This is more and more amazing, given M&I's history.
Marshall & Ilsley Corp. of Milwaukee was identified as one of the many financial services companies receiving large amounts of taxpayer-funded capital through the U.S. Treasury that may be in worse shape than previously disclosed, according to a research report.
Audit Integrity, a Los Angeles-based firm that rates companies based on corporate integrity risk, looked at the 25 financial services companies that have received more than 90 percent of funding doled out so far through the federal government’s Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP.
More than 80 percent of those companies have a “very aggressive” or “aggressive” accounting and governance risk rating based on recent regulatory filings, and have a high likelihood to restate earnings or be affected by other adverse events such as regulatory actions or shareholder litigation. That compares to a 35 percent “very aggressive” or “aggressive” rating among the 7,000 public companies measured overall by Audit Integrity.
Fourteen of the 25 financial services companies studied were rated as “very aggressive,” including Milwaukee-based M&I, which received $1.7 billion from the Treasury program.
I don't know who "Audit Integrity" is, but the report raises very serious questions, indeed.
Source: Business Journal
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Auto Bailouts Hardly Over With...
Sure, the President un-Constitutionally and illegally directed the expenditure of $17+Bn to the Big3, less FoMoCo.
And sure, the Fed suddenly decided that GMAC was really a Bank, despite all those quibbles about equity interests--thus springing $6Bn into that entity.
But the Fat Lady hasn't sung yet:
The Treasury Department says it will decide on a case-by-case basis whether other companies connected to the struggling automotive industry should be provided emergency aid from the government's $700 billion bailout pot.
President George W. Bush reversed course on Dec. 19 and announced a $17.4 billion rescue package for teetering auto giants, General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC, which were burning through cash and bleeding jobs.
Can you say "Delphi"?
And sure, the Fed suddenly decided that GMAC was really a Bank, despite all those quibbles about equity interests--thus springing $6Bn into that entity.
But the Fat Lady hasn't sung yet:
The Treasury Department says it will decide on a case-by-case basis whether other companies connected to the struggling automotive industry should be provided emergency aid from the government's $700 billion bailout pot.
President George W. Bush reversed course on Dec. 19 and announced a $17.4 billion rescue package for teetering auto giants, General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC, which were burning through cash and bleeding jobs.
Can you say "Delphi"?
Hamas: Marching Toward the Sixth Century, Fast
Well, this should separate the wheat from the chaff.
The Hamas parliament in the Gaza Strip voted in favor of a law allowing courts to mete out sentences in the spirit of Islam, the London-based Arab daily Al Hayat reported Wednesday.
According to the bill, approved in its second reading and awaiting a third reading before the approval of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, as the Palestinian constitution demands, courts will be able to condemn offenders to a plethora of violent punitive measures in line with Sharia Law.
Such punishments include whipping, severing hands, crucifixion and hanging. The bill reserves death sentences to people who negotiate with a foreign government "against Palestinian interests" and engage in any activity that can "hurt Palestinian morale."
According to the report, any Palestinian caught drinking or selling wine would suffer 40 lashes at the whipping post if the bill passes. Thieves caught red-handed would lose their right hand.
Not that this will give pause to the active anti-Christians, or anything--you know, the ones in this country who are absolutely certain that Christianity is the locus of all evil...
HT: Dreher
The Hamas parliament in the Gaza Strip voted in favor of a law allowing courts to mete out sentences in the spirit of Islam, the London-based Arab daily Al Hayat reported Wednesday.
According to the bill, approved in its second reading and awaiting a third reading before the approval of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, as the Palestinian constitution demands, courts will be able to condemn offenders to a plethora of violent punitive measures in line with Sharia Law.
Such punishments include whipping, severing hands, crucifixion and hanging. The bill reserves death sentences to people who negotiate with a foreign government "against Palestinian interests" and engage in any activity that can "hurt Palestinian morale."
According to the report, any Palestinian caught drinking or selling wine would suffer 40 lashes at the whipping post if the bill passes. Thieves caught red-handed would lose their right hand.
Not that this will give pause to the active anti-Christians, or anything--you know, the ones in this country who are absolutely certain that Christianity is the locus of all evil...
HT: Dreher
Virus Problem? Look at Photo Frames
Uh-huh. That Christmas gift from Amazon?
Some digital photo frames sold by Amazon.com Inc. over the holidays included a computer virus.
Amazon said last week that a frame it had been selling from Samsung Group came with a software CD that was known to have a virus, Computerworld reported Monday.
Amazon sold the SPF-85H frame from October through early this month, though Samsung issued an alert Nov. 27 that software CDs for five of its models, including the SPF-85H, had been infected.
According to the magazine, researchers discovered the virus, known by various security vendors as W32.Salty.AE, W32/Salty, or Troj_Agent.xoo, in August, and earlier variants date back to mid-2007.
The virus, which can download more malicious software on to an infected machine, affects only users of Microsoft Corp.'s Windows XP operating system.
Samsung did not say how the virus got on to its discs. A "theoretically malware-free" version of its software available for download on its Web site, Computerworld said.
I love that term "theoretically malware-free," don't you?
Source: CW email alerts
Some digital photo frames sold by Amazon.com Inc. over the holidays included a computer virus.
Amazon said last week that a frame it had been selling from Samsung Group came with a software CD that was known to have a virus, Computerworld reported Monday.
Amazon sold the SPF-85H frame from October through early this month, though Samsung issued an alert Nov. 27 that software CDs for five of its models, including the SPF-85H, had been infected.
According to the magazine, researchers discovered the virus, known by various security vendors as W32.Salty.AE, W32/Salty, or Troj_Agent.xoo, in August, and earlier variants date back to mid-2007.
The virus, which can download more malicious software on to an infected machine, affects only users of Microsoft Corp.'s Windows XP operating system.
Samsung did not say how the virus got on to its discs. A "theoretically malware-free" version of its software available for download on its Web site, Computerworld said.
I love that term "theoretically malware-free," don't you?
Source: CW email alerts
Crying the Blues Over Transportation...
We're supposed to get all emotional over this.
Eric Isbister is astonished by the lack of a regional transportation system in southeast Wisconsin, and he doesn’t understand why political leaders can’t find common ground to solve the transportation problem.
“If we’re going to grow Milwaukee and add more jobs to the economy, we simply need more public transportation,” said Isbister, a native New Yorker who, with his wife, Mary, acquired Mequon’s General MetalWorks Corp. in 1997.
The name "Isbister" is familiar to Milwaukeeans, too. A fellow named Bill Isbister was a high-profile industrialist here back in the 1960's/'70's.
Anyhoo,
General MetalWorks has a history of hiring general laborers from Milwaukee’s central city, providing training and promoting the minority workers into better-paying manufacturing jobs. The company, with estimated revenue of $14 million in 2008 and 80 employees, is struggling to find workers, especially welders, at its second assembly plant in Slinger.
Hmmmmm.
A commenter on the original article (linked above) wonders why Mr. Isbister purchased a business in Mequon and then added a location in Slinger (!!!!!) and suddenly has problems with transportation.
A good question. After all, the 30th/Burleigh industrial corridor has PLENTY of empty factory space, as does the Valley, and (for that matter), Butler, West Allis, West Milwaukee, the Near South Side of Milwaukee......we could go on, and on...
It's particularly interesting that Isbister complains about "welders." He's only competing with the 8,000-lb. canary--Bucyrus--in trying to find them.
Perhaps it's wages?
Benefits?
Or should Mr. Isbister hire people and TRAIN them?
No.
Instead, 'the Region' should provide transportation, according to Mr. Isbister.
Most industrials understand that if you want labor, you go where the labor is. Mequon is not a haven for welders, and Slinger is halfway to the Moon from Milwaukee. Seems to me that Mr. Isbister didn't study the rulebook too carefully before his purchase(s).
There is a worthwhile debate about transportation. But Mr. Isbister's complaints ring a bit hollow and lack credibility.
HT: FoxPolitics
Eric Isbister is astonished by the lack of a regional transportation system in southeast Wisconsin, and he doesn’t understand why political leaders can’t find common ground to solve the transportation problem.
“If we’re going to grow Milwaukee and add more jobs to the economy, we simply need more public transportation,” said Isbister, a native New Yorker who, with his wife, Mary, acquired Mequon’s General MetalWorks Corp. in 1997.
The name "Isbister" is familiar to Milwaukeeans, too. A fellow named Bill Isbister was a high-profile industrialist here back in the 1960's/'70's.
Anyhoo,
General MetalWorks has a history of hiring general laborers from Milwaukee’s central city, providing training and promoting the minority workers into better-paying manufacturing jobs. The company, with estimated revenue of $14 million in 2008 and 80 employees, is struggling to find workers, especially welders, at its second assembly plant in Slinger.
Hmmmmm.
A commenter on the original article (linked above) wonders why Mr. Isbister purchased a business in Mequon and then added a location in Slinger (!!!!!) and suddenly has problems with transportation.
A good question. After all, the 30th/Burleigh industrial corridor has PLENTY of empty factory space, as does the Valley, and (for that matter), Butler, West Allis, West Milwaukee, the Near South Side of Milwaukee......we could go on, and on...
It's particularly interesting that Isbister complains about "welders." He's only competing with the 8,000-lb. canary--Bucyrus--in trying to find them.
Perhaps it's wages?
Benefits?
Or should Mr. Isbister hire people and TRAIN them?
No.
Instead, 'the Region' should provide transportation, according to Mr. Isbister.
Most industrials understand that if you want labor, you go where the labor is. Mequon is not a haven for welders, and Slinger is halfway to the Moon from Milwaukee. Seems to me that Mr. Isbister didn't study the rulebook too carefully before his purchase(s).
There is a worthwhile debate about transportation. But Mr. Isbister's complaints ring a bit hollow and lack credibility.
HT: FoxPolitics
Death by Strangulation: The UAW
The Warrior found this.
It is perhaps the mode of doing business in a unionized company that remains a crippling disadvantage.
...Not only work rules, but fundamental business decisions to sell, close or spin-off plants are forbidden without permission. That permission may come, but only at a price, since everything that affects the workplace must be negotiated.
Both the UAW and the Detroit Three maintain large staffs of lawyers, contract administrators, and financial and human-resources representatives whose principal job is to negotiate with the other side. These staffs are at all levels, from the factory floor to corporate headquarters and the UAW’s "Solidarity House" in downtown Detroit.
...In an environment of downsizing, the problem is exacerbated, as the entrenched bargaining structure causes innumerable inefficiencies
The costs are ferocious. We can all concede that abuse of workers is simply wrong. But what has grown in Detroit (and all the other plants) is a mutual, systematic, procedure-abuse monster which cannot continue.
Bush's "bailout" cannot fix this; he assumes goodwill between the parties, and he assumes wrong.
It is perhaps the mode of doing business in a unionized company that remains a crippling disadvantage.
...Not only work rules, but fundamental business decisions to sell, close or spin-off plants are forbidden without permission. That permission may come, but only at a price, since everything that affects the workplace must be negotiated.
Both the UAW and the Detroit Three maintain large staffs of lawyers, contract administrators, and financial and human-resources representatives whose principal job is to negotiate with the other side. These staffs are at all levels, from the factory floor to corporate headquarters and the UAW’s "Solidarity House" in downtown Detroit.
...In an environment of downsizing, the problem is exacerbated, as the entrenched bargaining structure causes innumerable inefficiencies
The costs are ferocious. We can all concede that abuse of workers is simply wrong. But what has grown in Detroit (and all the other plants) is a mutual, systematic, procedure-abuse monster which cannot continue.
Bush's "bailout" cannot fix this; he assumes goodwill between the parties, and he assumes wrong.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
The Next Great Experiment: You Are Rat!
Coming to an Administration near you!
...The New York Times recently reported that Obama may hire economic psychologists “specifically charged with translating the lessons of the behavioral revolution into real-world policies.” One proponent of this approach, Harvard economist Sendhil Mullainathan, told the Times, “The issues we struggle with today are inherently behavioral as never before. It’s impossible to think of the current mortgage crisis without thinking seriously about underlying consumer psychology. And it’s impossible to think of future regulatory fixes without thinking seriously about that issue.” Excited by the prospects, the Times concluded, “The promise of behavioral economics is that it can help create a better government, one that wastes less money and does more to improve peoples’ lives. That’s hardly a modest goal.”
Uh-huh.
It should come as no surprise that the 1970s radicals taking over the Federal Government in January are promoting this brand of economics because the hero of their youth was the leader of America’s behavioral revolution, B.F. Skinner...Behaviorists like Skinner argue that psychology should be limited to observations and tenets related to behavior. As epistemological descendants of Descartes, they attempt to sever any connections between the study of man and philosophy, by methodologically denying the existence of the mind and the scientific validity of philosophical psychology in the Aristotelian and Thomistic sense.
Well, THAT makes it simple!!
And doesn't it all make sense?
Skinner and his followers deny the existence of the mind and reduce human psychology to the mere study of intersubjectively demonstrable events – that is behavior. Consistent with Cartesian reductionism, qualitative differences are denied by behaviorists. By recognizing nothing beyond the perversely simple materialistic continuity derived from mere quantitative reductionism, behaviorists boast they can study rats to draw conclusions about man. Skinner emphasizes that man is no more responsible (nor laudable) for his creative accomplishments in music, art, literature, economics, science, and invention, than is the warthog for his warts. Accordingly, there is then no essential difference between modern “objective” psychology and rodentology, or between man and rat.
One suspects that even the more rabid LeftoBlogathingy types might resent that comparison; I mean, even lawyers resent it at some level, (I think).
But now, ALL of us can be rodentologized under the Great Obama.
HT: The Catholic Thing
...The New York Times recently reported that Obama may hire economic psychologists “specifically charged with translating the lessons of the behavioral revolution into real-world policies.” One proponent of this approach, Harvard economist Sendhil Mullainathan, told the Times, “The issues we struggle with today are inherently behavioral as never before. It’s impossible to think of the current mortgage crisis without thinking seriously about underlying consumer psychology. And it’s impossible to think of future regulatory fixes without thinking seriously about that issue.” Excited by the prospects, the Times concluded, “The promise of behavioral economics is that it can help create a better government, one that wastes less money and does more to improve peoples’ lives. That’s hardly a modest goal.”
Uh-huh.
It should come as no surprise that the 1970s radicals taking over the Federal Government in January are promoting this brand of economics because the hero of their youth was the leader of America’s behavioral revolution, B.F. Skinner...Behaviorists like Skinner argue that psychology should be limited to observations and tenets related to behavior. As epistemological descendants of Descartes, they attempt to sever any connections between the study of man and philosophy, by methodologically denying the existence of the mind and the scientific validity of philosophical psychology in the Aristotelian and Thomistic sense.
Well, THAT makes it simple!!
And doesn't it all make sense?
Skinner and his followers deny the existence of the mind and reduce human psychology to the mere study of intersubjectively demonstrable events – that is behavior. Consistent with Cartesian reductionism, qualitative differences are denied by behaviorists. By recognizing nothing beyond the perversely simple materialistic continuity derived from mere quantitative reductionism, behaviorists boast they can study rats to draw conclusions about man. Skinner emphasizes that man is no more responsible (nor laudable) for his creative accomplishments in music, art, literature, economics, science, and invention, than is the warthog for his warts. Accordingly, there is then no essential difference between modern “objective” psychology and rodentology, or between man and rat.
One suspects that even the more rabid LeftoBlogathingy types might resent that comparison; I mean, even lawyers resent it at some level, (I think).
But now, ALL of us can be rodentologized under the Great Obama.
HT: The Catholic Thing
Dumb and Dumber
Blago actually appointed someone....and the poor fool ACCEPTED!
Ignoring threats from the U.S. Senate Democratic leadership to block his pick, Gov. Blagojevich this afternoon said he's appointing Roland Burris to President-elect Barack Obama's vacant U.S. Senate seat
Vote for "dumber of the two" at some other blog...
Ignoring threats from the U.S. Senate Democratic leadership to block his pick, Gov. Blagojevich this afternoon said he's appointing Roland Burris to President-elect Barack Obama's vacant U.S. Senate seat
Vote for "dumber of the two" at some other blog...
Money Multiplier Goes Negative (!!)
This ain't good. My creaky-old Econ 101 memory tells me that money usually runs at about a 3.2 multiplier, which we haven't seen since the mid-'90's.
The period from 'the end of 3.2' to 2008 was kinda 'sticky-gooey' economically, come to think of it...
At any rate, a negative multiplier has serious implications if one is running the Hell out of the printing presses, as MarketTicker 'splains.
The question not answered: is the negative number a result of the money-pumping, or of the crash in housing and other assets?
Echoes of "Jena 6"
Oh, yah.
After beating someone unconscious, and being feted on some obscure BET awards show...
A teen convicted in the "Jena Six" beating case shot himself in the chest and was taken to the hospital Monday, days after his arrest on a shoplifting charge, police said.
Mychal Bell's wound isn't life threatening, said Monroe Police Sgt. Cassandra Wooten. The 18-year-old used a .22-caliber firearm in the shooting around 7:40 p.m., she said.
Wooten believes Bell was upset over media coverage of the arrest last week."I think he was upset over the incident ... and didn't want to be in the news again," she said.
Shoplifting and failed self-execution WILL get you in the news again, Mychal.
HT: Gateway
After beating someone unconscious, and being feted on some obscure BET awards show...
A teen convicted in the "Jena Six" beating case shot himself in the chest and was taken to the hospital Monday, days after his arrest on a shoplifting charge, police said.
Mychal Bell's wound isn't life threatening, said Monroe Police Sgt. Cassandra Wooten. The 18-year-old used a .22-caliber firearm in the shooting around 7:40 p.m., she said.
Wooten believes Bell was upset over media coverage of the arrest last week."I think he was upset over the incident ... and didn't want to be in the news again," she said.
Shoplifting and failed self-execution WILL get you in the news again, Mychal.
HT: Gateway
Living and Dying Semper Fi
Personally, I'm an Army guy. But Marines are known to lead the way, and here's another example of why:
Cpl. Jonathan Yale and Lance Cpl. Jordan Haerter saved Iraqi police and fellow Marines from a truck-driving suicide bomber, Marine brass say. The April attack could have slain dozens
...On April 22, the two were assigned to guard the main gate to Joint Security Station Nasser in Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province, once an insurgent stronghold and still a dangerous region
The sun had barely risen when the two sentries spotted a 20-foot-long truck headed toward the gate, weaving with increasing speed through the concrete barriers. Two Iraqi police officers assigned to the gate ran for their lives. So did several Iraqi police on the adjacent street.
Yale and Haerter tried to wave off the truck, but it kept coming. They opened fire, Yale with a machine gun, Haerter with an M-16. Their bullets peppered the radiator and windshield. The truck slowed but kept rolling.
A few dozen feet from the gate, the truck exploded. Investigators found that it was loaded with 2,000 pounds of explosives and that its driver, his hand on a "dead-man switch," was determined to commit suicide and slaughter Marines and Iraqi police.
The thunderous explosion rocked much of Ramadi, interrupting the morning call to prayers from the many mosques. A nearby mosque and a home were flattened. The blast ripped a crater 5 feet deep and 20 feet across into the street.
Shards of concrete scattered everywhere, and choking dust filled the air.Haerter was dead; Yale was dying.Three Marines about 300 feet away were injured. So were eight Iraqi police and two dozen civilians.
Some Iraqis told him they were incredulous that the two Marines had not fled.
When Marine technicians restored a damaged security camera, the images were undeniable.
While Iraqi police fled, Haerter and Yale had never flinched and never stopped firing as the Mercedes truck -- the same model used in the Beirut bombing -- sped directly toward them.
Without their steadfastness, the truck would probably have penetrated the compound before it exploded, and 50 or more Marines and Iraqis would have been killed. The incident happened in just six seconds.
"No time to talk it over; no time to call the lieutenant; no time to think about their own lives or even the American and Iraqi lives they were protecting," Kelly said. "More than enough time, however, to do their duty. They never hesitated or tried to escape."
Kelly nominated the two for the Navy Cross, the second-highest award for combat bravery for Marines and sailors. Even by the standards expected of Marine "grunts," their bravery was exceptional, Kelly said.
The Haerter and Yale families will receive the medals early next year.
Requiescant in pace.....
HT: Ace/Drew
Cpl. Jonathan Yale and Lance Cpl. Jordan Haerter saved Iraqi police and fellow Marines from a truck-driving suicide bomber, Marine brass say. The April attack could have slain dozens
...On April 22, the two were assigned to guard the main gate to Joint Security Station Nasser in Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province, once an insurgent stronghold and still a dangerous region
The sun had barely risen when the two sentries spotted a 20-foot-long truck headed toward the gate, weaving with increasing speed through the concrete barriers. Two Iraqi police officers assigned to the gate ran for their lives. So did several Iraqi police on the adjacent street.
Yale and Haerter tried to wave off the truck, but it kept coming. They opened fire, Yale with a machine gun, Haerter with an M-16. Their bullets peppered the radiator and windshield. The truck slowed but kept rolling.
A few dozen feet from the gate, the truck exploded. Investigators found that it was loaded with 2,000 pounds of explosives and that its driver, his hand on a "dead-man switch," was determined to commit suicide and slaughter Marines and Iraqi police.
The thunderous explosion rocked much of Ramadi, interrupting the morning call to prayers from the many mosques. A nearby mosque and a home were flattened. The blast ripped a crater 5 feet deep and 20 feet across into the street.
Shards of concrete scattered everywhere, and choking dust filled the air.Haerter was dead; Yale was dying.Three Marines about 300 feet away were injured. So were eight Iraqi police and two dozen civilians.
Some Iraqis told him they were incredulous that the two Marines had not fled.
When Marine technicians restored a damaged security camera, the images were undeniable.
While Iraqi police fled, Haerter and Yale had never flinched and never stopped firing as the Mercedes truck -- the same model used in the Beirut bombing -- sped directly toward them.
Without their steadfastness, the truck would probably have penetrated the compound before it exploded, and 50 or more Marines and Iraqis would have been killed. The incident happened in just six seconds.
"No time to talk it over; no time to call the lieutenant; no time to think about their own lives or even the American and Iraqi lives they were protecting," Kelly said. "More than enough time, however, to do their duty. They never hesitated or tried to escape."
Kelly nominated the two for the Navy Cross, the second-highest award for combat bravery for Marines and sailors. Even by the standards expected of Marine "grunts," their bravery was exceptional, Kelly said.
The Haerter and Yale families will receive the medals early next year.
Requiescant in pace.....
HT: Ace/Drew
The Winning McCain's Aphorisms
One good reason to read the Winning McCain's blog is the down-home southern-fried stuff:
"Paint the shotgun white, Pa -- it's going to be a formal wedding!"
I suppose a nice cummerbund black stripe would be REALLY formal...
"Paint the shotgun white, Pa -- it's going to be a formal wedding!"
I suppose a nice cummerbund black stripe would be REALLY formal...
Case-Schiller Annual
No real surprises here.
We've used Chicago and Minneapolis as 'notional comparatives' to Milwaukee. I realize that there are big differences between those areas, but hey! they're all in the Upper Midwest...
Chicago year/year, off 10.8%
Minneapolis year/year, off 16.3%
The Really Sick Man in our neighborhood is Detroit, off 20.4%.
Worst on the chart: Phoenix, off 32.7%
HT: Calculated Risk
We've used Chicago and Minneapolis as 'notional comparatives' to Milwaukee. I realize that there are big differences between those areas, but hey! they're all in the Upper Midwest...
Chicago year/year, off 10.8%
Minneapolis year/year, off 16.3%
The Really Sick Man in our neighborhood is Detroit, off 20.4%.
Worst on the chart: Phoenix, off 32.7%
HT: Calculated Risk
Samuel Huntington's Thought
This guy Huntington was a thinker, and was ahead of the curve. Prof. Fouad Ajami writes a memoir of the man.
The last of Samuel Huntington's books -- "Who Are We? The Challenges to America's National Identity," published four years ago -- may have been his most passionate work...
...He wrote in that book of the "American Creed," and of its erosion among the elites. Its key elements -- the English language, Christianity, religious commitment, English concepts of the rule of law, the responsibility of rulers, and the rights of individuals -- he said are derived from the "distinct Anglo-Protestant culture of the founding settlers of America in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries."
Critics who branded the book as a work of undisguised nativism missed an essential point. Huntington observed that his was an "argument for the importance of Anglo-Protestant culture, not for the importance of Anglo-Protestant people."
...Three possible American futures beckoned, Huntington said: cosmopolitan, imperial and national. In the first, the world remakes America, and globalization and multiculturalism trump national identity. In the second, America remakes the world: Unchallenged by a rival superpower, America would attempt to reshape the world according to its values, taking to other shores its democratic norms and aspirations. In the third, America remains America: It resists the blandishments -- and falseness -- of cosmopolitanism, and reins in the imperial impulse.
Huntington made no secret of his own preference: an American nationalism "devoted to the preservation and enhancement of those qualities that have defined America since its founding."
...But he looked with a skeptical eye on the American expedition to Iraq, uneasy with those American conservatives who had come to believe in an "imperial" American mission. He foresaw frustration for this drive to democratize other lands. The American people would not sustain this project, he observed, and there was the "paradox of democracy": Democratic experiments often bring in their wake nationalistic populist movements (Latin America) or fundamentalist movements (Muslim countries). The world tempts power, and denies it. It is the Huntingtonian world; no false hopes and no redemption
...a most interesting, and acute, observation...
Then Huntington became a prophet, albeit that he merely read history accurately and 'played it forward.'
In the 1990s, when the Davos crowd and other believers in a borderless world reigned supreme, Huntington crossed over from the academy into global renown, with his "clash of civilizations" thesis. In an article first published in Foreign Affairs in 1993 (then expanded into a book), Huntington foresaw the shape of the post-Cold War world. The war of ideologies would yield to a civilizational struggle of soil and blood. It would be the West versus the eight civilizations dividing the rest -- Latin American, African, Islamic, Sinic, Hindu, Orthodox, Buddhist and Japanese.
In this civilizational struggle, Islam would emerge as the principal challenge to the West. "The relations between Islam and Christianity, both orthodox and Western, have often been stormy. Each has been the other's Other. The 20th-century conflict between liberal democracy and Marxist-Leninism is only a fleeting and superficial historical phenomenon compared to the continuing and deeply conflictual relation between Islam and Christianity."
He had assaulted the zeitgeist of the era. The world took notice, and his book was translated into 39 languages. Critics insisted that men want Sony, not soil. But on 9/11, young Arabs -- 19 of them -- would weigh in.
Yah, that was a wakeup call, alright. And the 'imperialism of Sony' is proving less and less persuasive as time goes on.
Here's the payoff line in this homage:
If I may be permitted a personal narrative: In 1993, I had written the lead critique in Foreign Affairs of his thesis. I admired his work but was unconvinced. My faith was invested in the order of states that the West itself built. The ways of the West had become the ways of the world, I argued, and the modernist consensus would hold in key Third-World countries like Egypt, India and Turkey. Fifteen years later, I was given a chance in the pages of The New York Times Book Review to acknowledge that I had erred and that Huntington had been correct all along.
There's a lot to think about as we enter 2009, no?
The last of Samuel Huntington's books -- "Who Are We? The Challenges to America's National Identity," published four years ago -- may have been his most passionate work...
...He wrote in that book of the "American Creed," and of its erosion among the elites. Its key elements -- the English language, Christianity, religious commitment, English concepts of the rule of law, the responsibility of rulers, and the rights of individuals -- he said are derived from the "distinct Anglo-Protestant culture of the founding settlers of America in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries."
Critics who branded the book as a work of undisguised nativism missed an essential point. Huntington observed that his was an "argument for the importance of Anglo-Protestant culture, not for the importance of Anglo-Protestant people."
...Three possible American futures beckoned, Huntington said: cosmopolitan, imperial and national. In the first, the world remakes America, and globalization and multiculturalism trump national identity. In the second, America remakes the world: Unchallenged by a rival superpower, America would attempt to reshape the world according to its values, taking to other shores its democratic norms and aspirations. In the third, America remains America: It resists the blandishments -- and falseness -- of cosmopolitanism, and reins in the imperial impulse.
Huntington made no secret of his own preference: an American nationalism "devoted to the preservation and enhancement of those qualities that have defined America since its founding."
...But he looked with a skeptical eye on the American expedition to Iraq, uneasy with those American conservatives who had come to believe in an "imperial" American mission. He foresaw frustration for this drive to democratize other lands. The American people would not sustain this project, he observed, and there was the "paradox of democracy": Democratic experiments often bring in their wake nationalistic populist movements (Latin America) or fundamentalist movements (Muslim countries). The world tempts power, and denies it. It is the Huntingtonian world; no false hopes and no redemption
...a most interesting, and acute, observation...
Then Huntington became a prophet, albeit that he merely read history accurately and 'played it forward.'
In the 1990s, when the Davos crowd and other believers in a borderless world reigned supreme, Huntington crossed over from the academy into global renown, with his "clash of civilizations" thesis. In an article first published in Foreign Affairs in 1993 (then expanded into a book), Huntington foresaw the shape of the post-Cold War world. The war of ideologies would yield to a civilizational struggle of soil and blood. It would be the West versus the eight civilizations dividing the rest -- Latin American, African, Islamic, Sinic, Hindu, Orthodox, Buddhist and Japanese.
In this civilizational struggle, Islam would emerge as the principal challenge to the West. "The relations between Islam and Christianity, both orthodox and Western, have often been stormy. Each has been the other's Other. The 20th-century conflict between liberal democracy and Marxist-Leninism is only a fleeting and superficial historical phenomenon compared to the continuing and deeply conflictual relation between Islam and Christianity."
He had assaulted the zeitgeist of the era. The world took notice, and his book was translated into 39 languages. Critics insisted that men want Sony, not soil. But on 9/11, young Arabs -- 19 of them -- would weigh in.
Yah, that was a wakeup call, alright. And the 'imperialism of Sony' is proving less and less persuasive as time goes on.
