Erica Jong: 7 Questions for Interviewers of McCain and Obama

5. Why are Americans so queasy about taxes? There are certain things only government can do. Disaster Relief, Response to Climate change, Space Exploration, Health Care, Education, Bank Bailouts, etc.)

Why do we pretend this is not true? Why do we pretend it doesn't cost anything?

Australian Climate Madness: Carbon-fuelled gab-fest in Tokyo

95% of the world's carbon emissions could be cut at a stroke if politicians could resist the temptation to fly all over the globe to attend pointless "climate talks". The latest one is being held in Tokyo, where mayors or senior officials from the world's largest 36 cities were gathering for two days of talks. First question - what on earth can "mayors" do to address climate change? Second question - who are these mysterious "senior officials"? Sounds like a first rate jolly to me (if you like sashimi, of course).
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It turns out that the meeting of the C40 climate initiative was started by none other than dear old "Red" Ken Livingstone, erstwhile Mayor of London and full-time Communist. Suddenly it all makes sense. It is typical of our Ken to devise as many pointless opportunities to spend taxpayers' money whilst at the same time enjoying all-expenses-paid overseas trips to attend utterly pointless conferences. It's just surprising that so many other apparently sane civic leaders went along with it.