Who says I never let y’all have fun on the weekend?
For your weekend entertainment pleasure — at least if you’re a nerd like me — I present:
Feels like it needs a bit more, huh? How about:
That’s better.
All joking aside, this is a pretty neat interactive site created by Christine Ries, an economist at Georgia Tech and member of the special council on tax reform which the Legislature created three years ago to produce reform recommendations. Reform recommendations it largely went on to ignore, that is.
But, had those recommendations not largely been ignored, there would be no reason for Tax Reform: The Game. In it, Ries has included several of the recommendations the council made. Players can mix and match them — and see how their choices would affect state revenues.
Here’s a preview of what it looks like, though you’ll have to click through one of the links above to actually play the game:
And if fiscal fun isn’t your idea of a good time this weekend, feel free to use the thread below to discuss other topics.
(H/t to, and more information about the game available at the site of, the Georgia Public Policy Foundation.)
– By Kyle Wingfield
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486 comments Add your comment
Bruno
February 10th, 2013
4:28 pm
But there are some limits that decent people do not cross.
MarkV–Kerry crossed that line long ago when he made false accusations against his fellow soldiers in arms in order to advance his own political career.
http://www.25thaviation.org/johnkerry/
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
February 10th, 2013
4:30 pm
“I am used to people making all kinds of accusation and insulting remarks for political reasons. But there are some limits that decent people do not cross. That is what you have done with the statement above.”
Really, MarkV? When Kerry admitted he never threw his own medals, but rather someone else’s?
Sorry, but “Liveshot” Kerry (so nicknamed due to his ability to always get his face in front of a working camera) has done little to distinguish himself in life, save getting himself elected and marrying up.
Aesop's Fables and other Lib Economic Theories
February 10th, 2013
4:36 pm
I second what Dusty said about bandaid kerry.
getalife
February 10th, 2013
4:39 pm
Kerry is Secretary of State.
What have you done cons?
MarkV
February 10th, 2013
4:41 pm
Bruno, Tiberius, Aesop,
I have nothing to say to cowards.
Bruno
February 10th, 2013
4:44 pm
Ti–When you look at any list of typical Lib “heroes”, which usually includes people like John Kerry, George Soros, Al Gore or Barack Obama, all I see are a bunch of jackass malcontents who are more than happy to personally profit from our system, then turn around and spit on it in some arrogant, self-righteous fashion. You have to wonder what drives some of these folks…..
Bruno
February 10th, 2013
4:46 pm
Bruno, Tiberius, Aesop,
I have nothing to say to cowards.
I’m glad to see that you recognize the Ti, Aesop and myself aren’t cowards like your Lib heroes, otherwise you wouldn’t have addressed us.
(I couldn’t make up any of this crap if I tried)
Bruno
February 10th, 2013
4:49 pm
Kerry is Secretary of State.
What have you done cons?
By that metric, then, I’m assuming you have nothing but praise for GWB, getalife.
Dusty
February 10th, 2013
4:50 pm
MarkV, relax,hon
You can go to Google and read about Kerry throwing his medals over the White House fence in an antiwar protest. Then he said they were ribbons not medals. Then he said he threw everything. His stories vary. Last week at a book sale there was a hard back copy of the book written against Kerry about his accounts of his Viet Nam service. It was written by those who served and disagreed with him. I didn’t buy the book.
I don’t think this is the kind of man I want for Sec. of State.
As to Hagel,
Medals are not the question but he changes his mind too much on big issues, which i believe I have already mentioned. The AJC & others are full of facts about that. Read ‘em. I do not want a vacillating Sec. of State.
In case you don’t know it, medals are meritous but they alone don’t make the character of those who receive them. Example: the killer policeman being hunted in California also received medals for his service in the military.
Now go do your homework and cool your fevered brow.
CC
February 10th, 2013
4:51 pm
“I have nothing to say to cowards.”
Spoken (written) like a true coward!
Bruno
February 10th, 2013
4:55 pm
CC–Let’s combine some music with the rain. Do you play mandolin, by any chance??
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLB34EYC6o4
Bruno
February 10th, 2013
4:58 pm
Now go do your homework and cool your fevered brow.