Here's the payoff line in this homage:
If I may be permitted a personal narrative: In 1993, I had written the lead critique in Foreign Affairs of his thesis. I admired his work but was unconvinced. My faith was invested in the order of states that the West itself built. The ways of the West had become the ways of the world, I argued, and the modernist consensus would hold in key Third-World countries like Egypt, India and Turkey. Fifteen years later, I was given a chance in the pages of The New York Times Book Review to acknowledge that I had erred and that Huntington had been correct all along.
There's a lot to think about as we enter 2009, no?
If You Really Want to Know About the Crash...
Then this series of articles is for you.
The WaPo writes in lucid, understandable prose. The article linked above discusses the fall of AIG.
You Clintonites won't like it because it names names--Rubin (inter alia) when discussing the derivatives regulation question.
The WaPo writes in lucid, understandable prose. The article linked above discusses the fall of AIG.
You Clintonites won't like it because it names names--Rubin (inter alia) when discussing the derivatives regulation question.
Cheney: Lackey, Running Dog, or Jerk?
Reported in Human Events:
...Vice President Cheney and White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolton met mid-week with Senate Republicans in a private lunch. As several sources told me, the discussion was heated, with the White House insisting on the Democrats’ principal ground rule for a deal: no bankruptcy for the automakers.
...The White House’s adoption of Democratic talking points pushed the Republicans too far. Cheney’s statements were particularly offensive to the senators. At one point, Cheney said that if the automaker bailout didn’t pass, it would be “Herbert Hoover time.”
As we all know, Bush is now illegally and un-Constitutionally providing welfare to GM and Chrysler, evidently with the support of Cheney, who is supposed to be the mature member of the team.
I guess "maturity" is a lot easier to fake than we thought.
...Vice President Cheney and White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolton met mid-week with Senate Republicans in a private lunch. As several sources told me, the discussion was heated, with the White House insisting on the Democrats’ principal ground rule for a deal: no bankruptcy for the automakers.
...The White House’s adoption of Democratic talking points pushed the Republicans too far. Cheney’s statements were particularly offensive to the senators. At one point, Cheney said that if the automaker bailout didn’t pass, it would be “Herbert Hoover time.”
As we all know, Bush is now illegally and un-Constitutionally providing welfare to GM and Chrysler, evidently with the support of Cheney, who is supposed to be the mature member of the team.
I guess "maturity" is a lot easier to fake than we thought.
Monday, December 29, 2008
Not Gentlemanly
While a certain Franklinophile and I differ regarding Brett Favre's trade, I am certain that neither of us would treat the guy this way...
Brett Favre's season is over, an MRI on his shoulder may be done later today, and the New York media are after him.
....Newsday columnist Bob Glauber said Favre "provided more proof that he is finished as an NFL quarterback."
In the New York Daily News, writer Ohm Youngmisuk wrote that, "Unfortunately for Favre and the Jets, what started out as a marriage made in heaven in August ended in heartbreak and bitter disappointment."
And in the New York Post, the Post said Favre had an "ancient arm."
Hey. The guy DID help your stinking team, no? He DID throw some TD's, no? He DID inspire a so-so team to a .500++ season, no?
Screw youse jerks in duh press!
He's an old warrior, yes.
But old warriors deserve respect for the fact that they competed and won.
Brett Favre's season is over, an MRI on his shoulder may be done later today, and the New York media are after him.
....Newsday columnist Bob Glauber said Favre "provided more proof that he is finished as an NFL quarterback."
In the New York Daily News, writer Ohm Youngmisuk wrote that, "Unfortunately for Favre and the Jets, what started out as a marriage made in heaven in August ended in heartbreak and bitter disappointment."
And in the New York Post, the Post said Favre had an "ancient arm."
Hey. The guy DID help your stinking team, no? He DID throw some TD's, no? He DID inspire a so-so team to a .500++ season, no?
Screw youse jerks in duh press!
He's an old warrior, yes.
But old warriors deserve respect for the fact that they competed and won.
PoliticianSpeak, Graduate Level
Roeser comes up with a very, very good one.
...a friend and reader of this website contacted me with a brilliant example of political talk where the rhetoric is cotton candy but the nutrition is zilch. It is an obscure but brilliant Irish song from a political reporter who, after many years of covering politicians with doublespeak, finds he has contracted the same malady.
All you need is the chorus:
“Well, I’m very glad you asked me that for at this point in time
In the circumstances that prevail there is in the pipeline
Infrastructural implications interfaced with lines of thought
Which lead to grass roots viabilities which at this time I’d rather not
Annunciate in ambiguities but rather seek to find
Negotiated compromises which are at the bottom line
For full and frank discussion which would serve to integrate
With basic fundamental principles to which we all relate
Not in doctrinaire philosophy which any fool can see
An inescapable hypothesis confronting you and me
So in the interest of the common good now you need never fear
For I’ve got the matter well in hand and I’m glad I made things clear."
The rest of the song is just as good, but you have to hit the link to read it...
...a friend and reader of this website contacted me with a brilliant example of political talk where the rhetoric is cotton candy but the nutrition is zilch. It is an obscure but brilliant Irish song from a political reporter who, after many years of covering politicians with doublespeak, finds he has contracted the same malady.
All you need is the chorus:
“Well, I’m very glad you asked me that for at this point in time
In the circumstances that prevail there is in the pipeline
Infrastructural implications interfaced with lines of thought
Which lead to grass roots viabilities which at this time I’d rather not
Annunciate in ambiguities but rather seek to find
Negotiated compromises which are at the bottom line
For full and frank discussion which would serve to integrate
With basic fundamental principles to which we all relate
Not in doctrinaire philosophy which any fool can see
An inescapable hypothesis confronting you and me
So in the interest of the common good now you need never fear
For I’ve got the matter well in hand and I’m glad I made things clear."
The rest of the song is just as good, but you have to hit the link to read it...
Factoid of the Day
As usual, Random 10 comes up with a good one.
Consider this staggering comparison: State and local public employees comprise approximately 12 percent of the U.S. workforce and have an estimated $800 billion or more of unfunded pension liabilities (not counting other post-employment benefits). By comparison, employees in the private or corporate sector make up about 78 percent of the U.S. workforce with an estimated $450 billion of unfunded liabilities.
R-10's prediction regarding this is not cryptic.
My take?
Easy Street is a one-way street. The taxpayer gets to build it, but had little to do with naming it.
Consider this staggering comparison: State and local public employees comprise approximately 12 percent of the U.S. workforce and have an estimated $800 billion or more of unfunded pension liabilities (not counting other post-employment benefits). By comparison, employees in the private or corporate sector make up about 78 percent of the U.S. workforce with an estimated $450 billion of unfunded liabilities.
R-10's prediction regarding this is not cryptic.
My take?
Easy Street is a one-way street. The taxpayer gets to build it, but had little to do with naming it.
Hmmmmm! QB Ratings
Well, well, well.
Final regular-season QB ratings, 2008, NFL:
Best: Rivers, San Diego, 105.5, 11 interceptions
6th: Rodgers, Green Bay, 93.8, 13 interceptions
8th: Romo, Dallas, 91.4, 14 interceptions
.................scroll, scroll, scroll.....................
21st: Favre, NYJets, 81.0, 22 interceptions
Last: Anderson, Cleveland, 66.5, 8 interceptions
Yah, I know. It's all about leadership, not ratings. /sarcasm
Final regular-season QB ratings, 2008, NFL:
Best: Rivers, San Diego, 105.5, 11 interceptions
6th: Rodgers, Green Bay, 93.8, 13 interceptions
8th: Romo, Dallas, 91.4, 14 interceptions
.................scroll, scroll, scroll.....................
21st: Favre, NYJets, 81.0, 22 interceptions
Last: Anderson, Cleveland, 66.5, 8 interceptions
Yah, I know. It's all about leadership, not ratings. /sarcasm
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Caroline's Tanking
It appears that Ms. Kennedy has lost the favor of the MSM by virtue of utter stupidity (hers, not theirs.)
Worse, the line on her appointment is shrinking rapidly:
Likelihood of her appointment 10 days ago, per InTrade: 85 percent. Today: 53.5, down four points from yesterday
It may be too late to sell short on the contract...
HT: HotAir
Worse, the line on her appointment is shrinking rapidly:
Likelihood of her appointment 10 days ago, per InTrade: 85 percent. Today: 53.5, down four points from yesterday
It may be too late to sell short on the contract...
HT: HotAir
More on the GMAC Bailout
Apparently the Bailout of GMAC is not the same as the Bailout of GM.
Investors were still waiting word if GMAC Financial Services, the financing arm of General Motors Corp., will be eligible for a government bailout. GMAC received the Federal Reserve's approval to become a bank holding company last week, but that was contingent on putting into place a complicated debt-for-equity exchange by 11:59 p.m. EST Friday.
That deadline passed with no word from the company. Analysts have speculated that if GMAC doesn't obtain financial help it would have to file for bankruptcy protection or shut down, which would be a serious blow to parent GM's own chances for survival
Ooooohhhhhh....speculative hog-heaven. GMAC is a dealer-financing (floor planning) player, a buyer-financing player, and a mortgage player (DiTech.com and others.)
All KINDS of stuff could go wickywacky if that debt/equity deal isn't done.
Investors were still waiting word if GMAC Financial Services, the financing arm of General Motors Corp., will be eligible for a government bailout. GMAC received the Federal Reserve's approval to become a bank holding company last week, but that was contingent on putting into place a complicated debt-for-equity exchange by 11:59 p.m. EST Friday.
That deadline passed with no word from the company. Analysts have speculated that if GMAC doesn't obtain financial help it would have to file for bankruptcy protection or shut down, which would be a serious blow to parent GM's own chances for survival
Ooooohhhhhh....speculative hog-heaven. GMAC is a dealer-financing (floor planning) player, a buyer-financing player, and a mortgage player (DiTech.com and others.)
All KINDS of stuff could go wickywacky if that debt/equity deal isn't done.
Food-Raids, SWAT-Style
Submit to the State, you miserable serfs!
A state agent from the Ohio Department of Agriculture pressured a family whose members run a food cooperative for friends and neighbors to "sell" him a dozen eggs, sparking accusations of entrapment from a lawyer defending the family.
The case brought by state and local authorities against a co-op run by John and Jacqueline Stowers in LaGrange, Ohio, came to a head on Dec. 1 when police officers used SWAT-style tactics to burst into the home, hold family members including children at gunpoint and confiscate the family's personal food supply.
See, you need the AR-15's and vests because those friggin' chickens can be really, really, vicious. Especially Food Trafficker chickens.
The confrontation began developing several years ago when local health officials demanded the family hold a retail food license in order to run their co-op. Thompson said the family wrote a letter questioning that requirement and asking for evidence that would suggest they were operating a food store and how their private co-op was similar to a WalMart.
The Stowers family members simply "take orders from (co-op) members … then divide up the food," Thompson explained.
Sounds like a conspiracy to me...
Thompson explained the genesis of the raid was a series of visits to the family by an undercover agent for the state agriculture agency.
"He showed up (at the Stowers' residence) unannounced one day," Thompson explained, and "pretended" to be interested in purchasing food.
The family explained the co-op was private and they couldn't provide service to the stranger.
The agent then returned another day, stayed for two hours, and explained how he thought his sick mother would be helped by eggs from range-fed chickens to which the Stowers had access.
The family responded that they didn't sell food and couldn't help. When he refused to leave, the family gave him a dozen eggs to hasten his departure, Thompson explained.
Despite protests from the family, the agent left some money on a counter and departed.
On the basis of that transaction, the Stowers were accused of engaging in the retail sale of food, Thompson said.
It's not the first instance of a State mashing its jackboot onto Food Traffickers, either.
The raid on Manna was not the first such case of authorities invading a home over issues involving the operations of food co-ops and direct producer-to-consumer arrangements. WND reported several months ago when authorities in Pennsylvania demanded $4,000 in fines from a farmer who provided raw milk to friends and neighbors.
That case also was highlighted by a SWAT team-like raid on Mark Nolt's farm, when government agents confiscated tens of thousands of dollars worth of his products as well as pieces of machinery he used for his milk handling and sales.
In that case, of course, it was the Vicious Cows that called for the ARs and vests...
A state agent from the Ohio Department of Agriculture pressured a family whose members run a food cooperative for friends and neighbors to "sell" him a dozen eggs, sparking accusations of entrapment from a lawyer defending the family.
The case brought by state and local authorities against a co-op run by John and Jacqueline Stowers in LaGrange, Ohio, came to a head on Dec. 1 when police officers used SWAT-style tactics to burst into the home, hold family members including children at gunpoint and confiscate the family's personal food supply.
See, you need the AR-15's and vests because those friggin' chickens can be really, really, vicious. Especially Food Trafficker chickens.
The confrontation began developing several years ago when local health officials demanded the family hold a retail food license in order to run their co-op. Thompson said the family wrote a letter questioning that requirement and asking for evidence that would suggest they were operating a food store and how their private co-op was similar to a WalMart.
The Stowers family members simply "take orders from (co-op) members … then divide up the food," Thompson explained.
Sounds like a conspiracy to me...
Thompson explained the genesis of the raid was a series of visits to the family by an undercover agent for the state agriculture agency.
"He showed up (at the Stowers' residence) unannounced one day," Thompson explained, and "pretended" to be interested in purchasing food.
The family explained the co-op was private and they couldn't provide service to the stranger.
The agent then returned another day, stayed for two hours, and explained how he thought his sick mother would be helped by eggs from range-fed chickens to which the Stowers had access.
The family responded that they didn't sell food and couldn't help. When he refused to leave, the family gave him a dozen eggs to hasten his departure, Thompson explained.
Despite protests from the family, the agent left some money on a counter and departed.
On the basis of that transaction, the Stowers were accused of engaging in the retail sale of food, Thompson said.
It's not the first instance of a State mashing its jackboot onto Food Traffickers, either.
The raid on Manna was not the first such case of authorities invading a home over issues involving the operations of food co-ops and direct producer-to-consumer arrangements. WND reported several months ago when authorities in Pennsylvania demanded $4,000 in fines from a farmer who provided raw milk to friends and neighbors.
That case also was highlighted by a SWAT team-like raid on Mark Nolt's farm, when government agents confiscated tens of thousands of dollars worth of his products as well as pieces of machinery he used for his milk handling and sales.
In that case, of course, it was the Vicious Cows that called for the ARs and vests...
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Thomas Sowell
Mined from a column spotted by Kevin:
People who are impressed by how many of Barack Obama's advisors have Ivy League degrees seem not to remember how many people with Ivy League degrees mismanaged the Vietnam war and how many people with Ivy League degrees mismanaged economic policy during the Great Depression of the 1930s.
If at first you don't succeed (at demolishing the Republic), try, try, again!
People who are impressed by how many of Barack Obama's advisors have Ivy League degrees seem not to remember how many people with Ivy League degrees mismanaged the Vietnam war and how many people with Ivy League degrees mismanaged economic policy during the Great Depression of the 1930s.
If at first you don't succeed (at demolishing the Republic), try, try, again!
Counter-Intuitive Consumer Spending Numbers
The key to understanding the chart is knowing that "Chained" dollars is inflation-adjusted dollars.
Thus, both personal income AND personal consumption dollars rose in November (adjusted for inflation--which is mostly adjusted for the cliff-dive in gasoline prices.)
Those are 'counter-intuitive' because we also know that retail sales were less than expected during the Christmas buying season.
But the numbers are not necessarily 'wrong' just because they are counter-intuitive. Remember that retail sales expectations are conjured up by retailers (!!) not by bean-counters--so expectations are pro-forma numbers--no more, no less.
Something to think about...
HT: NewsBusters
Friday, December 26, 2008
Definitions
Found in the midst of a book review by Fr. Oakes, SJ:
...the standard ploy of Whig and liberal historiography: Take the high road of monopolizing all the virtue and consign "conservatives" to a hidebound redoubt of obscurantism.
Neat summary.
HT: Fr. Z
...the standard ploy of Whig and liberal historiography: Take the high road of monopolizing all the virtue and consign "conservatives" to a hidebound redoubt of obscurantism.
Neat summary.
HT: Fr. Z
Another Another Look at Christmas
From G K Chesterton, of course:
When we were children we were grateful to those who filled our stockings at Christmas time. Why are we not grateful to God for filling our stockings with legs?
HT: Ironic
When we were children we were grateful to those who filled our stockings at Christmas time. Why are we not grateful to God for filling our stockings with legs?
HT: Ironic
Think of it This Way
Another look at Christmas:
Christmas. Urban legend has it that the common pagan celebration of Christmas had its origin in an ancient Christian feast.
--Dr. Boli's Encyclopedia
HT: Happy Catholic
Christmas. Urban legend has it that the common pagan celebration of Christmas had its origin in an ancient Christian feast.
--Dr. Boli's Encyclopedia
HT: Happy Catholic
The Loony-Tunes on Guns
Every once in a while, it's good to read the 'original spin,' so that you know what to expect from the Interwebospherethingy echo chambers.
Here's an item from the Shepherd Express' online site which is, ah, .......interesting.
The gun industry and the National Rifle Association (NRA) don't want you to know that gun sales have stagnated for years, and their campaigns to legalize concealed carry and fight restrictions on the sales of highly lethal weapons are part of their strategy to boost stagnant gun sales.
Umnnnh, yah. That 'stagnation' is why barrels for AR-15's are backordered by 6+ weeks, and why the FBI reports that NICS checks remained approximately constant at 8+ million/year from 1999 through 2007. One can accurately use the term "stagnant" to describe flat sales, which the NICS stats would seem to support. But the article itself also tells us that guns are 'durable goods' (true); thus, we are seeing additions to personally-owned gun inventories at some percentage of gun sales/year.
And we haven't seen the numbers for 2008, which by all reports is going to be a banner year for gun sales.
The SE interviewed a fellow named Tom Diaz.
Tom Diaz, senior policy analyst at the Violence Policy Center, argues that this business strategy does a disservice to the sport shooters and hunters who make up the bulk of the NRA's membership, and has resulted in turning the United States into the "last great market" for cheap and highly lethal weapons
"Highly lethal?" Is that worse than "Middling Lethal?" or "Lightly Lethal"? Ask any victim, (if they were only 'lightly lethally" assaulted, I guess...)
[Diaz:] I realized was that the gun industry and manufacturers had changed the profile of who their target market was. It was not about self-defense or the right to bear arms. They were hyper-marketing very lethal guns and they flooded the U.S. with them. The NRA doesn't represent sport shooters and hunters. They were selling these killing machines
Diaz is a rhetorician, using the elision of actual facts from his propaganda statements to stoke up the uninformed. NRA, of course, does not "sell" weapons, and its principal magazine's (American Rifleman) content usually runs about 50% hunting-related articles. Self-defense articles are another 30% of content; accessories (scopes, binox, etc.) and 'historical gun' items are the rest of the content, (excepting editorials.)
And just like with newspapers, who reads the editorials?
[Diaz, again]: how do I, as a gun manufacturer, get you to buy more guns? They recognize this problem. They discuss it. This is their innovation: In the past 25-30 years they have come up with new designs that are more lethal. They push them through magazine articles and gun shows.
A comparative of "lethal" again. I'm waiting for the superlative of "lethal".....
Then there is the NRA campaign to allow concealed weapons to be carried everywhere. So the manufacturers started marketing small handguns, so you could walk around with a gun in your pocket. And they are marketing to women and children to broaden their market.
Manufacturers "started" marketing small handguns in the 1800's. They were called Derringers, after the inventor of the product. Concealable handguns were also sold to tens of thousands of police officers and civilians. They are not "new" in any sense of the term.
[More Diaz, yet again]: they get hunters and recreational shooters all worked up about people trying to take their guns away. But I don't know any rational person in the gun-control movement who wants to take away someone's hunting rifle.
Half-true, at best. The gun-control weenies have tried, very hard, to make semi-auto rifles illegal, including semi-auto hunting rifles down to .22LR Rugers used for controlling coyotes, squirrels, skunks, and chipmunks. They haven't gotten around to "siezure"--only because they never managed to get the ban they so desperately want.
Actually, Diaz' real problem is finding 'rational people' in the gun-control movement in the first place. Diaz does a good job of personally demonstrating irrationality as the article goes on.
[Diaz, ad nauseam]: adopting a public health perspective would allow us to know more about firearms and death caused by them. The industry has been instrumental in suppressing data on gun violence
Suppressing data on gun violence? Really!! You mean that Marty Kaiser at the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel has been getting threats from NRA and the NSSF about running those news stories every day? Or that the JS' crime reporters are spiking stories before they even get to Marty's desk? Or that the FBI no longer publishes Uniform Crime Reports?
[Diaz]: So if gun violence was addressed from a public health perspective, guns would not be eliminated. But we could control the types of firearms that are most lethal, like the military-style automatic weapons
Finally!! The superlative of "lethal!!"
ALL "automatic weapons" are already 'controlled' by BATFE. Anyone who owns a full-auto weapon (legally) must have a specific permit to buy and keep one. The statement is a deception-in-phrasing, of course. He says "military-style automatic weapons" to create the mental picture of war zones, which is not even accurate in the worst sections of US urban areas. Ask any actual cop.
[Diaz, the Conspiracy Theorist/Paranoid Ranter]: The Bush administration has been prime co-conspirators with the gun industry. Secretly, the administration has opened the valve for the import of assault riles into the country
Umnnnhhhh.....one suspects he refers to CONGRESS' refusal to renew the Assault Weapons Ban. The President does not serve as a Member of Congress, Mr. Diaz. And it's no "secret" that semi-auto rifles are imported. Hasn't ever BEEN a "secret." We import arms from Israel, Europe, and South America (not to mention AK's from China) every day, all day long.
A lot of people will read the SE article and assume that the contents are the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Too bad.
The article actually provides little that is true, and none which is whole-truth.
Here's an item from the Shepherd Express' online site which is, ah, .......interesting.
The gun industry and the National Rifle Association (NRA) don't want you to know that gun sales have stagnated for years, and their campaigns to legalize concealed carry and fight restrictions on the sales of highly lethal weapons are part of their strategy to boost stagnant gun sales.
Umnnnh, yah. That 'stagnation' is why barrels for AR-15's are backordered by 6+ weeks, and why the FBI reports that NICS checks remained approximately constant at 8+ million/year from 1999 through 2007. One can accurately use the term "stagnant" to describe flat sales, which the NICS stats would seem to support. But the article itself also tells us that guns are 'durable goods' (true); thus, we are seeing additions to personally-owned gun inventories at some percentage of gun sales/year.
And we haven't seen the numbers for 2008, which by all reports is going to be a banner year for gun sales.
The SE interviewed a fellow named Tom Diaz.
Tom Diaz, senior policy analyst at the Violence Policy Center, argues that this business strategy does a disservice to the sport shooters and hunters who make up the bulk of the NRA's membership, and has resulted in turning the United States into the "last great market" for cheap and highly lethal weapons
"Highly lethal?" Is that worse than "Middling Lethal?" or "Lightly Lethal"? Ask any victim, (if they were only 'lightly lethally" assaulted, I guess...)
[Diaz:] I realized was that the gun industry and manufacturers had changed the profile of who their target market was. It was not about self-defense or the right to bear arms. They were hyper-marketing very lethal guns and they flooded the U.S. with them. The NRA doesn't represent sport shooters and hunters. They were selling these killing machines
Diaz is a rhetorician, using the elision of actual facts from his propaganda statements to stoke up the uninformed. NRA, of course, does not "sell" weapons, and its principal magazine's (American Rifleman) content usually runs about 50% hunting-related articles. Self-defense articles are another 30% of content; accessories (scopes, binox, etc.) and 'historical gun' items are the rest of the content, (excepting editorials.)
And just like with newspapers, who reads the editorials?
[Diaz, again]: how do I, as a gun manufacturer, get you to buy more guns? They recognize this problem. They discuss it. This is their innovation: In the past 25-30 years they have come up with new designs that are more lethal. They push them through magazine articles and gun shows.
A comparative of "lethal" again. I'm waiting for the superlative of "lethal".....
Then there is the NRA campaign to allow concealed weapons to be carried everywhere. So the manufacturers started marketing small handguns, so you could walk around with a gun in your pocket. And they are marketing to women and children to broaden their market.
Manufacturers "started" marketing small handguns in the 1800's. They were called Derringers, after the inventor of the product. Concealable handguns were also sold to tens of thousands of police officers and civilians. They are not "new" in any sense of the term.
[More Diaz, yet again]: they get hunters and recreational shooters all worked up about people trying to take their guns away. But I don't know any rational person in the gun-control movement who wants to take away someone's hunting rifle.
Half-true, at best. The gun-control weenies have tried, very hard, to make semi-auto rifles illegal, including semi-auto hunting rifles down to .22LR Rugers used for controlling coyotes, squirrels, skunks, and chipmunks. They haven't gotten around to "siezure"--only because they never managed to get the ban they so desperately want.
Actually, Diaz' real problem is finding 'rational people' in the gun-control movement in the first place. Diaz does a good job of personally demonstrating irrationality as the article goes on.
[Diaz, ad nauseam]: adopting a public health perspective would allow us to know more about firearms and death caused by them. The industry has been instrumental in suppressing data on gun violence
Suppressing data on gun violence? Really!! You mean that Marty Kaiser at the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel has been getting threats from NRA and the NSSF about running those news stories every day? Or that the JS' crime reporters are spiking stories before they even get to Marty's desk? Or that the FBI no longer publishes Uniform Crime Reports?
[Diaz]: So if gun violence was addressed from a public health perspective, guns would not be eliminated. But we could control the types of firearms that are most lethal, like the military-style automatic weapons
Finally!! The superlative of "lethal!!"
ALL "automatic weapons" are already 'controlled' by BATFE. Anyone who owns a full-auto weapon (legally) must have a specific permit to buy and keep one. The statement is a deception-in-phrasing, of course. He says "military-style automatic weapons" to create the mental picture of war zones, which is not even accurate in the worst sections of US urban areas. Ask any actual cop.
[Diaz, the Conspiracy Theorist/Paranoid Ranter]: The Bush administration has been prime co-conspirators with the gun industry. Secretly, the administration has opened the valve for the import of assault riles into the country
Umnnnhhhh.....one suspects he refers to CONGRESS' refusal to renew the Assault Weapons Ban. The President does not serve as a Member of Congress, Mr. Diaz. And it's no "secret" that semi-auto rifles are imported. Hasn't ever BEEN a "secret." We import arms from Israel, Europe, and South America (not to mention AK's from China) every day, all day long.
A lot of people will read the SE article and assume that the contents are the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Too bad.
The article actually provides little that is true, and none which is whole-truth.
Gee. What's Next in Wisconsin?
YOU do the math.
Just look at this page and read the headlines provided.
Then recall thatWisconsin's JimboDoylie's revenue stream includes something called "sales tax."
Next, remember that "decrease spending" is simply NOT in JimboDoylie's vocabulary. Can't be found. Nowhere. No how.
Finally, recall that Wisconsin's budget must balance every bi-ennium.
You got it!
BOHICA, folks!!
HT: Big Picture
Just look at this page and read the headlines provided.
Then recall that
Next, remember that "decrease spending" is simply NOT in JimboDoylie's vocabulary. Can't be found. Nowhere. No how.
Finally, recall that Wisconsin's budget must balance every bi-ennium.
You got it!
BOHICA, folks!!
HT: Big Picture
GMAC Now "A Bank"
Laugh? or Cry Harder?
General Motors Corp., days from receiving its first installment of at least $9.4 billion in U.S. aid, won another victory with the Federal Reserve’s approval of lender GMAC LLC’s bid to become a bank holding company.
GMAC’s shift to a bank eases the threat of a default that threatened to dry up credit for GM dealers who used the company to finance about three-quarters of their inventory. GMAC also handled loans for about 35 percent of GM’s 2007 retail buyers.
The implication is that the GM bailout money is NOT the same as the bailout money which will be extended to GMAC.
Other stories report that GM and Cerberus (both major shareholders in GMAC) will be required to substantially reduce their equity interests in GMAC "Bank." Fine and good.
But are YOU going to deposit money in the GMAC "Bank"??
General Motors Corp., days from receiving its first installment of at least $9.4 billion in U.S. aid, won another victory with the Federal Reserve’s approval of lender GMAC LLC’s bid to become a bank holding company.
GMAC’s shift to a bank eases the threat of a default that threatened to dry up credit for GM dealers who used the company to finance about three-quarters of their inventory. GMAC also handled loans for about 35 percent of GM’s 2007 retail buyers.
The implication is that the GM bailout money is NOT the same as the bailout money which will be extended to GMAC.
Other stories report that GM and Cerberus (both major shareholders in GMAC) will be required to substantially reduce their equity interests in GMAC "Bank." Fine and good.
But are YOU going to deposit money in the GMAC "Bank"??
"Shoe Jihad": Another Failure by the MSM
The bozo "journalist"'s famous tosses weren't exactly spontaneous, nor surprising, if you know the background. Walid Phares has a good deal of information which the MSM should have moved.
We learn again that MSM cynicism is only one-way: it is NEVER operative when "progressives" make the news.
..Commentators and regular citizens were asking themselves again, seven years later, “why do they hate us?” missing one more time the fact that this particular violent expression, far from being a unique emotional reaction by one individual, is part of a war of ideas; it is a continuous organized confrontation over the future of the region.
First off, the bozo is very well-connected--to the bad guys:
Dr. Abdel Khaliq Hussein, writing in Elaph accused al Zaidi of being a “friend of the terrorists.” Furthermore, along with other analysts, Hussein said the “shoe thrower” used to know about the “terrorist attacks before they took place and managed to be at the location beforehand.” These are serious accusations against a person who was made into an icon of “Arab pride” by the Jihadi media machine.
...It gets better when you investigate the organization paying his salary and expenses. Al Baghdadiya TV, based in Cairo, is owned by another controversial figure in the murky world of Middle Eastern media: Abdel Hussein Shaaban, an Iraqi Shia from Najaf and ex-Communist. According to Iraqi opposition sources based in London, Shaaban was an operative for Saddam, tasked with discrediting the Baathist leader’s critics around the world
But more recent accusations leveled by media experts in the region claim that al Baghdadiya TV, like dozens of other recipients, are getting significant funding from the Iranian regime.
