Wandered into the Germantown Tea Party about 10:15, and had to skedaddle by around 11:30.
At my arrival, there were about 100 folks there, listening to a boomer-voice speaker who was pretty good, considering the oratory was off-the-cuff.
By the time I left, the crowd had grown to around 200 or so and speech-i-fi-cation was still going strong, but not quite as compelling.
Saw Phel, which is always very pleasant.
Based on what I observed, Levin's book will move up another few notches on the NYT Best-seller list soon.
Saturday, July 04, 2009
Actual Reporting from Honduras
Despite rumors to the contrary, the blogs actually DO provide news reports.
Here's a telling snip from Honduras Abandoned.
Number of Protesters for the New Government:
Tegucigalpa - 55,000
Choluteca - 25,000
San Pedro Sula - 50,000
Number of Protesters against the New Government:
Tegucigalpa - 3,000
Take that and stuff it, AssPress.
HT: The Winning McCain
Here's a telling snip from Honduras Abandoned.
Number of Protesters for the New Government:
Tegucigalpa - 55,000
Choluteca - 25,000
San Pedro Sula - 50,000
Number of Protesters against the New Government:
Tegucigalpa - 3,000
Take that and stuff it, AssPress.
HT: The Winning McCain
AssPress Language Manipulation
PRChina is not leading the "human rights" parade. The Associated Press (AssPress) colludes with PRC's boyzzz...
AP describes "Green Dam Youth Escort" software as "a filtering program."
Sure. Here's what the "filtering program" can do:
...the software is capable of blocking politically sensitive websites, filtering out content based on a list of keywords, recording keystrokes and passwords, taking screenshots every 3 minutes, and recording all of the websites visited along with all of the user’s other internet activity.
...Green Dam gives the regime the ability to tighten its control by collecting personal information and secretly sending it to a central database, while strengthening the regime’s ability to censor the internet. The collected information could then be used to persecute dissidents.
And Hurricane Katrina was a 'high-wind event.'
AP describes "Green Dam Youth Escort" software as "a filtering program."
Sure. Here's what the "filtering program" can do:
...the software is capable of blocking politically sensitive websites, filtering out content based on a list of keywords, recording keystrokes and passwords, taking screenshots every 3 minutes, and recording all of the websites visited along with all of the user’s other internet activity.
...Green Dam gives the regime the ability to tighten its control by collecting personal information and secretly sending it to a central database, while strengthening the regime’s ability to censor the internet. The collected information could then be used to persecute dissidents.
And Hurricane Katrina was a 'high-wind event.'
Legal Targets
Beyond parody.
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder says a homosexual activist who is attacked following a Christian minister's sermon about homosexuality would be protected by a proposed new federal law, but a minister attacked by a homosexual wouldn't be.
That's "civil rights" in the land of Crazy Ted Kennedy and BarryO.
HT: MoonBattery
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder says a homosexual activist who is attacked following a Christian minister's sermon about homosexuality would be protected by a proposed new federal law, but a minister attacked by a homosexual wouldn't be.
That's "civil rights" in the land of Crazy Ted Kennedy and BarryO.
HT: MoonBattery
Daniel Ortega: True to Chavez-Form
Well, well.
Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega and the Sandinista-controlled Supreme Electoral Council (CSE) stand accused of rigging last year's municipal elections to steal more than 40 mayor's seats – including the capital city of Managua.
And if you don't like Ortega & Co.??
Last week, 30 armed men in civilian clothing raided, shut down, and confiscated all the equipment of a small radio station whose owner is affiliated with an opposition political movement.
Ortega, Chavez, the Castros, and Obama are all "very concerned" about the removal of the Honduran criminal President.
Nice company, Barry.
Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega and the Sandinista-controlled Supreme Electoral Council (CSE) stand accused of rigging last year's municipal elections to steal more than 40 mayor's seats – including the capital city of Managua.
And if you don't like Ortega & Co.??
Last week, 30 armed men in civilian clothing raided, shut down, and confiscated all the equipment of a small radio station whose owner is affiliated with an opposition political movement.
Ortega, Chavez, the Castros, and Obama are all "very concerned" about the removal of the Honduran criminal President.
Nice company, Barry.
Friday, July 03, 2009
Doyle To Reverse Policies?
Well, here's what the State Sec/Revenue has to say:
"While a slow recovery is expected to begin next year, we must remain focused on creating and retaining jobs and moving the state toward a path of economic growth," state Revenue Secretary Roger Ervin said in a statement.
That would be a full reverse of Doyle's 6-year track record.
"While a slow recovery is expected to begin next year, we must remain focused on creating and retaining jobs and moving the state toward a path of economic growth," state Revenue Secretary Roger Ervin said in a statement.
That would be a full reverse of Doyle's 6-year track record.
Dear Leader Obama Is Hurt!
Gad. We've heard about his sensitivity to criticism, but now he's manipulating around history?
The president complained about pro-lifers "who keep on anticipating the worst from us," according to the write-up in CNS. He doesn't consider their attitude justified, since "it's not based on anything I've said or done, but is rather just a perception, somehow, that we have some hard-line agenda that we're seeking to push."
I wonder if any of the journalists present were allowed to follow up with a question about whether the president expects Americans to forget everything he did and said prior to being elected president. Someone also might have asked whether we should forget his quick decision to end the Mexico City Policy and his selection of pro-abortion Catholics to crucial administration positions.
Since each journalist present was only allowed ONE question, there could be no followups.
What a maroon this Obama really is...
HT: Inside
The president complained about pro-lifers "who keep on anticipating the worst from us," according to the write-up in CNS. He doesn't consider their attitude justified, since "it's not based on anything I've said or done, but is rather just a perception, somehow, that we have some hard-line agenda that we're seeking to push."
I wonder if any of the journalists present were allowed to follow up with a question about whether the president expects Americans to forget everything he did and said prior to being elected president. Someone also might have asked whether we should forget his quick decision to end the Mexico City Policy and his selection of pro-abortion Catholics to crucial administration positions.
Since each journalist present was only allowed ONE question, there could be no followups.
What a maroon this Obama really is...
HT: Inside
How Barrett Can Reduce Crime
Actually, it's 'how Barrett may have already reduced crime.'
I have never been a great fan of Rudy Giuliani but when he was mayor of New York…despite all his failings…he became idolized by whites as a tough law-and-order mayor. Last year when he was in town, I asked him his impression of Richard M. Daley’s record on crime and murder. He told me not to quote him directly…and I didn’t since I was holding a drink not a pad and paper.., but his response went something like this: There’s one thing you must do if you want to cut down homicides-and it is this: You have to back the cops. When the ACLU comes around and tries to persecute them…and I mean persecute…you gotta stand up for the cops. The police respect that and will bust their [scatological term] for you and the crime goes down.
My observation is that there is a kind of ACLU mentality dominant in his city hall. You know why: liberals feel any action the police take is “brutality.” If you stand with the goo-goos the cops will know it and sit on their hands. Well I didn’t and we cleaned up New York. Depends on what is more important to you, make friends with the goo-goo’s or get things done for the city.
Barrett has made it pretty clear that Flynn's his man---and Flynn has made it very clear that he will back up his cops when the rubber meets the road.
Roeser
I have never been a great fan of Rudy Giuliani but when he was mayor of New York…despite all his failings…he became idolized by whites as a tough law-and-order mayor. Last year when he was in town, I asked him his impression of Richard M. Daley’s record on crime and murder. He told me not to quote him directly…and I didn’t since I was holding a drink not a pad and paper.., but his response went something like this: There’s one thing you must do if you want to cut down homicides-and it is this: You have to back the cops. When the ACLU comes around and tries to persecute them…and I mean persecute…you gotta stand up for the cops. The police respect that and will bust their [scatological term] for you and the crime goes down.
My observation is that there is a kind of ACLU mentality dominant in his city hall. You know why: liberals feel any action the police take is “brutality.” If you stand with the goo-goos the cops will know it and sit on their hands. Well I didn’t and we cleaned up New York. Depends on what is more important to you, make friends with the goo-goo’s or get things done for the city.
Barrett has made it pretty clear that Flynn's his man---and Flynn has made it very clear that he will back up his cops when the rubber meets the road.
Roeser
Actuosa Participatio
Bp. Vasa:
Our secular age certainly recognizes and praises “activity” and liturgical “activity” has been presumed to be the same as “active participation” and this is not necessarily so. In the training video for lectors and acolytes this active participation is divided into that activity which is from the neck down and that which is from the neck up. There has been a great increase in the neck down form of participation and this is not necessarily bad but the real goal is for greater “neck up” activity throughout the whole of the Holy Sacrifice on the part of all in the congregation. This is a much greater challenge.
Hear, hear!
Our secular age certainly recognizes and praises “activity” and liturgical “activity” has been presumed to be the same as “active participation” and this is not necessarily so. In the training video for lectors and acolytes this active participation is divided into that activity which is from the neck down and that which is from the neck up. There has been a great increase in the neck down form of participation and this is not necessarily bad but the real goal is for greater “neck up” activity throughout the whole of the Holy Sacrifice on the part of all in the congregation. This is a much greater challenge.
Hear, hear!
Cost-of-Gummint Day
"Cost of Government Day" will be postponed this year.
Last year, you finished paying for the Gummint(s) around July 5th.
This year, due to "Porkulus" and Bailouts, the payoff date will be August 9th--or maybe August 19th.
You don't WANT to know what Dear Leader Obama's proposed budget will do to COGD for next year, do you?
HT: Kevin
WOLVERINES!!
Last year, you finished paying for the Gummint(s) around July 5th.
This year, due to "Porkulus" and Bailouts, the payoff date will be August 9th--or maybe August 19th.
You don't WANT to know what Dear Leader Obama's proposed budget will do to COGD for next year, do you?
HT: Kevin
WOLVERINES!!
"Spend More Money"? It Doesn't WORK!!
Ummmnnnhhhhh.....for the history-disabled among you, those were HOOVER'S budgets which cranked up the Federal Spending Machine, not FDR's.
And by gosh, by golly--it didn't work (can you read this, Struppster?)
HT: Vox
Honduras ConLaw: Zelaya Is a Crook
The author, a Honduran attorney, cites the actual text of the Honduran Constitution--making Obama into a fool, if not a knave. After all, Obama is reputedly a ConLaw lecturer, or something, right?
...When Zelaya published that decree to initiate an "opinion poll" about the possibility of convening a national assembly, he contravened the unchangeable articles of the Constitution that deal with the prohibition of reelecting a president and of extending his term. His actions showed intent.
Our Constitution takes such intent seriously. According to Article 239: "No citizen who has already served as head of the Executive Branch can be President or Vice-President. Whoever violates this law or proposes its reform [emphasis added], as well as those that support such violation directly or indirectly, will immediately cease in their functions and will be unable to hold any public office for a period of 10 years."
Notice that the article speaks about intent and that it also says "immediately" – as in "instant," as in "no trial required," as in "no impeachment needed."
Perhaps Obama should add a "Spanish-Language Czar" to his staff. You know--someone who can read ConLaw in Spanish...
...When Zelaya published that decree to initiate an "opinion poll" about the possibility of convening a national assembly, he contravened the unchangeable articles of the Constitution that deal with the prohibition of reelecting a president and of extending his term. His actions showed intent.
Our Constitution takes such intent seriously. According to Article 239: "No citizen who has already served as head of the Executive Branch can be President or Vice-President. Whoever violates this law or proposes its reform [emphasis added], as well as those that support such violation directly or indirectly, will immediately cease in their functions and will be unable to hold any public office for a period of 10 years."
Notice that the article speaks about intent and that it also says "immediately" – as in "instant," as in "no trial required," as in "no impeachment needed."
Perhaps Obama should add a "Spanish-Language Czar" to his staff. You know--someone who can read ConLaw in Spanish...
McBride/Flynn: Overplayed by Bice
The Warrior writes what may be the definitive post-mortem, and demonstrates that Bice was very careful about what text he extrapolated from McBride's emails.
To me, this whole thing is gossip, not "news." But it's clear that 'journoethics' have a long way to go in this town.
To me, this whole thing is gossip, not "news." But it's clear that 'journoethics' have a long way to go in this town.
Honduras Perspective
From a guy who covered Honduras for many years, the important takeaway:
Zelaya's ouster is the first clear sign that there will be a reaction against the abuses and excesses of the Bolivarian model of radical populism, megalomania and violence, often called "popular democracy" and described as 21st Century socialism. The concern of Chávez and his allies have for Zelaya has much more to do with a fear that the reaction against them will grow than it does with any commitment to democracy. A successful removal of Zelaya could be a model for their own demise.
It's not about Honduras. It's all about them: Castros, Chavez, Ortego, and Morales.
There's also a discussion of the IslamoTerrorist links.
HT: CounterTerrorismBlog
Zelaya's ouster is the first clear sign that there will be a reaction against the abuses and excesses of the Bolivarian model of radical populism, megalomania and violence, often called "popular democracy" and described as 21st Century socialism. The concern of Chávez and his allies have for Zelaya has much more to do with a fear that the reaction against them will grow than it does with any commitment to democracy. A successful removal of Zelaya could be a model for their own demise.
It's not about Honduras. It's all about them: Castros, Chavez, Ortego, and Morales.
There's also a discussion of the IslamoTerrorist links.
HT: CounterTerrorismBlog
Humor Break--Taliban Edition
Stolen from Cramer.
The US troops in Afghanistan proved they have retained their sense of humor. One of them sent this. "YOU MAY BE TALIBAN IF ..."
1. You refine heroin for a living but you have a moral objection to beer.
2. You own a $3,000 machine gun and $5,000 rocket launcher but you can't afford shoes.
3. You have more wives than teeth.
4. You wipe your butt with your bare hand but consider bacon "unclean."
5. You think vests come in two styles: bullet-proof and suicide.
6. You can't think of anyone you haven't declared Jihad against.
7. You consider television dangerous but routinely carry explosives in your clothing.
8. You were amazed to discover that cell phones have uses other than setting off roadside bombs.
9. You have nothing against women and think every man should own at least one.
10. You've always had a crush on your neighbor's goat.
This may be updated...
The US troops in Afghanistan proved they have retained their sense of humor. One of them sent this. "YOU MAY BE TALIBAN IF ..."
1. You refine heroin for a living but you have a moral objection to beer.
2. You own a $3,000 machine gun and $5,000 rocket launcher but you can't afford shoes.
3. You have more wives than teeth.
4. You wipe your butt with your bare hand but consider bacon "unclean."
5. You think vests come in two styles: bullet-proof and suicide.
6. You can't think of anyone you haven't declared Jihad against.
7. You consider television dangerous but routinely carry explosives in your clothing.
8. You were amazed to discover that cell phones have uses other than setting off roadside bombs.
9. You have nothing against women and think every man should own at least one.
10. You've always had a crush on your neighbor's goat.
This may be updated...
Everywhere a CzarCzar
The proliferation of Czars tells us either:
1) Obama has zero management skills; or
2) He has zero management skills AND he intends to subvert the Cabinet.
By our count there are at least 31 active Czars (see our list here), giving the current administration more Czars than Imperial Russia had in its history. We have a Mideast Peace Czar and a Mideast Policy Czar, a Sudan Czar and a Guantanamo Closure Czar. There’s a Green Jobs Czar, a Pay Czar and an Energy Czar, an Urban Affairs Czar, Technology Czar, and even a Great Lakes Czar. Thankfully, there’s also an Information Czar.
Clearly there is a place for the Czar function. When you are trying to manage large new initiatives (such as those managed by the Climate Czar and Health Care Czar) these White House-based positions can make sense. Similarly, when crisis situations develop (TARP Czar, Stimulus Accountability Czar) such positions may make sense on a temporary basis. But others, like the Drug Czar, have been in place through several administrations with a spotty track record.
These are White House slots--meaning the WH expense account is a "stimulus" all unto itself.
1) Obama has zero management skills; or
2) He has zero management skills AND he intends to subvert the Cabinet.
By our count there are at least 31 active Czars (see our list here), giving the current administration more Czars than Imperial Russia had in its history. We have a Mideast Peace Czar and a Mideast Policy Czar, a Sudan Czar and a Guantanamo Closure Czar. There’s a Green Jobs Czar, a Pay Czar and an Energy Czar, an Urban Affairs Czar, Technology Czar, and even a Great Lakes Czar. Thankfully, there’s also an Information Czar.
Clearly there is a place for the Czar function. When you are trying to manage large new initiatives (such as those managed by the Climate Czar and Health Care Czar) these White House-based positions can make sense. Similarly, when crisis situations develop (TARP Czar, Stimulus Accountability Czar) such positions may make sense on a temporary basis. But others, like the Drug Czar, have been in place through several administrations with a spotty track record.
These are White House slots--meaning the WH expense account is a "stimulus" all unto itself.
Health Czarina Has Questionable Associations
Remember Sarbanes-Oxley, the legislation which puts corporate Board members on the hot seat beginning around 2003?
Yah, well, bear that in mind as you review the record of Nancy-Ann DeParle, the 'czarina of health' for Obama.
Nancy-Ann DeParle, President Barack Obama’s health policy czar, served as a director of corporations that faced scores of federal investigations, whistleblower lawsuits and other regulatory actions, according to government records
...Several of the companies were investigated for alleged kickbacks or engaging in other illegal billing schemes, while others were accused of serious violations of federal quality standards, including one company that failed to warn patients of deadly problems with an implanted heart defibrillator
There's even a "local interest" name here!
Boston Scientific Corp. reported to the SEC that it received five state or federal subpoenas during 2008, including ones from the Justice Department and Health and Human Services, which oversees the Medicare agency. In addition, Defense Department criminal investigators are looking into the company’s “marketing interactions” with doctors at a U.S. Army hospital in Tacoma, Wash.
She's just the gal for the post!
Yah, well, bear that in mind as you review the record of Nancy-Ann DeParle, the 'czarina of health' for Obama.
Nancy-Ann DeParle, President Barack Obama’s health policy czar, served as a director of corporations that faced scores of federal investigations, whistleblower lawsuits and other regulatory actions, according to government records
...Several of the companies were investigated for alleged kickbacks or engaging in other illegal billing schemes, while others were accused of serious violations of federal quality standards, including one company that failed to warn patients of deadly problems with an implanted heart defibrillator
There's even a "local interest" name here!
Boston Scientific Corp. reported to the SEC that it received five state or federal subpoenas during 2008, including ones from the Justice Department and Health and Human Services, which oversees the Medicare agency. In addition, Defense Department criminal investigators are looking into the company’s “marketing interactions” with doctors at a U.S. Army hospital in Tacoma, Wash.
She's just the gal for the post!
"Abortion Everywhere!!" --Obama Admin
Not that anyone is surprised.