Dusty–Maybe we should give MarkV a break. It must be a lot of work to carry water for PsOS like Kerry and Gore.
Dusty
February 10th, 2013
4:59 pm
Well, let’s get back to the RAIN!! Some of my favorite lines of others are about rain and sunshine.
“The rain in Spain stays mainly on the plain.” and
“Maddogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun.”
They are just fum, that’s all. They make me smile.
Dusty
February 10th, 2013
5:00 pm
Did I say FUM? Now that’s dum dum.
indigo
February 10th, 2013
5:01 pm
Bruno, Tiberius, CC
You should really look before you leap.
http://www.factcheck.org/republican-funded_group_attacks_kerrys_war_record.html
Dusty
February 10th, 2013
5:03 pm
Bruno, 4:58
Nawwww, let’s keep MarkV busy. Keeps him out of trouble.
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
February 10th, 2013
5:03 pm
MarkV, as usual, knows nothing about which he is posting.
getalife
February 10th, 2013
5:04 pm
You cons are divided, conquered and thoroughly defeated.
Americans do not believe a word you say.
Game over, you lost.
Bruno
February 10th, 2013
5:05 pm
Bruno, Tiberius, CC
You should really look before you leap.
Apparently you don’t follow your own advice, indigo. I mentioned nothing about the “Swift Boat” veterans.
bluecoat
February 10th, 2013
5:08 pm
Hagel a flip/flopper like Mittens both from same party.Praise GWB,that would be the unpardonable.Had a dog named Bruno at one time.Good dog.
Bruno
February 10th, 2013
5:08 pm
Well, let’s get back to the RAIN!! Some of my favorite lines of others are about rain and sunshine.
For you, blue eyes:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8b8I2_Ik3E
getalife
February 10th, 2013
5:09 pm
“as usual, knows nothing about which he is posting.”
Very true for you cons.
The gop establishment will crush you.
Bruno
February 10th, 2013
5:11 pm
CC–I hereby nominate you “Rain King” for today:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLHso6hLHFA
CC
February 10th, 2013
5:13 pm
indigo@5:01:
If you look behind the scenes at these phony “fact check” sites, you find that they are funded by organizations with political biases. You must always ask yourself. Who is writing about this so-called “truth.” Who funds the site and pays their expenses. What are the origins and history of the funders and who are they associated with. In the case of factcheck.org they receive their funding from the liberal Annenberg Foundation.
The Annenberg Foundation was originally founded by Walter J. Annenberg, a conservative who supported Ronald Reagan. However, when Walter Annenberg died, his family took over the management of the foundation and it took a turn to the far left and has ties to radical left individuals such as Bill Ayers and his friend and fellow left wing radical collegue Barack Obama. How is factcheck.org associated with these people:
To start, Ayers was the key founder of the Chicago Annenberg Challenge, which was a Chicago public school reform project from 1995 to 2001. Upon its start in 1995, Obama was appointed Board Chairman and President of the Chicago Annenberg Challenge. Geesh, that alone connects all three. Well, it branches out even more from there.
Ayers co-chaired the organization’s Collaborative, which set the education policies of the Challenge. Oddly enough, Obama was the one who was authorized to delegate to the Collaborative in regards to its programs and projects. In addition to that, Obama often times had to seek advice and assistance from the Ayer’s led Collaborative in regards to the programmatic aspects of grant proposals. Ayers even sat on the same board as Obama as an “ex officio member”. They both also sat together on the board of the CAC’s Governance Committee. Obama and Ayers were two parts of a group of four who were instructed to draft the bylaws that would govern the CAC. Keep in mind that the “A” in CAC is for Annenberg, the owners of FactCheck.org. The funding for Ayer’s projects and those of his cronies was approved by Board Chair, Barack Obama.
getalife
February 10th, 2013
5:16 pm
Shorter cc,
Facts don’t matter.
Yes, they do in the real world.
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
February 10th, 2013
5:16 pm
Indigo, maybe you should pay attention and you won’t look like the idiot you are when you post. In fact, you could double your intelligence and still be an idiot.
I never said that Kerry didn’t earn his medals. There is significant enough differences in accounts to make no decision whatsoever in that regard.