Iran? Who could have guessed THAT?
By coincidence: (/sarcasm)
Minutes after the incident took place and was captured by the media feed and aired worldwide, a snowball flurry of releases, special shows with commentators - gathered too fast for the circumstance - were on the airwaves. Interestingly al Baghdadiya TV issued - faster than the speed of light - a long press release calling for struggle
...“Analysts” for mainstream networks - most of whom can’t speak the language - began lecturing the stunned public on the “lessons to be learned and on the pain felt in those lands at the sight of President Bush"
The end-game?
Within Western democracies, informational confusion reigns: this is “Bushophobia” claim the most sophisticated. It is impossible, after all the Coalition has done to free Iraqis from Saddam, that demonstrators are chanting for the shoe thrower. Others, less confident in the ability of the region’s peoples to accept democracy and to be thankful to the liberators, began a psychological withdrawal: let them live under dictatorships for they don’t deserve better, said many talk show hosts.
When a Western response like this happens, connoisseurs of Jihadi tactics know that the “shoe Jihad” worked impeccably. It spread doubts in the heads of Westerners, particularly among Americans, so that few will support a U.S. President in the future if he asks for sacrifices to “bring change” to the region. The combined propaganda machine of the Baathists, Salafists, Khomeinists and other authoritarians scored a major coup in a job lasting only 48 hours: they forced a confused West to believe that the region is utterly opposed to liberal democracy. Consequently, the next White House and other chanceries across the Atlantic need to learn from the shoe attack: do not intervene in Darfur; do not pressure the Iranian regime; do not help Lebanon against Hezbollah and let go of democracy in Iraq and Afghanistan
Phares obviously thinks otherwise; that is, that the Middle East region is NOT 'utterly opposed to liberal democracy.' Whether 'liberal democracy' works over there is still a matter of conjecture; it seems to be gaining traction and momentum in Iraq, but then again, there are 140K US troops over there to 'help.'
But that's not really the point. Instead, we should learn that the MSM's 'reporters' and 'analysts' are intellectually incapable of discerning propaganda for what it is--so long as the propaganda is anti-US, or anti-conservative.
We learn again that MSM cynicism is only one-way: it is NEVER operative when "progressives" make the news.
..Commentators and regular citizens were asking themselves again, seven years later, “why do they hate us?” missing one more time the fact that this particular violent expression, far from being a unique emotional reaction by one individual, is part of a war of ideas; it is a continuous organized confrontation over the future of the region.
First off, the bozo is very well-connected--to the bad guys:
Dr. Abdel Khaliq Hussein, writing in Elaph accused al Zaidi of being a “friend of the terrorists.” Furthermore, along with other analysts, Hussein said the “shoe thrower” used to know about the “terrorist attacks before they took place and managed to be at the location beforehand.” These are serious accusations against a person who was made into an icon of “Arab pride” by the Jihadi media machine.
...It gets better when you investigate the organization paying his salary and expenses. Al Baghdadiya TV, based in Cairo, is owned by another controversial figure in the murky world of Middle Eastern media: Abdel Hussein Shaaban, an Iraqi Shia from Najaf and ex-Communist. According to Iraqi opposition sources based in London, Shaaban was an operative for Saddam, tasked with discrediting the Baathist leader’s critics around the world
But more recent accusations leveled by media experts in the region claim that al Baghdadiya TV, like dozens of other recipients, are getting significant funding from the Iranian regime.
Iran? Who could have guessed THAT?
By coincidence: (/sarcasm)
Minutes after the incident took place and was captured by the media feed and aired worldwide, a snowball flurry of releases, special shows with commentators - gathered too fast for the circumstance - were on the airwaves. Interestingly al Baghdadiya TV issued - faster than the speed of light - a long press release calling for struggle
...“Analysts” for mainstream networks - most of whom can’t speak the language - began lecturing the stunned public on the “lessons to be learned and on the pain felt in those lands at the sight of President Bush"
The end-game?
Within Western democracies, informational confusion reigns: this is “Bushophobia” claim the most sophisticated. It is impossible, after all the Coalition has done to free Iraqis from Saddam, that demonstrators are chanting for the shoe thrower. Others, less confident in the ability of the region’s peoples to accept democracy and to be thankful to the liberators, began a psychological withdrawal: let them live under dictatorships for they don’t deserve better, said many talk show hosts.
When a Western response like this happens, connoisseurs of Jihadi tactics know that the “shoe Jihad” worked impeccably. It spread doubts in the heads of Westerners, particularly among Americans, so that few will support a U.S. President in the future if he asks for sacrifices to “bring change” to the region. The combined propaganda machine of the Baathists, Salafists, Khomeinists and other authoritarians scored a major coup in a job lasting only 48 hours: they forced a confused West to believe that the region is utterly opposed to liberal democracy. Consequently, the next White House and other chanceries across the Atlantic need to learn from the shoe attack: do not intervene in Darfur; do not pressure the Iranian regime; do not help Lebanon against Hezbollah and let go of democracy in Iraq and Afghanistan
Phares obviously thinks otherwise; that is, that the Middle East region is NOT 'utterly opposed to liberal democracy.' Whether 'liberal democracy' works over there is still a matter of conjecture; it seems to be gaining traction and momentum in Iraq, but then again, there are 140K US troops over there to 'help.'
But that's not really the point. Instead, we should learn that the MSM's 'reporters' and 'analysts' are intellectually incapable of discerning propaganda for what it is--so long as the propaganda is anti-US, or anti-conservative.
Savings Rate Pops Up
The most meaningful read of this chart is one that compares 1959/1983 to 1983/2008.
(CR also makes a damn fool out of Larry Kudlow in the linked post.)
HT: Calculated Risk
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Dirty Rahm?
Seems like it wasn't all just casual convo. Ace carries the following item:
Emanuel has not yet resigned from his congressional post. When he does, his position will be filled by a special election. But there was discussion about whether Blagojevich could appoint an interim replacement, according to the criminal complaint in the governor's case.
Days after Emanuel and Blagojevich spoke about Emanuel's seat, the governor is overheard telling aides on secret wiretaps he wanted Emanuel "to get the word today," about raising money for the governor and that when "[Emanuel] asks me for the Fifth CD thing, I want it to be in his head." The "Fifth CD" was a reference to Emanuel's 5th Congressional District seat.
And Ace wonders what "appointment" power BlagoDirtBall has over Congressional seats.
But never mind that; the report lays out "quid pro quo" groundwork, at the very least.
Emanuel has not yet resigned from his congressional post. When he does, his position will be filled by a special election. But there was discussion about whether Blagojevich could appoint an interim replacement, according to the criminal complaint in the governor's case.
Days after Emanuel and Blagojevich spoke about Emanuel's seat, the governor is overheard telling aides on secret wiretaps he wanted Emanuel "to get the word today," about raising money for the governor and that when "[Emanuel] asks me for the Fifth CD thing, I want it to be in his head." The "Fifth CD" was a reference to Emanuel's 5th Congressional District seat.
And Ace wonders what "appointment" power BlagoDirtBall has over Congressional seats.
But never mind that; the report lays out "quid pro quo" groundwork, at the very least.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
If Demand Died...
Here's a real Christmas joy post...
Denninger's thesis on 'the death of demand' happens to be mine, too; however, he takes it to the next step and postulates that Bernanke's "zero interest rate" gambit is destined for a very hard fall.
At some point the people have all the cars, IPods and flatscreen TVs they need, and their want for additional consumption becomes tempered by the pain of the debt service that came with "pulling forward" from an infinite future horizon.
In short continuing demand becomes irrelevant because debt service chokes off available free cash flow.
"Quantitative Easing" into such an environment, which we are now in, is a complete and utter waste of time because it in fact requires that additional debt be taken on in the economy in order to do anything.
That is, buying assets from banks and pumping reserves back into them so they can loan them out only boosts aggregate demand if there are in fact qualified borrowers who wish to take out a loan to buy something.
Some so-called "economists" will argue that lowering borrowing costs acts as a stimulative effect in that interest costs come down. This is only true to the extent that there is unsated demand among unsaturated (by debt) consumers.
It remains to be seen if B's tactics turn into the Armageddon that Denninger forecasts. There's some doubt about that based on Japan's situation; they did the same thing but the yen hasn't turned to Milorganite.
At least, not yet.
Denninger's thesis on 'the death of demand' happens to be mine, too; however, he takes it to the next step and postulates that Bernanke's "zero interest rate" gambit is destined for a very hard fall.
At some point the people have all the cars, IPods and flatscreen TVs they need, and their want for additional consumption becomes tempered by the pain of the debt service that came with "pulling forward" from an infinite future horizon.
In short continuing demand becomes irrelevant because debt service chokes off available free cash flow.
"Quantitative Easing" into such an environment, which we are now in, is a complete and utter waste of time because it in fact requires that additional debt be taken on in the economy in order to do anything.
That is, buying assets from banks and pumping reserves back into them so they can loan them out only boosts aggregate demand if there are in fact qualified borrowers who wish to take out a loan to buy something.
Some so-called "economists" will argue that lowering borrowing costs acts as a stimulative effect in that interest costs come down. This is only true to the extent that there is unsated demand among unsaturated (by debt) consumers.
It remains to be seen if B's tactics turn into the Armageddon that Denninger forecasts. There's some doubt about that based on Japan's situation; they did the same thing but the yen hasn't turned to Milorganite.
At least, not yet.
Lotsa Dead Dogs and Cop Shooters
Agitator finds all sorts of gems.
Peeples waited until they circled back to the front of his house, at which point he opened his back door to investigate. That’s when his dog, a three-year-old Staffy named Eygpt ran out. Normally, that wouldn’t be a problem, except that one of the police officers had left the backyard gate open. The dog ran out, and down Peeple’s driveway toward the officers, at which point they shot it three times. Even the police concede the dog never attacked. They shot it as it was running toward them.
It only gets worse from there. The police then arrested Peeples on the charge of assault with a deadly weapon—the weapon being his now dying dog. Peeples says they then euthanized his dog, despite his explicit instructions not to...
...These stories seem to be popping up with increasing frequency. Three weeks ago, police in Waldorf, Maryland shot a family dog in front of two small children while attempting to serve papers on a man who no longer lived at the address. They claim the dog charged them. Last month, police in Indianapolis put nine bullets in a German Shepherd. They ignored warning signs about the dog posted on the property before walking in to serve a warrant on a man who hadn’t lived at the address in years. Just last week week, police in Gwinnett County, Georgia shot and killed a Dalmatian after entering the wrong garage to serve a warrant in a gang-related case.
Milwaukee resident Virginia Villo is suing that city for the 2004 police shooting of her lab-springer spaniel mix, Bubba. As part of her lawsuit, she requested police reports of every dog killed by Milwaukee police over a nine-year period. The request turned up 434 dead puppy reports, or about one every seven-and-a-half days.
Does seem that the police have a deadly allergy to dogs, no?
Peeples waited until they circled back to the front of his house, at which point he opened his back door to investigate. That’s when his dog, a three-year-old Staffy named Eygpt ran out. Normally, that wouldn’t be a problem, except that one of the police officers had left the backyard gate open. The dog ran out, and down Peeple’s driveway toward the officers, at which point they shot it three times. Even the police concede the dog never attacked. They shot it as it was running toward them.
It only gets worse from there. The police then arrested Peeples on the charge of assault with a deadly weapon—the weapon being his now dying dog. Peeples says they then euthanized his dog, despite his explicit instructions not to...
...These stories seem to be popping up with increasing frequency. Three weeks ago, police in Waldorf, Maryland shot a family dog in front of two small children while attempting to serve papers on a man who no longer lived at the address. They claim the dog charged them. Last month, police in Indianapolis put nine bullets in a German Shepherd. They ignored warning signs about the dog posted on the property before walking in to serve a warrant on a man who hadn’t lived at the address in years. Just last week week, police in Gwinnett County, Georgia shot and killed a Dalmatian after entering the wrong garage to serve a warrant in a gang-related case.
Milwaukee resident Virginia Villo is suing that city for the 2004 police shooting of her lab-springer spaniel mix, Bubba. As part of her lawsuit, she requested police reports of every dog killed by Milwaukee police over a nine-year period. The request turned up 434 dead puppy reports, or about one every seven-and-a-half days.
Does seem that the police have a deadly allergy to dogs, no?
The Chicago School(s), Deneen, and the Social Compact
Friedman's theories are less Shiny and New these days. (HT: The Big Picture)
It's important to remember "University of Chicago." That's because when you get to the very end of the article linked above, and see the name "Dewey" as part of the U of Chicago constellation, you will (undoubtedly) recall my post of a few days ago, in which Deneen argued that Dewey and Bloom (another U of C guy) had a great deal in common.
Well, yah, besides the U of C faculty slots, they did; a demi-Puritan philosophy. And that Chicago-school demi-Puritan philosophy, (initially financed by J D Rockefeller), has a glaring flaw that has caused a few problems.
Here's the relevant quote concerning Dewey/Bloom:
...they are linked in a common definition of “liberal education” that stresses the liberative quality of education, and can be seen as common antagonists toward an alternative definition of liberal education which rests more deeply upon an acceptance of limits and restraint. One sees especially this common antagonism in their views toward religious education, or more broadly, an education in “virtue.”
The Bloomberg article highlights this 'virtue-lacuna' indirectly; what Friedman & Co., (Hayek was in the group, too...) propose is the economic corollary: that 'markets' will provide the optimum solution--that they are inherently efficient in producing "what's best." This underlies the crusade for de-regulation preached by the Chicago School types, which usually include libertarians of the Hayek/VonMises persuasion.
Big Picture's Ritholtz is particularly biting in his criticism of the Chicago school:
...The Chicagoists somehow read into law a market efficiency component that was never there. I recoiled against it — not because of the libertarianism, which I embraced. Rather, it seemed a backdoor way to circumvent democracy, and force into the legal system rules that were never debated, voted on, or agreed to by a representative government. I found the extremist legal theories of Judges like Richard Posner and Frank Easterbrook intellectually repulsive. They were undemocratic, anti-representative government
If there is one silver lining in the entire collapse, its that this group of intellectual charlatans have been revealed as utterly wanting...
The single item missing from Hayek/Friedman and Dewey/Bloom is the 'virtue' issue, or if you prefer, the 'religion thing.' As Deneen points out, Dewey/Bloom rely on "education" divorced from religion as The Solution. Similarly, Hayek/Friedman rely on "the free market" (no religion there, either) as The Solution. The glaring common flaw: reading religion (or virtue) out of the picture.
You don't have to have a long memory to understand the problems which flow from absence of virtue. There's Blago; there's the co-conspirator-Regulator; there are the Bonus Bankers (thankyouverymuch, taxpayers), and of course, there is Madoff.
Seems to me that Ritholtz and Deneen could have a lot of fun if they got together and wrote an essay on the question. It would be even better if they started from the quote of John Paul II regarding “the inalienable value of the human person” who “must always be an end and not a means, a subject, not an object, not a commodity of trade.”
That is the "Social Compact" rightly understood. It is NOT the 'social compact' of Rousseau, another scoundrel whose compact also excluded religion (and whose life didn't have all that much virtue, either...)
It is the social compact which should animate economic decisions, because it reads "virtue" INTO the equasion; it takes into consideration Original Sin, the real reason for regulation.
It's important to remember "University of Chicago." That's because when you get to the very end of the article linked above, and see the name "Dewey" as part of the U of Chicago constellation, you will (undoubtedly) recall my post of a few days ago, in which Deneen argued that Dewey and Bloom (another U of C guy) had a great deal in common.
Well, yah, besides the U of C faculty slots, they did; a demi-Puritan philosophy. And that Chicago-school demi-Puritan philosophy, (initially financed by J D Rockefeller), has a glaring flaw that has caused a few problems.
Here's the relevant quote concerning Dewey/Bloom:
...they are linked in a common definition of “liberal education” that stresses the liberative quality of education, and can be seen as common antagonists toward an alternative definition of liberal education which rests more deeply upon an acceptance of limits and restraint. One sees especially this common antagonism in their views toward religious education, or more broadly, an education in “virtue.”
The Bloomberg article highlights this 'virtue-lacuna' indirectly; what Friedman & Co., (Hayek was in the group, too...) propose is the economic corollary: that 'markets' will provide the optimum solution--that they are inherently efficient in producing "what's best." This underlies the crusade for de-regulation preached by the Chicago School types, which usually include libertarians of the Hayek/VonMises persuasion.
Big Picture's Ritholtz is particularly biting in his criticism of the Chicago school:
...The Chicagoists somehow read into law a market efficiency component that was never there. I recoiled against it — not because of the libertarianism, which I embraced. Rather, it seemed a backdoor way to circumvent democracy, and force into the legal system rules that were never debated, voted on, or agreed to by a representative government. I found the extremist legal theories of Judges like Richard Posner and Frank Easterbrook intellectually repulsive. They were undemocratic, anti-representative government
If there is one silver lining in the entire collapse, its that this group of intellectual charlatans have been revealed as utterly wanting...
The single item missing from Hayek/Friedman and Dewey/Bloom is the 'virtue' issue, or if you prefer, the 'religion thing.' As Deneen points out, Dewey/Bloom rely on "education" divorced from religion as The Solution. Similarly, Hayek/Friedman rely on "the free market" (no religion there, either) as The Solution. The glaring common flaw: reading religion (or virtue) out of the picture.
You don't have to have a long memory to understand the problems which flow from absence of virtue. There's Blago; there's the co-conspirator-Regulator; there are the Bonus Bankers (thankyouverymuch, taxpayers), and of course, there is Madoff.
Seems to me that Ritholtz and Deneen could have a lot of fun if they got together and wrote an essay on the question. It would be even better if they started from the quote of John Paul II regarding “the inalienable value of the human person” who “must always be an end and not a means, a subject, not an object, not a commodity of trade.”
That is the "Social Compact" rightly understood. It is NOT the 'social compact' of Rousseau, another scoundrel whose compact also excluded religion (and whose life didn't have all that much virtue, either...)
It is the social compact which should animate economic decisions, because it reads "virtue" INTO the equasion; it takes into consideration Original Sin, the real reason for regulation.
EPA to Kill SE Wisconsin Economy
The EPA has decreed that SE Wisconsin is "not in compliance."
Federal environmental regulators have declared Milwaukee, Waukesha and Racine counties not in compliance with a new and stronger standard for particle pollution.
...In Wisconsin, the largest sources are electric power plants, motor vehicles, industrial processes, off-road equipment, road dust and wood-burning stoves
You can draw whatever inference you like; something's going to stop, or be horrifically more expensive, or both.
We certainly won't need all that electricity if industry moves out! There's a solution!!
And what with Global Warming and all, you won't mind when the State or Feds sieze your woodburning stove. You won't need heat, after all....
You'll note that the "test" was conducted during a particularly interesting time:
The EPA measures particle pollution over a three-year period. From 2005 to 2007, Milwaukee County's measure was 41 micrograms per cubic meter over the three years
...during the largest single road-construction project in Wisconsin history; the Marquette Interchange rebuild.
Nothing like carefully choosing your statistical base.
Federal environmental regulators have declared Milwaukee, Waukesha and Racine counties not in compliance with a new and stronger standard for particle pollution.
...In Wisconsin, the largest sources are electric power plants, motor vehicles, industrial processes, off-road equipment, road dust and wood-burning stoves
You can draw whatever inference you like; something's going to stop, or be horrifically more expensive, or both.
We certainly won't need all that electricity if industry moves out! There's a solution!!
And what with Global Warming and all, you won't mind when the State or Feds sieze your woodburning stove. You won't need heat, after all....
You'll note that the "test" was conducted during a particularly interesting time:
The EPA measures particle pollution over a three-year period. From 2005 to 2007, Milwaukee County's measure was 41 micrograms per cubic meter over the three years
...during the largest single road-construction project in Wisconsin history; the Marquette Interchange rebuild.
Nothing like carefully choosing your statistical base.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
The Heat's On
News item:
Faced with a double-digit drop in car sales, the Russ Darrow Group is launching a buy a new car, get a used one free promotion from now through Jan. 5, the dealership said today.
The reason for the offer is simple: Business is bad - real bad.
"Frankly we've got a ton of inventory," said Mike Darrow, executive vice president of the Menomonee Falls based dealership....
Umnnnhhhh....we also know that Chrysler Financial sent a nastygram to its dealers, telling them that their floor-planning lines of credit were going to become far more expensive very soon.
S'pose Ernie will offer "three for one"? Or maybe four??
Faced with a double-digit drop in car sales, the Russ Darrow Group is launching a buy a new car, get a used one free promotion from now through Jan. 5, the dealership said today.
The reason for the offer is simple: Business is bad - real bad.
"Frankly we've got a ton of inventory," said Mike Darrow, executive vice president of the Menomonee Falls based dealership....
Umnnnhhhh....we also know that Chrysler Financial sent a nastygram to its dealers, telling them that their floor-planning lines of credit were going to become far more expensive very soon.
S'pose Ernie will offer "three for one"? Or maybe four??
The Packers...
Another blogger who would LIKE to be thought of as a youngster will not like my proposed headline for last night's game:
Special Teams Fail;
Offensive Line Fails;
Defense Gives Up in 4Q
RODGERS LOST ANOTHER GAME!
Sadly, the font here does not have the "therefore" three-dot sign to place after the penultimate line of the header...
But Kevin, by all means, put that on your blog.
We'll work up an excuse for Favre's Failure in Seattle later.
Where to Put the Snow?
Some of you will recall the Winter of 78/79. (77/78?) It was as bad as this one; snow piled up all over the place, piled to "top-of-your-car" heights on the Milwaukee street-sides.
There was too much snow for railroad trains to navigate less-used tracks--so the Plant Manager at Harnischfeger sent his labor-force and supervisors out to shovel the siding-tracks next to the plant on 40th street. Why? Because the plant was bottlenecked with machines that had to go out before P&H could build more. Can't invoice the damn thing until it's shipped, you know, and at $1 million or more/invoice, it makes a difference.
Anyhoo.....
The City finally sent out crews with front-end loaders and dump trucks, ripped the snow from curbside, and dumped the snow where it would go away peacefully.
The rivers--Menomonee, KK, and Milwaukee, were the recipients of the snow.
These days, the City still uses the front-end loaders and dump trucks. But they cannot put the snow in the river. Noooooooooosireeeeeee!
Damn Near Russia (DNR/Wisconsin) put a halt to that ugly and horrific practice. Can't have that filthy dirty snow in our Lake, right?
Now the City piles the snow under the Hoan Bridge at the harbor.
That way, when it melts, (June or so) it will drain....
....right into Lake Michigan, just like before.
There was too much snow for railroad trains to navigate less-used tracks--so the Plant Manager at Harnischfeger sent his labor-force and supervisors out to shovel the siding-tracks next to the plant on 40th street. Why? Because the plant was bottlenecked with machines that had to go out before P&H could build more. Can't invoice the damn thing until it's shipped, you know, and at $1 million or more/invoice, it makes a difference.
Anyhoo.....
The City finally sent out crews with front-end loaders and dump trucks, ripped the snow from curbside, and dumped the snow where it would go away peacefully.
The rivers--Menomonee, KK, and Milwaukee, were the recipients of the snow.
These days, the City still uses the front-end loaders and dump trucks. But they cannot put the snow in the river. Noooooooooosireeeeeee!
Damn Near Russia (DNR/Wisconsin) put a halt to that ugly and horrific practice. Can't have that filthy dirty snow in our Lake, right?
Now the City piles the snow under the Hoan Bridge at the harbor.
That way, when it melts, (June or so) it will drain....
....right into Lake Michigan, just like before.
"Regulator"? How About Co-Conspirator?
One really good way to conspire is to "regulate" your co-conspirator.
A senior federal banking regulator has been removed from his job after government investigators concluded that he knowingly permitted IndyMac Bancorp to present a misleading picture of its financial health in a federal filing only months before the California thrift was seized by regulators.
The Office of Thrift Supervision removed Darrel Dochow as director of its western region,...
Dochow apparently allowed a pre-dating of a capital infusion to IndyMac, which in turn allowed IndyMac to continue soliciting "jumbo" CD's required to support its loan position.
Turns out that this jackass should know about shenanigans; he wrote the book 20 years ago:
In the late 1980s, Dochow had been the chief career supervisor of the savings-and-loan industry, and federal investigators later concluded he played a key role in the collapse of Charles Keating's Lincoln Savings and Loan by delaying and impeding proper oversight of that thrift's operations
So he was demoted and transferred, but "earned" promotions? After completely failing to supervise a banko S&L?
Get familiar with the name. It will be on his pension checks, drawn on YOUR account, for a number of years to come...
HT: Ticker
A senior federal banking regulator has been removed from his job after government investigators concluded that he knowingly permitted IndyMac Bancorp to present a misleading picture of its financial health in a federal filing only months before the California thrift was seized by regulators.
The Office of Thrift Supervision removed Darrel Dochow as director of its western region,...
Dochow apparently allowed a pre-dating of a capital infusion to IndyMac, which in turn allowed IndyMac to continue soliciting "jumbo" CD's required to support its loan position.
Turns out that this jackass should know about shenanigans; he wrote the book 20 years ago:
In the late 1980s, Dochow had been the chief career supervisor of the savings-and-loan industry, and federal investigators later concluded he played a key role in the collapse of Charles Keating's Lincoln Savings and Loan by delaying and impeding proper oversight of that thrift's operations
So he was demoted and transferred, but "earned" promotions? After completely failing to supervise a banko S&L?
Get familiar with the name. It will be on his pension checks, drawn on YOUR account, for a number of years to come...
HT: Ticker
Actual Profit in News?
For a number of years I've contended that newspaper publishers are conceptual blindlings. They seem to think that the substrate is more important than the content--that is, that dead trees are what people purchase, instead of what's REPORTED on those sacrificial pines.
Oh, well. Maybe somebody figured it out:
...L.A. Times editor Russ Stanton is said to have said, that the Times’ Web revenue now exceeds the cost of running the Times’ newsroom. “That’s momentous,” said Jarvis, since it suddenly means at least one major metro paper really could turn itself into a Web-only professional news operation. He writes:
“What if, once past bankruptcy and the cost of shutting down print operations, the LA Times as a news service could be profitable and grow? Yes, grow. News is a growth industry today; newspapers aren’t. But they could be again.
“If they do it right, the papers shifts from relentless shrinkage back to practically limitless growth
One would think that "limitless" should be discarded as an adjective except when defining the universe, or the powers of God.
But charging readers a buck a week for full access to internet news certainly has its possibilities.
Except for the blind.
HT: P-Mac
Oh, well. Maybe somebody figured it out:
...L.A. Times editor Russ Stanton is said to have said, that the Times’ Web revenue now exceeds the cost of running the Times’ newsroom. “That’s momentous,” said Jarvis, since it suddenly means at least one major metro paper really could turn itself into a Web-only professional news operation. He writes:
“What if, once past bankruptcy and the cost of shutting down print operations, the LA Times as a news service could be profitable and grow? Yes, grow. News is a growth industry today; newspapers aren’t. But they could be again.
“If they do it right, the papers shifts from relentless shrinkage back to practically limitless growth
One would think that "limitless" should be discarded as an adjective except when defining the universe, or the powers of God.
But charging readers a buck a week for full access to internet news certainly has its possibilities.
Except for the blind.
HT: P-Mac
Aaaaahhhhhhhnold Wants to Be POTUS
It's reported here and there that Aaaahhhhhhnold wants to become POTUS.
Maybe it's worth a serious discussion, since the Constitution is no longer a bar to anything.
Let's leave it at this: McCain proved that the lukewarm do, indeed, get vomited.
Maybe it's worth a serious discussion, since the Constitution is no longer a bar to anything.
Let's leave it at this: McCain proved that the lukewarm do, indeed, get vomited.
Bits of Good Economy News
Just a couple of bits...
The three month LIBOR has decreased to 1.47%. The three-month LIBOR rate peaked (for this cycle) at 4.81875% on Oct. 10
The TED spread is at 1.48, sharply lower (peak was 4.63)
The A2P2 spread as at 4.93, lower than a record (for this cycle) 5.86 after Thanksgiving,
The two year swap spread from Bloomberg: 77.00 (was as high as 165)
The not-so-good: Treasuries are at 0% for 30-day, and 2.1% for the 10-year. Flight to security is still operative.
HT: Calculated Risk
The three month LIBOR has decreased to 1.47%. The three-month LIBOR rate peaked (for this cycle) at 4.81875% on Oct. 10
The TED spread is at 1.48, sharply lower (peak was 4.63)
The A2P2 spread as at 4.93, lower than a record (for this cycle) 5.86 after Thanksgiving,
The two year swap spread from Bloomberg: 77.00 (was as high as 165)
The not-so-good: Treasuries are at 0% for 30-day, and 2.1% for the 10-year. Flight to security is still operative.
HT: Calculated Risk
Monday, December 22, 2008
One More Thing on the Auto Bailout
Here's a chance for all the Dick Cheney haters...
You can read the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (P.L. 110-343) here. I do not see any plausible argument that the statute authorized President Bush and the Secretary of the Treasury to lend TARP money to GM and Chrysler.
Indeed, in a little-noted moment in his interview with Chris Wallace, Cheney seemed to acknowledge that Congress did not authorize the loans and, with what can only be regarded as constitutionally twisted logic, used that fact to justify rather than indict Bush's action:
I think it's a good package. I think -- you know, we talk about the Congress being critical. They had ample opportunity to deal with this issue, and they failed. The President had no choice but to step in.
Can someone show me where in Article II it says that if Congress "fails" to appropriate money for a particular purpose, the President can "step in" and do it himself? And can anyone explain why liberals who have been so vociferously (and wrongly) critical of alleged Presidential usurpation in foreign policy have been almost uniformly silent about this actual usurpation in domestic policy?
"Unitary Presidency," indeed.
HT: PowerLine
You can read the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (P.L. 110-343) here. I do not see any plausible argument that the statute authorized President Bush and the Secretary of the Treasury to lend TARP money to GM and Chrysler.