At United Nations headquarters this week, the Obama administration continued its push for ever increasing access to legal abortion around the world. The Obama team has introduced language that has thrown a high level negotiation into a roil. The US proposal calls for “universal access” to “sexual and reproductive health services including universal access to family planning.” The document under consideration will culminate in the 2009 Annual Ministerial Review, which convenes next week in Geneva.
So controversial is the topic of “services” in the context of “reproductive health” that the usually impenetrable negotiating bloc of the 27 member European Union has imploded with Malta, Poland and Ireland splitting from their allies and joining the Holy See in opposing the measure.
Typically, the Muslim states also oppose this language.
Should make Obama's visit with the Pope kinda.........ahhhh.........cool, if not frosty.
At United Nations headquarters this week, the Obama administration continued its push for ever increasing access to legal abortion around the world. The Obama team has introduced language that has thrown a high level negotiation into a roil. The US proposal calls for “universal access” to “sexual and reproductive health services including universal access to family planning.” The document under consideration will culminate in the 2009 Annual Ministerial Review, which convenes next week in Geneva.
So controversial is the topic of “services” in the context of “reproductive health” that the usually impenetrable negotiating bloc of the 27 member European Union has imploded with Malta, Poland and Ireland splitting from their allies and joining the Holy See in opposing the measure.
Typically, the Muslim states also oppose this language.
Should make Obama's visit with the Pope kinda.........ahhhh.........cool, if not frosty.
Thursday, July 02, 2009
Seven Banks Go Down Today
Seven banks (all small) went buh-bye today. Six of them were in Illinois.
Total for the year: 52.
There is a death-watch on Guaranty Bank of Houston, TX., and on Corus Bank of Chicago.
Total for the year: 52.
There is a death-watch on Guaranty Bank of Houston, TX., and on Corus Bank of Chicago.
What the Polls ACTUALLY Say About Health Plans
Well, peel back the layer of pretty-smelling goop the Left put on the WaPo-ABC poll, and you get reality. And the reality is something like "up your a%% with THAT idea."
...this Washington Post-ABC News poll shows somewhat broad support for some kind of public option. At first blush, 62% of those polled support some kind of public plan. However, only 21% would support such a plan being run by the government (41% would prefer it to be run by some independent organization)
...And this level of support falls precipitously when respondents are asked to consider the hypothetical situation of this public plan driving many private insurers out of business, which many of the supporters of the public plan say it would do. Under that situation, public support plummets, from 62% to 37%. Opposition to the public plan climbs from 33% to 58%.
That "public option" thing? When it gets jammed through, it may cause a bit of trouble with the angered peasantry. You know--pols will not be able to appear in public due to tomato-rainstorms, egg-hail, stuff like that.
HT: Riehl
...this Washington Post-ABC News poll shows somewhat broad support for some kind of public option. At first blush, 62% of those polled support some kind of public plan. However, only 21% would support such a plan being run by the government (41% would prefer it to be run by some independent organization)
...And this level of support falls precipitously when respondents are asked to consider the hypothetical situation of this public plan driving many private insurers out of business, which many of the supporters of the public plan say it would do. Under that situation, public support plummets, from 62% to 37%. Opposition to the public plan climbs from 33% to 58%.
That "public option" thing? When it gets jammed through, it may cause a bit of trouble with the angered peasantry. You know--pols will not be able to appear in public due to tomato-rainstorms, egg-hail, stuff like that.
HT: Riehl
SmackDown! In Connecticut
Heh.
...The state of Connecticut's efforts to go after the diocese of Bridgeport have fallen into the category of EPIC FAIL once again. The state Attorney General just called on the Office of State Ethics to stop attacking the Church.
The Attorney General stated today that Connecticut should drop their efforts to force the Diocese of Bridgeport to register as a lobbyist because "[t]here is no denying the profound and serious constitutional concerns in enforcing the lobbyist registration laws against the Church under these circumstances."
Somebody in the CT "ethics" office should be ....ah........reassigned.
HT: CMR
...The state of Connecticut's efforts to go after the diocese of Bridgeport have fallen into the category of EPIC FAIL once again. The state Attorney General just called on the Office of State Ethics to stop attacking the Church.
The Attorney General stated today that Connecticut should drop their efforts to force the Diocese of Bridgeport to register as a lobbyist because "[t]here is no denying the profound and serious constitutional concerns in enforcing the lobbyist registration laws against the Church under these circumstances."
Somebody in the CT "ethics" office should be ....ah........reassigned.
HT: CMR
The Tragedy of Helen Thomas
Helen's tragedy is that her time on Earth may be too limited...
"Revenge is a dish best served cold" goes the old saying--with good reason.
Now that even Helen Thomas, a Lefty Extraordinaire, has figured out that Obama & Co. are dishonest, lying, obfuscating, dissembling, cretins, you can rest assured that she will find ways to take her revenge.
But Helen has been covering the White House since John Wilkes Booth assured the country of a successor to Lincoln (Sykes, just a pup, was wrong when he said "Taft.")
Let's hope that Helen has time to chill the dish.
"Revenge is a dish best served cold" goes the old saying--with good reason.
Now that even Helen Thomas, a Lefty Extraordinaire, has figured out that Obama & Co. are dishonest, lying, obfuscating, dissembling, cretins, you can rest assured that she will find ways to take her revenge.
But Helen has been covering the White House since John Wilkes Booth assured the country of a successor to Lincoln (Sykes, just a pup, was wrong when he said "Taft.")
Let's hope that Helen has time to chill the dish.
Keep Your Eyes on the SIGTARP Ball
McCain, who actually knows reporting, offers some insights.
...According to my sources, Amtrak IG Fred Wiederhold decided on his own to retire, during a meeting where he presented the report from Willkie, Farr & Gallagher.
As the situation was described to me, the hostile reaction at the June 18 meeting convinced Wiederhold that Amtrak was going to continue its interference with the IG's office. So he decided to retire rather than continue butting his head against the wall.
There will be more, of course, on the Amtrak situation, because Wiederhold's subordinates in the IG Office at Amtrak will be subpoenaed by Grassley in the Senate.
But that's not the one to watch.
...of the four IG probes now underway, the "SIGTARP" case -- involving Neil Barofsky, who's still on the job as special inspector general for the TARP bailout -- probably presents the most explosive potential.
Barofsky has been scratching around on the AIG bonuses, and he's already reported that there has been all kinds of waste, fraud and abuse with the TARP bailout. As Dan Reihl was one of the first to notice, if you read between the lines, there seems to be some suspicion directed toward Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.
It's clear to me that Geithner is a chipmunk in a large-mammal fight club. He's going to lose. But what happens during that scrap will be extremely interesting.
...According to my sources, Amtrak IG Fred Wiederhold decided on his own to retire, during a meeting where he presented the report from Willkie, Farr & Gallagher.
As the situation was described to me, the hostile reaction at the June 18 meeting convinced Wiederhold that Amtrak was going to continue its interference with the IG's office. So he decided to retire rather than continue butting his head against the wall.
There will be more, of course, on the Amtrak situation, because Wiederhold's subordinates in the IG Office at Amtrak will be subpoenaed by Grassley in the Senate.
But that's not the one to watch.
...of the four IG probes now underway, the "SIGTARP" case -- involving Neil Barofsky, who's still on the job as special inspector general for the TARP bailout -- probably presents the most explosive potential.
Barofsky has been scratching around on the AIG bonuses, and he's already reported that there has been all kinds of waste, fraud and abuse with the TARP bailout. As Dan Reihl was one of the first to notice, if you read between the lines, there seems to be some suspicion directed toward Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.
It's clear to me that Geithner is a chipmunk in a large-mammal fight club. He's going to lose. But what happens during that scrap will be extremely interesting.
Want "Stimulus?" See Oshkosh
Real, honest, economic stimulus.
Oshkosh Corp. won't be the only local company that adds new jobs in the wake of a $1 billion contract to supply the U.S. military with the next generation of mine-resistant all-terrain vehicles.
Oshkosh CEO Robert Bohn said the company expects to add significantly to its employment ranks as they ramp up production of the M-ATV to meet a deadline early next year for delivery of 2,244 of the vehicles.
Parts suppliers and sub-contractors throughout Oshkosh and the Fox Valley region, many with existing relationships with Oshkosh Corp., are optimistic that some of the work will spill over to their companies as well.
Put the money into the private sector.
NOT into Gummints.
HT: FoxPolitics
Oshkosh Corp. won't be the only local company that adds new jobs in the wake of a $1 billion contract to supply the U.S. military with the next generation of mine-resistant all-terrain vehicles.
Oshkosh CEO Robert Bohn said the company expects to add significantly to its employment ranks as they ramp up production of the M-ATV to meet a deadline early next year for delivery of 2,244 of the vehicles.
Parts suppliers and sub-contractors throughout Oshkosh and the Fox Valley region, many with existing relationships with Oshkosh Corp., are optimistic that some of the work will spill over to their companies as well.
Put the money into the private sector.
NOT into Gummints.
HT: FoxPolitics
Why Doyle Killed the Sales Tax
There's a good reason that Jimbo Doyle killed the Milwaukee County sales-tax idea.
Scott Walker says that Doyle killed it because Doyle wants to run again for Governor and cannot alienate Milwaukee County taxpayers by authorizing a new tax.
Maybe.
But Lee Holloway finds a better reason for Doyle's action:
Transit funding will likely suffer major cuts next year because of a shortfall in other funding sources, which will force further cuts in service, Holloway said.
Doyle's stooges will point to the MCTS as another example of 'failed management' by Walker, no matter the facts or circumstances.
HT: Headless
Scott Walker says that Doyle killed it because Doyle wants to run again for Governor and cannot alienate Milwaukee County taxpayers by authorizing a new tax.
Maybe.
But Lee Holloway finds a better reason for Doyle's action:
Transit funding will likely suffer major cuts next year because of a shortfall in other funding sources, which will force further cuts in service, Holloway said.
Doyle's stooges will point to the MCTS as another example of 'failed management' by Walker, no matter the facts or circumstances.
HT: Headless
This Is "Legal Education"?
The Warrior shows us how mythology, dissembling, and poppycock become "fact."
Christina Hoff Sommers, [emailed] sent to Berkeley feminist professor Nancy K.D. Lemon pointing out factual errors in her (unfortunately) widely used textbook [Domestic Violence Law]. (People actually pay money for this book--and then study it for law education??)
Myth:
The history of women's abuse began over 2,700 years ago in the year 753 BC. It was during the reign of Romulus of Rome that wife abuse was accepted and condoned under the Laws of Chastisement. ... The laws permitted a man to beat his wife with a rod or switch so long as its circumference was no greater than the girth of the base of the man's right thumb. The law became commonly know as 'The Rule of Thumb.' These laws established a tradition which was perpetuated in English Common Law in most of Europe.
Fact:
Romulus of Rome never existed. He is a figure in Roman mythology — the son of Mars, nursed by a wolf. Problem 2: The phrase "rule of thumb" did not originate with any law about wife beating, nor has anyone ever been able to locate any such law. It is now widely regarded as a myth, even among feminist professors.
This is the same crap that the FemiNazis push about the Catholic Church having 'ordained deaconesses'--just make it up and hope no one notices that it's pure crap.
Plenty more at the link!
Christina Hoff Sommers, [emailed] sent to Berkeley feminist professor Nancy K.D. Lemon pointing out factual errors in her (unfortunately) widely used textbook [Domestic Violence Law]. (People actually pay money for this book--and then study it for law education??)
Myth:
The history of women's abuse began over 2,700 years ago in the year 753 BC. It was during the reign of Romulus of Rome that wife abuse was accepted and condoned under the Laws of Chastisement. ... The laws permitted a man to beat his wife with a rod or switch so long as its circumference was no greater than the girth of the base of the man's right thumb. The law became commonly know as 'The Rule of Thumb.' These laws established a tradition which was perpetuated in English Common Law in most of Europe.
Fact:
Romulus of Rome never existed. He is a figure in Roman mythology — the son of Mars, nursed by a wolf. Problem 2: The phrase "rule of thumb" did not originate with any law about wife beating, nor has anyone ever been able to locate any such law. It is now widely regarded as a myth, even among feminist professors.
This is the same crap that the FemiNazis push about the Catholic Church having 'ordained deaconesses'--just make it up and hope no one notices that it's pure crap.
Plenty more at the link!
Kennedy's Government Health Plan--He's Kidding, Right?
Ted Kennedy, who wrote enabling legislation for HMO's and the legislation which currently prevents purchase of health insurance 'across State lines' has another really bright idea.
It's also completely unbelievable.
The proposal calls for a $750 annual fee on employers for each full-time worker not offered coverage through their job. The fee would be set at $375 for part-time workers. Companies with fewer than 25 employees would be exempt.
The fee was forecast to generate $52 billion over 10 years, money the government would use to help provide subsidies to those who cannot afford insurance. The same provision is also estimated to greatly reduce the number of workers whose employers would drop coverage, thus addressing a major concern noted by CBO when it reviewed the earlier proposals.
Lemme see, heah, Gomer. XYZ Company now pays about $750/month (or more) to cover your family.
D'ya think XYZ Company will trade $9,000/year for $750/year in per-employee cost?
Kennedy (and Dodd) are outright BUYING the support of the Chamber of Commerce with this one. Buying support is not exactly new to Dodd (D-Bankers). And Kennedy just wants to get Gummint Health through, no matter what.
But how stupid do they think YOU are?
It's also completely unbelievable.
The proposal calls for a $750 annual fee on employers for each full-time worker not offered coverage through their job. The fee would be set at $375 for part-time workers. Companies with fewer than 25 employees would be exempt.
The fee was forecast to generate $52 billion over 10 years, money the government would use to help provide subsidies to those who cannot afford insurance. The same provision is also estimated to greatly reduce the number of workers whose employers would drop coverage, thus addressing a major concern noted by CBO when it reviewed the earlier proposals.
Lemme see, heah, Gomer. XYZ Company now pays about $750/month (or more) to cover your family.
D'ya think XYZ Company will trade $9,000/year for $750/year in per-employee cost?
Kennedy (and Dodd) are outright BUYING the support of the Chamber of Commerce with this one. Buying support is not exactly new to Dodd (D-Bankers). And Kennedy just wants to get Gummint Health through, no matter what.
But how stupid do they think YOU are?
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
WE Energies: Will They Clean Your Windshield, Too?
They'll have plenty of time to do it...
Sec. 121 of the bill mandates that electric utilities develop plans… to support the use of plug-in electric drive vehicles, including heavy-duty hybrid electric vehicles...[meaning they will provide for] … deployment of electrical charging stations in public or private locations, including street parking, parking garages, parking lots, homes, gas stations, and highway rest stops.
yadayadayada
This could cost money.
While Coulomb Technologies’ sells its “Smartlet” for between $1,000-$2,000 per charging station, Toyota’s unit costs $4,600, Edison EV’s cost $5,000-$10,000 (indoor units) and $15,000-$20,000 (outdoor units), and solar-power stations cost as much as $85,000 for a six-station unit
And did I mention time?
A full charge from a 120-volt outlet could take 10-12 hours. A full charge from a 240-volt outlet would take about half that time.
Not that long ago, WE had the infrastructure in place for that sort of business. It was called the Interurban, and it ran on electricity--from Milwaukee to Waukesha. Now it's a bike-path.
S'pose WE could re-electrify that path?
HT: GreenHell
Sec. 121 of the bill mandates that electric utilities develop plans… to support the use of plug-in electric drive vehicles, including heavy-duty hybrid electric vehicles...[meaning they will provide for] … deployment of electrical charging stations in public or private locations, including street parking, parking garages, parking lots, homes, gas stations, and highway rest stops.
yadayadayada
This could cost money.
While Coulomb Technologies’ sells its “Smartlet” for between $1,000-$2,000 per charging station, Toyota’s unit costs $4,600, Edison EV’s cost $5,000-$10,000 (indoor units) and $15,000-$20,000 (outdoor units), and solar-power stations cost as much as $85,000 for a six-station unit
And did I mention time?
A full charge from a 120-volt outlet could take 10-12 hours. A full charge from a 240-volt outlet would take about half that time.
Not that long ago, WE had the infrastructure in place for that sort of business. It was called the Interurban, and it ran on electricity--from Milwaukee to Waukesha. Now it's a bike-path.
S'pose WE could re-electrify that path?
HT: GreenHell
The Ad Hominem Slithers From EPA Spokescreature
Heh.
No facts, no law; then go ad hominem. Only difference between the EPA spokescreature and Capper is the name of the target.
...we read that a spokeswoman for EPA administrator Lisa P. Jackson, who made the determination that CO2 threatens the world, "noted that the memo's author, Alan Carlin, is an economist, not a climate scientist".
Yah, after 30 years at EPA, he probably doesn't know much about science, come to think of it. (You can make up your own minds as to whether that's sarcasm or not...)
But he's not exactly a dumbkopf; Ph.D Econ/MIT, and BS Physics, CalTech.
At any rate, the "work" which EPA used to declare that CO2 is deadly had authors, the principal of which is.............ta-da........
an economist
Plenty more here, at AmSpecBlog.
No facts, no law; then go ad hominem. Only difference between the EPA spokescreature and Capper is the name of the target.
...we read that a spokeswoman for EPA administrator Lisa P. Jackson, who made the determination that CO2 threatens the world, "noted that the memo's author, Alan Carlin, is an economist, not a climate scientist".
Yah, after 30 years at EPA, he probably doesn't know much about science, come to think of it. (You can make up your own minds as to whether that's sarcasm or not...)
But he's not exactly a dumbkopf; Ph.D Econ/MIT, and BS Physics, CalTech.
At any rate, the "work" which EPA used to declare that CO2 is deadly had authors, the principal of which is.............ta-da........
an economist
Plenty more here, at AmSpecBlog.
The Tiger Refuses, Emphatically
P-Mac reports:
“India will not accept any emission-reduction target -- period,” said India’s environment minister.
AlGore was not available for comment.
“India will not accept any emission-reduction target -- period,” said India’s environment minister.
AlGore was not available for comment.
Conservative Media Up--So Is Drudge
Belling maintains that 'Conservative' radio is up in the measurements.
Well, so is Drudge.
A BILLION THANKS FOR MAKING JUNE 2009 -- TOP JUNE IN DRUDGEREPORT'S 14 YEAR HISTORY! PAGE HIT 675,406,736 VIEWS FROM 129,922,878 VISITS... TRAFFIC ROSE 21% FOR MONTH OVER YEAR AGO [+39% OVER JUNE 2007]...
FWIW, Drudge runs a 'conservative'-leaning news aggregator.
Well, so is Drudge.
