So, I roll up my sleeves, snuggle with my calculator, and sit down for a romantic evening with my 1040EZ form. But my feelings are not shared by all.

Every 15th of April we can expect a protest on Washington. We expect to see signs like “Taxed Enough Already” and “No New Taxes.” And this year will be especially exciting because the Tea Party is planning their own little shin dig – expect a lot of really bad revolutionary period costumes and offensive signs.

I’ll also admit something else – I like protests. We have the right to disagree with those in power. However, I hate tax day protests. Hate, hate, hate them. They make no sense to me, especially since 95% of Americans received tax cuts this year.

Let’s protest something else. Let’s protest the complicated process (I’m currently getting migraines trying to file a convoluted non-resident tax form 4 pages long!) that drive people up the wall. Let’s protest that fact that the richest people in America are not paying a fair percentage. But protesting the very idea of taxes itself is asinine.

We should try a little experiment. Take away some of these services and send a bill to all of the protesters for a year’s worth of garbage pickup and police patrol. Then we’ll see how many of them choose to stay home next year thanking God for the pesky IRS, instead of spending all day thinking up such pathetic, disgusting phrases as, “The American Taxpayers Are The Jews For Obama’s Oven.” Seriously, what the hell does that even mean?

So, join me in the countdown to tax day! Now excuse me, I have to run 5 miles at the local park, take out the trash, and drive down a nicely paved street. Happy filings!

Although, the newest round of revelations showing that the current Pope (and past) covered up for child molesters is in a category of its own. But wait, it’s not the Church’s fault they never once tried to protect the children, but rather choose to protect the abusers. It’s the media’s fault for making them look bad, so goes their newest talking point. That old saying, “The dress doesn’t make your butt look big, your butt makes your butt look big” applies itself perfectly here. Journalists uncovering documents revealing Cardinals and Bishops knowingly allowed abusive Priests to remain in their positions makes the Church look bad. Not the media. However, blaming the media is a nice little distraction these days, which makes me wonder if the Catholic Church is getting PR advice from Sarah Palin.

I’m in the middle of reading Christopher Hitchens’ book, God is not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything, which states the case of how corrupt and poisonous religion can be. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with believing in God – He’s fine – it’s the people here on earth who do all the corrupting. Which, I think the book should be re-titled, Religion is not Great: How People Poison Everything. Anyway, his point is being made 100 times over with these new findings.

It’s no longer just a few bad apples scattered around the Church; It’s the freaking Pope, the successor to Saint Peter, the leader of all Catholics, the Supreme Pontiff, the…you get the point – he’s an important guy. Before he was Pope, he wasn’t just any Cardinal, apparently he was one of the most influential men in the Roman Curia (which makes sense, you’ve got to be pretty damn important to be elected Pope). And as one of the top dogs, he helped in the cover up. And now they’re saying nothing.

But I guess I didn’t really expect all that much out of the Catholic Church. Last time this stuff was in the news, it just cost them about a  billion dollars. Now, as they remain silent and defiant in the wake of this scandal, it’s costing them their souls.

John “the Maverick” McCain has declared that he never considered himself a maverick. The man who named his campaign airplane, Maverick One, the man who endorsed ads entitled “Original Mavericks” , who showed a clip at the GOP convention called “The Maverick”, and who said in countless debates that he is a maverick of the Senate – that man is now a mainstream conservative and always has been. (Nevermind that Sarah Palin just described him as a maverick during their “reunion rally” in Arizona.)

This has got to be a belated April Fool’s joke. There’s no other way this makes any sense in the world. McCain fought for that title and during the ‘08 election he couldn’t speak for 2 minutes without referring to himself and Palin as mavericks.

When John McCain was formally nominated at the GOP Convention he said this, “I’ve been called a maverick. Sometimes it’s meant as a compliment, sometimes it’s not. What it really means is, I understand who I work for. I don’t work for a party. I don’t work for a special interest. I don’t work for myself. I work for you.”