Indeed, in a little-noted moment in his interview with Chris Wallace, Cheney seemed to acknowledge that Congress did not authorize the loans and, with what can only be regarded as constitutionally twisted logic, used that fact to justify rather than indict Bush's action:
I think it's a good package. I think -- you know, we talk about the Congress being critical. They had ample opportunity to deal with this issue, and they failed. The President had no choice but to step in.
Can someone show me where in Article II it says that if Congress "fails" to appropriate money for a particular purpose, the President can "step in" and do it himself? And can anyone explain why liberals who have been so vociferously (and wrongly) critical of alleged Presidential usurpation in foreign policy have been almost uniformly silent about this actual usurpation in domestic policy?
"Unitary Presidency," indeed.
HT: PowerLine
Journalistic Decline...
You won't believe this one...
This morning, the New York Times published a letter from the mayor of Paris, France:
With all the respect and admiration I have for Ms. Kennedy's late father, I find her bid in very poor taste, and . . . in my opinion she has no qualification whatsoever to bid for Senator Clinton's seat. . . .The Kennedy era is long gone, and I guess that New York has plenty of more qualified candidates to fill the shoes of Hillary Clinton. Can we speak of American decline?
Bertrand Delanoë
This afternoon:
Early this morning, we posted a letter that carried the name of Bertrand Delanoë, the mayor of Paris, sharply criticizing Caroline Kennedy.This letter was a fake. It should not have been published.Doing so violated both our standards and our procedures in publishing signed letters from our readers.We have already expressed our regrets to Mr. Delanoë's office and we are now doing the same to you, our readers.
Wow...
HT: AmSpecBlog
This morning, the New York Times published a letter from the mayor of Paris, France:
With all the respect and admiration I have for Ms. Kennedy's late father, I find her bid in very poor taste, and . . . in my opinion she has no qualification whatsoever to bid for Senator Clinton's seat. . . .The Kennedy era is long gone, and I guess that New York has plenty of more qualified candidates to fill the shoes of Hillary Clinton. Can we speak of American decline?
Bertrand Delanoë
This afternoon:
Early this morning, we posted a letter that carried the name of Bertrand Delanoë, the mayor of Paris, sharply criticizing Caroline Kennedy.This letter was a fake. It should not have been published.Doing so violated both our standards and our procedures in publishing signed letters from our readers.We have already expressed our regrets to Mr. Delanoë's office and we are now doing the same to you, our readers.
Wow...
HT: AmSpecBlog
Bloom & Dewey, Sittin' in a Tree
Never thought of it this way.
The differences between Dewey and Bloom are so vast and obvious to provide endless fodder for contrast. However, perhaps because of the overwhelming obviousness of these differences, some fundamental similarities can be easily overlooked. Compared to each other, Dewey and Bloom are nearly perfect opposites, natural opponents in a long culture war that pre-dates the invention of that term in the 1980s, and in which Bloom was an incendiary combatant. However, contrasted together against yet another conception of liberal education, it is arguable that it is their similarities, and not their differences, that become more salient. While opponents often attributed to Bloom a kind of cultural conservatism that they found expressed in aspects of educational works by E.D. Hirsch – namely that our culture was deserving of defense and sympathetic understanding – what was often missed by many critics was Bloom’s deep mistrust toward the claims of culture and his pervasive anti-traditionalism, a hostility that he shared with Dewey. For both Bloom and Dewey, liberal education represented a kind of liberation from the traditional and ancestral. To this extent, they might properly be thought of as intellectual cousins within a larger family of anti-traditionalism and rejection of culture; for all their profound differences, in the end they can be seen as united more fundamentally in their hostility to the claims of culture and tradition. To this extent, they are linked in a common definition of “liberal education” that stresses the liberative quality of education, and can be seen as common antagonists toward an alternative definition of liberal education which rests more deeply upon an acceptance of limits and restraint. One sees especially this common antagonism in their views toward religious education, or more broadly, an education in “virtue.”
I still have Bloom's "Closing of the American Mind" on the shelf; read it a long time ago, and was ultimately disappointed in the work, but unable to put a finger on 'why.'
Deneen did, and thanks to him!
Looking at it the way Deneen does also shows the weakness of the Liberal Project exemplified by Bush's 'everybody gets a house', which is an aggrandizement of the 'chickens, pots, cars' meme of FDR.
We are all Liberal Project now! Sad that it's not so easy to pay for it, right?
The differences between Dewey and Bloom are so vast and obvious to provide endless fodder for contrast. However, perhaps because of the overwhelming obviousness of these differences, some fundamental similarities can be easily overlooked. Compared to each other, Dewey and Bloom are nearly perfect opposites, natural opponents in a long culture war that pre-dates the invention of that term in the 1980s, and in which Bloom was an incendiary combatant. However, contrasted together against yet another conception of liberal education, it is arguable that it is their similarities, and not their differences, that become more salient. While opponents often attributed to Bloom a kind of cultural conservatism that they found expressed in aspects of educational works by E.D. Hirsch – namely that our culture was deserving of defense and sympathetic understanding – what was often missed by many critics was Bloom’s deep mistrust toward the claims of culture and his pervasive anti-traditionalism, a hostility that he shared with Dewey. For both Bloom and Dewey, liberal education represented a kind of liberation from the traditional and ancestral. To this extent, they might properly be thought of as intellectual cousins within a larger family of anti-traditionalism and rejection of culture; for all their profound differences, in the end they can be seen as united more fundamentally in their hostility to the claims of culture and tradition. To this extent, they are linked in a common definition of “liberal education” that stresses the liberative quality of education, and can be seen as common antagonists toward an alternative definition of liberal education which rests more deeply upon an acceptance of limits and restraint. One sees especially this common antagonism in their views toward religious education, or more broadly, an education in “virtue.”
I still have Bloom's "Closing of the American Mind" on the shelf; read it a long time ago, and was ultimately disappointed in the work, but unable to put a finger on 'why.'
Deneen did, and thanks to him!
Looking at it the way Deneen does also shows the weakness of the Liberal Project exemplified by Bush's 'everybody gets a house', which is an aggrandizement of the 'chickens, pots, cars' meme of FDR.
We are all Liberal Project now! Sad that it's not so easy to pay for it, right?
Another Use for Speed Cameras
You've heard of speed cameras; like red-light cameras, they are set up to catch speeders (or people who run red lights) by a number of municipalities. The camera takes a picture of the vehicle and license plate; if there's a violation, a ticket is computer-generated and mailed to the vehicle's registration address.
Note what's missing from the above, which is important to understanding the "other use" for such devices.
As a prank, students from local high schools have been taking advantage of the county's Speed Camera Program in order to exact revenge on people who they believe have wronged them in the past, including other students and even teachers.
Students from Richard Montgomery High School dubbed the prank the Speed Camera "Pimping" game, according to a parent of a student enrolled at one of the high schools.
...students duplicate the license plates by printing plate numbers on glossy photo paper, using fonts from certain websites that "mimic" those on Maryland license plates. They tape the duplicate plate over the existing plate on the back of their car and purposefully speed through a speed camera, the parent said. The victim then receives a citation in the mail days later
What's missing, of course, is a visual ID of the driver.
Critics have long maintained that the "speed/red-light" cameras are revenue-devices, not really enforcement devices. It would be very sad to learn that they cannot be trusted, right?
Note what's missing from the above, which is important to understanding the "other use" for such devices.
As a prank, students from local high schools have been taking advantage of the county's Speed Camera Program in order to exact revenge on people who they believe have wronged them in the past, including other students and even teachers.
Students from Richard Montgomery High School dubbed the prank the Speed Camera "Pimping" game, according to a parent of a student enrolled at one of the high schools.
...students duplicate the license plates by printing plate numbers on glossy photo paper, using fonts from certain websites that "mimic" those on Maryland license plates. They tape the duplicate plate over the existing plate on the back of their car and purposefully speed through a speed camera, the parent said. The victim then receives a citation in the mail days later
What's missing, of course, is a visual ID of the driver.
Critics have long maintained that the "speed/red-light" cameras are revenue-devices, not really enforcement devices. It would be very sad to learn that they cannot be trusted, right?
Sunday, December 21, 2008
The Housing Crash: One Lesson
Clearly, GWBush is clueless about a number of things, and certainly contributed to the housing crash. But the NYTimes article which pins the tail solely on the White House is over the top.
First clue, as Calculated Risk points out: there's NO mention of "Easy Al" Greenspan, whose monetary policy was .....ahhhhh...... nuts.
But then, the White House did make some errors, the worst of which was taking for granted that "good social policy" can be implemented if only the Gummint pushes hard enough.
Another big error: ignoring the rent-to-own ratio.
As Mr. Thomas began digging into New Century’s failure that spring, he became fixated on a particular statistic, the rent-to-own ratio.
Typically, as home prices increase, rental costs rise proportionally. But Mr. Thomas sent charts to top White House and Treasury officials showing that the monthly cost of owning far outpaced the cost to rent. To Mr. Thomas, it was a sign that housing prices were wildly inflated and bound to plunge, a condition that could set off a foreclosure crisis as conventional and subprime borrowers with little equity found they owed more than their houses were worth
It was an astute observation, made almost two years ago...
Take the article with a grain of salt, but take a lesson, too: "social goals" are nice to have, but might be impossible to implement, regardless of how much money the Feds can throw around.
Think Congress and the new President will get it?
First clue, as Calculated Risk points out: there's NO mention of "Easy Al" Greenspan, whose monetary policy was .....ahhhhh...... nuts.
But then, the White House did make some errors, the worst of which was taking for granted that "good social policy" can be implemented if only the Gummint pushes hard enough.
Another big error: ignoring the rent-to-own ratio.
As Mr. Thomas began digging into New Century’s failure that spring, he became fixated on a particular statistic, the rent-to-own ratio.
Typically, as home prices increase, rental costs rise proportionally. But Mr. Thomas sent charts to top White House and Treasury officials showing that the monthly cost of owning far outpaced the cost to rent. To Mr. Thomas, it was a sign that housing prices were wildly inflated and bound to plunge, a condition that could set off a foreclosure crisis as conventional and subprime borrowers with little equity found they owed more than their houses were worth
It was an astute observation, made almost two years ago...
Take the article with a grain of salt, but take a lesson, too: "social goals" are nice to have, but might be impossible to implement, regardless of how much money the Feds can throw around.
Think Congress and the new President will get it?
More Bluemound Road 'Improvements'
Yah, well, maybe the State boyzzzzz will figure out that forcing motorists to venture one or two miles in the opposite direction from where they actually want to go is....counterproductive?
And maybe not.
More Bluemound work coming! Aren't you happy??
Preliminary designs for the 2011 work propose repeating some of the same safety changes that were made this year, such as closing and reconfiguring medians and building more frontage-like roads. The changes require motorists exiting businesses to turn right only. They no longer can drive across three lanes of Blue Mound Road traffic to get to the median to turn left, a maneuver that has caused many crashes.
Frontage-like roads? Such as, exactly, which ones? The one between, say, Barker Road and Brookfield Road?
Oh, I forgot: there IS no such "frontage road."
And of course, that "right turn only" trick is really neat, until the cursing and swearing motorist cuts a U-turn at a stoplight intersection so they don't have to drive to Wauwatosa when they actually wanted to go WEST from, say, Kinko's.
But this is the real laugher:
Major items yet to be decided include whether to make accommodations for on-road bicyclists and off-road pedestrians
PEDESTRIANS?
There are a few, of course, who venture across Barker Road from the motel to the Perkins, and a few more who cross Bluemound to get to Marty's Pizza. But only State engineers can envision Bluemound Road as some sort of garden pathway for strollers who are window-shopping or doing some sort of exercise-power-walk routine.
And putting in sidewalks isn't going to change that.
The State should spend its time and money re-configuring the mess at Barker/Watertown/Bluemound/I-94.
And maybe not.
More Bluemound work coming! Aren't you happy??
Preliminary designs for the 2011 work propose repeating some of the same safety changes that were made this year, such as closing and reconfiguring medians and building more frontage-like roads. The changes require motorists exiting businesses to turn right only. They no longer can drive across three lanes of Blue Mound Road traffic to get to the median to turn left, a maneuver that has caused many crashes.
Frontage-like roads? Such as, exactly, which ones? The one between, say, Barker Road and Brookfield Road?
Oh, I forgot: there IS no such "frontage road."
And of course, that "right turn only" trick is really neat, until the cursing and swearing motorist cuts a U-turn at a stoplight intersection so they don't have to drive to Wauwatosa when they actually wanted to go WEST from, say, Kinko's.
But this is the real laugher:
Major items yet to be decided include whether to make accommodations for on-road bicyclists and off-road pedestrians
PEDESTRIANS?
There are a few, of course, who venture across Barker Road from the motel to the Perkins, and a few more who cross Bluemound to get to Marty's Pizza. But only State engineers can envision Bluemound Road as some sort of garden pathway for strollers who are window-shopping or doing some sort of exercise-power-walk routine.
And putting in sidewalks isn't going to change that.
The State should spend its time and money re-configuring the mess at Barker/Watertown/Bluemound/I-94.
Andy Needs More Practice
He did the right thing, but maybe not well enough.
Andy Kochanski thought the silhouettes he spotted through the foggy windows were two customers coming into his tavern about 1 a.m. Friday.
...Then Kochanski saw the black ski masks and the sawed-off shotgun.
He didn't hesitate. He reached under the bar for his loaded Glock .45.
As he ducked, he heard a blast and lead whizzing over his head, shattering whiskey bottles and the mirror behind the bar
He stood up and squeezed the trigger.
...He thinks he hit the man firing the shotgun - from the way the man fell back - but he can't say for sure.
Police said they had no suspects in custody Saturday night
Just like with the concertina, Andy, practice works with a Glock. You don't have to say "I'm not sure" if you practice, practice, practice...
Andy Kochanski thought the silhouettes he spotted through the foggy windows were two customers coming into his tavern about 1 a.m. Friday.
...Then Kochanski saw the black ski masks and the sawed-off shotgun.
He didn't hesitate. He reached under the bar for his loaded Glock .45.
As he ducked, he heard a blast and lead whizzing over his head, shattering whiskey bottles and the mirror behind the bar
He stood up and squeezed the trigger.
...He thinks he hit the man firing the shotgun - from the way the man fell back - but he can't say for sure.
Police said they had no suspects in custody Saturday night
Just like with the concertina, Andy, practice works with a Glock. You don't have to say "I'm not sure" if you practice, practice, practice...
DUI Checkpoints?
A couple of observations about this morning's "DUI Checkpoint" article in the JSOnline.
1) Who would have imagined that Jimbo Doylie would pose for holy pictures? He says he endorses checkpoints, (but he knows full well that a bill will NEVER come to his desk.)
2) If we want a high-probability DUI checkpoint, it should be placed at the Legislature's parking-lot exit. You'll get more than a 1/2 of 1% hit-rate.
3) I think "Snarlin' Marlin" may be a hero, albeit tragically flawed. Why the accolade?
"We're already building a surveillance society where we keep track of everything everybody does." he said. "All their purchases, their medical history, their driving record . . . and now we're going to engage (in) this kind of surveillance? One technology at a time, we are building a fascist state. That's strong language, I know, but it is, in my view, very frightening."
He's right, you know.
1) Who would have imagined that Jimbo Doylie would pose for holy pictures? He says he endorses checkpoints, (but he knows full well that a bill will NEVER come to his desk.)
2) If we want a high-probability DUI checkpoint, it should be placed at the Legislature's parking-lot exit. You'll get more than a 1/2 of 1% hit-rate.
3) I think "Snarlin' Marlin" may be a hero, albeit tragically flawed. Why the accolade?
"We're already building a surveillance society where we keep track of everything everybody does." he said. "All their purchases, their medical history, their driving record . . . and now we're going to engage (in) this kind of surveillance? One technology at a time, we are building a fascist state. That's strong language, I know, but it is, in my view, very frightening."
He's right, you know.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Corn-A-Hole With Breezes
Yes, we're referring to Texas Windbag Boone Pickens...who may be a racketeer by another name: "investor."
The domestic auto industry isn't the only uncompetitive industry that seems to require life-sustaining transfusions of government cash to stay in business. Alternative energy sources have relied on such subsidies, called "investments," for years.
Yet in President-elect Obama's announcement of his energy team, we were told "the foundations of our energy independence" lie in "the power of wind and solar." Except that for these alternative sources there's been a severe power shortage.
After decades of tax credits and subsidies, wind provides only about 1% of our electricity. By comparison, coal provides 49%, natural gas 22%, nuclear power 19% and hydroelectric 7%.
Wind power is currently uncompetitive. As the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported recently: "In 1999, 2001 and 2003, when Congress temporarily killed the credits, the number of new turbines dropped dramatically." These subsidies will be renewed in the new administration, but to "invest" in wind and solar to replace fossil fuels will be expensive.
Same as Corn-A-Hole, folks. Steal from the common man, buy enough friends in Congress and the State Legislatures, and call it "investment."
HT: Headless
The domestic auto industry isn't the only uncompetitive industry that seems to require life-sustaining transfusions of government cash to stay in business. Alternative energy sources have relied on such subsidies, called "investments," for years.
Yet in President-elect Obama's announcement of his energy team, we were told "the foundations of our energy independence" lie in "the power of wind and solar." Except that for these alternative sources there's been a severe power shortage.
After decades of tax credits and subsidies, wind provides only about 1% of our electricity. By comparison, coal provides 49%, natural gas 22%, nuclear power 19% and hydroelectric 7%.
Wind power is currently uncompetitive. As the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported recently: "In 1999, 2001 and 2003, when Congress temporarily killed the credits, the number of new turbines dropped dramatically." These subsidies will be renewed in the new administration, but to "invest" in wind and solar to replace fossil fuels will be expensive.
Same as Corn-A-Hole, folks. Steal from the common man, buy enough friends in Congress and the State Legislatures, and call it "investment."
HT: Headless
Earworm Tune
When you hear and watch this old Eastwood film-tune, pay careful attention to the tympanist, who is obviously having much more fun than he should...
HT: LawDog
HT: LawDog
Let's Play Madoff!
A new game circulating...called the "Ponzi Crawl."
A pub crawl whereby a new person is added at each location and has to buy a round. Each new person is promised that they will get free drinks at all the future bars if they buy this round. Obviously, last person to join the ponzi crawl gets screwed
So--should the last one in be Folkbum or BrewCityBrawler?
A pub crawl whereby a new person is added at each location and has to buy a round. Each new person is promised that they will get free drinks at all the future bars if they buy this round. Obviously, last person to join the ponzi crawl gets screwed
So--should the last one in be Folkbum or BrewCityBrawler?
Anti-Gun Bloomberg Loses Again
The (perhaps-permanent) Mayor (Royal?) of New York City loses another one in court. Milk-Carton Tom Barrett, beware...
A ways back, Bob Barr filed suit for a Georgia FFL (Adventure Outdoor Sports) targeted by Mayor Bloomberg's "stings," alleging that Bloomberg had slandered the owner. Bloomberg's guys got it removed to Federal court, and argued NY law, giving public officials a wide privilege against defamation suits, should apply. (BTW, those are two different issues. A Georgia court, or its federal district court, may still apply New York law under certain conditions). The federal district court ruled that New York law did not apply, and Bloomberg appealed.
Today the 11th Circuit US Circuit Court of Appeals handed Bloomberg his mayorial hindquarters. The news report is confusing, but apparently the appeals court ordered that the US district court should return the lawsuit to State court
Too bad!
HT: Of Arms
A ways back, Bob Barr filed suit for a Georgia FFL (Adventure Outdoor Sports) targeted by Mayor Bloomberg's "stings," alleging that Bloomberg had slandered the owner. Bloomberg's guys got it removed to Federal court, and argued NY law, giving public officials a wide privilege against defamation suits, should apply. (BTW, those are two different issues. A Georgia court, or its federal district court, may still apply New York law under certain conditions). The federal district court ruled that New York law did not apply, and Bloomberg appealed.
Today the 11th Circuit US Circuit Court of Appeals handed Bloomberg his mayorial hindquarters. The news report is confusing, but apparently the appeals court ordered that the US district court should return the lawsuit to State court
Too bad!
HT: Of Arms
The Revolution: Against What, Exactly?
The shorthand explanation of the American Revolution is that the colonists revolted against King George III. But that's not quite accurate.
The antecedent cause of the Revolution was the imposition of taxes by Parliament while the colonies did not have representation within Parliament. That was decried as "tyrrany," and started the ball rolling.
The Declaration of Independence, however, was aimed at the King, who had managed to foul things up to a fare-thee-well. The preamble is worth reading again, for context purposes.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.
One reason that this is worth the read is that in Obama-history, this document does NOT count as part of US history. We've mentioned that here; this is the pertinent text:
Obama, on the night of his election, asked the nation to “to join in the work of remaking this nation the only way its been done in America for two-hundred and twenty-one years...
Yah, do the subtraction and you'll note that the O-and-Savior chose to ignore the Declaration of Independence (and the Revolution, and the Articles of Confederation....)
Ignoring the Declaration allows him to ignore that inconvenient "right to life" stuff, but there's more that can be ignored by the next Commander-in-Chief.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
...For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
...For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever
(Some of you may recall the 9th and 10th Amendments...)
So, yes, the Revolution was fought against King George--but as is clear from the above, it was fought over the King's egregious violations of human rights (quartering troops, impressing soldiers, and arrogating powers to himself over elected legislatures), AND his 'swarms' of bureaucrats and his taxation.
The Revolution was not exactly against King George, although that was the legal pretext. The Revolution was fought against an arrogant and costly Government.
Worth remembering.
The antecedent cause of the Revolution was the imposition of taxes by Parliament while the colonies did not have representation within Parliament. That was decried as "tyrrany," and started the ball rolling.
The Declaration of Independence, however, was aimed at the King, who had managed to foul things up to a fare-thee-well. The preamble is worth reading again, for context purposes.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.
One reason that this is worth the read is that in Obama-history, this document does NOT count as part of US history. We've mentioned that here; this is the pertinent text:
Obama, on the night of his election, asked the nation to “to join in the work of remaking this nation the only way its been done in America for two-hundred and twenty-one years...
Yah, do the subtraction and you'll note that the O-and-Savior chose to ignore the Declaration of Independence (and the Revolution, and the Articles of Confederation....)
Ignoring the Declaration allows him to ignore that inconvenient "right to life" stuff, but there's more that can be ignored by the next Commander-in-Chief.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
...For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
...For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever
(Some of you may recall the 9th and 10th Amendments...)
So, yes, the Revolution was fought against King George--but as is clear from the above, it was fought over the King's egregious violations of human rights (quartering troops, impressing soldiers, and arrogating powers to himself over elected legislatures), AND his 'swarms' of bureaucrats and his taxation.
The Revolution was not exactly against King George, although that was the legal pretext. The Revolution was fought against an arrogant and costly Government.
Worth remembering.
Party of/in Gummint Strikes Again
Wonder no more about the domain name "Change.gov", used by Obama's transition. Malkin got the story, and history begins to loom...
You’ll recall last month that I blogged several questions about the propriety of allowing the perpetual Obama campaign to use a .gov domain name for what appeared to be a fund-raising front. Readers and industry observers noted that the decision appeared to violate General Services Administration rules governing government domains.
Guess what? They were right. The FOIA documents sent to Lance O., which he forwarded to me, reveal that the GSA initially rejected Obama’s application for “Change.gov.” On Oct. 21, Peter Alterman, Deputy Associate Administrator of Technology Strategy at the GSA, denied the Obama campaign’s request for a government domain because:
1) It would be a a violation of the government’s naming conventions (too generic); and
2) using ‘change’ in the domain name would be political, since it was the trademark slogan of the Obama campaign.
The day after the election, on Nov. 5, GSA Chief Information Officer Casey Coleman overruled Alterman after apparently receiving a waiver from Chris Lu, Executive Director of Obama’s Transition Project. As reader Lance discovered through his FOIA request, Ms. Coleman did not elaborate on the granting of this waiver except to say that she had “determined that it is in the best interest of the Federal Government to register the subject domain name.”
Recall that for mnemonic purposes, "Party OF Gummint" is also "Party IN Gummint" or PIG for short.
This vignette is symptomatic.
You’ll recall last month that I blogged several questions about the propriety of allowing the perpetual Obama campaign to use a .gov domain name for what appeared to be a fund-raising front. Readers and industry observers noted that the decision appeared to violate General Services Administration rules governing government domains.
Guess what? They were right. The FOIA documents sent to Lance O., which he forwarded to me, reveal that the GSA initially rejected Obama’s application for “Change.gov.” On Oct. 21, Peter Alterman, Deputy Associate Administrator of Technology Strategy at the GSA, denied the Obama campaign’s request for a government domain because:
1) It would be a a violation of the government’s naming conventions (too generic); and
2) using ‘change’ in the domain name would be political, since it was the trademark slogan of the Obama campaign.
The day after the election, on Nov. 5, GSA Chief Information Officer Casey Coleman overruled Alterman after apparently receiving a waiver from Chris Lu, Executive Director of Obama’s Transition Project. As reader Lance discovered through his FOIA request, Ms. Coleman did not elaborate on the granting of this waiver except to say that she had “determined that it is in the best interest of the Federal Government to register the subject domain name.”
Recall that for mnemonic purposes, "Party OF Gummint" is also "Party IN Gummint" or PIG for short.
This vignette is symptomatic.
A Case of the Piles
The next several hundred collisions we hear about will result from driving between piles of snow.
Kinda hard to see traffic when your sightline is 4' off the ground and the damn snowpile at the intersection is 8' high.
IIRC, last time this came up, most municipalities knocked down the intersection-piles about a week after the snow stopped.
In the meantime, drivers are urged to take defensive actions.
One possibility: strap a teenage child to the front end of your car to serve as a "lookout." Another tried-and-true remedy is to strap that teenager to the TOP of your car (they must be standing) and have them foot-tap once to "stop" and twice to "go."
Or, if you don't have a handy teenager nearby, you can purchase an 8' length of 2x4 and strap it to the side of your car, extending forward from the front end by about 2-3 feet. Oncoming drivers will see it and politely stop, right?
High-tech remedies include purchasing snow-penetrating radar or sonar. Navy surplus stores may have these systems, on clearance for $575,000/each. (Installation is extra.) There may be a backorder problem.
Kinda hard to see traffic when your sightline is 4' off the ground and the damn snowpile at the intersection is 8' high.
IIRC, last time this came up, most municipalities knocked down the intersection-piles about a week after the snow stopped.
In the meantime, drivers are urged to take defensive actions.
One possibility: strap a teenage child to the front end of your car to serve as a "lookout." Another tried-and-true remedy is to strap that teenager to the TOP of your car (they must be standing) and have them foot-tap once to "stop" and twice to "go."
Or, if you don't have a handy teenager nearby, you can purchase an 8' length of 2x4 and strap it to the side of your car, extending forward from the front end by about 2-3 feet. Oncoming drivers will see it and politely stop, right?
High-tech remedies include purchasing snow-penetrating radar or sonar. Navy surplus stores may have these systems, on clearance for $575,000/each. (Installation is extra.) There may be a backorder problem.
Friday, December 19, 2008
O's "Science" Adviser
Meet Dr. Frankenstein......or perhaps better said, Dr. Mengele.
It looks like president-elect Obama will name John P. Holdren as his science advisor. Holdren is a professor of environmental policy at Harvard and former president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science...Perhaps more striking is his activism well beyond his own academic specialty, arguing, for instance, that scientists have a responsibility to advance the cause of the elimination of all nuclear weapons and seeking controls on population growth.
Not deterred by the abject failure of predictions, he cites (!!??!)
This was the key insight in Paul Ehrlich's The Population Bomb (Ballantine, New York, 1968), as well as one of those in Harrison Brown's prescient earlier book, The Challenge of Man's Future (Viking, New York, 1954). The elementary but discomfiting truth of it may account for the vast amount of ink, paper, and angry energy that has been expended trying in vain to refute it.
Yah. According to Ehrlich, we are almost all dead now. (Pinch yourself.) Observes Yuval Levin:
The Population Bomb was the book in which Ehrlich predicted that “in the 1970s and 1980s hundreds of millions of people will starve to death,” because all the world’s resources were running out while population was growing out of control, and there was simply no way we could sustain our civilization at modern levels of consumption and growth. Just about every one of the book’s predictions has proven wrong, and its empirical claims and methods have not held up well under later scholarly scrutiny.
If this guy Holdren is a "scientist," then I'm ....ohhhhhh......Clarence Thomas.
It looks like president-elect Obama will name John P. Holdren as his science advisor. Holdren is a professor of environmental policy at Harvard and former president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science...Perhaps more striking is his activism well beyond his own academic specialty, arguing, for instance, that scientists have a responsibility to advance the cause of the elimination of all nuclear weapons and seeking controls on population growth.
Not deterred by the abject failure of predictions, he cites (!!??!)
This was the key insight in Paul Ehrlich's The Population Bomb (Ballantine, New York, 1968), as well as one of those in Harrison Brown's prescient earlier book, The Challenge of Man's Future (Viking, New York, 1954). The elementary but discomfiting truth of it may account for the vast amount of ink, paper, and angry energy that has been expended trying in vain to refute it.
Yah. According to Ehrlich, we are almost all dead now. (Pinch yourself.) Observes Yuval Levin:
The Population Bomb was the book in which Ehrlich predicted that “in the 1970s and 1980s hundreds of millions of people will starve to death,” because all the world’s resources were running out while population was growing out of control, and there was simply no way we could sustain our civilization at modern levels of consumption and growth. Just about every one of the book’s predictions has proven wrong, and its empirical claims and methods have not held up well under later scholarly scrutiny.
If this guy Holdren is a "scientist," then I'm ....ohhhhhh......Clarence Thomas.
Pretenders to the Throne
Obama met with a buncha Pretenders to 'listen' to "Catholic" voices. What he heard was very comforting to him, I'm sure.