A BILLION THANKS FOR MAKING JUNE 2009 -- TOP JUNE IN DRUDGEREPORT'S 14 YEAR HISTORY! PAGE HIT 675,406,736 VIEWS FROM 129,922,878 VISITS... TRAFFIC ROSE 21% FOR MONTH OVER YEAR AGO [+39% OVER JUNE 2007]...
FWIW, Drudge runs a 'conservative'-leaning news aggregator.
UW Hospitals: Pick One Position, Please!
What UW Hospitals says for public consumption seems to be very different from what they tell their employees.
When it became clear that UW Hospitals would be performing late-term abortions, an official said that “No physicians, residents, students or staff will be required to participate in any aspect of this procedure if it is against their personal beliefs. Participation is strictly voluntary.”
That was then.
This is now.
The Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) today published a letter sent to the UW Medical Foundation on behalf of several employees of the Madison Surgery Center (MSC). The employees are concerned they may be compelled to participate in the MSC’s late-term abortion plan. The letter questions a memo sent by Peter Christman of the UW Medical Foundation to all MSC employees, declaring that employees would be expected to assist in “emergencies resulting from” the late-term abortions.
The ADF points out that Christman’s declaration, if made a MSC policy, would violate both federal and state laws protecting the conscience rights of medical professionals, as well as contradict the public statements of the UW Hospital & Clinics.
Perhaps Mr. Christman is confused. It's clear that he is confusING.
HT: Pro-Life Wisconsin
When it became clear that UW Hospitals would be performing late-term abortions, an official said that “No physicians, residents, students or staff will be required to participate in any aspect of this procedure if it is against their personal beliefs. Participation is strictly voluntary.”
That was then.
This is now.
The Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) today published a letter sent to the UW Medical Foundation on behalf of several employees of the Madison Surgery Center (MSC). The employees are concerned they may be compelled to participate in the MSC’s late-term abortion plan. The letter questions a memo sent by Peter Christman of the UW Medical Foundation to all MSC employees, declaring that employees would be expected to assist in “emergencies resulting from” the late-term abortions.
The ADF points out that Christman’s declaration, if made a MSC policy, would violate both federal and state laws protecting the conscience rights of medical professionals, as well as contradict the public statements of the UW Hospital & Clinics.
Perhaps Mr. Christman is confused. It's clear that he is confusING.
HT: Pro-Life Wisconsin
"Don't Worry, Be Happy" Writ Religious; The End of "No"
Interesting review of a new book, Smith and Denton’s Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers (Oxford University Press, 2005) which is based on a national survey conducted in '02/'03.
The authors first identify the social contexts in which adolescents live and believe, starting with a discussion of therapeutic individualism, a set of assumptions and commitments that "powerfully defines everyday moral and relational codes and boundaries in the United States." Personal experience is what shapes our notions of truth, and truth is found nowhere else but in happiness and positive self-esteem. In religious terms, according to teenagers, God cares that each teenager is happy and that each teenager has high self-esteem. Morality has nothing to do with authority, mutual obligations, or sacrifice. In a sense, God wants little more for us than to be good, happy capitalists. Smith and Denton elaborate: "Therapeutic individualism’s ethos perfectly serves the needs and interests of U.S. mass-consumer capitalist economy by constituting people as self-fulfillment-oriented consumers subject to advertising’s influence on their subjective feelings." And to be good, happy capitalists, we should be good, unless if being good prevents us from being happy.
The authors refer to teenagers' general religious sentiment as "Moralistic Therapeutic Deism," which simply does not comport with ANY significant religious tradition. Period.
American Christianity is "either degenerating into a pathetic version of itself or...is actively being colonized and displaced by a quite different religious faith." When asked to articulate their faith, not one of their interviewees mentioned self-discipline, working for social justice, justification or sanctification, and 112 of them described the purpose of religion in terms of "personally feeling, being, getting, or being made happy" (using the "specific phrase to 'feel happy' well more that 2,000 times").
You will note that Conservatives are now being called "the Party of 'No'". There's a reason for that--and clearly, "No" does not resonate with the chilluns.
HT: Dreher
The authors first identify the social contexts in which adolescents live and believe, starting with a discussion of therapeutic individualism, a set of assumptions and commitments that "powerfully defines everyday moral and relational codes and boundaries in the United States." Personal experience is what shapes our notions of truth, and truth is found nowhere else but in happiness and positive self-esteem. In religious terms, according to teenagers, God cares that each teenager is happy and that each teenager has high self-esteem. Morality has nothing to do with authority, mutual obligations, or sacrifice. In a sense, God wants little more for us than to be good, happy capitalists. Smith and Denton elaborate: "Therapeutic individualism’s ethos perfectly serves the needs and interests of U.S. mass-consumer capitalist economy by constituting people as self-fulfillment-oriented consumers subject to advertising’s influence on their subjective feelings." And to be good, happy capitalists, we should be good, unless if being good prevents us from being happy.
The authors refer to teenagers' general religious sentiment as "Moralistic Therapeutic Deism," which simply does not comport with ANY significant religious tradition. Period.
American Christianity is "either degenerating into a pathetic version of itself or...is actively being colonized and displaced by a quite different religious faith." When asked to articulate their faith, not one of their interviewees mentioned self-discipline, working for social justice, justification or sanctification, and 112 of them described the purpose of religion in terms of "personally feeling, being, getting, or being made happy" (using the "specific phrase to 'feel happy' well more that 2,000 times").
You will note that Conservatives are now being called "the Party of 'No'". There's a reason for that--and clearly, "No" does not resonate with the chilluns.
HT: Dreher
Next Up: Direct Fed Funding of Abortions
Oh, yah, it's coming up.
A Congressional subcommittee last week voted to directly fund with taxpayer money abortions in Washington D.C., a direct breach of the Dornan Amendment which prohibits taxpayer funded abortions in the nation's capitol.
In opposition, Cardinal Rigali:
...Cardinal Rigali said that the subcommittee's action "effectively nullifies the Dornan amendment," which for a total of 18 years has prevented public funding of elective abortions in the District. He said this move, "presumably the first step in a broader effort to restore such funding throughout the federal government," is misguided for three reasons. "First, public funding of abortion is rejected by the American people, as numerous surveys of public opinion have shown," Cardinal Rigali said.
..."Second, no lawmaker or Administration can support such a policy change and still claim to support 'reducing abortions.' The evidence is overwhelming, and universally recognized by groups on all sides of the abortion issue, that the availability of public funds for abortion greatly increases abortions," the bishops' Pro-Life Committee Chair argued.
"Third, this action takes place as Congress is working to win broad support for a much-needed major reform of our health care system," Cardinal Rigali noted. "This is the worst of all possible times to be injecting the divisive issue of public abortion funding into the debate on government health policy."
Looks like that "bi-partisan, inclusive" phrase can be dropped from the ObamaHealth meme.
HT: CMR
A Congressional subcommittee last week voted to directly fund with taxpayer money abortions in Washington D.C., a direct breach of the Dornan Amendment which prohibits taxpayer funded abortions in the nation's capitol.
In opposition, Cardinal Rigali:
...Cardinal Rigali said that the subcommittee's action "effectively nullifies the Dornan amendment," which for a total of 18 years has prevented public funding of elective abortions in the District. He said this move, "presumably the first step in a broader effort to restore such funding throughout the federal government," is misguided for three reasons. "First, public funding of abortion is rejected by the American people, as numerous surveys of public opinion have shown," Cardinal Rigali said.
..."Second, no lawmaker or Administration can support such a policy change and still claim to support 'reducing abortions.' The evidence is overwhelming, and universally recognized by groups on all sides of the abortion issue, that the availability of public funds for abortion greatly increases abortions," the bishops' Pro-Life Committee Chair argued.
"Third, this action takes place as Congress is working to win broad support for a much-needed major reform of our health care system," Cardinal Rigali noted. "This is the worst of all possible times to be injecting the divisive issue of public abortion funding into the debate on government health policy."
Looks like that "bi-partisan, inclusive" phrase can be dropped from the ObamaHealth meme.
HT: CMR
On Hymns at Mass and Copyrights
Beresford is a Canadian Chestertonian (IIRC) and wrote a wry, tragic essay on the Silliness of Church hymns, but also ripping the band-aid off an emerging problem.
...When I was very young, I can just recall singing hymns like “Holy, Holy, Holy,” “Faith of Our Fathers,” and “Immaculate Mary.” Then came the big change, and much against the wishes of the Council Fathers who wrote that we (the laity) had the right to sing our hymns in Latin, we became part of the large-scale experiments testing how long it would take to empty the parishes.
Ummmhhh, yah.
...By the end of the 1980s and early 90s, the worst of these excesses had begun to subside and the preposterous was replaced by the banal. Instead of singing old Beatles songs at Mass, we were given insipid, gender-neutral translations of the psalms set to saccharine melodies.
Recently, I've been subject to some of that psalmody. Usually the pianist (in a church with a $900,000.00 organ) does lots of bar-room arpeggios. It's like the hotel-lobby stuff you hear during the cocktails-and-canapes hour. Streisand would be comfy with it.
My main concern is that these hymns are now private property,...I have assessed this trend in the Canadian hymnals, the Catholic Book of Worship (CBW) put out by the CCCB (Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops).
...The proportion of hymns with copyrights has increased steadily with each edition, eroding those held in common. What is interesting is that many of the hymns that now carry copyrights originally did not do so. For example, “Immaculate Mary” has a copyright because verses two to five were replaced.
Beresford has decided that he will sing the 'common texts' for these offerings, loudly, thus not acquiescing to the Copyright Cops.
Regardless of B's actions or desires, the Copyright Problem looms very large, as this longer exposition demonstrates.
HT: Recovering Choir Director
...When I was very young, I can just recall singing hymns like “Holy, Holy, Holy,” “Faith of Our Fathers,” and “Immaculate Mary.” Then came the big change, and much against the wishes of the Council Fathers who wrote that we (the laity) had the right to sing our hymns in Latin, we became part of the large-scale experiments testing how long it would take to empty the parishes.
Ummmhhh, yah.
...By the end of the 1980s and early 90s, the worst of these excesses had begun to subside and the preposterous was replaced by the banal. Instead of singing old Beatles songs at Mass, we were given insipid, gender-neutral translations of the psalms set to saccharine melodies.
Recently, I've been subject to some of that psalmody. Usually the pianist (in a church with a $900,000.00 organ) does lots of bar-room arpeggios. It's like the hotel-lobby stuff you hear during the cocktails-and-canapes hour. Streisand would be comfy with it.
My main concern is that these hymns are now private property,...I have assessed this trend in the Canadian hymnals, the Catholic Book of Worship (CBW) put out by the CCCB (Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops).
...The proportion of hymns with copyrights has increased steadily with each edition, eroding those held in common. What is interesting is that many of the hymns that now carry copyrights originally did not do so. For example, “Immaculate Mary” has a copyright because verses two to five were replaced.
Beresford has decided that he will sing the 'common texts' for these offerings, loudly, thus not acquiescing to the Copyright Cops.
Regardless of B's actions or desires, the Copyright Problem looms very large, as this longer exposition demonstrates.
HT: Recovering Choir Director
Deleted "Followers"--Techie Problem
As Wiggy noted a few weeks ago, the "Followers" doodad seems to have problems; if I attempt to view certain blogspots, all sorts of popups and happy crap happens to IE.
You can still "follow." Nobody will know it.
Maybe that's better, anyway, given the proclivities of unterFuhrer Napolitano at DHS.
You can still "follow." Nobody will know it.
Maybe that's better, anyway, given the proclivities of unterFuhrer Napolitano at DHS.
Statist Manias
To some, the State is the only solution. Those people are called Statists.
“American TV launches electronics recycling program” Imagine that. At no cost - "most every kind of electronic device."
American will work with Waste Management and CRT Processing LLC of Janesville to disassemble the electronics for recycling.
The Journal Sentinel article also mentions that Best Buy maintains an electronics recycling service as does Goodwill Industries. Add to that wildly successful “free” electronics recycling opportunities in the last couple of months in Appleton, Madison and assorted cities across Wisconsin – and it seems most of the population gets it – and is doing what it takes to keep these mineral and toxin-rich throwaways out of our landfills.
Not good enough!!
So what doesWisconsin Statism want to do? AB 278 would create a huge bureaucracy to mandate recycling.
Did I ever mention "rent-seeking"?
A major impetus behind mandatory recycling, perhaps understandably, is Wisconsin’s recyclers.
Jo gets it. Retailers and Goodwill get it. But the Statists?
Oh, they get it, too. Their jobs depend on furthering Statism.
“American TV launches electronics recycling program” Imagine that. At no cost - "most every kind of electronic device."
American will work with Waste Management and CRT Processing LLC of Janesville to disassemble the electronics for recycling.
The Journal Sentinel article also mentions that Best Buy maintains an electronics recycling service as does Goodwill Industries. Add to that wildly successful “free” electronics recycling opportunities in the last couple of months in Appleton, Madison and assorted cities across Wisconsin – and it seems most of the population gets it – and is doing what it takes to keep these mineral and toxin-rich throwaways out of our landfills.
Not good enough!!
So what does
Did I ever mention "rent-seeking"?
A major impetus behind mandatory recycling, perhaps understandably, is Wisconsin’s recyclers.
Jo gets it. Retailers and Goodwill get it. But the Statists?
Oh, they get it, too. Their jobs depend on furthering Statism.
Pictures v. 1000 Words
The story accompanying this picture is irrelevant. And if you can't tell why the picture is worth FAR MORE than 1000 words, you don't know from manufacturing.
This Has NOTHING To Do WIth (D) Hegemony
It is merely coincidence. Nothing to see here. Move along, folks.
Briggs & Stratton Corp. said Wednesday it is closing its plant in Jefferson , eliminating 530 jobs at the facility that makes pressure washers and portable generators.
...Production at the Jefferson plant will be moved to other Briggs factories, including plants in Alabama and Georgia.
The Jefferson facility will be sold, said Laura Timm, a company spokeswoman.
Anyone who thinks, or even THINKS they think that this has anything to do with the anti-manufacturing/anti-business climate in Madistan is way, way, way off the mark.
That is all.
Resume your desperate search for good news about Wisconsin's jobs climate.
Briggs & Stratton Corp. said Wednesday it is closing its plant in Jefferson , eliminating 530 jobs at the facility that makes pressure washers and portable generators.
...Production at the Jefferson plant will be moved to other Briggs factories, including plants in Alabama and Georgia.
The Jefferson facility will be sold, said Laura Timm, a company spokeswoman.
Anyone who thinks, or even THINKS they think that this has anything to do with the anti-manufacturing/anti-business climate in Madistan is way, way, way off the mark.
That is all.
Resume your desperate search for good news about Wisconsin's jobs climate.
Strategic Leak
The Washington Times reports:
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton urged President Obama for two days to toughen his language on Iran before he did so, and then was surprised when he condemned Iran's crackdown on demonstrators last week, administration officials say.
...Mrs. Clinton had been advocating the stronger U.S. response, but the president resisted. When he finally took her advice, the aides said, he did so without informing her first.
We mentioned earlier that HRC is not really interested in being a second banana. So the question:
Who leaked this info?
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton urged President Obama for two days to toughen his language on Iran before he did so, and then was surprised when he condemned Iran's crackdown on demonstrators last week, administration officials say.
...Mrs. Clinton had been advocating the stronger U.S. response, but the president resisted. When he finally took her advice, the aides said, he did so without informing her first.
We mentioned earlier that HRC is not really interested in being a second banana. So the question:
Who leaked this info?
Grede Goes Chapter XI
Wow.
Wauwatosa-based Grede Foundries Inc. has filed to reorganize under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and said it has an offer for financing until the company could be sold.
...Grede said Wayzata Investment Partners LLC has offered a $45 million temporary loan to allow it time for an orderly, court-supervised sale. The investment firm in Wayzata, Minn., has also agreed to make the first bid for Grede, the 89-year-old foundry company said.
The Company is closely-held, with most of the upper management and ownership being members of the Grede and Jacobs families. It has not always been peaceful:
Last year, dissident shareholders in privately held Grede tried to oust longtime Chief Executive Officer Bruce E. Jacobs. That effort appeared to have been beaten back, but in January, the board named Koenings chairman and began a search to replace Jacobs. A month later, Thomas F. Walker Sr., the head of a management consulting firm in Lake Geneva, replaced Jacobs
The BK will have an impact on a lot of Milwaukee-area organizations if the Wayzata firm is successful in its quest to purchase the Company. HQ relocations are never, ever good for the city that loses the HQ.
Beyond that:
Grede says the economic downturn, and particularly troubles in the beleaguered auto industry, pushed the company into bankruptcy court. Among Grede's customers are General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, Honda and Toyota. Chrysler said in May in its own bankruptcy case that it owed Grede $2.2 million.
Yah--and Cat and Deere. This is a serious recession, folks.
Wauwatosa-based Grede Foundries Inc. has filed to reorganize under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and said it has an offer for financing until the company could be sold.
...Grede said Wayzata Investment Partners LLC has offered a $45 million temporary loan to allow it time for an orderly, court-supervised sale. The investment firm in Wayzata, Minn., has also agreed to make the first bid for Grede, the 89-year-old foundry company said.
The Company is closely-held, with most of the upper management and ownership being members of the Grede and Jacobs families. It has not always been peaceful:
Last year, dissident shareholders in privately held Grede tried to oust longtime Chief Executive Officer Bruce E. Jacobs. That effort appeared to have been beaten back, but in January, the board named Koenings chairman and began a search to replace Jacobs. A month later, Thomas F. Walker Sr., the head of a management consulting firm in Lake Geneva, replaced Jacobs
The BK will have an impact on a lot of Milwaukee-area organizations if the Wayzata firm is successful in its quest to purchase the Company. HQ relocations are never, ever good for the city that loses the HQ.
Beyond that:
Grede says the economic downturn, and particularly troubles in the beleaguered auto industry, pushed the company into bankruptcy court. Among Grede's customers are General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, Honda and Toyota. Chrysler said in May in its own bankruptcy case that it owed Grede $2.2 million.
Yah--and Cat and Deere. This is a serious recession, folks.
WallyWorld Follows GE's Rent-Seeking Model
Some of us noted the announcement that WalMart kinda-sorta backs "universal coverage" with a bit of cynicism. WallyWorld didn't kinda-sorta endorse it because they have humanitarian concerns.
Nope. They're doing what GE, Goldmann Sachs, and lots of other Big Players do. They're using the Government to drive competition out of the field.
This is all about introducing a bill that will harm its competitors, particularly businesses of a slightly lower size that can't buy health insurance on the same scale. The company already has a major price and sourcing edge over its competitors, and this law would allow it to exploit that even more.
In the case at hand, WallyWorld (and Podesta's bunch) were endorsing employer-based insurances. Actual progressive thinkers, such as Paul Ryan, think that if universal coverage is going to happen, it should be CONSUMER-based.
