Framing...

A hot topic on the left these days is how debates can be and are framed to the advantage of one side by what language is used. Here's a dandy example from the Washington Post for Friday:

The U.S. Congress Friday reinstated a ban on Internet access taxes after the House agreed to extend it for another three years rather than make it permanent.

As Congress neared adjournment for the year, the House passed by voice vote a Senate bill that prevents state and local governments from taxing the monthly fees Internet providers like EarthLink Inc. charge their customers.

The Bush administration is expected to sign it into law.

The ban, in place since 1998, expired one year ago amid dire predictions that tax-happy states could choke the growth of the Internet.

Say again? "Tax-happy" states? Considering how many of those states are cutting services, shuttering libraries, closing fire stations, laying off teachers, putting off needed road and bridge repairs, and on and on, wouldn't "cash-strapped" states or "fiscally-burdened" states or "financially-struggling" states be both more apt and more accurate? Tax-happy?