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A conservative umbrella group called “Tea Party Patriots” unveiled its Contract From America today, composed of items that were the top ten vote getters from their members. Here’s my favorite:

4. Enact Fundamental Tax Reform

Adopt a simple and fair single-rate tax system by scrapping the internal revenue code and replacing it with one that is no longer than 4,543 words — the length of the original Constitution. (64.90%)

I have to admit that I like the symbolism of the 4,543 word limit, but what I’d love is to see one of these geniuses actually write a modern tax code that length. And when they’re done, I’d like them to build a 747 using instructions no longer than those used to build the USS Constitution.

And that’s that. With this little bit of snark I’ve gotten through Tax Day without writing a single post about tax rates, tax shares, income tax vs. all federal taxes, who does and doesn’t pay taxes, whether people know how much they pay, or anything else related to the barrage of tax nonsense that assaults us annually on this day. Can’t we just celebrate the birth of Leonardo da Vinci instead?

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DONALD TRUMP & DEMOCRACY

Mother Jones was founded to do journalism differently. We stand for justice and democracy. We reject false equivalence. We go after stories others don’t. We’re a nonprofit newsroom, because the kind of truth-telling investigations we do doesn’t happen under corporate ownership.

And we need your support like never before, to fight back against the existential threats American democracy faces. Fundraising for nonprofit media is always a challenge, and we need all hands on deck right now. We have no cushion; we leave it all on the field.

It’s reader support that enables Mother Jones to report the facts that are too difficult, expensive, or inconvenient for other news outlets to uncover. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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