Inside the Beltway

Wait, there’s more. Regulatory costs “tower” over the nation’s estimated 2010 individual income taxes of $936 billion by 87 percent - and absorb 11.9 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product. See other findings at the Institute’s site, http://cei.org.

MILE-HIGH KUNG FU

Something for the Department of Homeland Security and Federal Aviation Administration to monitor, perhaps. To deal with disruptive passengers and in-flight security emergencies, Hong Kong Airlines is now requiring cabin crews to take compulsory training in “wing chun,” a type of kung fu used in close-range combat. So says the South China Morning Post newspaper.

“After a few lessons, we really liked wing chun,” says Lumpy Tang, 22, a female flight attendant. “You cannot predict what will happen on the plane, so wing chun is good because it’s so fast. I feel safer because I can defend myself.”

OBAMA-SPEAK

“Easy” and “clear” are not the top buzzwords coming out of the White House speechwriter’s office.

The Texas-based Global Language Monitor has been monitoring President Obama’s favorite “sayings” when he is in official speech mode, since he was inaugurated more than two years ago. The tally, at the end of March: in first place, “Make no mistake” (said 2,924 times), followed by “win the future” (1,861 times), “here’s the deal”(1,450 times), “let me be clear” (1,066 times) and “it will not be easy” (1,059 times.)

POLL DU JOUR

• 73 percent of Americans believe the government “wastes a lot of their tax dollars.”

• 23 percent say it wastes “some” of the money; 4 percent say “not much” of the money.

• 50 percent of Americans say the tea party movement has a “positive effect on the country”; 43 percent say the effect is negative.

• 40 percent are “angry” about the amount of federal income tax they paid in 2010.

• 38 percent say they are “satisfied” with the amount; 21 percent say they have “no feeling” about it.

Source: A CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll of 824 U.S. adults conducted April 9 to 10.

• Buzzwords, trumped up charges, press releases to jharper@washingtontimes. com.

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