Democrats in the House may attempt to pass a tax increase this week. Which tax, though, remains uncertain.

"We have been open at the negotiating table to all possibilities: The income tax, raising the sales tax, a tax on services. I wish I could say we had a consensus on one," said House Majority Floor Leader Steve Tobocman, D-Detroit.

Lovely.

And what do taxpayers say in response?  According to the same article:

Ken Roeske of Saginaw countered that taxpayers like him will have to cut their own spending to keep state programs fully funded.

"Isn't it interesting how these groups don't want to make cuts in spending, but would rather have me make cuts in my household budget because of new taxes?" Roeske said.

Stop complaining Ken.  Thousands of bureaucrats are depending on you... just close your eyes, stick your hands in the air and they'll grab that wallet themselves.  That's the only constituency Andy Dillon and Jennifer Granholm seem interested in looking after these days.  Big government at any cost.  But didn't Granholm just win reelection running as a populist?  Saying she'd "stick up for" the little guy?  She'd just say no to service tax hikes too, right?  We all remember this shining moment from last fall's second debate with Dick DeVos:

You might remember this one too:

That was Jennifer Granholm's very first campaign commercial of 2006.  She's sticking up for the little guy.  She's fighting for YOU.  She's fighting for WEchigan against the evil gas companies and the federal government.  Umm... what changed between then and now?  Where's the great defender of the masses these days?  As the FREEP reports:

Gas price shock is being felt across Michigan, with indications some residents plan shorter trips than usual this Memorial Day weekend as average prices set another state record Monday: $3.42 a gallon.

"The places that we see being affected by these higher prices are like ... Traverse City, Sault Ste. Marie and Mackinac Island," said Angela Miller with AAA Michigan in downtown Detroit. "Some of our clients are choosing to stay closer to home, like Grand Rapids, the Toledo Zoo and even Canada..."

Michigan's gas prices are among the highest in the country, according to the Heathrow, Fla., offices of AAA. The national average at the pump is $3.20 a gallon.

If $3.42 is the average a lot of you folks are getting a better deal than I am.  I just filled up at $3.49 per gallon but that's neither here nor there.

Could it be that the commercials and all that tough talk was nothing more than that?  Talk?  Rhetoric?  Hot air?  Well, I don't see anymore fake petitions circulating on the internet... why would they?  She doesn't ever need to recruit campaign donors and volunteers again.

Meanwhile, Dr. Death, a man she's fought for and defended is about to head home, suddenly feeling much better and not quite as near death's door as the governor wants us to believe.  Even better, when he's out, the DetNews reports he'll be doing some speaking engagements and pulling down as much as $100,000 an appearance.  That's almost as much as President Bill Clinton.  Former President?  Bah, lightweight.  He's never been convicted of killing anyone (well, over 100 anyones).

Kevorkian, who turns 79 six days before his release, has spent more than eight years behind bars. In April 1999, he was imprisoned for 10-25 years for second-degree murder in the 1998 poisoning of Thomas Youk, a 52-year-old Waterford Township man with Lou Gehrig's disease.

Youk's death is one of 130 assisted suicides linked to Kevorkian, whose crusade for a person's right to commit suicide assisted by another rocked the medical and legal establishments in the 1990s...

While still fighting health problems, Kevorkian will live with friends at an undisclosed Metro Detroit location, Morganroth said. Morganroth said Kevorkian's health has improved in recent months.

Just another great mark on the Governor's track record with corrections.  Somehow she didn't learn her lesson from Patrick Selepak so she's letting another mass murderer out of jail early.  But I'm sure this is all the Republicans fault.  If they'd just vote for a tax increase she wouldn't have to let serial killers loose on the public.  $42 billion a year just isn't enough to keep them locked up.