And what a bunch:
The Catholic groups represented include: Catholics United, Pax Christi USA, Network, the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns, the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, Conference of Major Superiors of Men, the Jesuit Conference, School of the Americas Watch, Franciscan Action Network, Sisters of Mercy, Africa Faith and Justice Network, the Center of Concern, Catholic Scholars for Worker Justice and Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good
Trust me: these are all "community organizers" mutatis mutandis, with impressive, if slightly fraudulent 'Catholic' titles.
Barack, if you want the Catholic viewpoint, call up Benedict XVI. He's pretty good with English.
HT: Diogenes
And what a bunch:
The Catholic groups represented include: Catholics United, Pax Christi USA, Network, the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns, the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, Conference of Major Superiors of Men, the Jesuit Conference, School of the Americas Watch, Franciscan Action Network, Sisters of Mercy, Africa Faith and Justice Network, the Center of Concern, Catholic Scholars for Worker Justice and Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good
Trust me: these are all "community organizers" mutatis mutandis, with impressive, if slightly fraudulent 'Catholic' titles.
Barack, if you want the Catholic viewpoint, call up Benedict XVI. He's pretty good with English.
HT: Diogenes
The Back-and-Forthright Candidate/President-Elect
If you catch the reference in the title above, you're REALLY old.
Roeser:
The very first time I interviewed Barack Obama on radio…shortly after he won his state senate seat…I noticed how adroitly he took questions from call-ins. He sounded so preeminently reasonable. Then I realized what he was doing…something he has carried through to this very day with his latest news conference as president-elect. Not that he has been the first to ever think of it…but--.
With me as now, he stitched together two contradictory views and linked them with a “but.” That’s why he sounds reasonable. Most other politicians when pressed come down on one side or the other-particularly George W. Bush. They do it frontally because they know that unlike campaigners in the mid-19th century, they can’t say one thing in Chicago and the opposite in Omaha.
Not Barack. He doesn’t say one thing in Chicago and the opposite in Omaha. He links diametrically opposed arguments together with the conjunction “but.”
Damn! Roeser's right--again.
I tell you it’s Ponzi only in the realm of ideas. Contradictions mean nothing to him. Once it was thought that he would move into power and steer the country hard-left. Not so, evidently. He is going to depend on the swooning media to reconcile his contradictions while he proceeds to make it up as he goes along. Small wonder the Left is angered
On the other hand, I think Roeser's an optimist.
Roeser:
The very first time I interviewed Barack Obama on radio…shortly after he won his state senate seat…I noticed how adroitly he took questions from call-ins. He sounded so preeminently reasonable. Then I realized what he was doing…something he has carried through to this very day with his latest news conference as president-elect. Not that he has been the first to ever think of it…but--.
With me as now, he stitched together two contradictory views and linked them with a “but.” That’s why he sounds reasonable. Most other politicians when pressed come down on one side or the other-particularly George W. Bush. They do it frontally because they know that unlike campaigners in the mid-19th century, they can’t say one thing in Chicago and the opposite in Omaha.
Not Barack. He doesn’t say one thing in Chicago and the opposite in Omaha. He links diametrically opposed arguments together with the conjunction “but.”
Damn! Roeser's right--again.
I tell you it’s Ponzi only in the realm of ideas. Contradictions mean nothing to him. Once it was thought that he would move into power and steer the country hard-left. Not so, evidently. He is going to depend on the swooning media to reconcile his contradictions while he proceeds to make it up as he goes along. Small wonder the Left is angered
On the other hand, I think Roeser's an optimist.
Humor Break
From Blosser:
Last year I replaced all the windows in my house with that expensive double-pane energy efficient kind, and today, I got a call from the contractor who installed them. He was complaining that the work had been completed a whole year ago and I still hadn't paid for them.
Hellloooo,........... just because I'm blonde doesn't mean that I am automatically stupid. So, I told him just what his fast talking sales guy had told me last year, that in ONE YEAR these windows would pay for themselves! Helllooooo? It's been a year! I told him. There was only silence at the other end of the line, so I finally just hung up. He never called back. I bet he felt like an idiot.
Yah, hey.
Last year I replaced all the windows in my house with that expensive double-pane energy efficient kind, and today, I got a call from the contractor who installed them. He was complaining that the work had been completed a whole year ago and I still hadn't paid for them.
Hellloooo,........... just because I'm blonde doesn't mean that I am automatically stupid. So, I told him just what his fast talking sales guy had told me last year, that in ONE YEAR these windows would pay for themselves! Helllooooo? It's been a year! I told him. There was only silence at the other end of the line, so I finally just hung up. He never called back. I bet he felt like an idiot.
Yah, hey.
Once in Royal David's City
Yah. Seems that the modern minimalists not only disagree with the New Testament--they also disagree with the Old, specifically the reign of David and Solomon.
"Myth."
Oh, really?
In sum, an archaeological dig at Khirbet Qeiyafa, which was reported on a few months ago by the New York Times, is turning out finds that are rocking the scholarly community. And, while at the time, the New York Times reported that only a small piece of the site had been excavated, information is pouring out that even more striking evidence has been uncovered.
...Evidence at Khirbet Qeiyafa suggests that in fact there was a massive political force in the land of Israel in the 10th century [BC]. Aside from artifacts, and pottery, writing has even been found, shattering just about everything many scholars thought they knew about the development and spread of literacy. Carbon-14 dating is really making this a discovery hard to dismiss as significant.
The discovery involves the excavation of what apparently was a heavily fortified structure...Yosef Garfinkel from Hebrew University is leading the dig. The New York Times article quotes him as saying:
“There were 500 people inside. This was the main road to Jerusalem, the key strategic site to protect the kingdom of Jerusalem. If they built a fortification here, it was a real kingdom, pointing to urban cities and a centralized authority in Judah in the 10th century B.C.”
Another "myth" bites the dust--literally.
HT: Insight
"Myth."
Oh, really?
In sum, an archaeological dig at Khirbet Qeiyafa, which was reported on a few months ago by the New York Times, is turning out finds that are rocking the scholarly community. And, while at the time, the New York Times reported that only a small piece of the site had been excavated, information is pouring out that even more striking evidence has been uncovered.
...Evidence at Khirbet Qeiyafa suggests that in fact there was a massive political force in the land of Israel in the 10th century [BC]. Aside from artifacts, and pottery, writing has even been found, shattering just about everything many scholars thought they knew about the development and spread of literacy. Carbon-14 dating is really making this a discovery hard to dismiss as significant.
The discovery involves the excavation of what apparently was a heavily fortified structure...Yosef Garfinkel from Hebrew University is leading the dig. The New York Times article quotes him as saying:
“There were 500 people inside. This was the main road to Jerusalem, the key strategic site to protect the kingdom of Jerusalem. If they built a fortification here, it was a real kingdom, pointing to urban cities and a centralized authority in Judah in the 10th century B.C.”
Another "myth" bites the dust--literally.
HT: Insight
Another (!!) GWB "Error"
This is making the rounds, but Overlawyered has an easy-to-read take on it.
The Consumer Product Safety Act of 2008, sponsored by Illinois Congressman Bobby Rush and quickly signed into law by President Bush, soon goes into effect. Sold as a measure to protect children from the perils of Chinese and other foreign-made toys which may contain lead paint, the law was written with good intentions. Unfortunately, good intentions sometimes produce bad consequences. While this law may never save a child, it will certainly have consequences for small businesses which produce toys, as well as other products intended primarily for children under 12.
As always, the devil is in the details, and Publius Endures has given the details careful scrutiny. Among other little details, this law may require toy manufacturers and importers to perform costly outside testing, at a cost of over $4000, on each lot of toys shipped. If the law is so interpreted by the people who draft its enabling regulations, that will simply put small manufacturers out of business, leaving the American toy market to giants such as Mattel or driving more of the business to overseas competitors who produce on a larger scale and can absorb the cost. The result, probably not intended at all by lawmakers, may be monopoly or oligopoly in the American toy market, accomplished through regulation rather than market forces.
Fuggedabout all that "bootstrap" free-market BS.
We've mentioned before that US regulation and taxation (inter alia) is a major cause of the exporting of manufacturing jobs in the US. (Yes, there's currency manipulation and mercantilism at play, too.)
Mentioning these things earns either open disdain from the FreeMarket-oids, or a polite non-comment. I don't know why; there's a big difference between a "close the borders/tariff" approach and simple de-regulation/tax reductions.
Too bad the President doesn't really get it.
The Consumer Product Safety Act of 2008, sponsored by Illinois Congressman Bobby Rush and quickly signed into law by President Bush, soon goes into effect. Sold as a measure to protect children from the perils of Chinese and other foreign-made toys which may contain lead paint, the law was written with good intentions. Unfortunately, good intentions sometimes produce bad consequences. While this law may never save a child, it will certainly have consequences for small businesses which produce toys, as well as other products intended primarily for children under 12.
As always, the devil is in the details, and Publius Endures has given the details careful scrutiny. Among other little details, this law may require toy manufacturers and importers to perform costly outside testing, at a cost of over $4000, on each lot of toys shipped. If the law is so interpreted by the people who draft its enabling regulations, that will simply put small manufacturers out of business, leaving the American toy market to giants such as Mattel or driving more of the business to overseas competitors who produce on a larger scale and can absorb the cost. The result, probably not intended at all by lawmakers, may be monopoly or oligopoly in the American toy market, accomplished through regulation rather than market forces.
Fuggedabout all that "bootstrap" free-market BS.
We've mentioned before that US regulation and taxation (inter alia) is a major cause of the exporting of manufacturing jobs in the US. (Yes, there's currency manipulation and mercantilism at play, too.)
Mentioning these things earns either open disdain from the FreeMarket-oids, or a polite non-comment. I don't know why; there's a big difference between a "close the borders/tariff" approach and simple de-regulation/tax reductions.
Too bad the President doesn't really get it.
Cal Supremes: "Screw Good Samaritans!!"
While G W Bush gets the "Ass of the Year" award, SCOCA is a very close second.
The California Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a young woman who pulled a co-worker from a crashed vehicle isn't immune from civil liability because the care she rendered wasn't medical.
The divided high court appeared to signal that rescue efforts are the responsibility of trained professionals. It was also thought to be the first ruling by the court that someone who intervened in an accident in good faith could be sued.
(Quoted by Moonbattery)
We have nothing to add to Helsing's comment:
Next time you see someone unconscious in a crashed vehicle that might go up in flames, run away quick before you're seen. If you rescue them, they'll sue you. If you leave them to die, their estate will sue you.
What a wonderful world to be a lawyer in.
The California Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a young woman who pulled a co-worker from a crashed vehicle isn't immune from civil liability because the care she rendered wasn't medical.
The divided high court appeared to signal that rescue efforts are the responsibility of trained professionals. It was also thought to be the first ruling by the court that someone who intervened in an accident in good faith could be sued.
(Quoted by Moonbattery)
We have nothing to add to Helsing's comment:
Next time you see someone unconscious in a crashed vehicle that might go up in flames, run away quick before you're seen. If you rescue them, they'll sue you. If you leave them to die, their estate will sue you.
What a wonderful world to be a lawyer in.
Bush Now Worst President Since FDR
"Mr. Compassion" doesn't really give a rip about taxpayers under 25 years of age, nor their children, nor their children's children...(etc.).
So who's he kidding about "compassion," aside from himself?
He's blown money around like it's water, evidently to make up for his asinine foreign adventures--and today blew another $15Bn or so.
Does that mean that I can pick up my personal new Chevy tomorrow? Because between me and my children, we own several of them in prospect...
The federal government will enable Detroit's ailing automakers to survive a little longer by providing $17.4 billion in short-term financing in exchange for concessions from carmakers and their workers.
President Bush said Friday that a bankruptcy was unlikely to work for the auto industry at this time because it would deal "an unacceptably painful blow to hardworking Americans" across the economy.
Here's the laugh-line for you:
Bush said the loans will be called back if the companies are not viable by March 31
No doubt Citibank will float a loan to these inebriates to "pay back" the Gummint, right?
And, of course, the usual Gummint game:
Bush's plan is designed to keep the auto industry running in the short term, passing the longer-range problem on to the incoming administration of President-elect Barack Obama.
Still wanna bet on a "call"?
HT: Lott
So who's he kidding about "compassion," aside from himself?
He's blown money around like it's water, evidently to make up for his asinine foreign adventures--and today blew another $15Bn or so.
Does that mean that I can pick up my personal new Chevy tomorrow? Because between me and my children, we own several of them in prospect...
The federal government will enable Detroit's ailing automakers to survive a little longer by providing $17.4 billion in short-term financing in exchange for concessions from carmakers and their workers.
President Bush said Friday that a bankruptcy was unlikely to work for the auto industry at this time because it would deal "an unacceptably painful blow to hardworking Americans" across the economy.
Here's the laugh-line for you:
Bush said the loans will be called back if the companies are not viable by March 31
No doubt Citibank will float a loan to these inebriates to "pay back" the Gummint, right?
And, of course, the usual Gummint game:
Bush's plan is designed to keep the auto industry running in the short term, passing the longer-range problem on to the incoming administration of President-elect Barack Obama.
Still wanna bet on a "call"?
HT: Lott
The Attack of the "Alyssa"
Google/Blogspammer "Alyssa" posted around 108 (!!!!) responses on this blogsite this morning.
I took out a couple of dozen, and suggest that you might NOT want to click on the link provided because it looks like a "Charlie Sykes" special--you know, the 'anti-virus' link which is actually a virus...
Since I use Blogger's post verification system (match the letters) someone spent a LOT of time spamming; took about 80-90 minutes.
Don't get curious!
I took out a couple of dozen, and suggest that you might NOT want to click on the link provided because it looks like a "Charlie Sykes" special--you know, the 'anti-virus' link which is actually a virus...
Since I use Blogger's post verification system (match the letters) someone spent a LOT of time spamming; took about 80-90 minutes.
Don't get curious!
Absolutely NO "Plan B": Vatican. Yoo-Hoo, Abp. Dolan!
This should cause a change in the policy of Wisconsin's Bishops.
In the December 12 document Dignitatis Personae, the Vatican has condemned the use of morning after pills as falling "within the sin of abortion," and thus being "gravely immoral."
The morning after pill (MAP) is a drug that can be taken within 72 hours after intercourse, which works to inhibit ovulation and also to weaken the lining of the uterus, thus causing the already conceived child to die. The document calls MAP an "interceptive," meaning that it interferes "with the embryo before implantation."
Dignitatis Personae cautions that "in order to promote wider use of interceptive methods, it is sometimes stated that the way in which they function is not sufficiently understood." The document adds: "It is true that there is not always complete knowledge of the way that different pharmaceuticals operate, but scientific studies indicate that the effect of inhibiting implantation is certainly present, even if this does not mean that such interceptives cause an abortion every time they are used, also because conception does not occur after every act of sexual intercourse."
That's not some new policy position; it is absolutely consistent with Church teachings going back to the Didache, albeit the language and target technology is updated.
What does that have to do with Archbishop Timothy Dolan, who is the Metropolitan for Wisconsin?
The Bishops of Connecticut, Wisconsin, Massachusetts, Colorado, New York, California and Washington permit their hospitals to administer the morning after pill to rape victims. While some of the hospitals require an ovulation test prior to the drug's administration, most only require a simple pregnancy test. Since a simple pregnancy test cannot detect pregnancy until usually a week after fertilization, the test is practically useless in determining a pregnancy resulting from a sexual encounter within 72 hours previous to its administration.
Contrary to some theorists, the Vatican is also clear about an alleged "Catholic exception."
Some have suggested that there is a Catholic exception to the use of the morning after pill when dealing with rape victims. However, in a February interview with LifeSiteNews.com the then-head of the Pontifical Academy for Life, Bishop Elio Sgreccia, said that there was no exception to the use MAPs.
LifeSiteNews.com asked Bishop Sgreccia if there was an exception in cases of rape. He replied: "No. It is not able to prevent the rape. But it is able to eliminate the embryo. It is thus the second negative intervention on the woman (the first being the rape itself)." (see coverage http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/feb/08022906.html )
Given this, the Archbishop of Milwaukee should simply change the policy. It would be a wonderful Christmas present to the Faithful.
In the December 12 document Dignitatis Personae, the Vatican has condemned the use of morning after pills as falling "within the sin of abortion," and thus being "gravely immoral."
The morning after pill (MAP) is a drug that can be taken within 72 hours after intercourse, which works to inhibit ovulation and also to weaken the lining of the uterus, thus causing the already conceived child to die. The document calls MAP an "interceptive," meaning that it interferes "with the embryo before implantation."
Dignitatis Personae cautions that "in order to promote wider use of interceptive methods, it is sometimes stated that the way in which they function is not sufficiently understood." The document adds: "It is true that there is not always complete knowledge of the way that different pharmaceuticals operate, but scientific studies indicate that the effect of inhibiting implantation is certainly present, even if this does not mean that such interceptives cause an abortion every time they are used, also because conception does not occur after every act of sexual intercourse."
That's not some new policy position; it is absolutely consistent with Church teachings going back to the Didache, albeit the language and target technology is updated.
What does that have to do with Archbishop Timothy Dolan, who is the Metropolitan for Wisconsin?
The Bishops of Connecticut, Wisconsin, Massachusetts, Colorado, New York, California and Washington permit their hospitals to administer the morning after pill to rape victims. While some of the hospitals require an ovulation test prior to the drug's administration, most only require a simple pregnancy test. Since a simple pregnancy test cannot detect pregnancy until usually a week after fertilization, the test is practically useless in determining a pregnancy resulting from a sexual encounter within 72 hours previous to its administration.
Contrary to some theorists, the Vatican is also clear about an alleged "Catholic exception."
Some have suggested that there is a Catholic exception to the use of the morning after pill when dealing with rape victims. However, in a February interview with LifeSiteNews.com the then-head of the Pontifical Academy for Life, Bishop Elio Sgreccia, said that there was no exception to the use MAPs.
LifeSiteNews.com asked Bishop Sgreccia if there was an exception in cases of rape. He replied: "No. It is not able to prevent the rape. But it is able to eliminate the embryo. It is thus the second negative intervention on the woman (the first being the rape itself)." (see coverage http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/feb/08022906.html )
Given this, the Archbishop of Milwaukee should simply change the policy. It would be a wonderful Christmas present to the Faithful.
Bush Moving Toward BK on Autos?
News reports are conflicting.
Yesterday, CNN implied that the White House was attempting to use TARP funds to "rescue" the autos.
Today, CNS reports that it's leaning toward 'managed BK,' a Chapter XI type proceeding.
Here's the TARP language which is germane:
The actual legislative language gives the secretary of the Treasury the authority “to purchase and to make and fund commitments to purchase troubled assets from any financial institution.”
Financial institution is defined in the law as, “any institution, including, but not limited to, any bank, savings association, credit union, security broker or dealer, or insurance company.”
It would not be surprising to see GMAC and Chrysler Financial suddenly become "financial institutions" as defined above ('not limited to' covers a multitude of possibilities); it's also possible that Bush will use TARP to reflate the capital of those companies and allow the parent automakers to go BK.
Bush certainly should not play Santa here. There's no expectation that the automakers will reform their operations (and contracts) unless they file BK, despite the UAW's assertions to the contrary.
Related: Toyota is expected to announce its first operating loss since 1941...
UPDATE: Bush's comments at an AEI function.
President Bush said he understood the frustration people felt over the financial industry bailouts, but at the time Ben Bernanke had told him that if he didn't act, there could be an economic crisis greater than the Great Depression.
"I didn't want to be the president who was there at the beginning of a crisis that is greater than the Great Depression," he said.
Although he emphasized that a final decision hasn't been made, Bush spoke as if the auto bailout were a foregone conclusion.
"Under normal circumstances, no question bankruptcy court is the best way to work through credit and debt and restructuring," Bush said. "These are not normal circumstances. That is the problem."
Bush argued that we'll never know what kind of economic catastrophe would have resulted had he not taken the actions he did. He said that all the actions he took should be viewed as "temporary" and he doesn't believe that government should be running the auto industry or mortgage system over the long run.
"This is a difficult time to be a free market person," Bush observed at one point in his remarks.
Ummmnnnhhhh....but not a difficult time to obey the laws, Mr. President.
Yesterday, CNN implied that the White House was attempting to use TARP funds to "rescue" the autos.
Today, CNS reports that it's leaning toward 'managed BK,' a Chapter XI type proceeding.
Here's the TARP language which is germane:
The actual legislative language gives the secretary of the Treasury the authority “to purchase and to make and fund commitments to purchase troubled assets from any financial institution.”
Financial institution is defined in the law as, “any institution, including, but not limited to, any bank, savings association, credit union, security broker or dealer, or insurance company.”
It would not be surprising to see GMAC and Chrysler Financial suddenly become "financial institutions" as defined above ('not limited to' covers a multitude of possibilities); it's also possible that Bush will use TARP to reflate the capital of those companies and allow the parent automakers to go BK.
Bush certainly should not play Santa here. There's no expectation that the automakers will reform their operations (and contracts) unless they file BK, despite the UAW's assertions to the contrary.
Related: Toyota is expected to announce its first operating loss since 1941...
UPDATE: Bush's comments at an AEI function.
President Bush said he understood the frustration people felt over the financial industry bailouts, but at the time Ben Bernanke had told him that if he didn't act, there could be an economic crisis greater than the Great Depression.
"I didn't want to be the president who was there at the beginning of a crisis that is greater than the Great Depression," he said.
Although he emphasized that a final decision hasn't been made, Bush spoke as if the auto bailout were a foregone conclusion.
"Under normal circumstances, no question bankruptcy court is the best way to work through credit and debt and restructuring," Bush said. "These are not normal circumstances. That is the problem."
Bush argued that we'll never know what kind of economic catastrophe would have resulted had he not taken the actions he did. He said that all the actions he took should be viewed as "temporary" and he doesn't believe that government should be running the auto industry or mortgage system over the long run.
"This is a difficult time to be a free market person," Bush observed at one point in his remarks.
Ummmnnnhhhh....but not a difficult time to obey the laws, Mr. President.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Professional CoyMan Favre
Here he goes again.
Brett Favre of the New York Jets told reporters in New York on Wednesday that he hears the clock ticking.
He told the New York Daily News that he has not announced his plans for next season, but he acknowledged that he is trying to soak in as much as possible.
"I'm well aware of the fact that there's two games left," he said. "I'm expecting us to make the playoffs...but it very well could be my last. It could be my last three games, last four games. I don't know."
Sheesh.
Brett Favre of the New York Jets told reporters in New York on Wednesday that he hears the clock ticking.
He told the New York Daily News that he has not announced his plans for next season, but he acknowledged that he is trying to soak in as much as possible.
"I'm well aware of the fact that there's two games left," he said. "I'm expecting us to make the playoffs...but it very well could be my last. It could be my last three games, last four games. I don't know."
Sheesh.
NewSpeak: Census Bureau Style
When you don't like the results, simply re-define the terms. It's almost as good as lying with statistics.
The Census Bureau attributed an indeterminate amount of the increase to revised definitions adopted in 2007, which identify as parents any man and woman living together, whether or not they are married or the child’s biological parents.
According to the bureau’s estimates, the number of black children living with two parents was 59 percent in 1970, falling to 42 percent in 1980, 38 percent in 1990 and 35 percent in 2004. In 2007, the latest year for which data is available, it was 40 percent.
See? Things are going the right way!
HT: DomBet
The Census Bureau attributed an indeterminate amount of the increase to revised definitions adopted in 2007, which identify as parents any man and woman living together, whether or not they are married or the child’s biological parents.
According to the bureau’s estimates, the number of black children living with two parents was 59 percent in 1970, falling to 42 percent in 1980, 38 percent in 1990 and 35 percent in 2004. In 2007, the latest year for which data is available, it was 40 percent.
See? Things are going the right way!
HT: DomBet
Naivete in Washington's Sunlight Foundation
The Sunlight Foundation runs a blogsite; but the writers are a bit naive, I guess.
Here's the comment about Rangel (who replaced Adam Clayton Powell) which I found almost laughable:
It is just astounding that Charles Rangel finds himself in a similar position of being hit with article after article revealing potential improprieties just like the man he toppled 38 years ago.
No, it's not. 38 years in any Legislature will give one a serious case of "P-I-G Syndrome"--Party-In-Government. It's the cousin of the bureaucratic psychosis, "Party OF Government Syndrome".
Many times, solons and bureaucrats have BOTH syndromes.
Here's the comment about Rangel (who replaced Adam Clayton Powell) which I found almost laughable:
It is just astounding that Charles Rangel finds himself in a similar position of being hit with article after article revealing potential improprieties just like the man he toppled 38 years ago.
No, it's not. 38 years in any Legislature will give one a serious case of "P-I-G Syndrome"--Party-In-Government. It's the cousin of the bureaucratic psychosis, "Party OF Government Syndrome".
Many times, solons and bureaucrats have BOTH syndromes.
Paul Weyrich, RIP
Paul Weyrich was ill for quite some time; he died today.
Got his start at the Milwaukee Sentinel when newspapers were meaningful...
Got his start at the Milwaukee Sentinel when newspapers were meaningful...
Madoff Mess Worse!
Fortunately for me, all my cash was (and is) tied up in short-term debt.
Others are not so lucky; they tossed cash into Madoff. Now it gets worse.
...a legal precedent set in the Bayou case that should scare the heck out of anyone who once invested with Madoff but who managed to get out safely in the last few years: Any investors who managed to take out profits from a fund like Bayou before the fraud was revealed had to give the money back.
...Much of the money that Madoff managed came from people who'd written a check not to Madoff directly but to so-called "funds-of-funds": hedge funds that had raised money from investors. A few of these funds-of-funds, such as Fairfield Sentry and Tremont Group's Rye Investment, had billions of dollars invested with Madoff and teams of auditors to track it. These companies should have wised up to what was going on much earlier.
Thanks to the Bayou court decisions, however, the moment Madoff was revealed as a fraud, any money that these funds-of-funds would have managed to take back would become gains that have to be given back to be redistributed among all the losers in the Madoff scheme. Now, this sounds bad enough, but ... again, there's more. There's no time limit on the gains they'd have to give back, so any fund that outed Madoff could be on the hook for any profits it had gained from its Madoff investments for years back.
Which means that the local firm which directed money to Madoff is in for a long, long, long, (and very complex) time inHell Federal court.
HT: McArdle
Others are not so lucky; they tossed cash into Madoff. Now it gets worse.
...a legal precedent set in the Bayou case that should scare the heck out of anyone who once invested with Madoff but who managed to get out safely in the last few years: Any investors who managed to take out profits from a fund like Bayou before the fraud was revealed had to give the money back.
...Much of the money that Madoff managed came from people who'd written a check not to Madoff directly but to so-called "funds-of-funds": hedge funds that had raised money from investors. A few of these funds-of-funds, such as Fairfield Sentry and Tremont Group's Rye Investment, had billions of dollars invested with Madoff and teams of auditors to track it. These companies should have wised up to what was going on much earlier.
Thanks to the Bayou court decisions, however, the moment Madoff was revealed as a fraud, any money that these funds-of-funds would have managed to take back would become gains that have to be given back to be redistributed among all the losers in the Madoff scheme. Now, this sounds bad enough, but ... again, there's more. There's no time limit on the gains they'd have to give back, so any fund that outed Madoff could be on the hook for any profits it had gained from its Madoff investments for years back.
Which means that the local firm which directed money to Madoff is in for a long, long, long, (and very complex) time in
HT: McArdle
Barrett's Empty Suit Sick-Leave Commission
Barrett nominates the "sick-time" commission members.
...The Common Council voted Tuesday to reorganize the commission, which has been dormant for five years. The panel could be pivotal in enforcing the city's new sick leave ordinance, unless business groups win a court battle to prevent the measure from taking effect.
Barrett's nominees are Michael Barndt, an analyst at the Nonprofit Center of Milwaukee and former chairman of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's urban affairs department ; Genyne Edwards, a consultant to community organizations and a former Wisconsin deputy secretary of tourism; Chris Her-Xiong, principal of the Hmong American Peace Academy; gay rights activist Ray Vahey, president of Center Advocates; and George Williams, a longtime teachers' union lobbyist
Exactly ZERO people with any sort of experience in commerce or industry--but all of them with sterling qualifications to become the President of the US.
Great.
...The Common Council voted Tuesday to reorganize the commission, which has been dormant for five years. The panel could be pivotal in enforcing the city's new sick leave ordinance, unless business groups win a court battle to prevent the measure from taking effect.
Barrett's nominees are Michael Barndt, an analyst at the Nonprofit Center of Milwaukee and former chairman of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's urban affairs department ; Genyne Edwards, a consultant to community organizations and a former Wisconsin deputy secretary of tourism; Chris Her-Xiong, principal of the Hmong American Peace Academy; gay rights activist Ray Vahey, president of Center Advocates; and George Williams, a longtime teachers' union lobbyist
Exactly ZERO people with any sort of experience in commerce or industry--but all of them with sterling qualifications to become the President of the US.
Great.
Favre's Good--but Baugh Was Great!
Some local bloggers have an altar and shrine built for Brett. 'S OK--I think very highly of him, too.
But he's not in the same league as Sam Baugh.
...Baugh was one of the best all-around players of his day. One season he led the league in passing, defensive interceptions and punting. In one game, he threw four touchdown passes and intercepted four passes. He threw six touchdowns in a game -- twice -- and kicked an 85-yard punt.
Real "greats" play 60 minutes.
HT: McCain
But he's not in the same league as Sam Baugh.
...Baugh was one of the best all-around players of his day. One season he led the league in passing, defensive interceptions and punting. In one game, he threw four touchdown passes and intercepted four passes. He threw six touchdowns in a game -- twice -- and kicked an 85-yard punt.
Real "greats" play 60 minutes.
HT: McCain
Bush: Slimy Trickster
At some point in time, there will be a revolution...
Precisely as I predicted, someplace in the 'sphere:
In addition to the emergency loan package, officials are working with the finance arms of G.M. and Chrysler to convert them into government-regulated financial institutions, a designation that could make them eligible for separate loans from the Federal Reserve.
This is about Presidential abuse of TARP which will result in lending money to two walking bankrupts: GM and Chrysler. Since TARP has very specific definitions about who can get TARP money, the game here is to change GM/Chrysler into "financial institutions" under TARP's definitions.