But Statists, and their Big Player allies, do not agree.
Nope. They're doing what GE, Goldmann Sachs, and lots of other Big Players do. They're using the Government to drive competition out of the field.
This is all about introducing a bill that will harm its competitors, particularly businesses of a slightly lower size that can't buy health insurance on the same scale. The company already has a major price and sourcing edge over its competitors, and this law would allow it to exploit that even more.
In the case at hand, WallyWorld (and Podesta's bunch) were endorsing employer-based insurances. Actual progressive thinkers, such as Paul Ryan, think that if universal coverage is going to happen, it should be CONSUMER-based.
But Statists, and their Big Player allies, do not agree.
Suing Over "Plan B"
This bears watching.
Alliance Defense Fund attorneys together with a Mineola attorney filed a motion to intervene Thursday to challenge a federal court order requiring the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to allow the abortifacient Plan B drug to be sold over the counter to minors
...The motion to intervene in Tummino v. Hamburg was filed Thursday with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.
The motion was filed on behalf of Concerned Women for America, the Christian Medical and Dental Association, and Christian Pharmacists Fellowship International, who contend that the order disregards parental rights and the safety of minors.
Although the Statist regime in DC is perfectly happy with abrogation of parental rights, the laws and customs of this country are not yet in accord with their view.
We'll see how the courts treat this.
Alliance Defense Fund attorneys together with a Mineola attorney filed a motion to intervene Thursday to challenge a federal court order requiring the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to allow the abortifacient Plan B drug to be sold over the counter to minors
...The motion to intervene in Tummino v. Hamburg was filed Thursday with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.
The motion was filed on behalf of Concerned Women for America, the Christian Medical and Dental Association, and Christian Pharmacists Fellowship International, who contend that the order disregards parental rights and the safety of minors.
Although the Statist regime in DC is perfectly happy with abrogation of parental rights, the laws and customs of this country are not yet in accord with their view.
We'll see how the courts treat this.
Tinpot-Dictator-Drug-Runner to Meet US State Dept Folks
This character Zelaya is 'our kinda guy'?
The story's out there, and pretty clear: he tried to pull off a blatantly un-Constitutional 'referendum' to keep himself in office. Because of his actions, the Honduran court, acting in concert with the Honduran legislature and military, picked him up and escorted him out of the country. He will be criminally prosecuted should he return.
By the way, many of the legislators who voted FOR deposing him are members of his own party.
So what will happen when he arrives in the USA?
Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya will likely meet US officials in Washington, though not with President Barack Obama or Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, officials said Tuesday
Tea and crumpets will be served, no doubt.
And how will he pay for his trip to the USA?
Glad you asked!
The regime that ousted Manuel Zelaya in Honduras claimed Tuesday that the deposed president allowed tons of cocaine to be flown into the Central American country on its way to the United States.
"Every night, three or four Venezuelan-registered planes land without the permission of appropriate authorities and bring thousands of pounds ... and packages of money that are the fruit of drug trafficking," its foreign minister, Enrique Ortez, told CNN en Espanol.
Venezuela....gee, that sounds familiar.
The story's out there, and pretty clear: he tried to pull off a blatantly un-Constitutional 'referendum' to keep himself in office. Because of his actions, the Honduran court, acting in concert with the Honduran legislature and military, picked him up and escorted him out of the country. He will be criminally prosecuted should he return.
By the way, many of the legislators who voted FOR deposing him are members of his own party.
So what will happen when he arrives in the USA?
Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya will likely meet US officials in Washington, though not with President Barack Obama or Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, officials said Tuesday
Tea and crumpets will be served, no doubt.
And how will he pay for his trip to the USA?
Glad you asked!
The regime that ousted Manuel Zelaya in Honduras claimed Tuesday that the deposed president allowed tons of cocaine to be flown into the Central American country on its way to the United States.
"Every night, three or four Venezuelan-registered planes land without the permission of appropriate authorities and bring thousands of pounds ... and packages of money that are the fruit of drug trafficking," its foreign minister, Enrique Ortez, told CNN en Espanol.
Venezuela....gee, that sounds familiar.
Energy Retrofits: The Next Really Big Beauraucracy
Here's an article which describes the "energy retrofit" provision of the Waxman-Markey bill.
...contains a new federal policy that residential, commercial, and government buildings be retrofitted to increase energy efficiency, leaving it up to the states to figure out exactly how to do that.
This means that homeowners, for example, could be required to retrofit their homes to meet federal “green” guidelines in order to sell their homes, if the cap-and-trade bill becomes law.
The program will be assembled by the EPA (ugh)...
“The Administrator shall develop and implement, in consultation with the Secretary of Energy, standards for a national energy and environmental building retrofit policy for single-family and multi-family residences,” the bill reads. It continues: “The purpose of the REEP program is to facilitate the retrofitting of existing buildings across the United States.”
...and will be carried out by the States...
“States shall maintain responsibility for meeting the standards and requirements of the REEP program,” the bill says.
...and will involve a bunch of different inspectors, contractors, and other actors...
The program would involve a system of certified auditors, inspectors, and raters who inspect homes and businesses using devices such as infrared cameras (which measure how much heat a building is giving off) to measure their energy efficiency. The results of these energy audits would then be used to determine what retrofits need to be performed. The audits would examine things like water usage, [using tools like] infrared photography and pressurized testing to determine the efficiency of door and window seals, and indoor air quality. Those retrofits would be performed by licensed retrofit contractors using government-approved methods and resources including roofing materials that reflect solar energy.
“[B]uilding retrofits conducted pursuant to a REEP program utilize, especially in all air-conditioned buildings, roofing materials with high solar energy reflectance,” the legislation states.
...and completion audits...
After the retrofitting is complete, the government – state, local, or federal – will come back and re-inspect the house to determine how much energy has been saved and whether the retrofit is up to federal government standards. “Determination of energy savings in a performance-based building retrofit program through — (A) for residential buildings, comparison of before and after retrofit scores,” the proposal states.
...and free money!!!..except that the States must cough up the cash...
To help pay for the cost of these retrofits, states and localities may provide loans, utility rate rebates, tax rebates, or implement retrofit programs on their own. In fact, the government will even pay up to 50 percent of the cost of a retrofit through financial awards to individual home and building owners
What a racket...
...contains a new federal policy that residential, commercial, and government buildings be retrofitted to increase energy efficiency, leaving it up to the states to figure out exactly how to do that.
This means that homeowners, for example, could be required to retrofit their homes to meet federal “green” guidelines in order to sell their homes, if the cap-and-trade bill becomes law.
The program will be assembled by the EPA (ugh)...
“The Administrator shall develop and implement, in consultation with the Secretary of Energy, standards for a national energy and environmental building retrofit policy for single-family and multi-family residences,” the bill reads. It continues: “The purpose of the REEP program is to facilitate the retrofitting of existing buildings across the United States.”
...and will be carried out by the States...
“States shall maintain responsibility for meeting the standards and requirements of the REEP program,” the bill says.
...and will involve a bunch of different inspectors, contractors, and other actors...
The program would involve a system of certified auditors, inspectors, and raters who inspect homes and businesses using devices such as infrared cameras (which measure how much heat a building is giving off) to measure their energy efficiency. The results of these energy audits would then be used to determine what retrofits need to be performed. The audits would examine things like water usage, [using tools like] infrared photography and pressurized testing to determine the efficiency of door and window seals, and indoor air quality. Those retrofits would be performed by licensed retrofit contractors using government-approved methods and resources including roofing materials that reflect solar energy.
“[B]uilding retrofits conducted pursuant to a REEP program utilize, especially in all air-conditioned buildings, roofing materials with high solar energy reflectance,” the legislation states.
...and completion audits...
After the retrofitting is complete, the government – state, local, or federal – will come back and re-inspect the house to determine how much energy has been saved and whether the retrofit is up to federal government standards. “Determination of energy savings in a performance-based building retrofit program through — (A) for residential buildings, comparison of before and after retrofit scores,” the proposal states.
...and free money!!!..except that the States must cough up the cash...
To help pay for the cost of these retrofits, states and localities may provide loans, utility rate rebates, tax rebates, or implement retrofit programs on their own. In fact, the government will even pay up to 50 percent of the cost of a retrofit through financial awards to individual home and building owners
What a racket...
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
The Doyle Incompetency: Monumental
Hooboy.
Doyle sure picks a bunch ofwieners winners for HIS administration.
...people wanting to sign up for Food Share – that’s what food stamps are called in Wisconsin – need to call (888) 947-6583. The number’s toll-free.
Simple, eh? Wrong answer!!
...the state Department of Health Services, the people doing the takeover, didn’t tell the media. You’d think they’d do that if they want the message out that, as of July 1, the old number stops being answered.
And it gets even better, but not for the 178,000 people who will soon depend on the Doyle Incompetency for food. Read the article linked below...
HT: McIlheran
Doyle sure picks a bunch of
...people wanting to sign up for Food Share – that’s what food stamps are called in Wisconsin – need to call (888) 947-6583. The number’s toll-free.
Simple, eh? Wrong answer!!
...the state Department of Health Services, the people doing the takeover, didn’t tell the media. You’d think they’d do that if they want the message out that, as of July 1, the old number stops being answered.
And it gets even better, but not for the 178,000 people who will soon depend on the Doyle Incompetency for food. Read the article linked below...
HT: McIlheran
Stupid Crook Jokes, Texas Edition
Dreher passes along a story from Fort Worth.
Big kerfuffle in Fort Worth as gay protesters complain that cops who turned up at a gay bar to arrest patrons were brutal. I find this hilarious:
Protesters said they want to know why Fort Worth police officers and Texas Alcohol Beverage Commission agents used what the protesters described as excessive force when arresting seven patrons at the Rainbow Lounge early Sunday.
...
In a statement, the Fort Worth Police Department said agents inspected three bars early Sunday and police arrested patrons at the Rainbow Lounge because they were drunk and tried to grope officers
Umnnnhhh...a crotch-grab of a cop in Texas is not a wise move. Period.
Big kerfuffle in Fort Worth as gay protesters complain that cops who turned up at a gay bar to arrest patrons were brutal. I find this hilarious:
Protesters said they want to know why Fort Worth police officers and Texas Alcohol Beverage Commission agents used what the protesters described as excessive force when arresting seven patrons at the Rainbow Lounge early Sunday.
...
In a statement, the Fort Worth Police Department said agents inspected three bars early Sunday and police arrested patrons at the Rainbow Lounge because they were drunk and tried to grope officers
Umnnnhhh...a crotch-grab of a cop in Texas is not a wise move. Period.
Screw Paul Krugman, Too!
Only a complete jackass could write that:
[i]f, like virtually all House Republicans and a handful of Dems, you don't agree with the likes of Henry Waxman on the need to take radical measures on the climate, you're guilty of . . . "a form of treason." Treason against the planet, to be precise.
Calling dissenters 'treasonous'?
Is that somewhere in Econ 101 books?
NewsBusters via Caveman
[i]f, like virtually all House Republicans and a handful of Dems, you don't agree with the likes of Henry Waxman on the need to take radical measures on the climate, you're guilty of . . . "a form of treason." Treason against the planet, to be precise.
Calling dissenters 'treasonous'?
Is that somewhere in Econ 101 books?
NewsBusters via Caveman
The Abuse of "Power"--from a Philo/Theo Standpoint
This guy has a good grip on the issue.
Sample:
...Nevertheless, the term was used in the common colloquial sense that suggests that power is the capacity to do what one wills, as one wills. This sense of power as arbitrary application of force over/against someone or something else certainly corresponds to the arbitrariness associated with modern notions of freedom. It also is what gave rise to the Hegelian-Marxist-Nietzschean view that conflict is in someway a necessary part of the natural order. This defective philosophy permeates many aspects of our society.
He points to Ockham (Occam's Razor fame) as one source--and tells us that Ockham was influenced by Mohammedan thought (!)
It's not a lenghty post--read the rest.
Sample:
...Nevertheless, the term was used in the common colloquial sense that suggests that power is the capacity to do what one wills, as one wills. This sense of power as arbitrary application of force over/against someone or something else certainly corresponds to the arbitrariness associated with modern notions of freedom. It also is what gave rise to the Hegelian-Marxist-Nietzschean view that conflict is in someway a necessary part of the natural order. This defective philosophy permeates many aspects of our society.
He points to Ockham (Occam's Razor fame) as one source--and tells us that Ockham was influenced by Mohammedan thought (!)
It's not a lenghty post--read the rest.
GimmeMoneyMagination; GE KO's Competition w/FDIC Help
HT to Rhymes With Shown for this. You should read his post to get a feel for Professional Rent-Seeking.
Long story short, the FDIC began backing the borrowing of certain banks and S&L's about the same time TARP rolled out. That FDIC guarantee encouraged bond-buyers.
At the time, GECapital owned a couple of small S&L's in Utah and was primarily an "industrial loan" company--essentially, GE financed sales of its own product. They were not limited to that, by the way; they also made a lot of commercial real-estate loans.
Anyhoo, GE's lobbying effort paid off--despite its prima facie non-eligibility for FDIC backing, they managed to get it.
What's just as interesting as that is this:
Not every finance company has had that peace of mind. One of GE's competitors in business lending markets, CIT Group, a smaller company, has had a harder time raising cash. It has been unable to persuade the FDIC to allow it into the debt-guarantee program, at least in part because of its lower credit ratings. A recent Standard & Poor's analysis cited CIT's "inability to access TLGP" as a factor in the company's declining financial condition.
Awwwww. Too bad. A major GECapital competitor may just disappear.
Now and then the critics of "capitalism" are absolutely correct.
Long story short, the FDIC began backing the borrowing of certain banks and S&L's about the same time TARP rolled out. That FDIC guarantee encouraged bond-buyers.
At the time, GECapital owned a couple of small S&L's in Utah and was primarily an "industrial loan" company--essentially, GE financed sales of its own product. They were not limited to that, by the way; they also made a lot of commercial real-estate loans.
Anyhoo, GE's lobbying effort paid off--despite its prima facie non-eligibility for FDIC backing, they managed to get it.
What's just as interesting as that is this:
Not every finance company has had that peace of mind. One of GE's competitors in business lending markets, CIT Group, a smaller company, has had a harder time raising cash. It has been unable to persuade the FDIC to allow it into the debt-guarantee program, at least in part because of its lower credit ratings. A recent Standard & Poor's analysis cited CIT's "inability to access TLGP" as a factor in the company's declining financial condition.
Awwwww. Too bad. A major GECapital competitor may just disappear.
Now and then the critics of "capitalism" are absolutely correct.
Why Obama Backs the CorruptoCrat of Honduras
From IBD, via Powerline, a couple of reasons that Obama/Clinton are lining up with Zelaya.
1) Buttering up Chavez:
The Venezuelan despot has made political hay against the U.S. over its premature recognition of the Venezuelan coup leaders who tried to overthrow Chavez in 2002. Obama wants to avoid that this time
2) Buttering up to the Organization of American States (OAS)
The White House also wants to mollify the morally corrupted Organization of American States,...
3) (and a much darker, but entirely plausible, rationale)--Obama likes Statists:
Such a response says that democracy effectively ends with elections. It says rule of law is irrelevant and that rulers have rights, not responsibilities
Maybe it's all three. But with Obama, there is a track record of Statism and "ruler rights" which gives one pause to think.
1) Buttering up Chavez:
The Venezuelan despot has made political hay against the U.S. over its premature recognition of the Venezuelan coup leaders who tried to overthrow Chavez in 2002. Obama wants to avoid that this time
2) Buttering up to the Organization of American States (OAS)
The White House also wants to mollify the morally corrupted Organization of American States,...
3) (and a much darker, but entirely plausible, rationale)--Obama likes Statists:
Such a response says that democracy effectively ends with elections. It says rule of law is irrelevant and that rulers have rights, not responsibilities
Maybe it's all three. But with Obama, there is a track record of Statism and "ruler rights" which gives one pause to think.
The "Gummint Efficiency" Lie
The Warrior found this.
...when you compare administrative costs on a per-person basis, Medicare is dramatically less efficient than private insurance plans. As you can see here, between 2001-2005, Medicare’s administrative costs on a per-person basis were 24.8% higher, on average, than private insurers.
Actually, Obama is much less-sophisticated a liar than Clinton.
And, fortunately, the smackdowns are faster. Yesterday, the "McAllen lie." Today, the "Administrative costs" lie.
...when you compare administrative costs on a per-person basis, Medicare is dramatically less efficient than private insurance plans. As you can see here, between 2001-2005, Medicare’s administrative costs on a per-person basis were 24.8% higher, on average, than private insurers.
Actually, Obama is much less-sophisticated a liar than Clinton.
And, fortunately, the smackdowns are faster. Yesterday, the "McAllen lie." Today, the "Administrative costs" lie.
Squash That Recovery With Taxes!
Geez.
Dear Leader Obama has a few more business taxes lined up, ready to go, reported by Geoff Colvin at Fortune, relayed by the AmSpec blog.
The White House therefore proposes charging all American companies full freight -- the whole difference between their overseas taxes and the U.S. corporate rate -- on all their profits as soon as they're earned, no matter where. This measure, in their minds, would bring jobs home.
...Another would require companies to account for their inventories on a first-in-first-out (FIFO) basis rather than a last-in-first-out (LIFO) one -- an eye-glazing change that's highly significant.
1) It's not likely that 'full freight' taxation, in and of itself, will move jobs back to the USA; there are a lot of other considerations which play into that decision.
2) FIFO is great for the Gummint when inflation hits (and it will.) But it's like property taxes, which increase based on the "value" of your home, rather than your ability to pay.
But that's not the bad news. Here's the bad news:
Tax-wise, a company is just a bunch of incorporation papers; all taxes are paid by people -- customers, shareholders and employees. And guess who would bear most of the burden of these tax increases? It's the U.S. employees of the companies being taxed.
Research has shown that when business taxes are raised by a dollar, 70 to 92 cents comes out of employees' pay.
Now that's a stimulating thought, eh?
Dear Leader Obama has a few more business taxes lined up, ready to go, reported by Geoff Colvin at Fortune, relayed by the AmSpec blog.
The White House therefore proposes charging all American companies full freight -- the whole difference between their overseas taxes and the U.S. corporate rate -- on all their profits as soon as they're earned, no matter where. This measure, in their minds, would bring jobs home.
...Another would require companies to account for their inventories on a first-in-first-out (FIFO) basis rather than a last-in-first-out (LIFO) one -- an eye-glazing change that's highly significant.
1) It's not likely that 'full freight' taxation, in and of itself, will move jobs back to the USA; there are a lot of other considerations which play into that decision.
2) FIFO is great for the Gummint when inflation hits (and it will.) But it's like property taxes, which increase based on the "value" of your home, rather than your ability to pay.
