Griper News: News Roundup for 8/2/10

Believe it or not, this man is insane

-Headline of the day-
"SurveyUSA Poll: Tancredo Tanking GOP's Chances In CO-GOV Race."

The problem with the Republican nominees for the governorship of Colorado is that they aren't conservative enough. And, by "conservative," I mean "crazy." So into the void hops former GOP Rep. and 2008 presidential longshot Tom Tancredo. Tom has the right "I hate Mexicans/gays/liberals/Muslims/etc." attitude to really nail down the crazy people vote. So he's running as a third-party candidate, because he'd probably lose the GOP primary.

Which is kind of a problem for the Republican Party. See, a really big chunk of GOP voters in Colorado are just as crazy as Tancredo. With Tancredo in the race, the GOP vote splits in the general election and the Democrat, Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper (I know!), wins in a walk in any projected matchup -- 44% to 26% or 46% to 21%, depending on who Republican primary voters elect to be their human sacrifice.

Go Tancredo! (Talking Points Memo)


-Tax filing made hard, thanks to Intuit-
Taxes! GAHHH! The only thing worse than paying them is having to figure them out. It's math and math sucks. We didn't grow up so we'd still have to do our math homework once a year. Why not just make everything easier? "After all, the IRS already has your information, so why not just send you a form with all of your details filled in, let you check it over for any mistakes, errors or omissions, sign it and send it back?" asks the 'puter blog TechDirt. "It would save a whole lot of hassle, and certainly would avoid problems caused by simple mistakes." If you had some fancy-footwork tax-dodging to do, you could still do it -- just write it in there. It'd be so easy... Who could be against that?

I'll tell you who; Intuit, the maker of Turbotax and Quickbooks. If taxes are easy, they're out of business. So Intuit has been lobbying Washngton like an SOB to make sure your tax forms stay hard. And not just Washington, according to the report, "[S]ome states have already implemented similar systems for state taxes, and Intuit then goes on the lobbying offensive to try to repeal those laws. Reader Xan points us to an LA Times story about the lengths to which Intuit is going to try to kill off a highly successful set of programs in California that have made it much easier for many, many, many residents, while at the same time saving the state millions of dollars. It's a clear win-win... Well, except for Intuit."

So next time, don't just curse the IRS. Curse the dicks who made the software you have to use to figure your taxes out. (TechDirt, via Reddit)


-Bonus HotD-
"Inside the FLOTUS office."

Politico keeps us apprised of the things that really matter -- like the fact that the First Lady's office isn't as nice as the Oval Office, but it's still pretty cool, since Michelle has good taste. Of course, this should be obvious to just about anyone who gives it even a moment's thought.

Thanks Politico! If you didn't exist, who would we turn to to learn these fascinating things we already knew? (Politico, via Wonkette)