HT: Hot Air
Precisely as I predicted, someplace in the 'sphere:
In addition to the emergency loan package, officials are working with the finance arms of G.M. and Chrysler to convert them into government-regulated financial institutions, a designation that could make them eligible for separate loans from the Federal Reserve.
This is about Presidential abuse of TARP which will result in lending money to two walking bankrupts: GM and Chrysler. Since TARP has very specific definitions about who can get TARP money, the game here is to change GM/Chrysler into "financial institutions" under TARP's definitions.
HT: Hot Air
Open Carry in Georgia: State Loses
Well, that headline is a bit of an overstatement, but the (Federal Court) settlement order is interesting.
Here's the story.
...a Richmond County Sheriff’s deputy was making a routine patrol of the Kroger parking lot on Washington Road when he was waved down by a customer who indicated a man carrying a firearm was inside the store acting in a bizarre and obnoxious manner.
...Zach Mead is not, in the strictest sense, normal. He’s military, yes, but he’s also a liberally tattooed free spirit who has friends who wear sombreros and play banjos in checkout aisles.
He also openly carries a Beretta 92 Steel-I in a holster on his hip.
Mead not only had a Georgia CCW license, but is active-duty military, meaning that he was exempt from the Georgia license under Georgia law. And yes, he looks very odd.
Anyhoo, the settlement order has some interesting language.
Terry, and cases which follow it, make clear that "an officer may, consistent with the
Fourth Amendment, conduct a brief, investigatory stop when the officer has a reasonable,
articulable suspicion that criminal activity is afoot." Illinois v. Wardlow, 528 U.S. 119, ----, 120
S.Ct. 673, 675, 145 L.Ed.2d 570 (2000). To make a showing that he or she in fact had reasonable
suspicion, "[t]he officer must be able to articulate more than an 'inchoate and unparticularized
suspicion or "hunch" of criminal activity.' "Id. (quoting Terry, 392 U.S. at 27, 88 S.Ct. 1868).
While plenty of case law exists on what conduct justifies a stop under the Fourth Amendment,
there is no case law in the Eleventh Circuit on whether the Fourth Amendment is violated when a person is stopped merely for the presence of a pistol in a holster, with no accompanying facts
indicating the commission of a crime.
...the propriety of the initial stop must be examined under the standards of Terry
...In United States v. Dudley, 854 F.Supp. 570, 580 (S.D.Ind.1994), the court held that a radio call alerting police to the presence of two people in a vehicle with firearms did not provide reasonable suspicion of a crime justifying the stop, because possession of firearms is not, generally speaking, a crime...
Interesting stuff, no?
Here's the story.
...a Richmond County Sheriff’s deputy was making a routine patrol of the Kroger parking lot on Washington Road when he was waved down by a customer who indicated a man carrying a firearm was inside the store acting in a bizarre and obnoxious manner.
...Zach Mead is not, in the strictest sense, normal. He’s military, yes, but he’s also a liberally tattooed free spirit who has friends who wear sombreros and play banjos in checkout aisles.
He also openly carries a Beretta 92 Steel-I in a holster on his hip.
Mead not only had a Georgia CCW license, but is active-duty military, meaning that he was exempt from the Georgia license under Georgia law. And yes, he looks very odd.
Anyhoo, the settlement order has some interesting language.
Terry, and cases which follow it, make clear that "an officer may, consistent with the
Fourth Amendment, conduct a brief, investigatory stop when the officer has a reasonable,
articulable suspicion that criminal activity is afoot." Illinois v. Wardlow, 528 U.S. 119, ----, 120
S.Ct. 673, 675, 145 L.Ed.2d 570 (2000). To make a showing that he or she in fact had reasonable
suspicion, "[t]he officer must be able to articulate more than an 'inchoate and unparticularized
suspicion or "hunch" of criminal activity.' "Id. (quoting Terry, 392 U.S. at 27, 88 S.Ct. 1868).
While plenty of case law exists on what conduct justifies a stop under the Fourth Amendment,
there is no case law in the Eleventh Circuit on whether the Fourth Amendment is violated when a person is stopped merely for the presence of a pistol in a holster, with no accompanying facts
indicating the commission of a crime.
...the propriety of the initial stop must be examined under the standards of Terry
...In United States v. Dudley, 854 F.Supp. 570, 580 (S.D.Ind.1994), the court held that a radio call alerting police to the presence of two people in a vehicle with firearms did not provide reasonable suspicion of a crime justifying the stop, because possession of firearms is not, generally speaking, a crime...
Interesting stuff, no?
Silly Chatter on Mortgage Interest Rates
Doh.
The WSJ runs a silly proposal.
[A] 4.5% mortgage rate will raise housing demand significantly. A simple forecast can be obtained by applying the 2003-2004 homeownership rates to 2007 households. We use the 2003-2004 home ownership rates because those were the years of the lowest previous mortgage rates (the average mortgage rate was 5.8%.)
While cash-flow is, perhaps, the most significant component of the home-purchase decision (i.e., the less you have to pay every month, the easier it is to make the purchase), it's not the only one. Another consideration is the price of the house in the first place.
Deflation of housing values is a fact; the WSJ's article would like to reverse that fact. One reason for the deflation is the price-to-rent ratio, which compares rents to purchase. And that ratio is significantly out of line with its historical trend. Typically, the ratio is 1.05; currently, it's 1.3 (Case-Schiller measure.)
The WSJ article would have us push the noodle up the hill.
HT: Calculated Risk
The WSJ runs a silly proposal.
[A] 4.5% mortgage rate will raise housing demand significantly. A simple forecast can be obtained by applying the 2003-2004 homeownership rates to 2007 households. We use the 2003-2004 home ownership rates because those were the years of the lowest previous mortgage rates (the average mortgage rate was 5.8%.)
While cash-flow is, perhaps, the most significant component of the home-purchase decision (i.e., the less you have to pay every month, the easier it is to make the purchase), it's not the only one. Another consideration is the price of the house in the first place.
Deflation of housing values is a fact; the WSJ's article would like to reverse that fact. One reason for the deflation is the price-to-rent ratio, which compares rents to purchase. And that ratio is significantly out of line with its historical trend. Typically, the ratio is 1.05; currently, it's 1.3 (Case-Schiller measure.)
The WSJ article would have us push the noodle up the hill.
HT: Calculated Risk
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Paulson: Erratic, Confused, and Law-Breaker, Too?
Relayed by Ace:
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said automakers would soon get emergency loans but the department is still asking detailed questions of automakers before it allocates any money from the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP. GM and Chrysler are seeking up to $15 billion in emergency aid to keep them afloat through the beginning of next year
Suddenly, GM/Chrysler are "financial institutions" under the clear and VERY limiting definition provided by the TARP law?
Paulson, who hasn't managed to find his ass with both hands while at Treasury ("buy nuclear-waste mortgages/cancel that/buy Bank stock/cancel that"...) now tells the whole world that he will simply break the law?
Maybe he could get away with that crap while he was running Goldman (which just happened to sell out of its CDO packages before Bear Stearns went belly-up); but now that Chicagoboy (another co-incidence, of course) will flout the law, too?
This political whore gives a whole new meaning to the term 'jackass.'
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said automakers would soon get emergency loans but the department is still asking detailed questions of automakers before it allocates any money from the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP. GM and Chrysler are seeking up to $15 billion in emergency aid to keep them afloat through the beginning of next year
Suddenly, GM/Chrysler are "financial institutions" under the clear and VERY limiting definition provided by the TARP law?
Paulson, who hasn't managed to find his ass with both hands while at Treasury ("buy nuclear-waste mortgages/cancel that/buy Bank stock/cancel that"...) now tells the whole world that he will simply break the law?
Maybe he could get away with that crap while he was running Goldman (which just happened to sell out of its CDO packages before Bear Stearns went belly-up); but now that Chicagoboy (another co-incidence, of course) will flout the law, too?
This political whore gives a whole new meaning to the term 'jackass.'
The Great Gun-Run of 2008
What caused the Great Gun-Run of 'o8, anyway?
In the last several months, thousands of guns were purchased--the numbers were astounding, running 25+% above any other year. High on the list of top-sellers are AR-15 rifles, which is the civilian version of the M-16A2/M4 military rifle and carbine. At last report, barrels for these are back-ordered by 6 or more weeks.
Walk into a gun shop and order a 9mm pistol, and the sales clerk will tell you that it could be as much as 10 days to delivery--2 to 3 times as long as normal. That applies to .45 cal handguns, too.
Some say that Obama will make it very difficult to purchase a gun during his Presidency. While I believe that he will try to do so, he won't have an ultra-cooperative Congress on this issue; 'blue-dog' Democrats are not going to vote themselves out of office; thus voting-margins may be very narrow, indeed. Obama could use regulation, of course; but that, too, will encounter Congressional resistance. Pace the LeftoWackies, the NRA still has influence, and the 2nd Amendment is pretty clear about the 'right to keep and bear' arms. So while Obama has a very clear track record, replicating it in Washington will be difficult.
Others say that the NRA, JPFO, and GOA (the three largest gun-rights organizations) were 'putting out the word' about purchase of guns. Well, maybe; but I subscribe to a couple of gun rags and that's not altogether clear to me. Yes, gun rags promote gun purchases; but then, Motor Trend and Car & Driver promote car purchases. And they haven't done too well with that agenda in the last 12 months, have they?
There are only a couple of reasons to purchase guns: hunting, target-shooting, and self-defense. (There's also replacement, but guns are durable goods; they don't really wear out--and finding used weapons isn't so easy, either. So it's reasonable to state that the number-of-guns-owned in this country has increased significantly in the last year.)
Hunting isn't any bigger a sport than it was two or three years ago, at least, not in Wisconsin; I don't think any other States are reporting a huge uptick in hunting licenses, either. Target-shooting/recreational shooting may be increasing a bit; but the numbers aren't significant enough to move the market that hard.
That leaves self- and community-defense. While we read a lot about crime, Milwaukee's major crimes diminished in 2008 (to date); the FBI tables indicate that violent crime has diminished from '06 (although there was an increase every year from 2004-2006. Perhaps that increase, as well as the coverage of crime on TV and in the papers, has spurred the sales.
Could there be something else?
In the last several months, thousands of guns were purchased--the numbers were astounding, running 25+% above any other year. High on the list of top-sellers are AR-15 rifles, which is the civilian version of the M-16A2/M4 military rifle and carbine. At last report, barrels for these are back-ordered by 6 or more weeks.
Walk into a gun shop and order a 9mm pistol, and the sales clerk will tell you that it could be as much as 10 days to delivery--2 to 3 times as long as normal. That applies to .45 cal handguns, too.
Some say that Obama will make it very difficult to purchase a gun during his Presidency. While I believe that he will try to do so, he won't have an ultra-cooperative Congress on this issue; 'blue-dog' Democrats are not going to vote themselves out of office; thus voting-margins may be very narrow, indeed. Obama could use regulation, of course; but that, too, will encounter Congressional resistance. Pace the LeftoWackies, the NRA still has influence, and the 2nd Amendment is pretty clear about the 'right to keep and bear' arms. So while Obama has a very clear track record, replicating it in Washington will be difficult.
Others say that the NRA, JPFO, and GOA (the three largest gun-rights organizations) were 'putting out the word' about purchase of guns. Well, maybe; but I subscribe to a couple of gun rags and that's not altogether clear to me. Yes, gun rags promote gun purchases; but then, Motor Trend and Car & Driver promote car purchases. And they haven't done too well with that agenda in the last 12 months, have they?
There are only a couple of reasons to purchase guns: hunting, target-shooting, and self-defense. (There's also replacement, but guns are durable goods; they don't really wear out--and finding used weapons isn't so easy, either. So it's reasonable to state that the number-of-guns-owned in this country has increased significantly in the last year.)
Hunting isn't any bigger a sport than it was two or three years ago, at least, not in Wisconsin; I don't think any other States are reporting a huge uptick in hunting licenses, either. Target-shooting/recreational shooting may be increasing a bit; but the numbers aren't significant enough to move the market that hard.
That leaves self- and community-defense. While we read a lot about crime, Milwaukee's major crimes diminished in 2008 (to date); the FBI tables indicate that violent crime has diminished from '06 (although there was an increase every year from 2004-2006. Perhaps that increase, as well as the coverage of crime on TV and in the papers, has spurred the sales.
Could there be something else?
Newspapers' Problem: No Readers
No, literally--nobody reads anymore. The Winning McCain thinks so, anyway.
...Conservatives love to claim that liberal bias explains the decline of newspaper circulation and ad revenue. Technophiles say that dead-tree Old Media is losing circulation because readers are going to the Web.
Whatever the merits of these explanations, they are not sufficient to account fully for the loss of readership. I have often argued, in response, that what we are actually seeing is a decline of reading, period. Pay attention the next time you're on an airplane. Notice how relatively few of your fellow passengers -- especially the younger ones -- pass their time reading a newspaper, magazine or book. Rather, they're watching the in-flight movie or listening to their IPods. People are reading less than they once did, a tendency especially pronounced among the young. As a result, there is less demand for the written word.
Modestly, I'll mention that I thought of that a long time ago--but kept it to myself, more or less, although P-Mac might recall such a conversation.
More proof? Sure:
Evidence for my explanation can be seen in the recent news that several major magazine publishers are slashing their Web staffs. Conde Nast, for instance, let go 25 of their 30 online writers, while Fortune magazine cut a half-dozen Internet staffers. This computes neither with the "liberal bias"
Yup. Kids don't read, people. (Of course, to me, a "kid" is anyone under 35...)
...Conservatives love to claim that liberal bias explains the decline of newspaper circulation and ad revenue. Technophiles say that dead-tree Old Media is losing circulation because readers are going to the Web.
Whatever the merits of these explanations, they are not sufficient to account fully for the loss of readership. I have often argued, in response, that what we are actually seeing is a decline of reading, period. Pay attention the next time you're on an airplane. Notice how relatively few of your fellow passengers -- especially the younger ones -- pass their time reading a newspaper, magazine or book. Rather, they're watching the in-flight movie or listening to their IPods. People are reading less than they once did, a tendency especially pronounced among the young. As a result, there is less demand for the written word.
Modestly, I'll mention that I thought of that a long time ago--but kept it to myself, more or less, although P-Mac might recall such a conversation.
More proof? Sure:
Evidence for my explanation can be seen in the recent news that several major magazine publishers are slashing their Web staffs. Conde Nast, for instance, let go 25 of their 30 online writers, while Fortune magazine cut a half-dozen Internet staffers. This computes neither with the "liberal bias"
Yup. Kids don't read, people. (Of course, to me, a "kid" is anyone under 35...)
Bp Sklba's Jihad on Veni Veni Emanuel (!!)
Since we don't get the Archdiocesan newspaper, we miss some of the good stuff that Bp. Sklba essays upon.
But not all of it, as Diogenes keeps track of our Most Accomodating, Intellectual, And Apologetic Leftover from the Abp. Weakland regime.
Today we learn that Veni, Veni, Emanuel is another anti-Semitic screed.
Bet you didn't know that, eh?
It may seem a small point, but we Christians need to examine carefully the hymns and carols which we sing during this sacred season of our Advent. A classic case in point is the popular Advent song, "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel." What does it mean to sing a plea for God to rescue "captive Israel that mourns in lonely exile here until the Son of God appear"?
If a Jewish friend or colleague were present, what would they think?
The reference may be to the book of Lamentations and to the sorrow of ancient Jewish people over the destruction of the Temple and the city of Jerusalem, first by the Babylonians in the sixth century BCE, and then by the Romans in the first century, but Israel has been a free state for 60 years.
First off, if you sing it in Latin, most of my Jewish friends wouldn't have the faintest idea...
The Bishop either forgets or deliberately ignores what most Catholics refer to as "salvation history." Actually, the operative word is "salvation." I'm sure that the Bishop doesn't mean to obviate Original Sin from church teaching.....right?
We also note the Careful, Correct, Erudite, Sophisticated use of the abbreviation "BCE."
Shove it, Your Excellency. It's BC (before Christ). Your "common era" is altogether too common for me.
But not all of it, as Diogenes keeps track of our Most Accomodating, Intellectual, And Apologetic Leftover from the Abp. Weakland regime.
Today we learn that Veni, Veni, Emanuel is another anti-Semitic screed.
Bet you didn't know that, eh?
It may seem a small point, but we Christians need to examine carefully the hymns and carols which we sing during this sacred season of our Advent. A classic case in point is the popular Advent song, "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel." What does it mean to sing a plea for God to rescue "captive Israel that mourns in lonely exile here until the Son of God appear"?
If a Jewish friend or colleague were present, what would they think?
The reference may be to the book of Lamentations and to the sorrow of ancient Jewish people over the destruction of the Temple and the city of Jerusalem, first by the Babylonians in the sixth century BCE, and then by the Romans in the first century, but Israel has been a free state for 60 years.
First off, if you sing it in Latin, most of my Jewish friends wouldn't have the faintest idea...
The Bishop either forgets or deliberately ignores what most Catholics refer to as "salvation history." Actually, the operative word is "salvation." I'm sure that the Bishop doesn't mean to obviate Original Sin from church teaching.....right?
We also note the Careful, Correct, Erudite, Sophisticated use of the abbreviation "BCE."
Shove it, Your Excellency. It's BC (before Christ). Your "common era" is altogether too common for me.
The Prudent Purchase: Deutschemarks
Given the proclivities of "Helicopter Ben", Henry Paulson, and Obama, maybe hedging with Deutschemarks is a good idea.
...Mrs. Merkel will not be a new Herbert Hoover, who seemed to do his best to drain the United States economy of its remaining lifeblood even as it tumbled into the Great Depression.
But her reluctance to follow other Western countries' lead has puzzled many allies and struck some of Germany's critics as oddly ascetic.
Peer Steinbrück, the German finance minister, has indicated concern over budget deficits and has characterized the British effort to kick-start its moribund economy as "crass Keynesianism." In his view, European pressure for greater spending masked a desire to exploit the German taxpayer for the benefit of the country's neighbors.
To the question of why Germany did not simply spend its way out of recessions, as Keynes, the great British economist, suggested, Mr. Steinbrück shot back, "Just because the lemmings chose the same way does not make it the right one."
Sell the DM when that Government goes out of power.
HT: Dreher
...Mrs. Merkel will not be a new Herbert Hoover, who seemed to do his best to drain the United States economy of its remaining lifeblood even as it tumbled into the Great Depression.
But her reluctance to follow other Western countries' lead has puzzled many allies and struck some of Germany's critics as oddly ascetic.
Peer Steinbrück, the German finance minister, has indicated concern over budget deficits and has characterized the British effort to kick-start its moribund economy as "crass Keynesianism." In his view, European pressure for greater spending masked a desire to exploit the German taxpayer for the benefit of the country's neighbors.
To the question of why Germany did not simply spend its way out of recessions, as Keynes, the great British economist, suggested, Mr. Steinbrück shot back, "Just because the lemmings chose the same way does not make it the right one."
Sell the DM when that Government goes out of power.
HT: Dreher
Blue Cross/Blue Shield Weighs In on "Big 3 Bailout"
When you understand that Blue Cross/Blue Shield is historically a union-labor-based organization, you understand why a number of people are getting this email:
I am asking for your help in supporting our automotive partners, GM, Chrysler and Ford, in their efforts to receive much-needed bridge loans from the federal government. As the Senate failed to pass a loan package last Thursday, I'm asking you to e-mail the White House directly and ask them to intervene in this process.
The success or failure of the autos has far-reaching implications that affect every Blues customer and employee in some way. These are unprecedented times, and I appreciate your participation in this process.
Daniel J. Loepp
President and CEO
Of course, I used the link in the note and suggested that the President should NOT award a "bridge loan" to GM and Chrysler.
First off, it will not be a "bridge loan." It will be a "pier loan." (Ask Citibank about those...) The term "bridge loan" is pure propaganda--those who use that term are asking you to believe that the "loan" is only needed until 2010, when the UAW will renegotiate their contracts and ***voila*** suddenly, cashflow will turn positive for GM/Chrysler.
Uh-huh.
Rick Esenberg reminds us that in 2005, when car sales were extremely good, GM managed to lose money. "Cash flow" is irrelevant, my friends, when you're taking losses at the rate GM does.
I am asking for your help in supporting our automotive partners, GM, Chrysler and Ford, in their efforts to receive much-needed bridge loans from the federal government. As the Senate failed to pass a loan package last Thursday, I'm asking you to e-mail the White House directly and ask them to intervene in this process.
The success or failure of the autos has far-reaching implications that affect every Blues customer and employee in some way. These are unprecedented times, and I appreciate your participation in this process.
Daniel J. Loepp
President and CEO
Of course, I used the link in the note and suggested that the President should NOT award a "bridge loan" to GM and Chrysler.
First off, it will not be a "bridge loan." It will be a "pier loan." (Ask Citibank about those...) The term "bridge loan" is pure propaganda--those who use that term are asking you to believe that the "loan" is only needed until 2010, when the UAW will renegotiate their contracts and ***voila*** suddenly, cashflow will turn positive for GM/Chrysler.
Uh-huh.
Rick Esenberg reminds us that in 2005, when car sales were extremely good, GM managed to lose money. "Cash flow" is irrelevant, my friends, when you're taking losses at the rate GM does.
Chesterton on Christmas
From a short essay on the matter by Vigen Guorian.
"...Sin causes us to experience spirit in opposition to matter, faith in conflict with reason, life defeated by death. But the Incarnation reveals these apparent contradictions as paradoxes. Contradiction may signal futility, but paradox is pregnant with the possibility of resolution and harmony.”
HT: Chesterton and Friends
"...Sin causes us to experience spirit in opposition to matter, faith in conflict with reason, life defeated by death. But the Incarnation reveals these apparent contradictions as paradoxes. Contradiction may signal futility, but paradox is pregnant with the possibility of resolution and harmony.”
HT: Chesterton and Friends
The Next Financial Crisis
Market Ticker lays it out for us.
...Treasury seems to think they can issue essentially limitless debt to bail out banks and others, having committed nearly $7 trillion thus far. Most of that has been issued through various short-term paper which has a near-zero (or actually zero!) interest rate - that is, up until now that debt issue has been essentially free!
What happens when this bubble bursts?
You think it won't? Like hell it won't. And when it does - that is, when Mr. Market calls the bet and forces Bernanke to actually make good by starting to unload all these "accumulated" Treasuries into his gaping maw, we will see "shock and awe" of another sort.
See, if the selling starts rates go up. To stop that Ben has to take up [i.e., increase] the supply. This causes him to print more money (expand his balance sheet) which means that the full faith and credit he relies on is further damaged. That in turn causes more people to get the idea that they better sell now which in turn causes him to buy more which.....
Remember the waterfall in September and October in stocks?
The same thing can happen in the Treasury market, and if it does it will force a political decision to be taken - risk the destruction of the dollar and our government or remove - by immediate statutory change (and force if that is resisted) The Fed's authority
My opinion of John McCain has just increased by several notches. He did NOT "lose" when he lost the election.
He allowed the nuke to detonate in Obama's lap.
Ooda-Loop, indeed.
...Treasury seems to think they can issue essentially limitless debt to bail out banks and others, having committed nearly $7 trillion thus far. Most of that has been issued through various short-term paper which has a near-zero (or actually zero!) interest rate - that is, up until now that debt issue has been essentially free!
What happens when this bubble bursts?
You think it won't? Like hell it won't. And when it does - that is, when Mr. Market calls the bet and forces Bernanke to actually make good by starting to unload all these "accumulated" Treasuries into his gaping maw, we will see "shock and awe" of another sort.
See, if the selling starts rates go up. To stop that Ben has to take up [i.e., increase] the supply. This causes him to print more money (expand his balance sheet) which means that the full faith and credit he relies on is further damaged. That in turn causes more people to get the idea that they better sell now which in turn causes him to buy more which.....
Remember the waterfall in September and October in stocks?
The same thing can happen in the Treasury market, and if it does it will force a political decision to be taken - risk the destruction of the dollar and our government or remove - by immediate statutory change (and force if that is resisted) The Fed's authority
My opinion of John McCain has just increased by several notches. He did NOT "lose" when he lost the election.
He allowed the nuke to detonate in Obama's lap.
Ooda-Loop, indeed.
Sad Because It's True
He won't regret this asinine comment because he'll be living on a tax-paid pension.
"I've abandoned free-market principles to save the free-market system," Bush told CNN television, saying he had made the decision "to make sure the economy doesn't collapse."
--G W Bush, Idiot-in-Chief
HT: Vox
"I've abandoned free-market principles to save the free-market system," Bush told CNN television, saying he had made the decision "to make sure the economy doesn't collapse."
--G W Bush, Idiot-in-Chief
HT: Vox
Keynes Is Not the Answer-Man
Nice, short, easy-to-get video here from Cato, which demonstrates that Keynes was full of .....it.
The end question asked: "Why does Gummint do Keynes when we all know it doesn't work?"
There are several possible answers, all implying that executing a number of politicians would be the best and easiest solution.
Don't bring pitchforks...
The end question asked: "Why does Gummint do Keynes when we all know it doesn't work?"
There are several possible answers, all implying that executing a number of politicians would be the best and easiest solution.
Don't bring pitchforks...
We Call It "THEFT by Pig"
The Madistan Boyzzz steal more money:
Much criticism has surrounded the Wisconsin government's habit of raiding the Transportation Fund and the Patients Compensation Fund to cover gaps in the state budget rather than using them for their identified purposes.
But a less well-known fund also has come in handy at times — the Petroleum Inspection Fund
...The fee, now at 2 cents per gallon, is paid by such companies as Exxon Mobil, Citgo Petroleum, Marathon Ashland, Cenex Harvest and the U.S. Oil Co., but most of the costs are ultimately passed on to consumers at the gasoline pump or purchasers of other oil products
A state audit released in November found that in the 2007-08 fiscal year, the state collected $76.6 million in cleanup fees and used it to pay off $30.4 million in scheduled debt service and $16.8 million in PECFA claims.What happened to the rest of the money?
A total of $20.3 million was sent by the Legislature and the governor to the state Transportation Fund and $1 million went to the state's General Fund for operations
Just like the Medical Compensation Fund, and the Highway "Trust" Fund--Doylie and a compliant group of Legislative whores steal the money to lipstick the Pig.
Only question is 'exactly what IS the Pig'?--Doylie and the Leggies, or the "budget" fiction?
Much criticism has surrounded the Wisconsin government's habit of raiding the Transportation Fund and the Patients Compensation Fund to cover gaps in the state budget rather than using them for their identified purposes.
But a less well-known fund also has come in handy at times — the Petroleum Inspection Fund
...The fee, now at 2 cents per gallon, is paid by such companies as Exxon Mobil, Citgo Petroleum, Marathon Ashland, Cenex Harvest and the U.S. Oil Co., but most of the costs are ultimately passed on to consumers at the gasoline pump or purchasers of other oil products
A state audit released in November found that in the 2007-08 fiscal year, the state collected $76.6 million in cleanup fees and used it to pay off $30.4 million in scheduled debt service and $16.8 million in PECFA claims.What happened to the rest of the money?
A total of $20.3 million was sent by the Legislature and the governor to the state Transportation Fund and $1 million went to the state's General Fund for operations
Just like the Medical Compensation Fund, and the Highway "Trust" Fund--Doylie and a compliant group of Legislative whores steal the money to lipstick the Pig.
Only question is 'exactly what IS the Pig'?--Doylie and the Leggies, or the "budget" fiction?
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
ChooChoo Promises
P-Mac has a column up, describing his conversation with Mr. Rubin. Rubin studied the ChooChoo (KRM route) and was not thrilled. To be fair, he thinks it's a 'middling cost' project, requiring only about $28.00/ride in subsidies.
Such a deal.
One graph caught my attention:
"Commuter rail is, to a very high degree, an all-or-nothing option," he writes. It's impossible to erase a mistake, so we'd just keep throwing money in.
That's a virtue, say rail's backers: Such permanence means riders won't worry that the route will change. This will induce them to buy nice condos nearby and sell their cars. Thus, say rail backers, it will reshape the lakeshore cities and downtown Milwaukee
Really?
If that were true:
1) Brookfield, Tosa, and Elm Grove would still have passenger-train stops, and
2) Brookfield, Tosa, and Elm Grove would have lots of condominium projects surrounding the train stations.
I recall the commuter train into Milwaukee; it started in Oconomowoc, and stopped (inter alia) in Brookfield, Elm Grove, and Tosa before getting downtown. It basically died out in the early '70's (or so), and was briefly revived in the '90's. The one fellow we knew who used the commuter train owned two cars--one for himself, and one for his wife, even though he hoofed it to and from the station (about 4 blocks one-way) every day.
By no coincidence, the couple was childless. That made choo-choo-ing a very simple decision.
One other ironic note: the condos in Tosa and Elm Grove which are near the train-stations were all built AFTER the commuter train stopped running.
Maybe the ChooChooBoyzzz can explain that.
Such a deal.
One graph caught my attention:
"Commuter rail is, to a very high degree, an all-or-nothing option," he writes. It's impossible to erase a mistake, so we'd just keep throwing money in.
That's a virtue, say rail's backers: Such permanence means riders won't worry that the route will change. This will induce them to buy nice condos nearby and sell their cars. Thus, say rail backers, it will reshape the lakeshore cities and downtown Milwaukee
Really?
If that were true:
1) Brookfield, Tosa, and Elm Grove would still have passenger-train stops, and
2) Brookfield, Tosa, and Elm Grove would have lots of condominium projects surrounding the train stations.
I recall the commuter train into Milwaukee; it started in Oconomowoc, and stopped (inter alia) in Brookfield, Elm Grove, and Tosa before getting downtown. It basically died out in the early '70's (or so), and was briefly revived in the '90's. The one fellow we knew who used the commuter train owned two cars--one for himself, and one for his wife, even though he hoofed it to and from the station (about 4 blocks one-way) every day.
By no coincidence, the couple was childless. That made choo-choo-ing a very simple decision.
One other ironic note: the condos in Tosa and Elm Grove which are near the train-stations were all built AFTER the commuter train stopped running.