But that's not the bad news. Here's the bad news:
Tax-wise, a company is just a bunch of incorporation papers; all taxes are paid by people -- customers, shareholders and employees. And guess who would bear most of the burden of these tax increases? It's the U.S. employees of the companies being taxed.
Research has shown that when business taxes are raised by a dollar, 70 to 92 cents comes out of employees' pay.
Now that's a stimulating thought, eh?
Monday, June 29, 2009
Was Buckley Right About Iraq?
Good, if brief, discussion here.
Takeaway:
Buckley was influenced both by a Cold War conservatism that emphasized American ideals and an older conservatism that understood the rootedness of normal countries in history and place. Believers in the latter have sometimes been guilty of indifference in the face of tyranny. Believers in the former without any regard for the older conservatism's sobriety tend to be guilty of something else: liberalism.
Yes, boys and girls, the Wilsonian conceit. Liberalism.
Bush gained my assent on the Iraq adventure only by the slimmest of margins; I assumed he had intel that I did not have. But as to his Second Inaugural foo-dadderie about 'spreading democracy' all over the earth like Glidden paint?
Wilsonian conceit.
Takeaway:
Buckley was influenced both by a Cold War conservatism that emphasized American ideals and an older conservatism that understood the rootedness of normal countries in history and place. Believers in the latter have sometimes been guilty of indifference in the face of tyranny. Believers in the former without any regard for the older conservatism's sobriety tend to be guilty of something else: liberalism.
Yes, boys and girls, the Wilsonian conceit. Liberalism.
Bush gained my assent on the Iraq adventure only by the slimmest of margins; I assumed he had intel that I did not have. But as to his Second Inaugural foo-dadderie about 'spreading democracy' all over the earth like Glidden paint?
Wilsonian conceit.
Five Months Past Due: Get Sued
No, not your mortgage.
The campaign finance reports, silly.
A state Government Accountability Board attorney said Monday the agency would sue four legislators because they have not filed campaign-finance reports that were due nearly five months ago.
Michael Haas, an attorney with the state elections watchdog, said lawsuits would be filed within about two weeks against Rep. Tamara Grigsby (D-Milwaukee), Rep. Scott Newcomer (R-Hartland), Rep. Christine Sinicki (D-Milwaukee) and Rep. Annette "Polly" Williams (D-Milwaukee).
Reports from the four were due Feb. 2, but none has been filed, Haas said.
Only Newcomer is (cough) a relative newcomer to the scene--but that's not really a good excuse.
The campaign finance reports, silly.
A state Government Accountability Board attorney said Monday the agency would sue four legislators because they have not filed campaign-finance reports that were due nearly five months ago.
Michael Haas, an attorney with the state elections watchdog, said lawsuits would be filed within about two weeks against Rep. Tamara Grigsby (D-Milwaukee), Rep. Scott Newcomer (R-Hartland), Rep. Christine Sinicki (D-Milwaukee) and Rep. Annette "Polly" Williams (D-Milwaukee).
Reports from the four were due Feb. 2, but none has been filed, Haas said.
Only Newcomer is (cough) a relative newcomer to the scene--but that's not really a good excuse.
Obama Doubles Down on Honduras
Despite the fact that the Honduras' President was removed by court order, Obama is not happy.
President Barack Obama says the weekend ouster of Honduran leader Manuel Zelaya was a "not legal" coup and that he remains the country's president.
Obama spoke to reporters in the Oval Office on Monday after meetings with Colombian President Alvaro Uribe. Obama said he wanted to be very clear that President Zelaya is the democratically elected president.
Obama pledged the U.S. to "stand on the side of democracy" and to work with other nations and international entities to resolve the matter peacefully.
That's fairly strong language: "not legal."
But Obama has plenty of folks who agree with him:
...Fidel Castro, Daniel Ortega, Hillary Clinton and, of course, Hugo [Chavez].
That list is from an earlier report published in the Wall Street Journal.
Here's more:
While Honduran law allows for a constitutional rewrite, the power to open that door does not lie with the president. A constituent assembly can only be called through a national referendum approved by its Congress.
But Mr. Zelaya declared the vote on his own and had Mr. Chávez ship him the necessary ballots from Venezuela.
...The attorney general had already made clear that the referendum was illegal, and he further announced that he would prosecute anyone involved in carrying it out. Yesterday, Mr. Zelaya was arrested by the military and is now in exile in Costa Rica.
Castro, Chavez, Ortega. I don't know if I like those associates, Mr. Obama.
President Barack Obama says the weekend ouster of Honduran leader Manuel Zelaya was a "not legal" coup and that he remains the country's president.
Obama spoke to reporters in the Oval Office on Monday after meetings with Colombian President Alvaro Uribe. Obama said he wanted to be very clear that President Zelaya is the democratically elected president.
Obama pledged the U.S. to "stand on the side of democracy" and to work with other nations and international entities to resolve the matter peacefully.
That's fairly strong language: "not legal."
But Obama has plenty of folks who agree with him:
...Fidel Castro, Daniel Ortega, Hillary Clinton and, of course, Hugo [Chavez].
That list is from an earlier report published in the Wall Street Journal.
Here's more:
While Honduran law allows for a constitutional rewrite, the power to open that door does not lie with the president. A constituent assembly can only be called through a national referendum approved by its Congress.
But Mr. Zelaya declared the vote on his own and had Mr. Chávez ship him the necessary ballots from Venezuela.
...The attorney general had already made clear that the referendum was illegal, and he further announced that he would prosecute anyone involved in carrying it out. Yesterday, Mr. Zelaya was arrested by the military and is now in exile in Costa Rica.
Castro, Chavez, Ortega. I don't know if I like those associates, Mr. Obama.
French Catholic "Fundies", or Integristes
Interesting observation here.
Where do the fundamentalists come from?
The vast majority of the faithful are those nostalgic for the Church before 1965 and especially the Latin Mass. However, the leaders of the movement are priests and lay people who are much more arrogant and who often belong to the extreme right. Sociologically, they consist mainly of large families of aristocratic and bourgeois tradition who are very committed to the moral order and the Catholic tradition. But it is not exclusive - they also recruit from the mainstream. --Henri Tincq, Le Parisien interview.
The French term for "fundamentalist" is "integriste" and has approximately the same connotation as does "fundamentalist" in the US.
Where do the fundamentalists come from?
The vast majority of the faithful are those nostalgic for the Church before 1965 and especially the Latin Mass. However, the leaders of the movement are priests and lay people who are much more arrogant and who often belong to the extreme right. Sociologically, they consist mainly of large families of aristocratic and bourgeois tradition who are very committed to the moral order and the Catholic tradition. But it is not exclusive - they also recruit from the mainstream. --Henri Tincq, Le Parisien interview.
The French term for "fundamentalist" is "integriste" and has approximately the same connotation as does "fundamentalist" in the US.
Another Look at Obama's Foreign "Policy"
Spengler:
...In Obama’s imagination, a Sunni Arab coalition – empowered by Washington’s turn against Israel – would encircle Iran and dissuade it from acquiring nuclear weapons, while an entirely separate Shi’ite coalition with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization would suppress the radical Sunni Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan. This was the worst-designed scheme concocted by a Western strategist since Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery attacked the bridges at Arnhem in 1944, and it has blown up in Obama’s face.
I don't know whether Obama designed this based on his political experience in Chicago, or based on a stunning lack of understanding of the power of religious fanaticism.
Either way, it won't work.
...In Obama’s imagination, a Sunni Arab coalition – empowered by Washington’s turn against Israel – would encircle Iran and dissuade it from acquiring nuclear weapons, while an entirely separate Shi’ite coalition with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization would suppress the radical Sunni Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan. This was the worst-designed scheme concocted by a Western strategist since Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery attacked the bridges at Arnhem in 1944, and it has blown up in Obama’s face.
I don't know whether Obama designed this based on his political experience in Chicago, or based on a stunning lack of understanding of the power of religious fanaticism.
Either way, it won't work.
Oh, Yah. Wisconsin Pioneers "Card Check"
Jo found this in the new "budget".
...Provide that bargaining units would be formed if and when a majority of research assistants at each campus affirm the decision to participate in collective bargaining by signing an authorization card stating this intent. Require the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission (WERC) to establish a procedure whereby research assistants may determine whether to form themselves into collective bargaining units by authorization cards in lieu of secret ballot...
This only applies to research assistants. Doyle's proposal (for faculty) requires a secret ballot.
Sheesh.
...Provide that bargaining units would be formed if and when a majority of research assistants at each campus affirm the decision to participate in collective bargaining by signing an authorization card stating this intent. Require the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission (WERC) to establish a procedure whereby research assistants may determine whether to form themselves into collective bargaining units by authorization cards in lieu of secret ballot...
This only applies to research assistants. Doyle's proposal (for faculty) requires a secret ballot.
Sheesh.
"Shaken Baby"? Maybe Not
Interesting article here.
Of specific interest is this:
“there is no consensus among medical professionals as to whether the symptoms that have traditionally been attributed to SBS are necessarily indicative of intentional shaking.”
Seems that some SBS symptoms occur in newborns just released from the hospital, and CAN occur through accidental dropping at only one to four feet.
Of specific interest is this:
“there is no consensus among medical professionals as to whether the symptoms that have traditionally been attributed to SBS are necessarily indicative of intentional shaking.”
Seems that some SBS symptoms occur in newborns just released from the hospital, and CAN occur through accidental dropping at only one to four feet.
The McAllen, TX Lie-With-Statistics
The McAllen, TX. "case" became the foundation of an ObamaCare argument--that there was "too much" medical service rendered in 'some parts' of the USA. Grand Junction, CO., was offered as the antithesis to McAllen.
The "case" is hogwash.
Many of the disease rates for the McAllen population are more than double those for Grand Junction. If the Medicare population in McAllen is truly that much sicker wouldn’t we expect the payments to be greater? A comparison of expenditures for Medicare enrollees without a diagnosis of diabetes or heart disease in the last year shows that costs for these standard populations are statistically very close.
HT: JustOneMinute
The "case" is hogwash.
Many of the disease rates for the McAllen population are more than double those for Grand Junction. If the Medicare population in McAllen is truly that much sicker wouldn’t we expect the payments to be greater? A comparison of expenditures for Medicare enrollees without a diagnosis of diabetes or heart disease in the last year shows that costs for these standard populations are statistically very close.
HT: JustOneMinute
$3,972,000. Per Day
That is the amount that the State of Wisconsin will borrow during the next 2 years, per its new "budget."
Almost $4 million/day, every single day.
HT: Sykes
Also HT to the anony who has a calculator!
Almost $4 million/day, every single day.
HT: Sykes
Also HT to the anony who has a calculator!
Lessons From Chairman Mao
Owen came across a gem.
What, then would the Chairman himself do? “Easy,” he said - concurring with Liu at least on that. “You rub the pepper thoroughly into the cat’s backside. When it burns, the cat will lick it off - and be happy that it is permitted to do so.”
Just as revealing are the solutions Mao determined NOT to use.
And if you can't read between THOSE lines, come back in 10 years or so...
What, then would the Chairman himself do? “Easy,” he said - concurring with Liu at least on that. “You rub the pepper thoroughly into the cat’s backside. When it burns, the cat will lick it off - and be happy that it is permitted to do so.”
Just as revealing are the solutions Mao determined NOT to use.
And if you can't read between THOSE lines, come back in 10 years or so...
'Hindering Sales' or Reality Pricing?
The local angle is just the tip of the iceberg; realtors are protesting nationally, too.
Under an industry code of conduct that took effect May 1, mortgage brokers, real estate agents and loan officers are prohibited from selecting home appraisers. In order to avoid trouble with the rule, called the Home Valuation Code of Conduct, many lenders are hiring companies that put together pools of appraisers and then assign them to individual housing transactions, they say. The code applies to mortgages that will be sold to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.
Real estate agents and mortgage brokers say it has led to an increase in questionable or stingy valuations by appraisers who are leery of producing estimates that are too high, or who may be from outside the housing market and unfamiliar with the nuances of neighborhoods to which they're sent.
Note the Fan/Fred connection. You might recall that Fan and Fred have a few problem loans.
Bill Garber, director of government and external relations for the national Appraisal Institute, said appraisals are meant to be a risk-management tool for lenders "who typically don't want to lend beyond what the value of the collateral is worth."
"Appraisers don't make the market. They simply report what is occurring within the markets, and they are sort of the eyes and ears of the lender," said Garber, whose organization is the nation's largest association of appraisers. "In the end, it's really a lending decision."
It may be a fact that 'non-locals' are less informed. On the other hand, it IS a fact that if Fan/Fred lose, so does the US taxpayer.
From Ritholtz, in an essay outlining the national effort to rescind the new regs:
Historically, there was no incentive to inflate appraisals. But with the rise of the mortgage brokers—many working closely with real estate agents—the business of steering appraisals to the most generous rose rapidly. By inflating appraisals, many appraisers found they could attract more referral business; some even managed to always hit the target prices given by real estate agents, which contributed significantly to the huge run-up in home prices. In 2005, more than 8,000 appraisers—roughly 10 percent of the industry—petitioned the federal government to take action against such abuses. But both Congress and the White House did nothing, allowing this rampant fraud to continue unabated.
Nobody wants to hear that their house has devalued. But a devalued market is what it is.
Under an industry code of conduct that took effect May 1, mortgage brokers, real estate agents and loan officers are prohibited from selecting home appraisers. In order to avoid trouble with the rule, called the Home Valuation Code of Conduct, many lenders are hiring companies that put together pools of appraisers and then assign them to individual housing transactions, they say. The code applies to mortgages that will be sold to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.
Real estate agents and mortgage brokers say it has led to an increase in questionable or stingy valuations by appraisers who are leery of producing estimates that are too high, or who may be from outside the housing market and unfamiliar with the nuances of neighborhoods to which they're sent.
Note the Fan/Fred connection. You might recall that Fan and Fred have a few problem loans.
Bill Garber, director of government and external relations for the national Appraisal Institute, said appraisals are meant to be a risk-management tool for lenders "who typically don't want to lend beyond what the value of the collateral is worth."
"Appraisers don't make the market. They simply report what is occurring within the markets, and they are sort of the eyes and ears of the lender," said Garber, whose organization is the nation's largest association of appraisers. "In the end, it's really a lending decision."
It may be a fact that 'non-locals' are less informed. On the other hand, it IS a fact that if Fan/Fred lose, so does the US taxpayer.
From Ritholtz, in an essay outlining the national effort to rescind the new regs:
Historically, there was no incentive to inflate appraisals. But with the rise of the mortgage brokers—many working closely with real estate agents—the business of steering appraisals to the most generous rose rapidly. By inflating appraisals, many appraisers found they could attract more referral business; some even managed to always hit the target prices given by real estate agents, which contributed significantly to the huge run-up in home prices. In 2005, more than 8,000 appraisers—roughly 10 percent of the industry—petitioned the federal government to take action against such abuses. But both Congress and the White House did nothing, allowing this rampant fraud to continue unabated.
Nobody wants to hear that their house has devalued. But a devalued market is what it is.
Honduras: NOT a "Coup"; What's Obama Doing?
The early reports were a bit under-informed.
In a nutshell, Zelaya wanted another term as president so he decided to hold a popular referendum on whether he should be eligible. Minor problem: The Honduran constitution can’t be amended by popular referendum so the country’s supreme court ordered the vote canceled. Zelaya tried to go ahead with it anyway. Literally every other arm of the Honduran government — judiciary, legislature, military — was against him, to the point where the troops who arrested him this morning were evidently acting on a court order.
Zelaya is a Chavez-ite; some Hondurans were concerned that Zelaya was following the Chavez/Argentine model, beginning with his move to make his Presidency long-lived.
Even more interesting is the Obama reaction, which seems to favor Zelaya. Why? Perhaps he did not want the US to be perceived as too close to the Honduran military.
In a nutshell, Zelaya wanted another term as president so he decided to hold a popular referendum on whether he should be eligible. Minor problem: The Honduran constitution can’t be amended by popular referendum so the country’s supreme court ordered the vote canceled. Zelaya tried to go ahead with it anyway. Literally every other arm of the Honduran government — judiciary, legislature, military — was against him, to the point where the troops who arrested him this morning were evidently acting on a court order.
Zelaya is a Chavez-ite; some Hondurans were concerned that Zelaya was following the Chavez/Argentine model, beginning with his move to make his Presidency long-lived.
Even more interesting is the Obama reaction, which seems to favor Zelaya. Why? Perhaps he did not want the US to be perceived as too close to the Honduran military.
Promises, Broken
What "promise"?
White House adviser David Axelrod said the administration wouldn't rule out taxing some employees' benefits to fund a health care agenda that has yet to take final form.
...But if President Barack Obama compromises on that point, it would reverse a campaign tax promise.
"I pledge that under my plan, no one making less than $250,000 a year will see any type of tax increase," Obama told a crowd in Dover, N.H., last year. "Not income tax, not capital gains taxes, not any kind of tax."
Under the bus.
White House adviser David Axelrod said the administration wouldn't rule out taxing some employees' benefits to fund a health care agenda that has yet to take final form.
...But if President Barack Obama compromises on that point, it would reverse a campaign tax promise.
"I pledge that under my plan, no one making less than $250,000 a year will see any type of tax increase," Obama told a crowd in Dover, N.H., last year. "Not income tax, not capital gains taxes, not any kind of tax."
Under the bus.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Cap-and-Tax Building Codes
We mentioned in passing that yes, indeed, Cap-and-Tax has a section which will supercede local building codes.
Samples? Sure.
Sets energy efficiency targets for the national building code: “on the date of enactment of the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, 30 percent reduction in energy use relative to a comparable building constructed in compliance with the baseline code…effective January 1, 2014, for residential buildings, and January 1, 2015, for commercial buildings, 50 percent reduction in energy use relative to the baseline code; and…January 1, 2017...
...Requires that states and local governments comply with or exceed the national energy efficiency building code, and provides for enforcement mechanisms for states which are out of compliance
And then there's this:
"This section requires the Secretary of Energy to develop a Retrofit for Energy and Environmental Performance (REEP) program to facilitate building retrofit programs for energy efficiency and efficient water use. Funding will be made available through REEP to the State Energy Programs for state and local efforts, including audits, incentives, technical assistance, and training.
The red highlight is very interesting, indeed.
HT: Riehl
Samples? Sure.
Sets energy efficiency targets for the national building code: “on the date of enactment of the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, 30 percent reduction in energy use relative to a comparable building constructed in compliance with the baseline code…effective January 1, 2014, for residential buildings, and January 1, 2015, for commercial buildings, 50 percent reduction in energy use relative to the baseline code; and…January 1, 2017...