My issue is with his phony, self-centered promotion of “throwing his medals” over the fence at the U.S. Capitol, when he did no such thing. He then claimed he did, then claimed he didn’t, then when exposed said he “didn’t have time to go back and get them”, so he threw someone else’s.
He rails against the rich avoiding taxes, yet moors his yacht out of state to escape paying higher state taxes, and only moves it when caught.
The guy is a phony from top to bottom, and President Incompetent just made him SoS.
Bruno
February 10th, 2013
5:17 pm
I always loved this song. “Walking In The Rain (With The One I Love)” by Love Unlimited. You might like this one, Dusty:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TamdHlPm_IA
CC
February 10th, 2013
5:19 pm
Also indigo . . .
Here’s a funny fact about FactCheck.org: Barack Obama was Chairman of The Board of the Chicago Annenberg Challenge from 1995 until 2000. The Challenge had to do with reforming Chicago public schools.
But, it was funded by the same source that funds FactCheck.org: The Annenberg Foundation. If you go to FactCheck.org and look at the logo, you will see “ANNENBERG POLITICAL FACTCHECK.”
You can read all of the documentation about this connection between Obama and the Annenberg organizations on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Annenberg_Challenge
So…knowing this now…can you REALLY rely on FactCheck.org to tell you the “true” and “accurate” facts about anything regarding Obama and Joe Biden?
If you still do…I have a Chicago baseball team I’d like to sell you…just send me your credit card information and I’ll give you a certificate of ownership. I’ll also throw-in the Brooklyn Bridge in for free.
Bruno
February 10th, 2013
5:21 pm
If you look behind the scenes at these phony “fact check” sites, you find that they are funded by organizations with political biases.
Shhhhh, CC. Don’t shatter indigo’s world like that.
He rails against the rich avoiding taxes, yet moors his yacht out of state to escape paying higher state taxes, and only moves it when caught.
Kind of like Gore’s out-of-sight electric bills and frequent use of his private jet while simultaneously lecturing everyone else about the dangers of fossil fuels?? Seems to be a pattern here……
Bruno
February 10th, 2013
5:24 pm
One more G-Rated rain song for our girl, Dusty. “Laughter in the Rain” by Neil Sedaka:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCusyLPrFCo
CC
February 10th, 2013
5:25 pm
Bruno:
“Kind of like Gore’s out-of-sight electric bills and frequent use of his private jet while simultaneously lecturing everyone else about the dangers of fossil fuels?? Seems to be a pattern here……”
EXACTLY like that!
MarkV
February 10th, 2013
5:26 pm
Dusty @ 4:50 pm
No Dusty,
I will not relax. You are trying to hide using reasoning that is fitting for Tiberius, but not for a thinking person. What Kerry did with his medals after coming back from the war has nothing to do with the fact of his war service for this country, which you have soiled by your comment. What did it mean “Purple Heart Persuasion and Medal throwing, there’s plenty of doubt about being first rate?” What was not “first rate,” in your opinion? Please explain that.
As I said before, I am used to political attacks, even those that I find outrageous. But I drew a line when people like Aesop name someone who fought and bled for this country “bandaid Kerry,” and do not hide my contempt for such cowards. You have not one that far, but perilously close.
CC
February 10th, 2013
5:27 pm
. . . and Gore’s making a killing on his ‘green’ energy investments!
Self-serving, to say the least!
indigo
February 10th, 2013
5:28 pm
CC – 5:19
You could say the same thing about conservative funded groups.
It is true that unbiased, honest information is getting next to impossible to find.
bluecoat
February 10th, 2013
5:29 pm
Feels like a November rain.Yes that is when Obama rained on you parade.February Kerry does it again.
indigo
February 10th, 2013
5:30 pm
Bruno – 4:44
I could have sworn you refered to Kerry as “jackass malcontent”.
But, of course, that has nothing to do with his war record.
Right?
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
February 10th, 2013
5:34 pm
When given conflicting reports of Kerry’s service record, MarkV takes the side of the lib who has already been proven a liar, a gigolo, and a tax cheat.
No doubt in what passes for his poor excuse for a mind whatsoever.
indigo
February 10th, 2013
5:35 pm
Tiberius – 5:16 “earn his medals”
Oh really?
