[SoConPubbie]

	"If we must have an enemy at the head of Government, let it be one whom we can oppose, and for whom we are not responsible, who will not involve our party in the disgrace of his foolish and bad measures." - Alexander Hamilton "We don't intend to turn the Republican Party over to the traitors in the battle just ended. We will have no more of those candidates who are pledged to the same goals as our opposition and who seek our support. Turning the Party over to the so-called moderates wouldn’t make any sense at all." -- President Ronald Reagan "A thing moderately good is not so good as it ought to be. Moderation in temper is always a virtue; but moderation in principle is always a vice." - Thomas Paine 1792 "It does not take a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brushfires of freedom in the minds of men." - Samuel Adams "If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or your arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen." - Samuel Adams

[SoConPubbie]

Ted Cruz Ping!

If you want on/off this ping list, please let me know.

Please beware, this is a high-volume ping list!

CRUZ or LOSE!

CRUZ or LOSE!

[TADSLOS]

Courtesy Ping.

[MrB]

The tax code’s complexity is intentional.
It is that way in order to allow elected officials the ability to reward friends and punish opponents.

[Evil Slayer]

A good comparison between good and evil.

[ealgeone]

This is what they fact check????

[jstaff]

I’m a little confused here, after reading the byline. I always thought it was spelled “Yee Haw”. That’s the way we say it around here anyhow.

[csmusaret]

Obama has received so many Pinocchios Valerie Jarret’s secret service code name is Geppetto.

[ilgipper]

Amazing what gets severe scrutiny out of a Republican’s mouth vs the complete lack of scrutiny of the words of any leading Democrats. Utterly pathetic.

Then, I see people I respect on the libertarian front who scoff at the idea that there is any liberal bias in the media. At the end of the day, most libertarians play for the other side in their imbalance of standards between the left and right. They should side with the right and advance the liberty issues where there is agreement, but IMO their feelings on religion drive them to side with their worst enemies...the totalitarian big-government left.

[Steve_Seattle]

"Cruz is correct on the comparison of words in both texts. But regular readers of The Fact Checker know we frown on such counting exercises . . . "

In other words, what Cruz said was true - not even close to an exaggeration - but we're going to suggest that he's a liar anyway.

[Erik Latranyi]

The desperation on the part of the Washington Post is massive....and it shows.

[Steve_Seattle]

"Such comparisons — in this case, the word count of the evolving tax code of the most industrious country in the world to words in a religious document that was written thousands of years ago — don’t really tell you much of anything. We will not issue a Pinocchio rating or award a Geppetto Checkmark. But it is worth exploring this word-count comparison and how the tax code’s complexities affect taxpayers.

The Facts The literally translated King James Version of the Bible contains just over 800,000 words. There are as many as 3.7 million individual words in the IRS tax code. (Another count places it as low as 2.6 million words without substantive words such as “is” and “and.”)

Comments (in no particular order):

1. For the tax code, they provide an alternate reduced word count by omitting "and" and "the." They don't do that with the Bible. Why not?

2. "We will not issue a Pinocchio rating . . . " - How broad-minded of them, since they admit that Cruz's statement was true.

3. Yes, modern society is more complex than the society of Bible times, but that does not mean that the tax code must therefore contain 3.7 million words. A tax code that wasn't packed with lobbyist-induced loopholes and exceptions and add-ons and social engineering could very well require only a few thousand words.

[dead]

Is this the same “fact checker” that fact-checked a mildly anti-Obama SNL skit and found it “factually lacking”?

[Steve_Seattle]

"Federal income tax should be based on wages and salaries, tips, interest on investments, annuities, retirement pensions, and social security income. The tax rates are as follows:

Under $10,000 - 0%
$10,001-15,000 - 1%
$15,001-20,000 - 1.5%
$20,001-25,000 - 2%
$25,001-30,000 - 2.5%
$30,001-40,000 - 3%
$40,001-50,000 - 4%
$50,001-60,000 - 5%
$60,001-70,000 - 6%
$70,001-80,000 - 7%
$80,001-90,000 - 8%
$90,001-100,000 - 9%
$100,001-120,000 - 10%
$120,001 - 150,000 - 11%
$150,001 - 200,000 - 12%
$200,001 - 400,000 - 14%
$400,001 - 1,000,000 - 15%
$1,000,001 - 2,000,000 - 17%
$2,000,001 - 10,000,000 - 20%
$10,000,001 and up - 25%

There, I've simplified the tax code in under 300 words. (This obviously isn't a serious proposal, but you get the idea. It wouldn't need to be a LOT more complicated than this, and it took me 15 minutes.)

[MaxMax]

This is such an important issue of the day.

[reasonisfaith]

How disappointing that writers can’t be independent thinkers.