So Bush dodges the question about whether he thinks the war in Iraq is a portent of Armaggedon - obviously. But here's what got me: what was he doing claiming he'd never heard of the idea before? "This is the first I've heard of it, by the way," he said. (Or, to quote accurately: "First I've heard of it, by the way." Not so big on the predicates.)

What kind of nonsense is that? This guy has Richard Land's number on speed dial. It's one thing for him to claim he doesn't believe the war in Iraq is a sign of the End Times. (Though in fact, he didn't claim that.) But it's ludicrous for him to claim he's never heard of the notion - as ludicrous as it would be for him to claim not to have heard of Intelligent Design, or of the idea that cutting taxes increases revenues, or of the University of Texas Longhorns. This idea is a mainstay of his political base. Who on earth is going to believe that he's never heard of it? Doesn't the religious right get outraged at this kind of transparently false repudiation? It's bad enough to be left at the altar, but when your fiance claims he never even met you...!

This ought to be George W. Bush's "I didn't inhale" moment - a moment of transparent evasion and pandering to the center that fools no one. "First I've heard of it, by the way"; it's the leitmotif of the guy's whole existence.

Since the timehonored notion of funding government by taxing citizens has at last been tossed onto the ashheap of history by today's GOP, without actually having figured out how else to fund government or how to dispense with any of its functions or reduce its expenses, I thought I would brainstorm a few ideas.

1. Luxury cabins on the USS Ronald Reagan. Charge billionaires $1 million per night  for a deluxe stateroom on the US Navy's latest nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, so they can observe firsthand as America's troops deploy to the Persian Gulf to do their bidding (keep the oil flowing through US petro corporations, protect the shaky kingdoms of sheikhs who invest large amounts in US equities, and so forth). Who's the real commander, anyway? Some pesky admiral? Or the talented CEOs who issue his marching orders?

 2. Billionaire Russian Roulette. How would you like to win a trillion dollars? Then come play the biggest-stakes lottery of them all - Billionaire Russian Roulette! The stakes aren't for just anybody: it's a billion dollars a ticket in this sweepstakes, so you'll be competing against your peers in the elite of society. If you don't win, of course, you'll be bankrupt. But that's the fun of it! Have you got the balls to play? Sponsored by the US Treasury. (Note: assuming a modest 50% profit over payouts, this one could enable the US treasury to pay off as much as 6% of the national debt!)

That's just a couple to get started. Anybody else have any ideas?