Fiscal Catastrophe’—That’s the laughable title of a video parked at Sen. Harry Reid’s official government website. Had Reid actually led the Senate from November 2006-November 2010 when Democrats had full control of Congress, the politics of the debt ceiling fight could’ve been avoided. The fiscal catastrophe was not, by the way, averted. It’s still there. (Screen snip from video at US government website)Sen. Harry Reid’s (D-Nev.) picks for the new Super Committee share one thing in common. They’re all tax and spend progressives. Two are champion earmarkers.

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Newspapers’ plight not an issue for government

I can't imagine starting the day without my newspaper. [Photo by Kay B. Day]Should the US Senate be going anywhere near a discussion about the future of newspapers? If you value personal liberty, the answer should be a resounding ‘NO.’ But the Senate Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet held a hearing on May 6 focused on “The Future of Journalism.” Those giving testimony included a former managing editor of The Washington Post and the founder of an Internet blog directory.

The subcommittee is chaired by Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.). One suggestion involved permitting newspapers to operate as charitable organizations. Frankly, that designation is sorely overused by too many entities already. But that’s a topic for a tax rant. A federal government subcommittee has no business even discussing the future of newspapers or any other media, for that matter.

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