SORRY FOLKS

Though I can do the show prep and write the notes ... I can't talk today. So Herman Cain will be filling in for most of the show. Hopefully I'll have my pipes back tomorrow! Thanks for your tolerance.

CONGRATS INDIANAPOLIS!

I rooted for the team with the fewest tattoos.

BUSH'S NEW $2.5 TRILLION BUDGET

Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad, Democrat of North Dakota, is complaining about "sticker shock" when it comes to President Bush's new almost-$3 trillion budget. Yet there should be absolutely no sticker shock at all....Bush is the biggest spender in the modern era. He makes Bill Clinton look like a miser... and that's one of the reasons the Republicans no longer control the congress.

And yet the media will focus on the wrong things. Just to debunk a few media myths here...the first is the deficit. Bush is pushing the idea of eliminating the deficit in 5 years, parroting the Democrats' plan. For the uninformed, the deficit is how much more the government spends each year than it takes in. The deficit should be eliminated in one year. But somehow taking 5 years to stop overspending is an achievement. Will the trillions flowing into the U.S. Treasury thanks to a booming economy, balancing the budget should be a piece of cake. It should be said, however, that the deficit is a much smaller percentage of our overall budget than it was during much of the last thirty years ... but we're still spending more than we take in.

Second, this nonsense about "paying for" tax cuts is another liberal media fantasy. Tax cuts don't "cost" money. The proof is clear -- the numbers are there -- tax cuts actually lead to increased federal revenues. The left knows, however, that raising taxes on the rich sounds wonderful to their core constituency ... thus the rhetoric.

And lastly, don't believe for a minute that there are any cuts in the federal budget. There is no such thing as a cut in a federal program...only a reduction in the spending growth. So if you planned on spending $10 billion more on a federal program next year, but decide to only spend $8 billion more, that's somehow seen as a $2 billion "cut." Welcome to the fuzzy math of Washington D.C., but somehow they get away with it.

DEMOCRATS WANT TO RAISE TAXES

But don't worry....if you're concerned about the deficit or the size of the federal budget, Democrats want to help. In order to "pay for" Bush's tax cuts, they're all too happy to raise your taxes. Remember...in 2007 when it comes to politicians, there is no difference in spending between Republicans and Democrats. The difference is in how they finance their spending binges. Democrats tax and Republicans borrow. So basically either you pay or your kids will pay. Some choice.

One Democratic presidential candidate has made it very clear how he would pay for his spending: taxes, taxes and more taxes -- but only on the rich. Speaking on the issue, John Edwards...who was The Poodle's running made in 2004 (not to be confused with The Poodle's keeper,) says he would tax the rich to pay for his spending proposals, including a grandiose plan for socialized medicine The Trial Lawyer says to cover his health care plan, he'd repeal George W. Bush's tax cuts for people over $200,000.

Then, he'd tax capital gains. Edwards complains that brokerage houses aren't accurately reporting people's capital gains. This is a ripe area for class warfare rhetoric. Democrats can convince their followers that only the rich have enough money to invest, and thus only the rich have capital gains ... so let's tax 'em more!

I don't know any other way to say this: There is absolutely no limit to a politician's desire for your money. When you take the money you earn and spend it as you see fit, politicians don't benefit. But when they can take the money and spend it on their project, votes are bought, power is preserved.

6 DAYS UNTIL IRAN' S BIG DAY

READING ASSIGNMENTS

With wind chills firmly below zero over much of the country, one has to wonder what happened to global warming? If the Earth is warming uncontrollably due to the actions of humans, then why can't anybody warm up Minneapolis?

Iran says February 11th is its big day....the terrorist state says it will use that day to establish its inalienable right to use nuclear technology. Perhaps we should use the day before the un-establish their right to have nukes.

Protesters interrupted Hillary Clinton's speech at the DNC's winter meetings in Washington D.C. Some are upset with her support of the war in Iraq, which she now says she doesn't support. It just doesn't get any better than this....Democrats protesting The Hildabeast.

Condoleezza Rice is taking heat for refusing to call Hamas a terrorist group. Evidently some in the Jewish community are a bit upset that she referred to the Islamic terrorist group as a "resistance movement." Of course the mainstream media is letting the whole thing slide.

Dick Morris points out that the war on terror should be focused on Iran and North Korea, not Iraq. Morris says its a shame that people will see our conflict with Iran as somehow connected to Iraq, which its not. Either way, The Gargoyle and Ahmadinejad pose a much greater threat.

The days of the penny may be numbered. It turns out we have officially passed the point at which it costs more to manufacture the penny than it's worth. And that's not all...nickels cost almost twice what they're worth to make as well. How about just rounding up to the quarter?

Robert Novak notes how John McCain sounds like Ronald Reagan these days when it comes to taxes. He seems to have changed his tune from the 2000 presidential campaign, but McCain now says he has never voted for a tax increase in 24 years.

Bill Kristol says the Republican senators that are opposing President Bush's Iraq surge plan are doing so for a very good reason: they're up for election next year. Still, he calls them anti-victory and takes particular exception to some of John Warner's recollections about Vietnam.

Professor Mike Adams laments the overrunning of college campuses in the Deep South with Yankee professors from up North. But, he notes, the attack on Southerners is not just limited to the South...it's going on all over. Read on to find out more.

Why did Islamic terrorists attack America on 9/11? Dinesh D'Souza takes a look at the change in strategy by Islamic radicals....and what prompted their changing of targets. He also notes that the Clinton Administration did absolutely nothing to stop it.

It's done. All the editing is over. "Somebody's Gotta Say It" will appear on your bookstore shelves on Tuesday, February 20, 2007. The autographed first editions have sold out so if you want my mark on your book, you'll need to catch me at one of my book signings. Or if you just want to get to reading, order it online here.

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