So, he actually did fight bravely and “earn his medals”?
Is the same Kerry who has done little “to distinguish himself in life”?
I know you love to split hairs.
(hint – it doesn’t actually make you any smarter)
CC
February 10th, 2013
5:39 pm
“It is true that unbiased, honest information is getting next to impossible to find.”
Finally! A single point of agreement . . .
Lil' Barry Bailout - OBAMAPHONE!!!
February 10th, 2013
5:42 pm
Kerry lost to Bush.
Just to keep the respective intellects in perspective.
CC
February 10th, 2013
5:42 pm
Dusty:
“You have not one that far, but perilously close.”
I guess you have now been warned!
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
February 10th, 2013
5:47 pm
“So, he actually did fight bravely and “earn his medals”?”
Indigo, if you are going to continue to act like the idiot you are, I’m going to call you out on it.
You may not parse my statements to try to make an opposite point than what I am making.
That is the equivalent of lying to make your point. If you can’t make one without lying, I suggest Bookman’s site. You’ll fit in there really well.
Otherwise, you’ll see that I am not convinced either way that he earned his medals due to conflicting accounts of his service. I wasn’t there. Other people who were paint a different story. Given Kerry’s questionable actions since that time (also detailed above), I have enough skepticism of him to have doubts about the veracity of his accounts during Vietnam.
CC
February 10th, 2013
5:47 pm
Dusty:
Also, re an earlier post by you . . .
My jonquils are blooming, jasmine wants to bloom and even one of my azaleas is thinking that Spring has arrived!
getalife
February 10th, 2013
5:57 pm
We have the gop establishment led by the turtle and backed by rove unlimited bribes working with our President to get things done like the majority wants..
Where does this leave you cons?
Bruno
February 10th, 2013
5:58 pm
But, of course, that has nothing to do with his war record.
indigo–I have no reason to denigrate Kerry’s time in service, even though his motivations for joining in the first place may have been in anticipation of a future political career . Per his “heroics”, the Wiki article linked below has this quote in it:
“I didn’t really want to get involved in the war,” Kerry said in a book of Vietnam reminiscences published in 1986. “When I signed up for the swift boats, they had very little to do with the war. They were engaged in coastal patrolling and that’s what I thought I was going to be doing.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_career_of_John_Kerry
I could have sworn you refered to Kerry as “jackass malcontent”.
I sure did in my 4:44, and even provided a definition of the term, which had nothing to do with his time in service, and everything to do with his time AFTER service.
Dusty
February 10th, 2013
5:59 pm
MarkV
You haven’t been doing your homework. If you check out Kerry’s time in Viet Nam you will find out he was there less than three months. In three months he received the Bronze Star, the silver Star and THREE purple hearts. That’s what I called “Purple Heart Persuasion”. Also, he never missed any duty from his three purple heart injuries. Injuries? Many veterans of that same conflict say that a purple heart every month is improbable at best.
Now don’t make any more accusations until you do your own research. That might make you understand why I don’t think Kerry would make a good Secretary of State.
I’ve already mentioned ‘character’ and medals which you ignored.
Your blind approval of everyone liberal is amazing. I hope you get over that ’cause NOBODY is perfect
indigo
February 10th, 2013
6:01 pm
Tiberius
You are very good at infering, implying and hair-splitting.
If you wind up in a cushy job at daddy’s company, this won’t be so bad.
But, if you must make it, on your own, in the corporate world, this behavior just won’t cut it. You will lose job after job.
Please don’t say no one ever told you.
Bruno
February 10th, 2013
6:01 pm
“Early Morning Rain” by Gordon Lightfoot:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYQTRiWcGWE
Bruno
February 10th, 2013
6:08 pm
“Rain” by Patty Griffin, often wrongly attributed to Norah Jones:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFbjE7NFmUI
Dusty
February 10th, 2013
6:08 pm
CC,
I’m not worrying about “crossing the line” here. When I’m counting calories I start worryng about “crossing the line”. Don’t want any blubber if I can help it.
Sounds like you are getting a great start on springtime. I don’t have any jasmine. Wish I did but can’t make it grow. My azaleas are still sleeping. Probably just as well.