Those who frequent DowneastBlog know that I am an enthusiastic supporter of the FairTax, a proposal to abolish our current tax system and replace it with a national retail sales tax. I'm on their mailing list, and lately there has been some great news regarding the progress of this proposal. It has been officially proposed in the House by Rep. John Linder (R) Georgia, and in the Senate by Saxby Chambliss (R) Georgia and Zell Miller (D) Georgia.

Recently House majority leader Tom DeLay has gotten behind the FairTax bill, officially known as H.R. 25, and has made his intentions clear to put this bill on the front burner. This idea was once thought to be too radical to ever see the light of day, but it's acceptance in the house and senate has been impressive. In a recent meeting between congressman Linder and Alan Greenspan, Greenspan stated that he thought the proposal was a good idea, but that the biggest obstacle to its adoption would be governmental inertia. Indeed, such sweeping reforms are often seen as too difficult to pass, so it is very hard to get members of the legislative branch to act to further such a bill. However, with the current momentum of this bill, it looks like there is a good chance that this could happen. While there will be the usual opposition to those who prefer our current "progressive" system of taxation, the fact that H.R. 25 is designed to support all current government programs gives it a fighting chance of getting support on both sides of the aisle.

I encourage all of you to check out the FairTax website and look at the details of this proposal and get behind this revolutionary idea. I believe that it would have an incredibly positive effect on all Americans, and would go a long way to getting this country back in line with what it's founders intended.

God bless the governor of Maryland.

Way to go Kerry! (The good Kerry, my wife. Not the evil, French looking clown from Massachusetts). It's not every day you're mentioned by name on NRO's Corner.

It's curious how the Iraqis don't seem to be as upset as our own media is about the prison abuses. Don't hold your breath waiting to read this in the mainstream media.

For those who think that I'm simply one-sourcing this, head on over to the Iraqi blogs and read similar accounts first hand.

I know this is a photoshopped picture but I love it anyway:

So it's looking like this prison abuse thing is actually turning out to be the issue that is going to stick on this administration. The Democrats have thrown everything but the kitchen sink at the president, but thus far nothing has seemed to resonate much with the American people, until now. Of course, we're all appalled with what happened in those prisons, but a lot can be told from people's reactions to this event. Some of us want the perpetrators of those acts punished, along with those in the chain of command who knew of these procedures. We'd also like to see this done quickly and decisively so that we can begin to repair the damage done to our image in that region, and get on with making this great undertaking work. There are others who would like to see this scandal continue to develop like a festering wound so that it drags down the entire administration and our efforts in Iraq as well. These people would gladly hand Iraq to the mad mullahs just to get the current president out of office, and they believe this scandal is their means to that end. Their concern is not for the Iraqis who were abused, or for the population of Iraq in general, or for our own soldiers. These are just tools to be used to further a political agenda. Where was the outrage when Saddam Hussein was committing acts far worse than this on his own people? Where was the outrage when millions were being slaughtered in Rwanda? Where was the outrage when American civilians were being killed and their bodies dragged through the streets just a few weeks ago? We're supposed that the left has reached their breaking point over acts that, let's face it, probably occur in our own prisons on a daily basis? Please, the selective morality is truly sickening.

Let's fix the problem, but let's not lose sight of the big picture here. There's no doubt in my mind that these acts will cost the lives of American soldiers. The longer the scandal goes on, the more our servicemen are at at increased risk. Perhaps those calling for resignations and yet another ridiculous congressional hearing should consider this fact before engaging in more petty political maneuvering.