KC, I could agree with but for the fact that you're applying a rational and logical analysis to a person suffering from pathological narcissism.  Obama the Great thinks that he can rule by pronouncement.  If he declares that something can be done, then it's up to his minions to carry out the royal decree.  He's not interested in the details, or in a contrary opinion.  When something fails, his reaction is twofold:  a)  it's got to be someone else's fault, and b) the failure cannot reflect on him.  Obama lies first to himself to protect his own self-image.  He then lies to the public in an attempt to change the reality.  The last thing Obama is capable of doing is telling the truth because the reality would cause his self-image to crumble.  It's a form of madness insulated from reality as you and I know it. 

Correct.  The real danger is the regulatory state.  I fear we have already reached critical mass. 

I couldn't agree more, but I worry that the American mind, as per Alan Bloom, might be totally and irrevocably closed.  It's easier for most people to embrace something that is socially acceptable than to think about principles.  And I shudder at the implications. 

I got my first job right out of college with the IRS back in 1981.  Unlike the EPA, for example, the IRS doesn't write the rules and regulations.  The entire tax code is a creature of congress.  Back when I was a lowly GS-4 the code was about the size of three telephone books.  I can't even speculate on its size today.  Keep in mind that every provision in the code was drafted by a congressman to serve a constituent.  That's how business is done these days.

But if wanted to get rid of tax filing (and who wouldn't unless you're an accountant?) there are plenty of alternative methods of taxation that don't require a VAT.  I would personally rather see taxes collected and applied to specific government agencies.  We could fund the entire DOT with gas and excise taxes.  We could do the same for the SEC with a minor tax on stock transactions.  The key would be to set a budget for each agency and design a tax to match it and not a penny more.  Unfortunately, the tax code we have will be with us as long as we have_congressmen.    

Dallin Oaks?  Wasn't he one of the characters from The Hobbit?

I used to ask my students why we call it The Cold War.  Invariably the answer would come back as something like following:  "Well, Russia is a really cold place, right?" 

The House and a third of the Senate are up for reelection in 2014.  Democrats are already running away from Obama on issues like gun control.  As things continue to deteriorate the abandonment will become a stampede.  There is nothing more important to a member of Congress than his own political future.  Guess who's going to get thrown under the bus this time?        

Nothing.  Paralysis will have the political process shut down for the next three years.  

I'm suggesting that Obamacare will have such a devastating effect on the economy in 2014, that the only rational response will be to repeal it.  Despite the calls for repeal even from members of his own party, the president will be indifferent to the consequences. 

I used to tell my students that if I caught them with a cell phone, I would nail it to their forehead with a rusty railroad spike.  I was reprimanded by my principal, so I erected an aquarium in my room and put a couple of old cell phones at the bottom.  Problem solved.    

The NYT is calling for a full-blown narcissistic rant?  What philosophy there is would be sophomoric at best, or at worst totally incoherent.  If such a thing did happen, it would give the pundits a month's worth of material trying to explain what the president meant.  And we still wouldn't be any wiser.   

Gridlock can be good when nothing is seriously pressing the nation.  In times of crisis, not so much. 

Books!

Lovely.  Just absolutely lovely.  My sincerest thanks. 

I'm getting a sidebar advertisement to have lunch with Michele Obama and Elizabeth Warren.  Well, only if hemlock is on the menu.  I'm willing to take one for the team.   

After that metaphor probably not.  I will need to drink heavily tonight before I can fall asleep.