Uh, well, except for when he’s running for re-election and REALLY wants to win.  But I guess we should have seen this coming. After all, he spelled it out perfectly on SNL two years ago.

Myers: If you had to choose one strategy to use in the remaining days, what would it be?

McCain: Seth, my basic strategy is the one I’ve stuck with since I’ve started this campaign. Connect with the voters, talk with them honestly about the issues, stand by my record of service to this great country.

Myers: And if that doesn’t work?

McCain: Probably the Double Maverick.

All that’s left to be done (well, not ALL, but for all for now) is to pass the fix-it bill in the Senate. But when the Democrats use rules appropriately, calling for a majority vote (reconciliation) on amendments for the health care bill, the GOP cries foul and pulls out every procedural trick in the book – adding countless amendments such as no Viagra for sex offenders. They also drudged up arcane rules that require unanimous consent for all work after 2 pm. I bet you can guess which members of what party objected, thereby shutting down all important hearings  this week (ironically, one was on government transparency and efficiency). However, don’t confuse their use of “parliamentary tricks” to delay action in the Senate with the Democrats “twisting” of long held rules (deem & pass, reconciliation) that the Republicans themselves used countless times when in power. The GOP does not understand the definition of hypocrisy.

So they play games and Congress stalls and nothing gets done. Doesn’t that sound great for the country? Anyway, if the GOP wants to play games, let ‘em. This week they are offering countless amendments, knowing full well that the Democrats can’t vote yes on any of them, otherwise the bill is sent back to the House and they must vote on it again. And seeing as Easter break is coming up this weekend, no ones wants to hang around to again hear the GOP stir up images of the Civil War, Armageddon, and 9/11 when making arguments against health care. Expanding health care to 95% of Americans really brings out the crazy in floor speeches!

However, in the end I think this makes the GOP look bad, if that’s that even possible anymore. Health care already passed, the GOP had their “Waterloo” splashed all over them and instead of arguing the merits of the Dems amendments they cancel all Senate committee hearings just out of spite. That’s the kind of behavior you expect out of 3 year old children, but apparently old grumpy white men act the same way.

At long last, the issue of health care has been acted on and at long last we see the true colors of the Republican party are the same shade as sour grapes.

I think this is a great approach for the administration to take with video games. I’d like to see more ideas that embrace the potential of gaming, instead of damning it to hell and claiming it’s responsible for our fat, lazy nation. No, that would be us, who only put down the controller to grab more potato chips.

I hate being cynical, but I can’t help but wonder what the opposition will come up with in response to this campaign. They’re already upset about the proposed unhealthy food taxes, but I can’t imagine what they would find at fault with this idea, other than its title.

“What a waste of taxpayer money – it’s the UNHEALTHY kids that need these types of apps!”

But they didn’t miss much. Obama wanted to focus on what people in the room agreed with, but most of the GOP representatives just read line after line of what they hated about the bill (essentially reciting campaign speeches). Obama had to politely chime in “uh, that’s not what I asked” or “uh, let’s hear what you agree with” or “uh, i’m gonna have to correct all the misstatements you just made.”

Of course, when Obama and McCain had a few words back and forth the next tweet on my feed was “OBAMA VS. MCCAIN – SMACKDOWN” as if they both got up and boxed 3 rounds in the center of the tables. Geez, it wasn’t that explosive. Obama just told McCain (after he brought up the election) that the campaign was over. But the media loved it, so nothing else mattered for the next hour.

Anyway, the GOP came in with 3 talking points. The first being that seniors are scared of this bill because it cuts Medicare. This was interesting, because Republican Tom Coburn started off by acknowledging the Medicare cuts were to get rid of  WASTEFUL spending. Millions and millions of dollars in fraud, at the taxpayers expense, that they’re going to reign in. Those are the big, bad, scary Medicare cuts that the GOP has been decrying at town hall meetings for the last 7 months. But, you gotta love a talking point that’s not based in reality, because the GOP repeated this line throughout the rest of the day.

