Speaking of cultivating dependencies, I have just discovered that there are Heath bars in the snack drawer today. This is very, very bad news for my teeth and waistline.

There's a snack drawer? Dang. The problem of working from home: no snack drawer. The bigger problem of working from home: whole house is a snack drawer. (of course, today I'm in LA, but whatever)

David Brooks makes some good points, but then makes sure to say that we should be cutting disability and unemployment benefits

I don't see where he says that. I see he says that those programs can

He refers to Romney's critical or necessary (read it this morning and disremember) entitlement reforms. And says that federal disability and UI in his view do encourage leechery.

But as you say, for a Brooks column, those are some minor quibbles compared to the usual.

But I did take a mortgage interest deduction for many years - isn't that essentially government assistance?

No need for the qualifier "essentially". It is straight up government assistance.

ETA: That I also take advantage of.

I've been trying to come up with a pithy one-liner that will go viral about how Virginia, which is a commonwealth, should be all about Obama and "socialism."

Timelies all!

Happy Birthday erika!

It's coming down in buckets over here. Good thing we don't need to leave the house until tomorrow morning.

It's supposed to be windy buckets of rain here later. I'm seriously thinking of heading home ahead of the commute.

Damn, this tuna melt is good.

I wish y'all could have a taste. Sooooo gooood.

For people who think Romney view won't hurt him - polls show that the 47% thing may be a view held by a noisy minority, but it is a minority. [link]

Only 20% of the population think the poor pay too little in taxes. Only 22% of middle class people think that. Again you have to remember that the tea party nonsense, though it is a real viewpoint, is not a majority viewpoint. It is not even a majority viewpoint among conservatives. That does not mean that Romeny cannot win. But this proof that he thinks the poor pay too little in taxes will hurt him. How much is debatable, but it will hurt him.

took the squeaky van in and it needs transmission fluid, which will cost over $200. Ouch. But I know you don't fuck with the transmission, so oh well.

technically he didn't say they pay too little, he said the government does too much for them and they'll never be good enough to deserve it. So still a reprehensible statement.

In general though, I would be shocked if the people who think the poor pay too much or the right amount in taxes think they get too much in services or are lucky duckies living in hammocks. Generally answers to this kind of question are indicators of broader attitutudes. If you think the poor are parasites and you are asked about their taxes you won't say they pay their fair share or more.