I still have do disagree with you about the rich whining about paying more taxes. Why shouldn't they? They pay the bulk of them....plain and simple. It probably wouldn't be so hard for them to pallet if it weren't for all of the rampant abuse that they constantly hear about. I think that everyone wants to help his fellow man to a degree, but it is really hard to swallow paying so much damn taxes and watching the government piss it all away.

Here are some links:
Fair Tax Site
Tax Distribution Stats

It sounds like we are not going to fully agree on healthcare availability. I would just ask that you be careful with classifying good healthcare with luxuries. Don't forget that people's healthcare is funded out of their own paychecks, both in direct contributions and by employer contributions, which are in turn a part of their pay package. It's not a luxury....it's earned. That's the key word...."earned"...people advocating socialized medicine want to give affordable healthcare to all. When you pull back the rhetoric, you will see that what they want is for the paying taxpayer to subsidize the healthcare of the needy. That's not necessarily a problem if we are talking about basic care. However, it's a bit presumptuous to assume that the American taxpayer wants to make sure that those not paying taxes don't have to pay more than $5 for a copay....especially when they'll spend a hell of a lot more than that for a gameboy for their kid or a set of chrome rims for their tires.

Drug War - It's a complete joke. We waste billions on it and have not reduced the influx of drugs into this country. We never will. Like you said, legalize it and then tax it. Like cigarettes and alcohol, people will still pay for it.

OK...baby is finally asleep again. I'm off to take a cat-nap.