...Requires that states and local governments comply with or exceed the national energy efficiency building code, and provides for enforcement mechanisms for states which are out of compliance
And then there's this:
"This section requires the Secretary of Energy to develop a Retrofit for Energy and Environmental Performance (REEP) program to facilitate building retrofit programs for energy efficiency and efficient water use. Funding will be made available through REEP to the State Energy Programs for state and local efforts, including audits, incentives, technical assistance, and training.
The red highlight is very interesting, indeed.
HT: Riehl
The HRC Question
Just Sunday afternoon speculatin'.
Hillary ain't going down with the USS Obamanation, bet on it- serving Chairman O to the bitter end is not the way the Clintons plan to end their legacy. And as for other Democrats who were caught surprised by the meteoric rise of Obama, then just went with the flow-- there's a lot of shallow support out there that could evaporate as quickly as it appeared. The arrogant serial-opportunist Obama seems destined to offend much of the party's old guard, as well as anyone else that he used to get elected... but now no longer finds useful.
Reaganite is of the opinion that Obama's numbers are not going to recover. But that's highly unlikely, UNLESS the recession continues unabated (or gets much worse.) Even then, the only immediately-endangered species is Democratic Congresscritters.
Not that there's anything wrong with that.
Here's the thing: Obama knows that his honeymoon is short-lived under the very best of circumstances, which is why he's trying to jam ObamaCare, Cap-and-Tax, and a (summarily) ridiculous budget through Congress all at the same time.
But looking at cap-and-tax (which would have LOST if the Pubbies had held together)--and the now-imminent "re-shaping" of ObamaCare, it's clear that O will have to begin playing nice-nice with the (D) Party "old bulls," or he will lose Congress in '10.
Of course, that could also mean that he doesn't really give a rat's ass about Congressional (D's) after 2010, too--
Hmmmmm.
Hillary ain't going down with the USS Obamanation, bet on it- serving Chairman O to the bitter end is not the way the Clintons plan to end their legacy. And as for other Democrats who were caught surprised by the meteoric rise of Obama, then just went with the flow-- there's a lot of shallow support out there that could evaporate as quickly as it appeared. The arrogant serial-opportunist Obama seems destined to offend much of the party's old guard, as well as anyone else that he used to get elected... but now no longer finds useful.
Reaganite is of the opinion that Obama's numbers are not going to recover. But that's highly unlikely, UNLESS the recession continues unabated (or gets much worse.) Even then, the only immediately-endangered species is Democratic Congresscritters.
Not that there's anything wrong with that.
Here's the thing: Obama knows that his honeymoon is short-lived under the very best of circumstances, which is why he's trying to jam ObamaCare, Cap-and-Tax, and a (summarily) ridiculous budget through Congress all at the same time.
But looking at cap-and-tax (which would have LOST if the Pubbies had held together)--and the now-imminent "re-shaping" of ObamaCare, it's clear that O will have to begin playing nice-nice with the (D) Party "old bulls," or he will lose Congress in '10.
Of course, that could also mean that he doesn't really give a rat's ass about Congressional (D's) after 2010, too--
Hmmmmm.
REAL Non-Profit Health Options
Oh, yes there are some.
McIlheran points to quite a few co-operatives, matter of fact, all in Wisconsin.
But that's irrelevant. He and I agree on this:
That's where co-ops lose Congress. They're a reasonable, thoughtful, voluntary option. What Congress contemplates is more compulsory.
The only word a Statist loves more than "compulsory" is "I".
McIlheran points to quite a few co-operatives, matter of fact, all in Wisconsin.
But that's irrelevant. He and I agree on this:
That's where co-ops lose Congress. They're a reasonable, thoughtful, voluntary option. What Congress contemplates is more compulsory.
The only word a Statist loves more than "compulsory" is "I".
For Kagen, Baldwin, Kind, Moore, and Obey
Not exactly fair. "You cap us. We cap you." would be fair. But I'll settle for what's there before some Congresscritter gets all upset.
HT: RedState
The "Justice" Bunch
The trial lawyers, in an attempt to make themselves all soft and cuddly, re-named themselves last year. The new monicker has something to do with "justice."
Beats "ambulance-chasing scum-suckers", I suppose.
Here's an example of their new-found "justice."
In re TD Ameritrade Account Holder Litigation, Case No. C 07-2852 VRW (N.D. Cal.) ($1.87M for the attorneys, coupons for the class.).
What? 5% off at Pick-N-Save?
By the way, for some strange reason, the 'class' objected to the settlement!
HT: OverLawyered
Beats "ambulance-chasing scum-suckers", I suppose.
Here's an example of their new-found "justice."
In re TD Ameritrade Account Holder Litigation, Case No. C 07-2852 VRW (N.D. Cal.) ($1.87M for the attorneys, coupons for the class.).
What? 5% off at Pick-N-Save?
By the way, for some strange reason, the 'class' objected to the settlement!
HT: OverLawyered
A Rational Discussion of Health Care
Schiff has a few good observations and ideas here.
They will not comport with the Statist dream, of course.
...The meteoric rise in health care costs, which has become an unending nightmare for U.S. businesses and consumers, is not an accident. This painful condition has arisen from excess government involvement in the system, tax provisions that encourage the over-utilization of health insurance, and government support of an out-of-control malpractice industry.
Who could argue with that?
Given our current tax code, the simplest way to bring down medical costs would be to fully tax health care benefits as wages and simultaneously increase the personal deduction by an amount significant enough to neutralize the effect of the tax increase. This would do two things. First, the uninsured would get a huge pay increase, enabling them to buy reasonably priced catastrophic policies. Second, those currently insured could opt out of expensive employer-provided plans, trading premiums for extra wages, then buy a more economical plan. The savings would go right into their pockets.
And what might those "economical plans" look like?
...insurance should only cover unpredictable, catastrophic costs.
Schiff compares to typical automobile insurance, which does not include routine maintenance, and homeowner's insurance, which does not include routine maintenance, either...
...President Obama claimed that government insurance would not drive private providers out of business. This is absurd. As the government provider will not have to produce a profit or accurately account for its contingent liabilities, it will provide insurance on an actuarially unsound basis.
It is impossible for a thinking person to accept Obama's claim; Schiff merely adds to the chorus.
I suspect that Obama knows his ObamaHealth is in trouble; the shape and (likely) origin of the "survey" I participated in yesterday tell me that the rhetoric is about to change significantly.
That's characteristic for this Administration. If you don't like our idea, we'll simply implement the idea and change the terms and/or language.
See, for example, here.
They will not comport with the Statist dream, of course.
...The meteoric rise in health care costs, which has become an unending nightmare for U.S. businesses and consumers, is not an accident. This painful condition has arisen from excess government involvement in the system, tax provisions that encourage the over-utilization of health insurance, and government support of an out-of-control malpractice industry.
Who could argue with that?
Given our current tax code, the simplest way to bring down medical costs would be to fully tax health care benefits as wages and simultaneously increase the personal deduction by an amount significant enough to neutralize the effect of the tax increase. This would do two things. First, the uninsured would get a huge pay increase, enabling them to buy reasonably priced catastrophic policies. Second, those currently insured could opt out of expensive employer-provided plans, trading premiums for extra wages, then buy a more economical plan. The savings would go right into their pockets.
And what might those "economical plans" look like?
...insurance should only cover unpredictable, catastrophic costs.
Schiff compares to typical automobile insurance, which does not include routine maintenance, and homeowner's insurance, which does not include routine maintenance, either...
...President Obama claimed that government insurance would not drive private providers out of business. This is absurd. As the government provider will not have to produce a profit or accurately account for its contingent liabilities, it will provide insurance on an actuarially unsound basis.
It is impossible for a thinking person to accept Obama's claim; Schiff merely adds to the chorus.
I suspect that Obama knows his ObamaHealth is in trouble; the shape and (likely) origin of the "survey" I participated in yesterday tell me that the rhetoric is about to change significantly.
That's characteristic for this Administration. If you don't like our idea, we'll simply implement the idea and change the terms and/or language.
See, for example, here.
A Problem in IRAN?
Vox makes a very, very good point. He cites the news-item:
Through a series of parliamentary inquiries, the Republicans learned that the 300-plus page managers' amendment, added to the bill last night in the House Rules Committee, has not even been been integrated with the official copy of the 1,090-page bill at the House Clerk's desk, let alone in any other location.
And makes the comparison:
This sort of thing is why I find the false and sentimental concern for Iranian democracy to be so ludicrous. Worry about your own so-called democracy, people, while you can still harbor the illusion that you possess it.
Similar, but not as egregious: the Wisconsin "budget."
Through a series of parliamentary inquiries, the Republicans learned that the 300-plus page managers' amendment, added to the bill last night in the House Rules Committee, has not even been been integrated with the official copy of the 1,090-page bill at the House Clerk's desk, let alone in any other location.
And makes the comparison:
This sort of thing is why I find the false and sentimental concern for Iranian democracy to be so ludicrous. Worry about your own so-called democracy, people, while you can still harbor the illusion that you possess it.
Similar, but not as egregious: the Wisconsin "budget."
Rumor? Threat? or Fact?
One line from an essay in the Weekly Standard kinda jumps out at you.
All of this means that the electrical energy needed to power battery-driven vehicles won't come cheap, if indeed it is available. Industry sources fear that with coal and nuclear more or less off the table, at least for now, we will end up rationing electricity.
Given a squeeze on coal and the "no nukes" mindset, that could start happening in less than 10 years.
All of this means that the electrical energy needed to power battery-driven vehicles won't come cheap, if indeed it is available. Industry sources fear that with coal and nuclear more or less off the table, at least for now, we will end up rationing electricity.
Given a squeeze on coal and the "no nukes" mindset, that could start happening in less than 10 years.
"Climate Change" Chatter Is a Loser
New polling data, different flapjaw from Obama.
Read the President's remarks Friday night after the House passed the measure most Capitol Hill staff and press referred to as the Waxman-Markey climate bill. You'll notice some words that the President never speaks: "climate," "warming," "greenhouse," "carbon," "cap-and-trade," or "emissions."
The charts at this link tell the story.
When asked in 2009 "how much more would you pay in utility bills to combat climate change?" FIFTY-EIGHT percent of respondents said "Zero."
Contrast that to the 2007 survey, in which only 35% had that response...
Put another way, in 2007, 57% of the respondents would pay something to offset climate change; by 2009, that had diminished to 35%.
Let's see if the Senate will bait the public into a revolution like Pelosi's House attempted to do.
Read the President's remarks Friday night after the House passed the measure most Capitol Hill staff and press referred to as the Waxman-Markey climate bill. You'll notice some words that the President never speaks: "climate," "warming," "greenhouse," "carbon," "cap-and-trade," or "emissions."
The charts at this link tell the story.
When asked in 2009 "how much more would you pay in utility bills to combat climate change?" FIFTY-EIGHT percent of respondents said "Zero."
Contrast that to the 2007 survey, in which only 35% had that response...
Put another way, in 2007, 57% of the respondents would pay something to offset climate change; by 2009, that had diminished to 35%.
Let's see if the Senate will bait the public into a revolution like Pelosi's House attempted to do.
The Dirty Underbelly of TARP
If you think TARP bailed out a bunch of banks, you're right.
But that's hardly all it did.
That legislation included $20 billion in tax breaks for companies that produce energy from wind and other alternative sources as well as $1.6 billion in relief related to the tax treatment of canceled debt for Sprint Nextel Corp., the third- largest U.S. mobile-phone-service company, and other firms.
...Max Baucus, the Montana Democrat who chairs the Senate Finance Committee, spent much of 2008 searching for a way to enact the tax provisions, says Russ Sullivan, the committee’s staff director. Baucus recommended to Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada that the tax breaks be included in the October bailout bill, Sullivan says.
Think that stuff is stupid? We're not done yet.
The legislation, which includes dozens of narrowly written provisions, created a new class of bailout beneficiaries.
One, championed by Michigan Representative Dave Camp, the top Republican on the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, and supported by Baucus, is saving Nascar track builders $109 million in taxes this year by allowing more generous write-offs. ...Another shaves $478 million during the next decade from tax bills to movie and television producers as a better way of encouraging them to shoot in the U.S.
Fred Rosenthal, president of Beltsville, Maryland-based Jasper’s Restaurants, says his industry needed shorter cost-recovery periods for renovations to restaurants.
The October bill changed that time to 15 years from 39 and 1/2 years. That will cost the IRS $8.7 billion over the next decade, according to the JCT
And then there's Captain Morgan Rum. But you'll have to read the linked story for that part.
But that's hardly all it did.
That legislation included $20 billion in tax breaks for companies that produce energy from wind and other alternative sources as well as $1.6 billion in relief related to the tax treatment of canceled debt for Sprint Nextel Corp., the third- largest U.S. mobile-phone-service company, and other firms.
...Max Baucus, the Montana Democrat who chairs the Senate Finance Committee, spent much of 2008 searching for a way to enact the tax provisions, says Russ Sullivan, the committee’s staff director. Baucus recommended to Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada that the tax breaks be included in the October bailout bill, Sullivan says.
Think that stuff is stupid? We're not done yet.
The legislation, which includes dozens of narrowly written provisions, created a new class of bailout beneficiaries.
One, championed by Michigan Representative Dave Camp, the top Republican on the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, and supported by Baucus, is saving Nascar track builders $109 million in taxes this year by allowing more generous write-offs. ...Another shaves $478 million during the next decade from tax bills to movie and television producers as a better way of encouraging them to shoot in the U.S.
Fred Rosenthal, president of Beltsville, Maryland-based Jasper’s Restaurants, says his industry needed shorter cost-recovery periods for renovations to restaurants.
The October bill changed that time to 15 years from 39 and 1/2 years. That will cost the IRS $8.7 billion over the next decade, according to the JCT
And then there's Captain Morgan Rum. But you'll have to read the linked story for that part.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Health Survey
Yup.
Got a call from a (D) polling outfit. You can tell because all their questions leave little room to doubt that ObamaCare is the best thing since sex.
So when CCI releases its info, don't believe a word of it.
Got a call from a (D) polling outfit. You can tell because all their questions leave little room to doubt that ObamaCare is the best thing since sex.
So when CCI releases its info, don't believe a word of it.
Losing Bets: TARP, Zombie Banks, FDIC
No wonder this is a Friday/Saturday news release:
Of the original $700 B of TARP funding, CBO estimates that $439 B of the original $700 B has been spent, $280 B of that will be repaid and $159 B will not be repaid and will be a cost to the taxpayer. When you include the costs of FDIC actions and the bailouts of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the expected cost to the taxpayer rises to about $553 B.
But hey: SPEND MORE, you Congressional jackasses!
Of the original $700 B of TARP funding, CBO estimates that $439 B of the original $700 B has been spent, $280 B of that will be repaid and $159 B will not be repaid and will be a cost to the taxpayer. When you include the costs of FDIC actions and the bailouts of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the expected cost to the taxpayer rises to about $553 B.
But hey: SPEND MORE, you Congressional jackasses!
To Pocan, It's No Big
Mark Pocan, letting you all know how to spend your money.
Madison Democrat Mark Pocan said the plan does what Democrats pledged they would do after gaining the majority in the Assembly: dealing with a record deficit, while protecting schools, public safety and health care, and shielding working families from big tax hikes. A family earning the median state income, said Pocan will pay "about 128 bucks" in new taxes and fees. "Given a $6.6 billion deficit, a historic deficit, I don't think that's all that bad."
Of course, that number doesn't count property-tax increases which WILL result from the State budget.
Beyond that, when you are taking a reduction in pay somewhere between 6% and 50% (or more), that $128.10/year actually means something.
And yes, I know several people who have taken 50% pay cuts. White-collar, hardworking guys. There are a lot more of them around than you may think.
Of course, they still HAVE an income, unlike the folks in Janesville, to whom $128.10 is even MORE significant.
Thanks, Mark!
HT: Kevin
Madison Democrat Mark Pocan said the plan does what Democrats pledged they would do after gaining the majority in the Assembly: dealing with a record deficit, while protecting schools, public safety and health care, and shielding working families from big tax hikes. A family earning the median state income, said Pocan will pay "about 128 bucks" in new taxes and fees. "Given a $6.6 billion deficit, a historic deficit, I don't think that's all that bad."
Of course, that number doesn't count property-tax increases which WILL result from the State budget.
Beyond that, when you are taking a reduction in pay somewhere between 6% and 50% (or more), that $128.10/year actually means something.
And yes, I know several people who have taken 50% pay cuts. White-collar, hardworking guys. There are a lot more of them around than you may think.
Of course, they still HAVE an income, unlike the folks in Janesville, to whom $128.10 is even MORE significant.
Thanks, Mark!
HT: Kevin
Kagen Crows About Screwing You
I believe that the number of lies and half-truths in Twit Kagen's statement exceeds all world-records heretofore known.
Example:
“We are taking the necessary steps to reduce our dependence on foreign oil and build a better future for our children and grandchildren.”
Except that the oil companies will now import MORE product.
Congressman Kagen has been working closely with House Agriculture Committee Chairman Colin Peterson to ensure that Wisconsin’s family farms are rewarded for their efforts to operate self-sustaining farms.
Read: Corn-a-Holing will be more lucrative. The fact that you are Corn-a-Holing your fellow Wisconsin residents--well, ignore that.
“We have kept the EPA off our farms,” said Kagen.
Except for your farm-HOUSES, which will now have to conform with California (!!!) building codes.
The jobs created cannot be shipped overseas and will make America the global innovation leader and preserve our planet by reducing the pollution that causes global warming.
All OTHER jobs--not so much. Like the ones in metalbending, for example.
HT: Berry
Example:
“We are taking the necessary steps to reduce our dependence on foreign oil and build a better future for our children and grandchildren.”
Except that the oil companies will now import MORE product.
Congressman Kagen has been working closely with House Agriculture Committee Chairman Colin Peterson to ensure that Wisconsin’s family farms are rewarded for their efforts to operate self-sustaining farms.
Read: Corn-a-Holing will be more lucrative. The fact that you are Corn-a-Holing your fellow Wisconsin residents--well, ignore that.
“We have kept the EPA off our farms,” said Kagen.
Except for your farm-HOUSES, which will now have to conform with California (!!!) building codes.
The jobs created cannot be shipped overseas and will make America the global innovation leader and preserve our planet by reducing the pollution that causes global warming.
All OTHER jobs--not so much. Like the ones in metalbending, for example.
HT: Berry
The Obama Catches Some Smarts from Bush
Heh.
...the Obama Administration leaked this afternoon that the President is drawing up an executive order to allow indefinite detention of terrorism suspects.
Close Gitmo. Abandon Iraq in 6 months. No tax hikes if you earn less than $250K. No taxes on health insurance.
Nothing like having a "R" gear on that wreck Obama's driving.
