From Monday at The Angry Bear comes news of the IRS privatising back tax collection but only for the poorer and at a huge loss.

The private debt collection program is expected to bring in $1.4 billion over 10 years, with the collection agencies keeping about $330 million of that, or 22 to 24 cents on the dollar. By hiring more revenue officers, the I.R.S. could collect more than $9 billion each year and spend only $296 million - or about three cents on the dollar - to do so, Charles O. Rossotti, the computer systems entrepreneur who was commissioner from 1997 to 2002, told Congress four years ago.

The Bushevik US Congress doesn't want to spend the money to make money and prefers the profits be farmed out to some private cronies instead.
Heritage Foundation Socialism - Socialise the costs and privatise the profits.

Today at the All Spin Zone comes news of the British abadoning their base in Maysan province to transition in to a homeless insurgent hunting unit.

First thought: Isn't Maysan supposed to be one of the stable, quiet provinces?

Second thought: So the “hunker down til things simmer down” approach isn't working. Things are heating up, not simmering down.

Third thought: Is this some excuse to carry out a provocative action on the Iranian border to create an excuse to attack Iran?

Speaking of Iran, it seems the wingnuts have gone in to overdrive in a pre-Labour Day push to bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran. From the Right Wing Nut House (as noted by Seeing The Forest and others) to Paste Eater Central (as noted by TBogg), the failure in Iraq has become a rallying cry of the need to start a new war with a new opportunity for the 82nd Chairborne to have someone else win one on their behalf.

On that note, Martini Republic beats a Dead PowerFool (or PowerSwine as we calls 'em). Refers to a UK think tank which states the painfully obvious that Iran has become more powerful and influential in the Middle East as a direct result of the incompetence of the Busheviks in Iraq.

Over at Think Progress discussion of Iran's statements versus India's statements on development of nuclear capabilities. There's also an important correction at the end.

UPDATE: Several commentators wrote in to say that Ahmadinejad’s quote does not actually translate into wiping Israel off the map. Juan Cole wrote, “This idiom does not exist in Persian, and that what Ahmadinejad actually said was, ‘This occupation regime over Jerusalem must vanish from the page of time.’”

Ain't it strange how translations performed by a politically motivated individual can warp things completely out of shape?

And finally on Iran over at TalkLeft you hear about Leslie "wolf" Blitzer on Iran.

I'm just tuning into today's news, and Wolf Blitzer on CNN reported that Israel has nuclear weapons and may decide to try and take Iran out even if it has to go it alone.

A reporter from the Jerusalem Post said he has heard this too but that there has been no official confirmation from Israeli officials.

Keep in mind that the Jerusalem Post is the wingnut favourite of Israel, being formerly one of Conrad Black's propaganda outlets and to the right of Rupert Murdoch's Fox Propaganda Channel. The Jerusalem Post is also the former employer for Leslie "wolf" Blitzer. The Jerusalem Post also runs a blog awards program that was well noted at Jesus' General as being "eliminationist" in tone and propping up the genocidal Little Green Raelians as being friends of the people of Israel.

As for wingnut media Avedon at the Sideshow catches up with the Moonie Times.

The last time I visited the Washington Times building, the people upstairs handed me a pamphlet for a mysterious Rev. Moon event to be held at the paper's ballroom. Headlined "Needed: A New Paradigm For News," it suggested a new world in which journalists should de-emphasize "facts" and become "guide dogs, not watch dogs."

Thank goodness for Dear Leader and the Busheviks that their core supporters have so little need for facts and are so willing to be blindly led.