Maybe the ChooChooBoyzzz can explain that.
LifeTeen Co-Founder Ex-Comm'ed
Rare occurrence, indeed.
Msgr. Dale Fushek and Fr. Mark Dippre, neither of whom has been active in the Catholic Church in recent years, received notice of their excommunication Dec. 9 from Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted. This type of censure carries with it the consequence of not being able to receive the Eucharist, celebrate Mass or receive other sacraments of the Church. Also, they cannot represent themselves as priests
...Fushek, former vicar general for the diocese and former pastor of St. Timothy Parish in Mesa, gained prominence for co-founding Life Teen, an international youth ministry program. Bishop Olmsted suspended Fushek’s faculties in late 2004 after an allegation was made that Fushek engaged in inappropriate behavior in the presence of a minor at the Mesa parish in 1985. Fushek later resigned as the parish’s pastor on June 30, 2005. He currently faces charges on several misdemeanor counts of sexual misconduct.
That makes three US priests who've been ex-comm'd in the last 10 days or so--the first being notorious anti-war protester/Maryknoll Fr. Bourgeois.
Msgr. Dale Fushek and Fr. Mark Dippre, neither of whom has been active in the Catholic Church in recent years, received notice of their excommunication Dec. 9 from Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted. This type of censure carries with it the consequence of not being able to receive the Eucharist, celebrate Mass or receive other sacraments of the Church. Also, they cannot represent themselves as priests
...Fushek, former vicar general for the diocese and former pastor of St. Timothy Parish in Mesa, gained prominence for co-founding Life Teen, an international youth ministry program. Bishop Olmsted suspended Fushek’s faculties in late 2004 after an allegation was made that Fushek engaged in inappropriate behavior in the presence of a minor at the Mesa parish in 1985. Fushek later resigned as the parish’s pastor on June 30, 2005. He currently faces charges on several misdemeanor counts of sexual misconduct.
That makes three US priests who've been ex-comm'd in the last 10 days or so--the first being notorious anti-war protester/Maryknoll Fr. Bourgeois.
A Parable That's Actually a True Story
From a newsletter...
In a former life, your California editor called himself a hedge fund manager. The year was 1995 and he and two partners were overseeing a modest investment management business.
One fine day, one of the partners got the idea that the firm should expand its marketing efforts by hiring an expensive, New-York-based marketing firm. This partner also argued that your California editor should facilitate the marketing effort by conducting all the face-to-face meetings with prospective clients
A short time later, he found himself on a cross-country flight to New York to attend a variety of meetings that the expensive marketing firm had arranged. First stop: Rye, New York, to meet with Tremont Group Holdings, a firm that placed money with selected hedge funds
After about 30 minutes of back-and-forth, the Tremont folks said something like, "Well, this sounds very interesting, Eric. You have a very unique approach. But we've got a couple of concerns."
"Okay, let's hear 'em," your editor politely replied.
"Well, because your firm is relatively small, it does not possess the kind of risk control infrastructure that we would like to see. Furthermore, since you don't really have extensive checks and balances within the portfolio management structure itself, the strategy relies too heavily upon the instincts of one individual. So we'd need to see more assets under management, a longer track record and better risk-controls in place before we'd consider an investment."
"Okay, thanks for the advice."
Yes, you know the rest: Tremont lost $3BILLION with Madoff...but that's not the parable.
Some sophisticated investors are so sophisticated that they begin to believe their own marketing materials; they begin to believe that placing $5 million with a three-man investment shop that provides complete and continuous transparency is riskier than placing $3.3 billion with a large investment shop that dresses its books and records in a burqa.
Book-and-cover, folks. There are lots of professional-service firms that dress up pretty.
And there are lots that don't. Results may be identical, but 'pretty' sells better.
For no good reason.
In a former life, your California editor called himself a hedge fund manager. The year was 1995 and he and two partners were overseeing a modest investment management business.
One fine day, one of the partners got the idea that the firm should expand its marketing efforts by hiring an expensive, New-York-based marketing firm. This partner also argued that your California editor should facilitate the marketing effort by conducting all the face-to-face meetings with prospective clients
A short time later, he found himself on a cross-country flight to New York to attend a variety of meetings that the expensive marketing firm had arranged. First stop: Rye, New York, to meet with Tremont Group Holdings, a firm that placed money with selected hedge funds
After about 30 minutes of back-and-forth, the Tremont folks said something like, "Well, this sounds very interesting, Eric. You have a very unique approach. But we've got a couple of concerns."
"Okay, let's hear 'em," your editor politely replied.
"Well, because your firm is relatively small, it does not possess the kind of risk control infrastructure that we would like to see. Furthermore, since you don't really have extensive checks and balances within the portfolio management structure itself, the strategy relies too heavily upon the instincts of one individual. So we'd need to see more assets under management, a longer track record and better risk-controls in place before we'd consider an investment."
"Okay, thanks for the advice."
Yes, you know the rest: Tremont lost $3BILLION with Madoff...but that's not the parable.
Some sophisticated investors are so sophisticated that they begin to believe their own marketing materials; they begin to believe that placing $5 million with a three-man investment shop that provides complete and continuous transparency is riskier than placing $3.3 billion with a large investment shop that dresses its books and records in a burqa.
Book-and-cover, folks. There are lots of professional-service firms that dress up pretty.
And there are lots that don't. Results may be identical, but 'pretty' sells better.
For no good reason.
The Kennedy Seat
The Winning McCain quotes Allahpundit regarding Caroline's lust for a Senate seat:
We really should consider setting aside a permanent seat for the Kennedys. . . . Give them their own spot, fully inheritable, to be filled by whomever the family designates, and you might just placate them enough to discourage other members of the brood from running.
McCain goes him one better:
Give them a bus, with Ted at the wheel.
Or the rum-running franchise, where it all began...
We really should consider setting aside a permanent seat for the Kennedys. . . . Give them their own spot, fully inheritable, to be filled by whomever the family designates, and you might just placate them enough to discourage other members of the brood from running.
McCain goes him one better:
Give them a bus, with Ted at the wheel.
Or the rum-running franchise, where it all began...
Isn't the State "Cutting Jobs"?
Just thought I'd ask, given this:
In a letter to the state Department of Children and Families, its private agencies and bureau staff, Revels Robinson wrote that she had requested a transfer within the department.
"The details of my new position are being finalized; however, I expect to begin my duties in January 2009," she wrote.
Looks like she expects a job to be created just for her.
How very sweet.
In a letter to the state Department of Children and Families, its private agencies and bureau staff, Revels Robinson wrote that she had requested a transfer within the department.
"The details of my new position are being finalized; however, I expect to begin my duties in January 2009," she wrote.
Looks like she expects a job to be created just for her.
How very sweet.
Doyle's Wish List
Ol' Jimbo Doyle traipsed off to DC to tell of Wisconsin's woes. S'pose he took the private jet? Did he drive? Take a train? Or fly Midwest Express?
He used the standard line...there will be no public safety, and the poor/elderly will die if his regime doesn't get a bunch of money:
Doyle has ordered state officials to cut 3,500 jobs through June 30, but double that number could be cut through June 2011 without federal help, he said.
Jimbo has a very short memory: Doyle himself promised in the 2002 campaign to cut 10,000 state jobs in 8 years, according to press reports at the time (h/t: Walker via Sykes)
Cuts to education, aid to communities to hire police officers and firefighters and medical services for low-income people are also threatened because of the state's shortfall, while tax increases are possible to help pay for services, he said.
Actually, were the State to cut aids, local Governments would have a choice: they could increase the property tax to make up for it, or they could make cuts which they consider to be prudent.
He did have a few ideas for spending money, of course:
...he presented Obey and members of President-elect Barack Obama's economic team with a list of nearly 1,800 projects worth $3.7 billion that could be started within four months if federal lawmakers pass a bailout bill for states.
Those projects include $137.1 million for the eastern leg of Madison-Milwaukee commuter rail, a UW-Madison medical research building worth $135 million and $5.2 million for Madison's bus system.
That 'commuter rail' allocation is interesting, no? Where does that start? What right-of-way will it use?
He used the standard line...there will be no public safety, and the poor/elderly will die if his regime doesn't get a bunch of money:
Doyle has ordered state officials to cut 3,500 jobs through June 30, but double that number could be cut through June 2011 without federal help, he said.
Jimbo has a very short memory: Doyle himself promised in the 2002 campaign to cut 10,000 state jobs in 8 years, according to press reports at the time (h/t: Walker via Sykes)
Cuts to education, aid to communities to hire police officers and firefighters and medical services for low-income people are also threatened because of the state's shortfall, while tax increases are possible to help pay for services, he said.
Actually, were the State to cut aids, local Governments would have a choice: they could increase the property tax to make up for it, or they could make cuts which they consider to be prudent.
He did have a few ideas for spending money, of course:
...he presented Obey and members of President-elect Barack Obama's economic team with a list of nearly 1,800 projects worth $3.7 billion that could be started within four months if federal lawmakers pass a bailout bill for states.
Those projects include $137.1 million for the eastern leg of Madison-Milwaukee commuter rail, a UW-Madison medical research building worth $135 million and $5.2 million for Madison's bus system.
That 'commuter rail' allocation is interesting, no? Where does that start? What right-of-way will it use?
Monday, December 15, 2008
First Blago, Now Richardson?
Drip, drip, drip...
A federal grand jury is investigating how a company that advised Jefferson County, Alabama, on bond deals that threaten to cause the biggest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history, did similar work in New Mexico after making contributions to Governor Bill Richardson’s political action committees.
The grand jury in Albuquerque is looking into Beverly Hills, California-based CDR Financial Products, Inc. which received almost $1.5 million in fees from the New Mexico Finance Authority in 2004 after donating $100,000 to Richardson’s efforts to register Hispanic and American Indian voters and pay for expenses at the Democratic National Convention in 2004, people familiar with the matter said.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation asked current and former officials from the state agency if any staff members in the governor’s office influenced CDR’s hiring, said the people, who declined to be identified because the proceedings are secret. Richardson, who is President-elect Barack Obama's designate for Commerce Secretary, has a staff of at least 30 people....
HT: Ace, who also noted that Ted Kennedy sent a note to NY Governor Patterson advising him that Caroline Kennedy would be an excellent Senator for New York--and that she could get the attention of Teddy, who could 'pay attention' to the needs of New York State.
What's Doylie get out of all this?
A federal grand jury is investigating how a company that advised Jefferson County, Alabama, on bond deals that threaten to cause the biggest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history, did similar work in New Mexico after making contributions to Governor Bill Richardson’s political action committees.
The grand jury in Albuquerque is looking into Beverly Hills, California-based CDR Financial Products, Inc. which received almost $1.5 million in fees from the New Mexico Finance Authority in 2004 after donating $100,000 to Richardson’s efforts to register Hispanic and American Indian voters and pay for expenses at the Democratic National Convention in 2004, people familiar with the matter said.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation asked current and former officials from the state agency if any staff members in the governor’s office influenced CDR’s hiring, said the people, who declined to be identified because the proceedings are secret. Richardson, who is President-elect Barack Obama's designate for Commerce Secretary, has a staff of at least 30 people....
HT: Ace, who also noted that Ted Kennedy sent a note to NY Governor Patterson advising him that Caroline Kennedy would be an excellent Senator for New York--and that she could get the attention of Teddy, who could 'pay attention' to the needs of New York State.
What's Doylie get out of all this?
Church/State Separation
In a statement which will be controversial amidst the Immanentist Catholics, Benedict XVI affirmed the value of church/state separation.
Church-state separation is one of the signs of the progress of humanity, says Benedict XVI.
The Pope affirmed this Saturday when he visited the Italian embassy to the Holy See.
The Church "not only recognizes and respects the distinction and autonomy" of the state vis-à-vis the Church, but also "takes joy in this as one of the great advances of humanity," he said.
This separation is "a fundamental condition for [the Church's] very liberty and the fulfillment of its universal mission of salvation among all peoples," the Holy Father added. "This brief visit is conducive to reaffirming that the Church is very aware that the distinction between what is of Caesar and what is of God belongs to the fundamental structure of Christianity.
"At the same time, he added, the Church "feels that it is her duty, following the dictates of social doctrine, developed from what is in conformity with the nature of every human being, to awaken moral and spiritual forces in society, contributing to open up wills to the authentic demands of the good."
The Pontiff continued: "Reclaiming the value that ethical principles have, not only in private life but rather fundamentally for public life, the Church contributes to guaranteeing and promoting the dignity of the person and the common good of society."In this sense, the desired cooperation between Church and state is truly fulfilled."
There are small groups of Catholics around the world, primarily in Spanish-influenced countries of South America, but including a vocal US contingent, who will bitterly declaim this statement. However, it's a re-statement of what B-16 said while he was in the USA, praising the structure put in place by the Founders through the 1st Amendment.
Church-state separation is one of the signs of the progress of humanity, says Benedict XVI.
The Pope affirmed this Saturday when he visited the Italian embassy to the Holy See.
The Church "not only recognizes and respects the distinction and autonomy" of the state vis-à-vis the Church, but also "takes joy in this as one of the great advances of humanity," he said.
This separation is "a fundamental condition for [the Church's] very liberty and the fulfillment of its universal mission of salvation among all peoples," the Holy Father added. "This brief visit is conducive to reaffirming that the Church is very aware that the distinction between what is of Caesar and what is of God belongs to the fundamental structure of Christianity.
"At the same time, he added, the Church "feels that it is her duty, following the dictates of social doctrine, developed from what is in conformity with the nature of every human being, to awaken moral and spiritual forces in society, contributing to open up wills to the authentic demands of the good."
The Pontiff continued: "Reclaiming the value that ethical principles have, not only in private life but rather fundamentally for public life, the Church contributes to guaranteeing and promoting the dignity of the person and the common good of society."In this sense, the desired cooperation between Church and state is truly fulfilled."
There are small groups of Catholics around the world, primarily in Spanish-influenced countries of South America, but including a vocal US contingent, who will bitterly declaim this statement. However, it's a re-statement of what B-16 said while he was in the USA, praising the structure put in place by the Founders through the 1st Amendment.
Common Sense for Thee---
...but maybe not so for me.
If public figures naturally invite public scrutiny by virtue of their office, I don’t see any good reason we shouldn’t scrutinize these leaders to the nth degree, where even the slightest indiscrepancies could be held up for the public to see. Why not give private citizens the right to hack into email, wiretap and to follow the financial transactions of public figures? When the PATRIOT Act was introduced by our leaders it was said that those with nothing to hide should have nothing to fear. The same should go for government
Yah, like those Party Caucuses in Madistan....
I would enjoy listening to every single phone convo of Doylie's aides (and of Bush's, for that matter.)
Nothing to hide? Good!
If public figures naturally invite public scrutiny by virtue of their office, I don’t see any good reason we shouldn’t scrutinize these leaders to the nth degree, where even the slightest indiscrepancies could be held up for the public to see. Why not give private citizens the right to hack into email, wiretap and to follow the financial transactions of public figures? When the PATRIOT Act was introduced by our leaders it was said that those with nothing to hide should have nothing to fear. The same should go for government
Yah, like those Party Caucuses in Madistan....
I would enjoy listening to every single phone convo of Doylie's aides (and of Bush's, for that matter.)
Nothing to hide? Good!
After Photoshop, It's Warmer!!
Headless, who has a bunch of creds in science and stuff like that, found another very interesting couple of charts which I will not reproduce here.
But I'll give you the juicy parts of the text...
The raw measured temperature data for the last 120 years show a cooling trend. Only after the global warming fraudsters adjust this data to match their theories and models does a "Global Warming Trend" emerge
All the panic being generated by Al Gore, James Hansen, and Obama's Energy Secretary Steven Chu is based on computer simulations. Simulations using certain specific positive feedback assumptions with no factual physical basis
Which leaves only the ancient Roman question: Cui bono? "Who benefits from this?"
You only get two guesses and the right answer begins thus: "Those Who Make The Rules..."
But I'll give you the juicy parts of the text...
The raw measured temperature data for the last 120 years show a cooling trend. Only after the global warming fraudsters adjust this data to match their theories and models does a "Global Warming Trend" emerge
All the panic being generated by Al Gore, James Hansen, and Obama's Energy Secretary Steven Chu is based on computer simulations. Simulations using certain specific positive feedback assumptions with no factual physical basis
Which leaves only the ancient Roman question: Cui bono? "Who benefits from this?"
You only get two guesses and the right answer begins thus: "Those Who Make The Rules..."
Wry Blago/Obama Observation
Obama's defenders say that he's much closer to the Daley Machine than the Blago Machine, leading Vox to pen the definition of "wry comment:"
You know the Obama administration is going to be good for some serious scandal when his pre-inaugural defense of his character is that he's from the bigger and MORE corrupt part of the Chicago machine
Yah. THAT works...
You know the Obama administration is going to be good for some serious scandal when his pre-inaugural defense of his character is that he's from the bigger and MORE corrupt part of the Chicago machine
Yah. THAT works...
Sykes v. Shelley: An Afterthought
I was reminded of the tempest by re-reading the Shelley article published in a Milwaukee Magazine found in the MD's waiting room.
After all is said and done, the most telling criticism of Sykes' program was Shelley's contention that 'Charlie played the victim card' for his listeners. What that means is that Sykes portrayed his listeners as 'victims.'
The rest of Shelley's rant is picayune hysterics having more to do with personality conflicts than substance.
Sykes' method, however, turned the Left's most useful weapon, victimhood, on its head--and explains why Sykes (and Limbaugh, to some extent) are so popular.
Shelley would have it that Sykes, et al., are contradicting themselves by making victims out of the non-victim class: middle and upper-middle class folks, largely suburban, who have most of the toys, nice lawns, crime-free neighborhoods, etc., etc., etc. Shelley is not too sympathetic to this group of "victims," and doesn't like what he thinks is Sykes' manipulation of these folks.
To get there, though, Shelley ignores the larger picture; specifically, he ignores certain victims and favors others, for his own purposes.
To take only a couple of examples, Sykes has mentioned the albuterol controversy and the "cap-and-trade" brouhaha. In both these cases, the class of people whom Sykes stokes is, in fact, composed of victims.
They are victims because they do not own and/or hire lobbyists, nor publicity machines which include highly-visible politicians, celebrities, and a supine (one could say worse) Press. And they are going to pay, dearly, for these schemes; in the case of asthma inhalants, about $30.00/prescription (and less medical effectiveness in some cases), and in the case of "cap-and-trade," an up-to-forty percent increase in heat/electricity costs.
In fact, the groups affected by these decisions ARE victims. They will pay more--a LOT more--for health-and-life-sustaining goods and services. That's "victim" in anyone's book, except, perhaps, Shelley's.
What Sykes has accomplished, and what makes Lefties like Shelley hair-on-fire angry, is that he has become a "lobbyist-without-briefcase", simply by using the airwaves. He's doing exactly what the ACLU, Big Green, and the Aggrievement Opportunists have been doing for years (since FDR, anyway): presenting the opposing view.
Lobbyists ensure that their clientele will suffer as little as possible. Sykes does what he can to ensure the same result, but by different means; he merely enables and informs opposition to crushing financial burdens, instead of literally carrying a bag into Madistan or DC offices.
It comes as a shock to Shelley and his cohort that some victims are not what they, (in their cramped and limited worldview), think they are; that some victims are in the upper/middle class; that some victims are religious; that some victims have white-collar jobs; that some victims are apparently comfortable.
In other words, they are victims of Government, not victims of the "white power structure."
Imagine that!
Once you understand the binary theory employed by some Community Activists, Labor Leaders, and Tree-Huggers, you understand Shelley's rant very well. He doesn't like effective counter-lobbying, no matter how it is done--especially on airwaves that he thinks shoud belong to real 'victims,' that is, those approved by Shelley & Co.
Shelley just never thought that there could be victims outside his definition of "victim."
And he's wrong.
After all is said and done, the most telling criticism of Sykes' program was Shelley's contention that 'Charlie played the victim card' for his listeners. What that means is that Sykes portrayed his listeners as 'victims.'
The rest of Shelley's rant is picayune hysterics having more to do with personality conflicts than substance.
Sykes' method, however, turned the Left's most useful weapon, victimhood, on its head--and explains why Sykes (and Limbaugh, to some extent) are so popular.
Shelley would have it that Sykes, et al., are contradicting themselves by making victims out of the non-victim class: middle and upper-middle class folks, largely suburban, who have most of the toys, nice lawns, crime-free neighborhoods, etc., etc., etc. Shelley is not too sympathetic to this group of "victims," and doesn't like what he thinks is Sykes' manipulation of these folks.
To get there, though, Shelley ignores the larger picture; specifically, he ignores certain victims and favors others, for his own purposes.
To take only a couple of examples, Sykes has mentioned the albuterol controversy and the "cap-and-trade" brouhaha. In both these cases, the class of people whom Sykes stokes is, in fact, composed of victims.
They are victims because they do not own and/or hire lobbyists, nor publicity machines which include highly-visible politicians, celebrities, and a supine (one could say worse) Press. And they are going to pay, dearly, for these schemes; in the case of asthma inhalants, about $30.00/prescription (and less medical effectiveness in some cases), and in the case of "cap-and-trade," an up-to-forty percent increase in heat/electricity costs.
In fact, the groups affected by these decisions ARE victims. They will pay more--a LOT more--for health-and-life-sustaining goods and services. That's "victim" in anyone's book, except, perhaps, Shelley's.
What Sykes has accomplished, and what makes Lefties like Shelley hair-on-fire angry, is that he has become a "lobbyist-without-briefcase", simply by using the airwaves. He's doing exactly what the ACLU, Big Green, and the Aggrievement Opportunists have been doing for years (since FDR, anyway): presenting the opposing view.
Lobbyists ensure that their clientele will suffer as little as possible. Sykes does what he can to ensure the same result, but by different means; he merely enables and informs opposition to crushing financial burdens, instead of literally carrying a bag into Madistan or DC offices.
It comes as a shock to Shelley and his cohort that some victims are not what they, (in their cramped and limited worldview), think they are; that some victims are in the upper/middle class; that some victims are religious; that some victims have white-collar jobs; that some victims are apparently comfortable.
In other words, they are victims of Government, not victims of the "white power structure."
Imagine that!
Once you understand the binary theory employed by some Community Activists, Labor Leaders, and Tree-Huggers, you understand Shelley's rant very well. He doesn't like effective counter-lobbying, no matter how it is done--especially on airwaves that he thinks shoud belong to real 'victims,' that is, those approved by Shelley & Co.
Shelley just never thought that there could be victims outside his definition of "victim."
And he's wrong.
Facts (Not MSM Spin) on the Non-Bailout Agreement
Shoebox did the digging. Here's what was agreed to before Ron Gettelfinger screwed up the deal:
--Management would take a hit - dramatically reduced salaries and bonuses, no golden parachutes, no planes. plus they would have to answer to an Auto Czar, ensure they meet CAFE standards and dump money into non fossil fuel vehicles
--Bondholders would take a hit - Bondholders had agreed to take $.30 on the dollar to reduce the debt that is held on the automakers
--Equity holders would take a hit - The government would get warrants for 20% of the equity in the participating company’s thus dilluting equity that is just above penny stock value.
--Even slackers had contributed - the UAW had to agree to do away with payments to workers who were still receiving full compensation for up to four years even after their jobs ended
So far, so good. Then the wheels came off over the wage question. Quoting Kudlow:
During the negotiations Corker tried to be as compromising as possible on the tough question of wages, benefits, and overall compensation. He asked the union to be competitive, but he never specified parity or complete equality with the foreign transplants. And Corker provided that the comp-package would be certified next year by the secretary of Labor — an Obama selection. In addition, the Senate governing the package would be made up of 58 Democrats, rather than today’s 50.
All Corker asked was a 2009 date for union pay restructuring. Sen. Corker never specified his date. He asked the UAW to name its date for a new pay package. But it had to be in 2009. In return, union members would get a lot of stock in this deal — up to $10.5 billion of new equity as GM’s heavy debt burden would be converted into common shares.
Puts things in a different light, eh?
In effect, Gettelfinger told Corker that his membership did NOT want equity (shares) in GM and Chrysler. Hmmmm. Why not, Gettelfinger? Think it's a losing proposition, big guy?
That tells you more than all the rest of the MSM (and left0-wacko) fertilizer combined, no?
--Management would take a hit - dramatically reduced salaries and bonuses, no golden parachutes, no planes. plus they would have to answer to an Auto Czar, ensure they meet CAFE standards and dump money into non fossil fuel vehicles
--Bondholders would take a hit - Bondholders had agreed to take $.30 on the dollar to reduce the debt that is held on the automakers
--Equity holders would take a hit - The government would get warrants for 20% of the equity in the participating company’s thus dilluting equity that is just above penny stock value.
--Even slackers had contributed - the UAW had to agree to do away with payments to workers who were still receiving full compensation for up to four years even after their jobs ended
So far, so good. Then the wheels came off over the wage question. Quoting Kudlow:
During the negotiations Corker tried to be as compromising as possible on the tough question of wages, benefits, and overall compensation. He asked the union to be competitive, but he never specified parity or complete equality with the foreign transplants. And Corker provided that the comp-package would be certified next year by the secretary of Labor — an Obama selection. In addition, the Senate governing the package would be made up of 58 Democrats, rather than today’s 50.
All Corker asked was a 2009 date for union pay restructuring. Sen. Corker never specified his date. He asked the UAW to name its date for a new pay package. But it had to be in 2009. In return, union members would get a lot of stock in this deal — up to $10.5 billion of new equity as GM’s heavy debt burden would be converted into common shares.
Puts things in a different light, eh?
In effect, Gettelfinger told Corker that his membership did NOT want equity (shares) in GM and Chrysler. Hmmmm. Why not, Gettelfinger? Think it's a losing proposition, big guy?
That tells you more than all the rest of the MSM (and left0-wacko) fertilizer combined, no?
The Pack
A "Packers" entry is unusual for this blog, but hey!
I like what Jib has to say, overall--the team has a number of VERY weak spots which are getting weaker. The DL is simply inadequate, and the OL is worse. Injuries play a part, but 'zero depth' is not helpful, either.
If you can't run the friggin' ball, then your QB will get extra loving attention from the defense units of other teams. It's a testament to Rodgers' abilities that he hasn't been sacked more often, or thrown more INT's (unlike a certain former QB...)
But it's deeper than that. The defensive coordinator is on the hot seat for a reason: his stuff doesn't work. And McCarthy's offensive schemes are too complex for many of his players. They don't GET IT, Mike. Back off on the double-dipsy-doodle/left/right/fade/count crap and try stuff that doesn't require Einstein AND Jim Thorpe all wrapped into one critter.
Thompson, so far, is an average GM. How long does it take to figure out that your punter sucks, Ted? TWELVE GAMES? You blew it, and the bozo you had kicking punts cost the team at least 2 "W" entries.
Even average talent can win--Lombardi had only 5 superstars--when the plays are matched to the team's ability and the GM can pick decent, reliable, talent (e.g., Kampman.)
Got it?
Next year, 11+ wins, or you're outta there.
I like what Jib has to say, overall--the team has a number of VERY weak spots which are getting weaker. The DL is simply inadequate, and the OL is worse. Injuries play a part, but 'zero depth' is not helpful, either.
If you can't run the friggin' ball, then your QB will get extra loving attention from the defense units of other teams. It's a testament to Rodgers' abilities that he hasn't been sacked more often, or thrown more INT's (unlike a certain former QB...)
But it's deeper than that. The defensive coordinator is on the hot seat for a reason: his stuff doesn't work. And McCarthy's offensive schemes are too complex for many of his players. They don't GET IT, Mike. Back off on the double-dipsy-doodle/left/right/fade/count crap and try stuff that doesn't require Einstein AND Jim Thorpe all wrapped into one critter.
Thompson, so far, is an average GM. How long does it take to figure out that your punter sucks, Ted? TWELVE GAMES? You blew it, and the bozo you had kicking punts cost the team at least 2 "W" entries.
Even average talent can win--Lombardi had only 5 superstars--when the plays are matched to the team's ability and the GM can pick decent, reliable, talent (e.g., Kampman.)
Got it?
Next year, 11+ wins, or you're outta there.
The Credit Card Vultures
Spotted in the LeftoSphere:
...sweeping reform of the credit card industry that would ban practices such as retroactively increasing interest rates at will and charging late fees when consumers are not given a reasonable amount of time to make payments...
The Feds are cracking down. It's about friggin' time, too! For a long, long, time, the typical pre-tax margins on CC's was 15% (and that includes writeoffs, collection costs, etc.)
FIFTEEN PERCENT PRETAX!!
A close friend has a CC account with a large local retail chain. For several months, the bill arrived and the "due date" was (say) the 21st of the month.
But a couple of months ago, the bill arrived and the "due date" became the (say) 18th of the month.
My friend, now accustomed to the 21st routine, mailed the check on the 21st, and got hit by the assholes.
Now you can say "Too bad! Shoulda read the damn statement!!"--but you and I both know what was going on; the revenues from on-time payments aren't sufficient for some folks, so they jiggered "on-time" a bit, hoping that nobody would notice.
The good news: my friend called the retailer whose name was on the card and made it clear that this was unacceptable. The retailer agreed, and refunded the extra charges.
Still and all, I tell people that having a CC is simply NOT necessary (and is dangerous.)
Nobody listens.
...sweeping reform of the credit card industry that would ban practices such as retroactively increasing interest rates at will and charging late fees when consumers are not given a reasonable amount of time to make payments...
The Feds are cracking down. It's about friggin' time, too! For a long, long, time, the typical pre-tax margins on CC's was 15% (and that includes writeoffs, collection costs, etc.)
FIFTEEN PERCENT PRETAX!!
A close friend has a CC account with a large local retail chain. For several months, the bill arrived and the "due date" was (say) the 21st of the month.
But a couple of months ago, the bill arrived and the "due date" became the (say) 18th of the month.
My friend, now accustomed to the 21st routine, mailed the check on the 21st, and got hit by the assholes.