HT: Ace
...the Obama Administration leaked this afternoon that the President is drawing up an executive order to allow indefinite detention of terrorism suspects.
Nothing like having a "R" gear on that wreck Obama's driving.
HT: Ace
Was Lombardi a Southerner?
This is a great essay/memoir about growing up Southern.
The quote most Lombardi-esque:
...The key to winning as a lineman, Dad said, was the first play from scrimmage. Come to the line with the determination to fire off as soon as the ball was snapped and hit the other guy as hard as you can. “Line up and look him in the eye and say, ‘I’m going to beat you today,’ and then knock him on his butt. Hit him as hard as you can, then come back on the next play and do it again. Just keep at it until you’ve got him beat.”
But you really should read the whole thing.
McCain
The quote most Lombardi-esque:
...The key to winning as a lineman, Dad said, was the first play from scrimmage. Come to the line with the determination to fire off as soon as the ball was snapped and hit the other guy as hard as you can. “Line up and look him in the eye and say, ‘I’m going to beat you today,’ and then knock him on his butt. Hit him as hard as you can, then come back on the next play and do it again. Just keep at it until you’ve got him beat.”
But you really should read the whole thing.
McCain
Football Trivia
OK, I'm not a football geek, but I didn't know this, and maybe you didn't either.
...Hutson—destined to become a Hall of Famer for the Green Bay Packers—caught six passes for 165 yards and two touchdowns in Pasadena to lead the Tide to a 29-13 victory over Stanford. Yet it was the fellow who described himself as “the other end” on that championship squad—a tough farm boy from Fordyce, Arkansas, named Paul “Bear” Bryant—who ultimately became synonymous with Alabama football legend.
Hutson and Bryant(!!)
Kinda like Lombardi and Landry both working as NYGiants assistants.
...Hutson—destined to become a Hall of Famer for the Green Bay Packers—caught six passes for 165 yards and two touchdowns in Pasadena to lead the Tide to a 29-13 victory over Stanford. Yet it was the fellow who described himself as “the other end” on that championship squad—a tough farm boy from Fordyce, Arkansas, named Paul “Bear” Bryant—who ultimately became synonymous with Alabama football legend.
Hutson and Bryant(!!)
Kinda like Lombardi and Landry both working as NYGiants assistants.
Reverse Rent-Seeking: FedEx
Rent-seeking is what GE does: get Congress to write laws which force people to spend money on YOUR products, and yours alone. (It works just as well with regulators, of course.)
Then there's 'reverse rent-seeking,' which is getting Congress (or a regulator) to minimize YOUR expenses, and yours alone.
That's exactly what FedEx is doing, folks. Facts supplied by Muth, and HT McCain.
Then there's 'reverse rent-seeking,' which is getting Congress (or a regulator) to minimize YOUR expenses, and yours alone.
That's exactly what FedEx is doing, folks. Facts supplied by Muth, and HT McCain.
Nuclear Fallout? Phosphates? ChemoPlastics?
Nope. Sorry, but this ain't man-caused. Find another Scary Story.
Around the world, frogs are found with missing or misshaped limbs, a striking deformity that many researchers believe is caused by chemical pollution.
However, tests on frogs and toads have revealed a more natural, benign cause.
The deformed frogs are actually victims of the predatory habits of dragonfly nymphs, which eat the legs of tadpoles.
Nymphomania, redefined.
HT: Agitator
Around the world, frogs are found with missing or misshaped limbs, a striking deformity that many researchers believe is caused by chemical pollution.
However, tests on frogs and toads have revealed a more natural, benign cause.
The deformed frogs are actually victims of the predatory habits of dragonfly nymphs, which eat the legs of tadpoles.
Nymphomania, redefined.
HT: Agitator
More on the Fake "CRA Did It" Stuff
Ritholtz discovers that the Orange County Register did data-analysis on Community Reinvestment Act lending.
“Most of the lenders who made risky subprime loans were exempt from the Community Reinvestment Act. And many of the lenders covered by the law that did make subprime loans came late to that market – after smaller, unregulated players showed there was money to be made.”
The study included 55 million mortgages classified as "high-priced" by the Fed.
“Most of the lenders who made risky subprime loans were exempt from the Community Reinvestment Act. And many of the lenders covered by the law that did make subprime loans came late to that market – after smaller, unregulated players showed there was money to be made.”
The study included 55 million mortgages classified as "high-priced" by the Fed.
VanHollen Will Need More Expense Money
....for his department, silly!
Crime laboratory reports may not be used against criminal defendants at trial unless the analysts responsible for creating them give testimony and subject themselves to cross-examination, the Supreme Court ruled Thursday in a 5-to-4 decision.
Interesting split: Scalia, Thomas, Souter, Stevens, and Ginsburg were the 5.
HT: JustOneMinute
Crime laboratory reports may not be used against criminal defendants at trial unless the analysts responsible for creating them give testimony and subject themselves to cross-examination, the Supreme Court ruled Thursday in a 5-to-4 decision.
Interesting split: Scalia, Thomas, Souter, Stevens, and Ginsburg were the 5.
HT: JustOneMinute
Jobless FantasyLand
Here we go!
America’s biggest oil companies will probably cope with U.S. carbon legislation by closing fuel plants, cutting capital spending and increasing imports.
The same amount of gasoline that would have $1 in carbon costs imposed if it were domestic would have 10 cents less added if it were imported, according to energy consulting firm Wood Mackenzie in Houston. Contrary to President Barack Obama’s goal of reducing dependence on overseas energy suppliers, the bill would incent U.S. refiners to import more fuel, said Clayton Mahaffey, an analyst at RedChip Cos. in Maitland, Florida.
Murphy Oil? Maybe they'll re-think their upgrade plans, too.
America’s biggest oil companies will probably cope with U.S. carbon legislation by closing fuel plants, cutting capital spending and increasing imports.
The same amount of gasoline that would have $1 in carbon costs imposed if it were domestic would have 10 cents less added if it were imported, according to energy consulting firm Wood Mackenzie in Houston. Contrary to President Barack Obama’s goal of reducing dependence on overseas energy suppliers, the bill would incent U.S. refiners to import more fuel, said Clayton Mahaffey, an analyst at RedChip Cos. in Maitland, Florida.
Murphy Oil? Maybe they'll re-think their upgrade plans, too.
WI Dems Vote to Strangle State for FantasyLand
Ron Kind, Tammy Baldwin, Twit Kagen, Dave Obey, Gwen Moore.
Remember those names when your plant closes and when your electricity bill exceeds your property-tax payment.
They all voted against manufacturing and against about half your electricity generation--in favor of FantasyLand.
Remember those names when your plant closes and when your electricity bill exceeds your property-tax payment.
They all voted against manufacturing and against about half your electricity generation--in favor of FantasyLand.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Is Doyle Bent on Killing Off Manufacturing in WI?
This thread gets interesting.
In recapping the Merc Marine situation, I cautioned about assigning all the blame to Doyle and his (D) pals in the Legislature. There are other considerations whenever a business closes and relocates.
But, as others have observed, there seems to be a cold shoulder in Madistan when manufacturing is on the table. He's unfriendly to most businesses, but GM, Thomas, Merc (??), Simplicity.....and there are others in the process (or who are less visible.)
Anyhoo, my interlocutor hit on something I had been discussing with another friend a couple of weeks ago:
the only jobs our Gov seems to recognize are those requiring PhDs.
As to you factory-laboring slobs, "meh" sez Jimbo.
That's short-sighted; there are some things which MUST be manufactured domestically because offshoring is simply not practical; either transportation is inadequate, or JIT considerations preclude it, or only US plants have the quality required.
Interesting.
In recapping the Merc Marine situation, I cautioned about assigning all the blame to Doyle and his (D) pals in the Legislature. There are other considerations whenever a business closes and relocates.
But, as others have observed, there seems to be a cold shoulder in Madistan when manufacturing is on the table. He's unfriendly to most businesses, but GM, Thomas, Merc (??), Simplicity.....and there are others in the process (or who are less visible.)
Anyhoo, my interlocutor hit on something I had been discussing with another friend a couple of weeks ago:
the only jobs our Gov seems to recognize are those requiring PhDs.
As to you factory-laboring slobs, "meh" sez Jimbo.
That's short-sighted; there are some things which MUST be manufactured domestically because offshoring is simply not practical; either transportation is inadequate, or JIT considerations preclude it, or only US plants have the quality required.
Interesting.
Another Perspective on Gay "Marriage"
Good think piece, for those who think.
...Franz Rosenzweig’s anthropology—in which religion is a response to man’s sentience of death, and the sentience of death is not only an individual but also an communal characteristic—may help answer that question. Humankind fights mortality in two ways. The first is to raise children who will remember us, and the second is to seek eternal life through divine grace. The estate of marriage involves both.
“Why do men chase women?” asks Rose Castorini in Moonstruck. “Because they want to live forever.” The data suggest that we marry and have children for just that reason. When we cease to hope in eternal life, we no longer marry and no longer have children. That is the terrible lesson that the triumph of secularism has taught us. In industrial countries where atheism triumphed in the form of communism, fertility rates have fallen to levels barely half of replacement. The fertility of Eastern Europe in 2005 was only 1.25 children per woman, according to the United Nations Population Prospects. Japan stood at 1.3. In secular Western Europe it was 1.6. In industrial countries where most people profess some form of religious faith, however, fertility remains at replacement levels or above. America’s fertility in 2005 stood at 2.1, and Israel’s at 2.9.
Hmmmm....recall that there is such a thing as "practical atheism" when someone remarks that 'Oh, yes, I believe...'
...The first principle of Augustine’s anthropology, that we are made for God and restless until we come to him, coheres well with what we observe in societies that abandon God. Our restlessness in that terminal case can reach levels that tear us to pieces. It is entirely possible to devise other means of perpetuating the species than marriage, for example, the collective raising of children as in Plato’s dystopia and the various attempts to realize some of its features. But none of them has taken, not even for short periods of time. They have no interest for human beings. It is not only that people want to raise their own children, rather than the state’s children: Without the expectation of eternal life within a faith community, mating couples do not evince interest in reproducing at replacement levels.
...This may be the first time in Western history in which the sacred foundation of society, whose irreducible fundamental unit is the family, faces explicit opposition. If militant secularism succeeds in banishing the sacred from social life, we will lose heart and perish, as the tragic victims of communism are perishing. There is nothing to be done for the infertile, aging peoples of the former Soviet empire. The best thing one can do for them is not to be like them. Secular Western Europe already has one foot in the demographic grave. If we lose the sacred in the United States, we will follow them into Sheol. We might as well make a stand now over the sacred character of marriage, because there is nowhere to fall back from here.
Amen.
...Franz Rosenzweig’s anthropology—in which religion is a response to man’s sentience of death, and the sentience of death is not only an individual but also an communal characteristic—may help answer that question. Humankind fights mortality in two ways. The first is to raise children who will remember us, and the second is to seek eternal life through divine grace. The estate of marriage involves both.
“Why do men chase women?” asks Rose Castorini in Moonstruck. “Because they want to live forever.” The data suggest that we marry and have children for just that reason. When we cease to hope in eternal life, we no longer marry and no longer have children. That is the terrible lesson that the triumph of secularism has taught us. In industrial countries where atheism triumphed in the form of communism, fertility rates have fallen to levels barely half of replacement. The fertility of Eastern Europe in 2005 was only 1.25 children per woman, according to the United Nations Population Prospects. Japan stood at 1.3. In secular Western Europe it was 1.6. In industrial countries where most people profess some form of religious faith, however, fertility remains at replacement levels or above. America’s fertility in 2005 stood at 2.1, and Israel’s at 2.9.
Hmmmm....recall that there is such a thing as "practical atheism" when someone remarks that 'Oh, yes, I believe...'
...The first principle of Augustine’s anthropology, that we are made for God and restless until we come to him, coheres well with what we observe in societies that abandon God. Our restlessness in that terminal case can reach levels that tear us to pieces. It is entirely possible to devise other means of perpetuating the species than marriage, for example, the collective raising of children as in Plato’s dystopia and the various attempts to realize some of its features. But none of them has taken, not even for short periods of time. They have no interest for human beings. It is not only that people want to raise their own children, rather than the state’s children: Without the expectation of eternal life within a faith community, mating couples do not evince interest in reproducing at replacement levels.
...This may be the first time in Western history in which the sacred foundation of society, whose irreducible fundamental unit is the family, faces explicit opposition. If militant secularism succeeds in banishing the sacred from social life, we will lose heart and perish, as the tragic victims of communism are perishing. There is nothing to be done for the infertile, aging peoples of the former Soviet empire. The best thing one can do for them is not to be like them. Secular Western Europe already has one foot in the demographic grave. If we lose the sacred in the United States, we will follow them into Sheol. We might as well make a stand now over the sacred character of marriage, because there is nowhere to fall back from here.
Amen.
How To Make Money in a Recession
Berry has three stories--I'll give you just one.
A Monroe County, WI Policeman had a perfect spot to watch for speeders, but wasn't getting any. Then he discovered the problem -- a 12-year-old boy was standing up the road with a hand painted sign, which read 'RADAR TRAP AHEAD.' The officer also found the boy had an accomplice who was down the road with a sign reading 'TIPS' and a bucket full of money.
Damn, that's good!
A Monroe County, WI Policeman had a perfect spot to watch for speeders, but wasn't getting any. Then he discovered the problem -- a 12-year-old boy was standing up the road with a hand painted sign, which read 'RADAR TRAP AHEAD.' The officer also found the boy had an accomplice who was down the road with a sign reading 'TIPS' and a bucket full of money.
Damn, that's good!
Merc Outta Here?
The speculation is rampant. Will Merc Marine leave?
One blogger, Maichle, opines that Merc will depart and indicts Doyle, Sheridan, Decker, and Pocan. Those four are certainly in the Hall of Shame, if that Hall consists of politicians who did their damndest to drive businesses out of Wisconsin.
But it's not quite that simple.
Yes, the tax rate in Wisconsin is a factor. Yes, the union-labor situation is a factor. Yes, Wisconsin's repressive regulations are a factor. And the uncertainty of what the NEXT round of budget/policy/regulations will bring is a really big factor.
But distribution counts. Wisconsin is located in a part of the country which is very cold in the winter; people do not use powerboats on frozen lakes. The South doesn't have that problem, AND the South actually has lakes. A lot of them. And fishermen, too. (We could also postulate that "taxing the rich", a Wisconsin "solution" has an effect on boat-and-motor purchasing.)
An aging plant is another factor. The Oklahoma site is not encumbered by that problem.
Maybe, as Maichle states, OSU has talent. But so does MSOE, the UW system (especially Stevens Point's manufacturing program), and Marquette (ask Briggs and Stratton.)
Finally, if Wisconsin and Oklahoma get into a bidding war for Merc's plant, ........
Who has more money available? Wisconsin, with a projected $2.3Bn deficit??
One blogger, Maichle, opines that Merc will depart and indicts Doyle, Sheridan, Decker, and Pocan. Those four are certainly in the Hall of Shame, if that Hall consists of politicians who did their damndest to drive businesses out of Wisconsin.
But it's not quite that simple.
Yes, the tax rate in Wisconsin is a factor. Yes, the union-labor situation is a factor. Yes, Wisconsin's repressive regulations are a factor. And the uncertainty of what the NEXT round of budget/policy/regulations will bring is a really big factor.
But distribution counts. Wisconsin is located in a part of the country which is very cold in the winter; people do not use powerboats on frozen lakes. The South doesn't have that problem, AND the South actually has lakes. A lot of them. And fishermen, too. (We could also postulate that "taxing the rich", a Wisconsin "solution" has an effect on boat-and-motor purchasing.)
An aging plant is another factor. The Oklahoma site is not encumbered by that problem.
Maybe, as Maichle states, OSU has talent. But so does MSOE, the UW system (especially Stevens Point's manufacturing program), and Marquette (ask Briggs and Stratton.)
Finally, if Wisconsin and Oklahoma get into a bidding war for Merc's plant, ........
Who has more money available? Wisconsin, with a projected $2.3Bn deficit??
It Ain't the CRA, Folks; It's De-Regulation
Ritholtz doubles down on his point: it was NOT the CRA which made the mortgage market implode. Personally, I think that CRA was a contributor, but Ritholtz clearly makes the case that it was not "THE cause."
Some facts which should be considered by Phil Gramm and his mind-darkened followers:
The 345 mortgage brokers that imploded were non-banks, not covered by the CRA legislation. The vast majority of CRA covered banks are actually healthy.
The biggest foreclosure areas aren’t Harlem or Chicago’s South side or DC slums or inner city Philly; Rather, it has been non-CRA regions — the Sand States — such as southern California, Las Vegas, Arizona, and South Florida. The closest thing to an inner city foreclosure story is Detroit – and maybe the bankruptcy of GM and Chrysler actually had something to do with that.
When CRA was introduced, the FDIC (and other bank regulators) made a big deal of it, and a number of Milwaukee-area banks paid attention. But the lending resulting from CRA was not the "disaster" which was predicted at the time. Gramm is way overblowing his case to draw attention from his successful deregulation, which was successful only in creating 'too big to fail' Zombies such as Citibank.
Need more on the ills of deregulation? OK. Paul Volcker thinks that the system needs MORE regulation. Remember Paul? The guy who fixed the system post-Carter? Yah, him.
Shut up, Phil.
Some facts which should be considered by Phil Gramm and his mind-darkened followers:
The 345 mortgage brokers that imploded were non-banks, not covered by the CRA legislation. The vast majority of CRA covered banks are actually healthy.
The biggest foreclosure areas aren’t Harlem or Chicago’s South side or DC slums or inner city Philly; Rather, it has been non-CRA regions — the Sand States — such as southern California, Las Vegas, Arizona, and South Florida. The closest thing to an inner city foreclosure story is Detroit – and maybe the bankruptcy of GM and Chrysler actually had something to do with that.
When CRA was introduced, the FDIC (and other bank regulators) made a big deal of it, and a number of Milwaukee-area banks paid attention. But the lending resulting from CRA was not the "disaster" which was predicted at the time. Gramm is way overblowing his case to draw attention from his successful deregulation, which was successful only in creating 'too big to fail' Zombies such as Citibank.
Need more on the ills of deregulation? OK. Paul Volcker thinks that the system needs MORE regulation. Remember Paul? The guy who fixed the system post-Carter? Yah, him.
Shut up, Phil.
The Nasty Little "Public Option" Provisions Upcoming
Oh, yah, ObamaCare gets worse. It's only a matter of time before the screws are tightened as this scenario envisions.