The second point was “let’s start over on the health care bill” since we didn’t have any input. Which the Dems kindly pointed out that, in fact, they held meetings much like they one they were currently at all last year where they adopted hundreds of GOP amendments to the bill.

And the third talking point (quite similar to the second one) came in the form of baby steps. The GOP favors scrapping the “too long to read” health care bill and focusing on tiny adjustments to our system. The Dems pointed out that everything was interconnected and you can’t make meaningful changes without incorporating all aspects of our health care system. Point in case – that’s what we’ve been doing since the 90’s and look at health care costs now!

But I say, take the GOP to task on this issue. If they want baby steps, give them baby steps. Force them to vote yes on a tort reform bill. Force them to vote yes on a bill eliminating pre-exisiting conditions. Force them to vote yes on 85% of the bill they do agree with. And then leave the last 15% to reconciliation if that remains the last course of action. But please, please make the Republicans put their votes where their mouths are. Cuz we’ve seen they love talking up and co-sponsoring ideas (deficit commission), but when the time comes to vote they can sprint for the hills faster than the Road Runner.

So, the Dems went in liking their bill with the GOP hating it and when both parties left the 7 1/2 hour meeting, that situation was unchanged. The Dems might actually adopt even more GOP ideas into their bill, but it won’t bring any GOP votes with it. The question remains, how do the Dems pass their bill? Well, the answer remains to be seen.

The problem is, they’re all leaving smoke bombs behind them. And one Senator can’t take the smell anymore.

Evan Bayh of Indiana is retiring and will not seek re-election this Fall, even though he was a moderate Democrat heavily favored to win. His decision was considered a shock and left a lot of people scratching their heads. Well, Bayh crafted a letter to explain his reasoning, which you can read here in full.

Bayh’s main point was that Washington is too partisan to get anything done. Bayh’s solution – eat lunch together once a month. Bayh bemoaned the loss of relationships among Democrats and Republicans, citing a friendship between his father and a Republican Senator.

I’m certain that Bayh is speaking from experience, he has been a Senator since 1999. So, why then has he not tried to change the awful atmosphere during that time? And, if it’s gotten worse, why is he leaving? If he has a letter filled with solutions for how to make Washington more pleasant, why is he stepping down? He’s just complaining that D.C. is a shit hole while running away with his shovel, leaving 99 other Senators standing knee deep in feces without any way to get out.

I think Senator Bayh should stay and work on this problem especially when his proposed solutions, campaign finance and filibuster reform, are being crafted into legislation as we speak. If an even tempered man such as himself is throwing up his hands and saying “whatever, nothing can be done” then that doesn’t leave much hope for the rest of us.

Even if the Senate does pass those reforms and both parties start chowing down together every Wednesday, those “solutions” will have about the same effect an air freshener has at a trash dump if Moderates of both parties continue to flee instead of holding their ground.

Cuz I got a feeling it’s gonna take a lot more than just monthly lunches to dig Washington out of their own stink. It’s gonna take a rebirth of Moderates in Congress.

But alas, the Right has come up with a sound argument and talking point to support the construction of nuclear power plants – “But France does it!”

Huh. Interesting. I know a lot of Republicans and I can’t ever recall a time when they supported what the French do. Hating all things French is a part of their gene makeup. We can’t do health care like France because they’re a bunch of socialists. We can’t eat like the French because we don’t want anyone telling us our portion sizes are too large. Hell, they even hated the French so much they wanted to rename french fries Freedom Fries (this way they could truly “taste freedom”). And by God, we hate their accents!

Yet, the French argument has been the talking point for years. Now, my thinking on the subject is this. France probably does have an impeccable record on nuclear energy because the government oversight of those plants is outta this world. We, however, have a nuclear power plant about 24 miles from NYC that is consistently ranked at the bottom for not meeting safety regulations and has had its share of accidents over the years. What we need is France to come over here and whip that place into shape.

If nuclear energy can also be safe energy, then I’m all for it. I understand investing in this type of alternative energy will create jobs, but at what cost? I don’t even like using a microwave so I sure don’t want to live anywhere near a nuclear power plant. Do you?

