I'll see your "bravo" and raise you an "end social security, medicare, and military spending". If you want to get into a pissing contest over who wants smaller government and lower taxes, bring it on.

But put your money where your mouth is. The Bush administration and GOP-led Congress have squandered more per year in absolute deficit spending than any administration in history. My taxes have gone down only marginally, at the expense of enormous debts that we the taxpayers will have to pay for later. What they call "privitization" boils down to spending MORE tax dollars on corporate-buddy subsidization (look at CAFTA and the $500 billion medicare bill, good god...) The trade deficit is at a record, the dollar is in the toilet. We don't just have Bush to thank for this: we have the Americans who voted the GOP into a majority in every branch of government.

Now if you want to talk about how abortion is sinful, or how God is on Bush's side, or how you "just trust him", fine with me. If you think the USA *should* be a taxpayer-funded world-policing empire, go Republican. But if you want to talk small, transparent government, it's time to stop defending the GOP. Even if you don't support so-called liberals, at least vote enough of them in to overturn the GOP majority in 1 house of congress and end 1-party rule.

Katrina gets my emotions high, partly because it's such an incredible disaster and I have the sense (right or wrong) that Bush just isn't treating it seriously - as opposed to 9/11 which he continually used as justification for every military venture and government-expanding bill he backed.

But you're right - this isn't the forum for a rant. To those whose lives were affected by Katrina, I wish them the best, do not begrudge them my tax dollars, and will help out by making sporadic donations in supermarkets. I will continue working and (hopefully) sailing.