What is being overlooked this time around compared to 1993 is this: to prevent "leakage" from the system, draining of supply to other providers of insurance/purchasers of health care services...the "public option" has to effectively outlaw them. The mechanisms will be various and include provisions in law such as a prohibition on "topping off" fees paid independently by patients to physicians or hospitals above the public option's reimbursement rates to get better service or, indeed, any service at all in some circumstances (already in Medicare, I believe). A prohibition against taking private patients if a provider accepts ANY public patients...it's an all or none situation...unless your entire practice is exclusively private, you must accept the government's terms and conditions and no others. Severe penalties for the economic "crime," probably deemed to be medical fraud, of engaging in free market medicine, for violators.
One suspects that these provisions SHOULD ignite a shooting-war...
What is being overlooked this time around compared to 1993 is this: to prevent "leakage" from the system, draining of supply to other providers of insurance/purchasers of health care services...the "public option" has to effectively outlaw them. The mechanisms will be various and include provisions in law such as a prohibition on "topping off" fees paid independently by patients to physicians or hospitals above the public option's reimbursement rates to get better service or, indeed, any service at all in some circumstances (already in Medicare, I believe). A prohibition against taking private patients if a provider accepts ANY public patients...it's an all or none situation...unless your entire practice is exclusively private, you must accept the government's terms and conditions and no others. Severe penalties for the economic "crime," probably deemed to be medical fraud, of engaging in free market medicine, for violators.
One suspects that these provisions SHOULD ignite a shooting-war...
EPA Malfeasance? Fantasyland, Part 2
From a memo suppressed by EPA:
"...Our conclusions do represent the best science in the sense of most closely corresponding to available observations....and are sufficiently at variance with those of IPCC, CCSP, and the draft TSP that we believe they support our increasing concern that EPA has not critically reviewed the findings by these groups."...
"...we believe our concerns and reservations are sufficiently important to warrant a serious review of the science by EPA before any attempt is made to reach conclusions. ..."
[In critiquing the EPA's TSP] "The principal comments are as follows:
"The current draft TSP is based on the IPCC AR4 report which is at best three years out of date in a rapidly changing field.
..."Global temperatures have declined, extending the current downtrend to 11 years...at the same time, atmospheric CO2 levels have increased and CO2 emissions have accelerated.
..."A new 2009 paper finds that the crucial assumption in the GCM models [used by IPCC concerning water vapor] is not supported by empirical evidence and that the feedback is actually negative."
There is plenty more.
In short, the reservations are extremely serious--flawed/faulty premises, observations contradicting IPCC projections, and new criticisms of Global Warming Theory which deserve a very close look.
Fantasyland Exposed, folks.
"...Our conclusions do represent the best science in the sense of most closely corresponding to available observations....and are sufficiently at variance with those of IPCC, CCSP, and the draft TSP that we believe they support our increasing concern that EPA has not critically reviewed the findings by these groups."...
"...we believe our concerns and reservations are sufficiently important to warrant a serious review of the science by EPA before any attempt is made to reach conclusions. ..."
[In critiquing the EPA's TSP] "The principal comments are as follows:
"The current draft TSP is based on the IPCC AR4 report which is at best three years out of date in a rapidly changing field.
..."Global temperatures have declined, extending the current downtrend to 11 years...at the same time, atmospheric CO2 levels have increased and CO2 emissions have accelerated.
..."A new 2009 paper finds that the crucial assumption in the GCM models [used by IPCC concerning water vapor] is not supported by empirical evidence and that the feedback is actually negative."
There is plenty more.
In short, the reservations are extremely serious--flawed/faulty premises, observations contradicting IPCC projections, and new criticisms of Global Warming Theory which deserve a very close look.
Fantasyland Exposed, folks.
Will Obey, Kagen, Kind, and Petri Vote for Fantasy?
The House of Representatives is about to vote on Cap-and-Tax, which has been compared to the "Smoot-Hawley" bill of this age. It is astonishing that Wisconsin congressmen would seriously consider pointing a death-ray at Wisconsin manufacturing plants in the first place. It is even more astonishing that they will do it in the name of Fantasy--and a Fantasy which many other countries are now seeing as just that.
...In April, the Polish Academy of Sciences published a document challenging man-made global warming. In the Czech Republic, where President Vaclav Klaus remains a leading skeptic, today only 11% of the population believes humans play a role. In France, President Nicolas Sarkozy wants to tap Claude Allegre to lead the country's new ministry of industry and innovation. Twenty years ago Mr. Allegre was among the first to trill about man-made global warming, but the geochemist has since recanted. New Zealand last year elected a new government, which immediately suspended the country's weeks-old cap-and-trade program.
The number of skeptics, far from shrinking, is swelling. Oklahoma Sen. Jim Inhofe now counts more than 700 scientists who disagree with the U.N. -- 13 times the number who authored the U.N.'s 2007 climate summary for policymakers...
...Australian polls have shown a sharp uptick in public skepticism; the press is back to questioning scientific dogma; blogs are having a field day.
Stossel's article also mentions serious opposition in Japan and Norway.
Beyond that, neither India nor PRChina will participate. They know better, and are perfectly willing to watch the U S Congress impose a national-suicide regime on the US. Fantasy doesn't play well in China.
Word has it that "farm state" congressmen are being purchased by logrolling on ethanol, or "Corn-a-Hole", which only goes to show that the bill is NOT about 'pollution'; it is about raw power and control.
The first consideration in legislating should be "What are the facts?" The fact is that the religion of AlGore is heresy. In the case of this particular heresy, its corollaries will lead to national economic suicide.
The Fantasy should be opposed by Kagen, Petri, and Obey. Period.
...In April, the Polish Academy of Sciences published a document challenging man-made global warming. In the Czech Republic, where President Vaclav Klaus remains a leading skeptic, today only 11% of the population believes humans play a role. In France, President Nicolas Sarkozy wants to tap Claude Allegre to lead the country's new ministry of industry and innovation. Twenty years ago Mr. Allegre was among the first to trill about man-made global warming, but the geochemist has since recanted. New Zealand last year elected a new government, which immediately suspended the country's weeks-old cap-and-trade program.
The number of skeptics, far from shrinking, is swelling. Oklahoma Sen. Jim Inhofe now counts more than 700 scientists who disagree with the U.N. -- 13 times the number who authored the U.N.'s 2007 climate summary for policymakers...
...Australian polls have shown a sharp uptick in public skepticism; the press is back to questioning scientific dogma; blogs are having a field day.
Stossel's article also mentions serious opposition in Japan and Norway.
Beyond that, neither India nor PRChina will participate. They know better, and are perfectly willing to watch the U S Congress impose a national-suicide regime on the US. Fantasy doesn't play well in China.
Word has it that "farm state" congressmen are being purchased by logrolling on ethanol, or "Corn-a-Hole", which only goes to show that the bill is NOT about 'pollution'; it is about raw power and control.
The first consideration in legislating should be "What are the facts?" The fact is that the religion of AlGore is heresy. In the case of this particular heresy, its corollaries will lead to national economic suicide.
The Fantasy should be opposed by Kagen, Petri, and Obey. Period.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
The Dave Obey/Obama "Die Now" Act
Just as a reminder, Wisconsin's very own 'Doctor' Dave Obey authored the language establishing the "Die Now" Commissariat, Bureau of Health, Life, and Death, ObamaCare Department.
Matt Vadum has the Committee's motto:
"Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori." (How sweet and proper to die for one's country.)
Not the same meaning as 'Arbeit Macht Frei' over the gate, but the same result.
Matt Vadum has the Committee's motto:
"Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori." (How sweet and proper to die for one's country.)
Not the same meaning as 'Arbeit Macht Frei' over the gate, but the same result.
I.G.-Gate, Amtrak Branch, Part 2
This stuff is getting serious.
Officials of Amtrak have "systematically violated the letter and spirit of the Inspector General Act," Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) charged Thursday, making public a 94-page legal report prepared at the request of the Amtrak inspector general who resigned suddenly a week ago
...Amtrak vice president and general counsel Eleanor "Eldie" Acheson -- a close friend of Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton -- had been involved in several of the disputes between the money-losing passenger rail service and the IG's office.
Ms. Acheson, daughter of the ex-Sec/State, was also a lobbyist on GLBT issues prior to joining Amtrak.
HT: AmSpecBlog
Officials of Amtrak have "systematically violated the letter and spirit of the Inspector General Act," Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) charged Thursday, making public a 94-page legal report prepared at the request of the Amtrak inspector general who resigned suddenly a week ago
...Amtrak vice president and general counsel Eleanor "Eldie" Acheson -- a close friend of Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton -- had been involved in several of the disputes between the money-losing passenger rail service and the IG's office.
Ms. Acheson, daughter of the ex-Sec/State, was also a lobbyist on GLBT issues prior to joining Amtrak.
HT: AmSpecBlog
Ordination Confers Vast Powers, Eh?
Here a reporter for LifeSite News examines the statements of the Canadian Bishops, who speak with "authority" on matters of fact.
Problem is that the Canadian Bishops have made up "their own facts."
I have just heard that the Canadian bishops, in their "God-given authority" can change external reality. Stop looking at me like that. Of course I'm not kidding.
We have it from the president of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops himself, so you know it must be true. Archbishop James Weisgerber, the President of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops has said, unequivocally, that there is "no evidence" that the groups that D&P is funding around the world are plumping to legalise abortion....Except for all the, you know, evidence, an' stuff..
But Bishop Weisgerber wants to let us know that these so-called "facts" are just the machinations of "websites" who have no, ABSOLUTELY NO, authority in the Church to judge these matters.
We in Milwaukee are quite used to claims that Ordination (either to the priesthood, or to the Office of Bishop) confers the license to ignore Church laws and teachings, in addition to conferring the power to make up one's own "facts."
It must be so; the Canadians have confirmed it!
Problem is that the Canadian Bishops have made up "their own facts."
I have just heard that the Canadian bishops, in their "God-given authority" can change external reality. Stop looking at me like that. Of course I'm not kidding.
We have it from the president of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops himself, so you know it must be true. Archbishop James Weisgerber, the President of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops has said, unequivocally, that there is "no evidence" that the groups that D&P is funding around the world are plumping to legalise abortion....Except for all the, you know, evidence, an' stuff..
But Bishop Weisgerber wants to let us know that these so-called "facts" are just the machinations of "websites" who have no, ABSOLUTELY NO, authority in the Church to judge these matters.
We in Milwaukee are quite used to claims that Ordination (either to the priesthood, or to the Office of Bishop) confers the license to ignore Church laws and teachings, in addition to conferring the power to make up one's own "facts."
It must be so; the Canadians have confirmed it!
Should You Survive ObamaCare's Rationing...
Yes, ObamaCare will ration healthcare, especially for the elderly.
But if you are young, or reasonably healthy, that's not the ONLY rationing Dear Leader has in his bag.
...Worse than the increased cost of energy, perhaps, is that the Waxman-Markey bill will essentially result in artificial limits on electricity production and, ultimately, electricity rationing.
...In addition to the limits imposed by the renewable energy requirement, Waxman-Markey essentially phases out coal-generated electricity (50% of our current supply) while failing to guarantee the construction of the only realistic substitute for coal -- nuclear power. In the end, what we’ll have is an energy grid constrained by the supply of natural gas -- much of which will have to be imported. Even so, there’s simply not enough natural gas to affordably meet all our energy needs, so supplies will have to be rationed somehow.
However, neither the President's family, nor Congress, will be on the short end of either ObamaCare or electricity rations.
Fortunately, we are still able to BUY MORE AMMO!!
WOLVERINES!!!
But if you are young, or reasonably healthy, that's not the ONLY rationing Dear Leader has in his bag.
...Worse than the increased cost of energy, perhaps, is that the Waxman-Markey bill will essentially result in artificial limits on electricity production and, ultimately, electricity rationing.
...In addition to the limits imposed by the renewable energy requirement, Waxman-Markey essentially phases out coal-generated electricity (50% of our current supply) while failing to guarantee the construction of the only realistic substitute for coal -- nuclear power. In the end, what we’ll have is an energy grid constrained by the supply of natural gas -- much of which will have to be imported. Even so, there’s simply not enough natural gas to affordably meet all our energy needs, so supplies will have to be rationed somehow.
However, neither the President's family, nor Congress, will be on the short end of either ObamaCare or electricity rations.
Fortunately, we are still able to BUY MORE AMMO!!
WOLVERINES!!!
Think HRC Is...Unhappy? Part Two
Great minds...
Yesterday we mentioned that Obama hammered HRC about her 'mandatory joining' for Gummint Health. Obama won the election and (voila!!) 'mandatory joining' is now part of the ObamaPlan.
The Winning McCain finds another reason that O should be very, very grateful for his Secret Service protection, albeit secondary.
...dear old Joe Biden gets $1.3 billion in "stimulus" money for Acheson's Amtrak, and they don't need no stinkin' IG sniffing around.
But wait a minute, there's more. As Michelle Malkin points out, Biden's all about Amtrak. Suppose that Biden's fingerprints were discovered on some shenanigans at Amtrak, so that there was a real scandal? If dear old Joe had to resign . . .Vice President Hillary? OK, that's far-fetched.
But did anybody else notice that Hillary's now got Sidney Blumenthal working for her over at State Department?
The wolfpack is circling.
Yesterday we mentioned that Obama hammered HRC about her 'mandatory joining' for Gummint Health. Obama won the election and (voila!!) 'mandatory joining' is now part of the ObamaPlan.
The Winning McCain finds another reason that O should be very, very grateful for his Secret Service protection, albeit secondary.
...dear old Joe Biden gets $1.3 billion in "stimulus" money for Acheson's Amtrak, and they don't need no stinkin' IG sniffing around.
But wait a minute, there's more. As Michelle Malkin points out, Biden's all about Amtrak. Suppose that Biden's fingerprints were discovered on some shenanigans at Amtrak, so that there was a real scandal? If dear old Joe had to resign . . .Vice President Hillary? OK, that's far-fetched.
But did anybody else notice that Hillary's now got Sidney Blumenthal working for her over at State Department?
The wolfpack is circling.
Christian Schneider Gets Half of It?
Christian Schneider does a good job showing us how Jim Doyle personally raises the cost of healthcare in Wisconsin.
...raising taxes on hospitals by hundreds of millions of dollars...mandating health plans cover autism services...requiring all Wisconsin health plans to carry coverage for cochlear implants and hearing aids for kids...[and t]he current version of the state budget includes a provision that provides increased mental health coverage by insurance plans
Other Wisconsin legislatures and executives have also added 'mandates' (birth control and abortion services come to mind) which also increase the cost of health insurance.
But Schneider is, I think, a bit naive.
The major driver behind a Gummint Health plan is the "increasing cost of health insurance." Today's JS contains an article which has some frightening numbers--like 30%--and those numbers are killing small businesses.
Think of it this way, Chris: if Doyle can drive the cost of health insurance even higher, the argument from "cost" is far more effective.
Doyle's not only playing Hero with our money. He's doing his best to facilitate ObamaCare.
You can purchase Cynic Pills by living another 20 years with politicians, Chris...
...raising taxes on hospitals by hundreds of millions of dollars...mandating health plans cover autism services...requiring all Wisconsin health plans to carry coverage for cochlear implants and hearing aids for kids...[and t]he current version of the state budget includes a provision that provides increased mental health coverage by insurance plans
Other Wisconsin legislatures and executives have also added 'mandates' (birth control and abortion services come to mind) which also increase the cost of health insurance.
But Schneider is, I think, a bit naive.
The major driver behind a Gummint Health plan is the "increasing cost of health insurance." Today's JS contains an article which has some frightening numbers--like 30%--and those numbers are killing small businesses.
Think of it this way, Chris: if Doyle can drive the cost of health insurance even higher, the argument from "cost" is far more effective.
Doyle's not only playing Hero with our money. He's doing his best to facilitate ObamaCare.
You can purchase Cynic Pills by living another 20 years with politicians, Chris...
Liar's Poker: Cap-and-Tax
They are lying--and hope you're really, really stupid.
...the Congressional Budget Office did an analysis of what has come to be known as the Waxman-Markey bill. According to the CBO, the climate legislation would cost the average household only $175 a year by 2020. Edward Markey, Mr. Waxman's co-author, instantly set to crowing that the cost of upending the entire energy economy would be no more than a postage stamp a day.
(Which postage stamp? The one we used in 2005? 2006? 2009? But I digress...)
A closer look at the CBO analysis finds that it contains so many caveats as to render it useless.
Well, yah!
The CBO's analysis looks solely at the year 2020, before most of the tough restrictions kick in. As the cap is tightened and companies are stripped of initial opportunities to "offset" their emissions, the price of permits will skyrocket beyond the CBO estimate of $28 per ton of carbon.
Isn't 2020 about the same time that Social Security and Medicare collapse?
The biggest doozy in the CBO analysis was its extraordinary decision to look only at the day-to-day costs of operating a trading program, rather than the wider consequences energy restriction would have on the economy. The CBO acknowledges this in a footnote: "The resource cost does not indicate the potential decrease in gross domestic product (GDP) that could result from the cap."
Sorta like measuring the impact-crater of a missile while ignoring the effects of the nuclear bomb it delivered.
Under this more comprehensive scenario, [measured by the Heritage Foundation], Waxman-Markey would cost the economy $161 billion in 2020, which is $1,870 for a family of four. As the bill's restrictions kick in, that number rises to $6,800 for a family of four by 2035
That would be about--what? 5-10 years after the collapse of Social Security and Medicare?
...the Congressional Budget Office did an analysis of what has come to be known as the Waxman-Markey bill. According to the CBO, the climate legislation would cost the average household only $175 a year by 2020. Edward Markey, Mr. Waxman's co-author, instantly set to crowing that the cost of upending the entire energy economy would be no more than a postage stamp a day.
(Which postage stamp? The one we used in 2005? 2006? 2009? But I digress...)
A closer look at the CBO analysis finds that it contains so many caveats as to render it useless.
Well, yah!
The CBO's analysis looks solely at the year 2020, before most of the tough restrictions kick in. As the cap is tightened and companies are stripped of initial opportunities to "offset" their emissions, the price of permits will skyrocket beyond the CBO estimate of $28 per ton of carbon.
Isn't 2020 about the same time that Social Security and Medicare collapse?
The biggest doozy in the CBO analysis was its extraordinary decision to look only at the day-to-day costs of operating a trading program, rather than the wider consequences energy restriction would have on the economy. The CBO acknowledges this in a footnote: "The resource cost does not indicate the potential decrease in gross domestic product (GDP) that could result from the cap."
Sorta like measuring the impact-crater of a missile while ignoring the effects of the nuclear bomb it delivered.
Under this more comprehensive scenario, [measured by the Heritage Foundation], Waxman-Markey would cost the economy $161 billion in 2020, which is $1,870 for a family of four. As the bill's restrictions kick in, that number rises to $6,800 for a family of four by 2035
That would be about--what? 5-10 years after the collapse of Social Security and Medicare?
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