Now, supposedly this move was to appease both the Left and the Right since they can’t agree on their own about what steps should be taken towards fixing our energy crisis. Seems logical, but here’s the irony. They BOTH hate it. The Right doesn’t want the government handing out loans to invest in alternative energy that would create jobs (just hand out tax cuts!). And the Left doesn’t want to risk safety for job creation.

Obama tries to appease everyone and he ends up pleasing no one. Now that is something I understand.

Since I’m accustomed to Palin’s style of speaking, I was just expecting the run of the mill, fire ‘em up night from her. Then I’d go to bed and the news story in the morning would be about something important.  But Palin never ceases to provide material for all of us. As is well known, Palin was mocked for scribbling notes on her hand – after blasting Obama as just a “charismatic guy with a teleprompter.” As opposed to what? A charismatic girl with ink on her hand? She’s probably right. Next State of the Union, I want Obama reading his speech from his forearms.

Now the highlight from the night – at least to me – was when Palin posed this question, “How’s that hopey, changey stuff working out for ya?”

Well, actually, quite well. As much as the media loves to portray the Democrats as doing nothing last year, they actually had the most successful legislative year since President Johnson passed Medicare and the Equal Rights Bill. The economy is slowly, but surely turning around. Jobs have been lost, but they are starting to come back (even if I haven’t seen one yet!).

We’ve gotten the Lily Ledbetter Act, Homeowners Act, Stimulus Bill, Cash for Clunkers, and the largest expansion of Veteran’s benefits. Troops are pulling out of Iraq, torture has been banned, 95% of Americans received tax cuts, we’ve begun positively engaging the Muslim world, and the House and Senate each passed Health Care Reform bills. Not bad for a guy with a teleprompter.

That’s the change. And if I’m not mistaken, McCain and Palin also ran on a platform of changing the way Washington works. They were the mavericks who were gonna shake things up. Since McCain is up for re-election he’s moved to the far right, flip flopping on almost every position he’s held. And Palin, she quit halfway into her term as Governor to write a book, make speeches, and get rich in the process. Such mavericks!

Meanwhile, Obama’s Administration is on track to expand transparency in our government – releasing the names of White House visitors and tracking Stimulus money on the web. He held a televised Q & A Session with House and Senate Republicans that proved to be so wildly popular, people have called for it to be a monthly event. And upcoming Health Care negotiations between Democrats and Republicans will also be televised.

Obama hasn’t kept every promise he made on the campaign trail and he hasn’t fulfilled every first year pledge, but I believe this is a pretty good start – for him, and for America. As for me, I’ll keep believing in hope and change over the twisted logic of the Tea Party movement.

Then, Rush Limbaugh defended the word, saying “Our political correct society is acting like some giant insult’s taken place by calling a bunch of people who are retards, retards.” Oh, and when Rahm held a meeting with leaders who work for the mentally challenged, Rush said it was, “a retard summit at the White House.”

Obviously, Sarah Palin had to issue a statement on this. After all, she just called for Rahm to be fired. Will Rush have to be taken off the air? Issue a mass apology to all Americans? Not according to Palin -  she decided to just say we don’t agree with that kind of crude talk. That’s all. No long winded, emotional Facebook note. Just a one line press release.

But, during her interview on Fox, she was asked about the Rush/Rahm controversy. Again, she said Rahm should be fired. And how did she respond when asked about Rush’s use of the word? Specifically, after he called liberal groups retards?

“They are kooks, so I agree with Rush Limbaugh. Rush Limbaugh was using satire … . I didn’t hear Rush Limbaugh calling a group of people whom he did not agree with ‘f-ing retards,’ and we did know that Rahm Emanuel, as has been reported, did say that. There is a big difference there.”

Oh yes. A big difference. Rahm disagreeing with a political strategy and Rush disagreeing with all liberal groups (who Sarah also disagrees with)! Do you see the difference? No? Sigh, you are such a retard.