I don't know who to take less seriously, Grover Norquist or Robert Novak. Oftentimes, they agree, and appear equally ridiculous. But when they disagree -- or merely get their signals crossed -- it's not only amusing for its own sake, but allows for a comparative assessment of their analytic genius. Last week, we noted Mr. Norquist's rap against Rangel that the House Ways & Means chair "created, fed, defended ... a monster," the Alternative Minimum Tax. Norquist incoherently tries to depict Rangel as an AMT-loving Frankenstein, "defending [the] monster he helped create."

At Womenstake, Christina Martin-Firvada reports on how the GOP is finding that tax cuts are going out of style. In case you do not follow this sort of thing, it's Fashion Week in New York,that magical time twice yearly when vanity wrestles good sense to the ground and hogties it to the latest impossible trend. (How do you feel about shoes designed to look too small?).

In his story on last week's House Ways & Means Committee hearing on the carried interest tax loophole, "More Opposed to Equity Tax Plan,"More Opposed to Equity Tax Plan," Washington Post reporter Jeffrey Birnbaum misstates some key facts and mischaracterizes others. [Incidentally, the Post editors almost got the headline right. "More Opposed to Equity Tax Plan" implies the plan is a tax on equity, which it is not. "More Opposed to Tax Equity Plan," would be much more accurate, but it would highlight the weakness of the position.]