A word for our elected leaders, from Michael Reagan, amidst the turmoil of Abramoff investigations:

When my dad was first running for governor of California a very wealthy friend and supporter asked him to drop by his office. When my dad got there the friend pointed to a paper bag on his desk and said, "This is for you." Dad picked up the bag and looked into it - there was $40,000 in cash inside. He took the bag and threw it at his friend and walked out. Later he told the man that if he wanted to make a contribution he should send it to the campaign committee. And he warned him never to do anything like that again. He ended by telling the man that if he was elected governor the man should never even think about asking him for anything.

That's called integrity.

Exactly.

Republicans, those vaunted champions of fiscal integrity and honesty in government, showed just how they are dedicated to my dad's principles by greedily looting the federal budget of billions of dollars to fund their pet projects and keep the voters back home happy and in a mood to re-elect them.

But, you know, it's not just Republicans.

It's us, the voters, too.

(Bet you thought I was going to blame Democrats? No, of course not. While I find it deeply amusing my Democratic friends suddenly all pretend to care about fiscal restraint -- after vocally opposing Bush because they believed he would cut spending -- I don't expect fiscal restraint from Democratic leaders who make no such pretensions.)

So many times I have spoken to someone who thought education would somehow improve if it we just threw yet more money at it. Same goes for healthcare. A Bush-hating friend of mine finally had to praise Bush -- because he bought her a really, really expensive cutting-edge medication for much cheaper. (At everone's expense.) So many times I have heard people first demand the government "do something" to solve a particular problem -- while showing no interesting in expending their own effort in that direction.

Who are the bastards who are spending us into the ground? Look in the mirror. Until we're willing to do more for ourselves, and stop expecting the goverment to be our personal money-fairy, and stop reflexively blaming "the government" or "Bush" for each and every monetary inconvenience in our lives, and stop reflexively reacting to the pathetic but atypical (and often distorted) sob stories the liberal press tells us -- until we reject all these habits, we can rail endlessly at the Republicans (or Democrats) for overspending, but the fault is really ours.

Really now, America. Grow up and stop being such a bloody hypocrite. And start giving a thought about what you're passing down to your childrens' children.

Eliminate the National Endowment for the Arts (since when it's it the government's job to produce art?) If you're such a hypocrite you yourself can't support the kind of art you like, then where do you get off asking everyone else to do it for you?

Eliminate the Department of Education, and send the money back. They never taught a single pupil, and the vast majority of the money your local schools receive is from local sources.

Start supporting charities to do what you want done, rather than demanding everyone else donate for you, under threat of imprisonment.

Do these ideas trouble you? Great, then you're showing how much a part of the problem you indeed are. So shut up about Bush's overspending. It's yours too.