Now you can say "Too bad! Shoulda read the damn statement!!"--but you and I both know what was going on; the revenues from on-time payments aren't sufficient for some folks, so they jiggered "on-time" a bit, hoping that nobody would notice.
The good news: my friend called the retailer whose name was on the card and made it clear that this was unacceptable. The retailer agreed, and refunded the extra charges.
Still and all, I tell people that having a CC is simply NOT necessary (and is dangerous.)
Nobody listens.
Why and How of Corruption, Chapter One
Cynical, yes.
The warning about Big Gummint, yes.
As economist Thomas Sowell pointed out over the years, "When legislatures control buying and selling, the first thing to be bought and sold are legislators."
Spectacularly demonstrated in Illinois, yes.
Present in a State just north of Illinois, yes.
Elections can't come fast enough, yes.
Sample:
Royko explained that in the late 1940s, when Daley was elected to the Illinois legislature, it was common practice for legislators to introduce what were called "getter" bills that would regulate a particular industry. The legislators introducing these bills didn't really think the regulation was necessary; they would just wait until the industry in question would cough up enough "campaign contributions," and then the author of the bill would arrange for the bill to be killed in committee.
Cited by Clay Cramer, yes.
The warning about Big Gummint, yes.
As economist Thomas Sowell pointed out over the years, "When legislatures control buying and selling, the first thing to be bought and sold are legislators."
Spectacularly demonstrated in Illinois, yes.
Present in a State just north of Illinois, yes.
Elections can't come fast enough, yes.
Sample:
Royko explained that in the late 1940s, when Daley was elected to the Illinois legislature, it was common practice for legislators to introduce what were called "getter" bills that would regulate a particular industry. The legislators introducing these bills didn't really think the regulation was necessary; they would just wait until the industry in question would cough up enough "campaign contributions," and then the author of the bill would arrange for the bill to be killed in committee.
Cited by Clay Cramer, yes.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Another EF (Tridentine) Mass in Milwaukee
We are told that the pastor of Immaculate Conception parish in Bay View, Fr. Ron Kotecki, celebrated an extraordinary form (Tridentine) Mass for the parish's feastday on December 8th.
It was a Low Mass--no singing--
Brick by brick, in the words of Fr. Zuhlsdorf.
It was a Low Mass--no singing--
Brick by brick, in the words of Fr. Zuhlsdorf.
AP Headline Lie
You've all seen the headline:
US Special Forces mistakenly kill 6 Afghan police
OK. Not good. Fog of war, who knows what happened, yada yada...
Turns out that AP knew what happened, but chose not to tell you unless you read THEIR OWN STORY!
U.S. Special Forces killed six Afghan police and wounded 13 early Wednesday in a case of mistaken identity by both sides after the police fired on the Americans during an operation against an insurgent commander, officials said.
A U.S. military statement said police fired on the American forces after the troops battled and killed an armed militant in the city of Qalat, the capital of the southern province of Zabul. The Americans returned fire on the police but only later learned their identities. One Afghan civilian was also killed in the exchange
Uh huh. The wheels are falling off the AP bus.
HT: PowerLine
US Special Forces mistakenly kill 6 Afghan police
OK. Not good. Fog of war, who knows what happened, yada yada...
Turns out that AP knew what happened, but chose not to tell you unless you read THEIR OWN STORY!
U.S. Special Forces killed six Afghan police and wounded 13 early Wednesday in a case of mistaken identity by both sides after the police fired on the Americans during an operation against an insurgent commander, officials said.
A U.S. military statement said police fired on the American forces after the troops battled and killed an armed militant in the city of Qalat, the capital of the southern province of Zabul. The Americans returned fire on the police but only later learned their identities. One Afghan civilian was also killed in the exchange
Uh huh. The wheels are falling off the AP bus.
HT: PowerLine
Wagoner: Smart or Dumb, Dumb, Dumb??
GM's chairman dropped the nuclear bomb--but did the fallout blow back on GM?
...For the last couple of months he has been going around telling the American public that if GM went into bankruptcy, no one would buy its cars. That's tantamount to telling the public "If GM goes into bankruptcy, you shouldn't buy our cars."
One of the key roles of any CEO is chief sales officer. The CEO is supposed to believe in his company's products 100 percent...
So why has Wagoner gone around telling customers that if GM went into bankruptcy, they might as well buy a Toyota? Because that was his brinkmanship strategy to shake taxpayer dollars out of Congress. He was trying to scare them with an apocalyptic story that went, "if we go bankrupt, no one will buy our cars, which will lead to...economic depression!" What's bad for GM is bad for America
Certainly worked on GWBush, who is more concerned about his image than the country.
...For the last couple of months he has been going around telling the American public that if GM went into bankruptcy, no one would buy its cars. That's tantamount to telling the public "If GM goes into bankruptcy, you shouldn't buy our cars."
One of the key roles of any CEO is chief sales officer. The CEO is supposed to believe in his company's products 100 percent...
So why has Wagoner gone around telling customers that if GM went into bankruptcy, they might as well buy a Toyota? Because that was his brinkmanship strategy to shake taxpayer dollars out of Congress. He was trying to scare them with an apocalyptic story that went, "if we go bankrupt, no one will buy our cars, which will lead to...economic depression!" What's bad for GM is bad for America
Certainly worked on GWBush, who is more concerned about his image than the country.
Rahm-Beau, (Not -'Bo')
The nominee Chief of Staff to Obama talks tough, promising severe retribution to political enemies and waving his Israeli military service around as though he were some sort of SOCOM superhero.
It turns out that he's really just a Sensitive Metrosexual Sort...
The president-elect’s chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, said today he won’t go to the Chicago presidential transition offices in order to avoid reporters trying to ask him whether he had contact with Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich about the Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama’s election.
Emanuel appeared “beet-red,” according to an ABC News cameraman who was invited inside by Emanuel to use his bathroom this morning.
“I’m getting regular death threats. You’ve put my home address on national television. I’m pissed at the networks. You’ve intruded too much, ” Emanuel said, according to the cameraman.
Gee. That's too bad.
It turns out that he's really just a Sensitive Metrosexual Sort...
The president-elect’s chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, said today he won’t go to the Chicago presidential transition offices in order to avoid reporters trying to ask him whether he had contact with Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich about the Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama’s election.
Emanuel appeared “beet-red,” according to an ABC News cameraman who was invited inside by Emanuel to use his bathroom this morning.
“I’m getting regular death threats. You’ve put my home address on national television. I’m pissed at the networks. You’ve intruded too much, ” Emanuel said, according to the cameraman.
Gee. That's too bad.
Super-Yield Bonds
GM bonds are paying 55.6%; FoMoCo is at 17%; FoMoCo Credit at 59.5%; AIG's Int'l Lease Finance is at 62.24%...
No wonder only GWBush and Congress are interested...
HT: Lott
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Minister-ettes
They are afflicting jolly olde England, too--and Damian Thompson reprints the promise they intend to keep, come Hell or high-water:
"I, Lavinia [or Lala or Elena], do solemnly promise to 'be Church' by ordering the parish council to attend personal development workshops run by my husband at diocesan headquarters; by ticking off any visiting presbyter who does not offer Communion under both kinds; by making sure that all worship in the parish uses copyrighted 'resources' produced by the private company run by the diocesan director of liturgy; by ensuring that the number of 'eucharistic ministers' at Mass never falls below a third of the congregation; by sprinkling my conversation with Greek (but not Latin) words such as ήρυγμα and αγάπη; by upholding the rights of minorities; and by throwing a blue fit if the presbyter suggests turning back the clock by saying Mass for those dreadful little people still attached to the Tridentine Rite."
I do believe that Damian missed the 'kappa' before the first Greek word he printed. My, my...
"I, Lavinia [or Lala or Elena], do solemnly promise to 'be Church' by ordering the parish council to attend personal development workshops run by my husband at diocesan headquarters; by ticking off any visiting presbyter who does not offer Communion under both kinds; by making sure that all worship in the parish uses copyrighted 'resources' produced by the private company run by the diocesan director of liturgy; by ensuring that the number of 'eucharistic ministers' at Mass never falls below a third of the congregation; by sprinkling my conversation with Greek (but not Latin) words such as ήρυγμα and αγάπη; by upholding the rights of minorities; and by throwing a blue fit if the presbyter suggests turning back the clock by saying Mass for those dreadful little people still attached to the Tridentine Rite."
I do believe that Damian missed the 'kappa' before the first Greek word he printed. My, my...
Bluemound: Frankie the Fixer's Safety Improvments
Back a while ago, Frankie "the Fixer" Busalacchi, (noted traffic engineer) sent a bunch of his boyzzzz out to "fix" Bluemound Road west of Moorland.
It wasn't safe, you know, with all those crossovers.
So...............
Hundreds of motorists now make U-turns at stop-lit intersections because Frankie "The Fixer"'s boyzzzz eliminated crossovers, and the only (semi-) legal alternative is to drive miles in one direction, then make a mad dash off Bluemound, through a parking lot, and back onto Bluemound at a cross-street.
And...........
In the last 2 days, there have been six (SIX!!!) accidents in the two-block stretch between Menard's and Janacek Road.
Great work, Frankie!! I'm sure you'll spend the Bailout Money very well!!
It wasn't safe, you know, with all those crossovers.
So...............
Hundreds of motorists now make U-turns at stop-lit intersections because Frankie "The Fixer"'s boyzzzz eliminated crossovers, and the only (semi-) legal alternative is to drive miles in one direction, then make a mad dash off Bluemound, through a parking lot, and back onto Bluemound at a cross-street.
And...........
In the last 2 days, there have been six (SIX!!!) accidents in the two-block stretch between Menard's and Janacek Road.
Great work, Frankie!! I'm sure you'll spend the Bailout Money very well!!
Jay Weber Is UAW's Gettelfinger
On Friday morning, Jay Weber became Ron Gettelfinger. You didn't notice?
Weber posed the question "Would you take a 5% pay cut to preserve the jobs of other workers?" and answered in the negative.
He explained that he 'had worked hard, on small wages' to 'get to the income he had,' and was not about to cut that income for the sake of 'a bunch of people he did not know.'
On Friday night, it became clear that the UAW's Gettelfinger was not going to allow 'a wage cut' to 'preserve the jobs' of the UAW workers in the Big3.
Both are foolish (and we add, selfish.) If 5% is all it takes to preserve the 200 jobs (??) at ClearChannel/Milwaukee's operation, thus feeding, housing, and transporting 199 others and their children, what else can you say about Weber other than that he is remarkably selfish?
And what of Gettelfinger? Reportedly, 1 million jobs are at stake. Gettelfinger willingly deprives 1 million people of sustenance for ...what?....a pittance in wages?
Funny. They don't look much alike, Jay and Ron.
Maybe they should jointly host a radio show. What would it be called?
"Two Pigs in a Poke"?
"We Got Ours"?
"YOU Can Eat Cake"?
This post results from reading this essay in First Things; the pertinent excerpt:
Many Christians, possibly most Christians, have uncritically accepted the dichotomy between public and private, between fact and value, between knowledge and meaning. These dichotomies are deeply entrenched in American religion and culture and are closely associated with what is often described, and frequently decried, as American individualism.
In what is called our high culture, this understanding of religion as private and intensely subjective was influentially depicted a hundred years ago in William James’ classic work, The Varieties of Religious Experience. Early on in that work, James defines religion as “the feelings, acts, and experiences of individual men in their solitude, so far as they apprehend themselves to stand in relation to whatever they may consider the divine.” In this understanding, church, community, doctrine, tradition, morality—all of these are secondary and, as often as not, hindrances to genuine religion. Genuine religion is subjective experience, and subjective experience in solitude.
Weber talks about his Catholicism--which is the primal Christianity--and I'll assume that Gettelfinger and most of his UAW membership are also Christian.
Gettelfinger & Co. have strayed quite a distance from the real meaning of "Solidarity," if they think that said 'solidarity' pertains only to the UAW club.
I cannot begin to venture what motivated Weber. If it was 'ratings,' good luck with that, Jay.
Weber posed the question "Would you take a 5% pay cut to preserve the jobs of other workers?" and answered in the negative.
He explained that he 'had worked hard, on small wages' to 'get to the income he had,' and was not about to cut that income for the sake of 'a bunch of people he did not know.'
On Friday night, it became clear that the UAW's Gettelfinger was not going to allow 'a wage cut' to 'preserve the jobs' of the UAW workers in the Big3.
Both are foolish (and we add, selfish.) If 5% is all it takes to preserve the 200 jobs (??) at ClearChannel/Milwaukee's operation, thus feeding, housing, and transporting 199 others and their children, what else can you say about Weber other than that he is remarkably selfish?
And what of Gettelfinger? Reportedly, 1 million jobs are at stake. Gettelfinger willingly deprives 1 million people of sustenance for ...what?....a pittance in wages?
Funny. They don't look much alike, Jay and Ron.
Maybe they should jointly host a radio show. What would it be called?
"Two Pigs in a Poke"?
"We Got Ours"?
"YOU Can Eat Cake"?
This post results from reading this essay in First Things; the pertinent excerpt:
Many Christians, possibly most Christians, have uncritically accepted the dichotomy between public and private, between fact and value, between knowledge and meaning. These dichotomies are deeply entrenched in American religion and culture and are closely associated with what is often described, and frequently decried, as American individualism.
In what is called our high culture, this understanding of religion as private and intensely subjective was influentially depicted a hundred years ago in William James’ classic work, The Varieties of Religious Experience. Early on in that work, James defines religion as “the feelings, acts, and experiences of individual men in their solitude, so far as they apprehend themselves to stand in relation to whatever they may consider the divine.” In this understanding, church, community, doctrine, tradition, morality—all of these are secondary and, as often as not, hindrances to genuine religion. Genuine religion is subjective experience, and subjective experience in solitude.
Weber talks about his Catholicism--which is the primal Christianity--and I'll assume that Gettelfinger and most of his UAW membership are also Christian.
Gettelfinger & Co. have strayed quite a distance from the real meaning of "Solidarity," if they think that said 'solidarity' pertains only to the UAW club.
I cannot begin to venture what motivated Weber. If it was 'ratings,' good luck with that, Jay.
Detroit's 'Rules' Problem
Kaus has a very brief essay on another Detroit problem.
There are some obvious culprits: shortsighted American managers, schlocky designers, an insular corporate culture. Here's another: the very structure of Wagner Act unionism. The problem isn't so much wages as work rules--internal strictures that make it hard for unionized competitors to constantly adapt and change production processes the way the Japanese do.
We had mentioned 'work rules' a while back, for a reason. They cause massive inefficiency.
Kaus also gives a sample of the complexity of the problem.
Under the Wagner Act, management manages. What the union does is complain, and negotiate for a rule limiting management's right to do what the union doesn't like. A worker protests that his job should be classified as "drilling special and heavy" instead of "drilling general." The parties butt heads, a decision is reached, and a new rule is deposited like another layer of sediment. At some GM plants, distinct job categories evolved for each spot on the assembly line (e.g., "headlining installer"). In Japanese auto plants, where they spend their time building cars instead of creating job categories, there is only one nonsupervisory job classification: "production."
That's not the worst part; once any of 'the rules' are negotiated in ANY plant, they tend to become national; that is, used at ALL plants of a given manufacturer.
Ford Motor was smart enough to use that 'local' provision to gain a few points in efficiency.
"Ford led the way years ago by reaching site-specific "competitive operating agreements" with locals at different plants, rather than sticking to one national agreement."
That happens to be a recognition of the 'law of subsidiarity,' which postulates that problems should be resolved at the lowest-possible level.
And it may (partially) explain why FoMoCo can take a pass on the "bailout."
There are some obvious culprits: shortsighted American managers, schlocky designers, an insular corporate culture. Here's another: the very structure of Wagner Act unionism. The problem isn't so much wages as work rules--internal strictures that make it hard for unionized competitors to constantly adapt and change production processes the way the Japanese do.
We had mentioned 'work rules' a while back, for a reason. They cause massive inefficiency.
Kaus also gives a sample of the complexity of the problem.
Under the Wagner Act, management manages. What the union does is complain, and negotiate for a rule limiting management's right to do what the union doesn't like. A worker protests that his job should be classified as "drilling special and heavy" instead of "drilling general." The parties butt heads, a decision is reached, and a new rule is deposited like another layer of sediment. At some GM plants, distinct job categories evolved for each spot on the assembly line (e.g., "headlining installer"). In Japanese auto plants, where they spend their time building cars instead of creating job categories, there is only one nonsupervisory job classification: "production."
That's not the worst part; once any of 'the rules' are negotiated in ANY plant, they tend to become national; that is, used at ALL plants of a given manufacturer.
Ford Motor was smart enough to use that 'local' provision to gain a few points in efficiency.
"Ford led the way years ago by reaching site-specific "competitive operating agreements" with locals at different plants, rather than sticking to one national agreement."
That happens to be a recognition of the 'law of subsidiarity,' which postulates that problems should be resolved at the lowest-possible level.
And it may (partially) explain why FoMoCo can take a pass on the "bailout."
DON'T DO IT, Mr PRESIDENT!
GWBush now wants to use TARP funds to bail out the UAW and its co-conspirators, GM and Chrysler management.
Illegal? Yes.
And a wanton and flagrant disregard for the will of the people of the USA, 60%+ of which are opposed to a bailout.
Illegal? Yes.
And a wanton and flagrant disregard for the will of the people of the USA, 60%+ of which are opposed to a bailout.
Friday, December 12, 2008
Good Stuff on Sunday Night 12/14
We'll take a break from the regular ranting...
I had the chance to watch a dress rehearsal for a high-school choir and orchestra Christmas concert, and it was impressive. These kids are very good at what they do.
So you're in on the secret. Their concert will be held on Sunday night, (12/14), at St. Mary's church in Elm Grove (NW corner Watertown Plank at Juneau). It starts at 7:00 PM, but you're well-advised to get there early--there'll be lotsa moms and dads in attendance.
The admission price is exactly correct for the season: bring a couple of non-perishable food items, which will be distributed to local food banks.
Then you can enjoy Christmas stuff from Holst, Handel, Britten, and some not-so-well-known Christmas offerings, too.
It will certainly be worth the price of admission.
I had the chance to watch a dress rehearsal for a high-school choir and orchestra Christmas concert, and it was impressive. These kids are very good at what they do.
So you're in on the secret. Their concert will be held on Sunday night, (12/14), at St. Mary's church in Elm Grove (NW corner Watertown Plank at Juneau). It starts at 7:00 PM, but you're well-advised to get there early--there'll be lotsa moms and dads in attendance.
The admission price is exactly correct for the season: bring a couple of non-perishable food items, which will be distributed to local food banks.
Then you can enjoy Christmas stuff from Holst, Handel, Britten, and some not-so-well-known Christmas offerings, too.
It will certainly be worth the price of admission.
Fed Lent $2 Trillion+. To WHOM?
Bloomberg intends to find out.
The Federal Reserve refused a request by Bloomberg News to disclose the recipients of more than $2 trillion of emergency loans from U.S. taxpayers and the assets the central bank is accepting as collateral.
Bloomberg filed suit Nov. 7 under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act requesting details about the terms of 11 Fed lending programs, most created during the deepest financial crisis since the Great Depression.
You might be surprised to learn that the Fed told Bloomberg to put it where the sun doesn't shine...
The Fed responded Dec. 8, saying it’s allowed to withhold internal memos as well as information about trade secrets and commercial information. The institution confirmed that a records search found 231 pages of documents pertaining to some of the requests
'Trade secrets', my ass. What the Fed doesn't want to tell you is what Jim Rodgers opined yesterday: the Banks are walking bankrupts--just like GM and Chrysler.
"Governments are making mistakes. They’re saying to all the banks, you don’t have to tell us your situation. You can continue to use your balance sheet that is phony…. All these guys are bankrupt, they’re still worrying about their bonuses, they’re still trying to pay their dividends, and the whole system is weakened.”
And the Fed doesn't want another short-selling frenzy...
HT: Breitbart, The Big Picture
The Federal Reserve refused a request by Bloomberg News to disclose the recipients of more than $2 trillion of emergency loans from U.S. taxpayers and the assets the central bank is accepting as collateral.
Bloomberg filed suit Nov. 7 under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act requesting details about the terms of 11 Fed lending programs, most created during the deepest financial crisis since the Great Depression.
You might be surprised to learn that the Fed told Bloomberg to put it where the sun doesn't shine...
The Fed responded Dec. 8, saying it’s allowed to withhold internal memos as well as information about trade secrets and commercial information. The institution confirmed that a records search found 231 pages of documents pertaining to some of the requests
'Trade secrets', my ass. What the Fed doesn't want to tell you is what Jim Rodgers opined yesterday: the Banks are walking bankrupts--just like GM and Chrysler.
"Governments are making mistakes. They’re saying to all the banks, you don’t have to tell us your situation. You can continue to use your balance sheet that is phony…. All these guys are bankrupt, they’re still worrying about their bonuses, they’re still trying to pay their dividends, and the whole system is weakened.”
And the Fed doesn't want another short-selling frenzy...
HT: Breitbart, The Big Picture
Who Is La Causa?
Today's JSOnline identifies the agency/contractor involved with the Christopher Thomas death as "La Causa"--and this is the homepage of that organization.
Earlier, based on Capper's blogpost, we suggested that the agency was related to Children's Hospital.
Maybe, maybe not. We've asked.
Earlier, based on Capper's blogpost, we suggested that the agency was related to Children's Hospital.
Maybe, maybe not. We've asked.
Bush Screws Taxpayers One More Time?
Frankly, if George W Bush pushes TARP funds into GM and Chrysler's rotting hulks, it should be the end of Jeb Bush's aspirations for any office beyond dogcatcher.
It should also be the trigger for removing GWB's pension.
And it should be a signal that Paulson, Bush's designated dumbass, needs lynching.
Legal? Nope. Moral? Nope. Helpful? Nope.
Just typical Bush Family.
"Read my lips: YOU'RE SCREWED!!"
It should also be the trigger for removing GWB's pension.
And it should be a signal that Paulson, Bush's designated dumbass, needs lynching.
Legal? Nope. Moral? Nope. Helpful? Nope.
Just typical Bush Family.
"Read my lips: YOU'RE SCREWED!!"
Asthmatic? Use Albuterol? Too Bad. You Can Die...
The FDA, obeying some AlGore Treaty, has banned the remarkably successful CFC-powered Albuterol inhaler effective 1/1/09.
If you were using it to keep breathing, well, tough. Die.
The U.S. Food & Drug Administration in April 2005 mandated that all (including albuterol) inhalers containing chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) will be prohibited in the United States as of 12/31/2008. CFC inhalers had previously been given "essential use" status, exempting it from a CFC-production ban, however in accordance with the Montreal Protocol they will be phased out...
Even if the new model actually works for you (more on that later), the "cost of healthcare" will rise due to this Gummint order:
One drawback of this transition to HFA inhalers is that due to patent restrictions all of the HFA albuterol inhalers are "brand-name" (ProAir, Proventil, and Ventolin). They cost approximately $20 more per inhaler than existing generic CFC albuterol inhalers
Another drawback that is coming to light now as the use of HFA/HFA+ethanol inhalers is expanding seems to be a far higher intolerance of the new inhalers compared to CFC propellant in patients. Registered complaints run the gamut from "doesn't seem to work as well" all the way to serious anaphylaxis in response to using an HFA or HFA+ethanol inhaler.[2]
Albuterol is widely used, and accounts for anywhere from 78% of all bronchodilator prescriptions in 2005 to 85% in 2008. [3] However, patients in the United States who cannot tolerate the HFA albuterol inhalers will not have a single albuterol alternative available to them domestically after December 31, 2008.[4] The FDA did not approve any alternatives to HFA and there are few standard inhaled lung medications in the United States that come in Dry Powder Inhaler (DPI) versions. Noticeably missing is albuterol in DPI form in the United States, although it is available in most of the rest of the world in salbutamol DPIs.
If you thought Big Brother cared about you, you were wrong, sucka. Now shut up and just die, will ya?
HT: Sykes
If you were using it to keep breathing, well, tough. Die.
The U.S. Food & Drug Administration in April 2005 mandated that all (including albuterol) inhalers containing chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) will be prohibited in the United States as of 12/31/2008. CFC inhalers had previously been given "essential use" status, exempting it from a CFC-production ban, however in accordance with the Montreal Protocol they will be phased out...
Even if the new model actually works for you (more on that later), the "cost of healthcare" will rise due to this Gummint order:
One drawback of this transition to HFA inhalers is that due to patent restrictions all of the HFA albuterol inhalers are "brand-name" (ProAir, Proventil, and Ventolin). They cost approximately $20 more per inhaler than existing generic CFC albuterol inhalers
Another drawback that is coming to light now as the use of HFA/HFA+ethanol inhalers is expanding seems to be a far higher intolerance of the new inhalers compared to CFC propellant in patients. Registered complaints run the gamut from "doesn't seem to work as well" all the way to serious anaphylaxis in response to using an HFA or HFA+ethanol inhaler.[2]
Albuterol is widely used, and accounts for anywhere from 78% of all bronchodilator prescriptions in 2005 to 85% in 2008. [3] However, patients in the United States who cannot tolerate the HFA albuterol inhalers will not have a single albuterol alternative available to them domestically after December 31, 2008.[4] The FDA did not approve any alternatives to HFA and there are few standard inhaled lung medications in the United States that come in Dry Powder Inhaler (DPI) versions. Noticeably missing is albuterol in DPI form in the United States, although it is available in most of the rest of the world in salbutamol DPIs.
If you thought Big Brother cared about you, you were wrong, sucka. Now shut up and just die, will ya?
HT: Sykes
Doyle: That's What YOU Promised!!
Jimbo Doylie, who's preaching to the Congressional Choir, uses the scare-language most effective in Washington, DC: that Gummint employees might be fired!! FIRED!!! I say, unless the taxpayers ship mega-bucks to Wisconsin.
One in five state government jobs could go unfilled to help fix a two-year budget deficit of about $5.4 billion, if federal stimulus funds aren't forthcoming, Gov. Jim Doyle told a congressional panel in Washington, D.C., on Thursday.
As is, the state will have shed about 3,500 jobs by June 30, or one of every 10 state workers since Doyle first took office in 2002, he told the U.S. House Appropriations Committee
Doylie told us that he was going to reduce the State payroll, remember? He blamed Tommy Thompson for the 50% increase in State employees during Thompson's benevolent despot reign; and Doylie was right.
Now he gets to do what he said, kinda, sorta, maybe.
In DC, of course, dumping Gummint employees is the most horrible of all crimes against theLeviathan State, so not to worry, the Ponzi Scheme of Gummint will continue apace.
Until the US goes banko, like Wisconsin and Californicate.
One in five state government jobs could go unfilled to help fix a two-year budget deficit of about $5.4 billion, if federal stimulus funds aren't forthcoming, Gov. Jim Doyle told a congressional panel in Washington, D.C., on Thursday.
As is, the state will have shed about 3,500 jobs by June 30, or one of every 10 state workers since Doyle first took office in 2002, he told the U.S. House Appropriations Committee
Doylie told us that he was going to reduce the State payroll, remember? He blamed Tommy Thompson for the 50% increase in State employees during Thompson's benevolent despot reign; and Doylie was right.
Now he gets to do what he said, kinda, sorta, maybe.
In DC, of course, dumping Gummint employees is the most horrible of all crimes against the
Until the US goes banko, like Wisconsin and Californicate.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
GM Prepping for BK Declaration
Tomorrow's news:
Underscoring the industry's plight, GM's management recently tapped bankruptcy veteran Harvey Miller of the New York law firm Weil Gotshal & Manges LP to handle what would be one of the largest and most controversial filings in U.S. history. Mr. Miller worked on the bankruptcies of Lehman Brothers, Bethlehem Steel Corp. and Marvel Entertainment Group.
Others involved in the matter include restructuring veterans Jay Alix, Evercore Partners' William Repko, Blackstone Group's Arthur Newman and Martin Bienenstock at the law firm of Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP who worked on the Enron bankruptcy.
(WSJ via The Non-Loser McCain)
Underscoring the industry's plight, GM's management recently tapped bankruptcy veteran Harvey Miller of the New York law firm Weil Gotshal & Manges LP to handle what would be one of the largest and most controversial filings in U.S. history. Mr. Miller worked on the bankruptcies of Lehman Brothers, Bethlehem Steel Corp. and Marvel Entertainment Group.
Others involved in the matter include restructuring veterans Jay Alix, Evercore Partners' William Repko, Blackstone Group's Arthur Newman and Martin Bienenstock at the law firm of Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP who worked on the Enron bankruptcy.
(WSJ via The Non-Loser McCain)
Blago's Predecessor
Roeser enlightens on Illinois Gubernatorial politics.
I take second to no one in condemning Blago but I must say I was rather troubled when Patrick Fitzgerald said that Lincoln must be turning over in his grave. Undeniably, Lincoln was the second greatest president…and more than that-a genius-which the first greatest, Washington surely wasn’t, But turning over in his grave?
Are we talking about the same Lincoln, the railroad lobbyist, who as state rep led his Whig party to appropriate $12 million…then a huge sum…for subsidies for railroad building and where, in the old capitol, he drew a map for a railroad from Galena in the extreme northwestern part of the state and a road to run north of St. Louis, three roads to radiate and then a road to run from Quincy through Springfield and another from Warsaw to Peoria…another from Pekin to Bloomington? I think we are. It led to a huge financial debacle with no projects being completed and all of the money either wasted or stolen…or paid to railroad lawyers of which Lincoln was the prime example.
Yes we are, that same Lincoln who became the nation’s premier railroad lawyer (read: “Lincoln and the Railroads” by John W. Starr)…the same Lincoln who was continuously one of the crack attorneys for the Illinois Central from its organization in 1849 until he became president…who was such a corporate insider that he traveled the Midwest in a private rail car with a free pass…who successfully defended the road against McLean county which wanted to tax the road’s property.
He won and sent the railroad a bill for $5,000. That sum is roughly equal to more than $200,000 today, the largest sum ever paid at that time to any Midwest lawyer for a single case in the 1850s. Lincoln presented his staggering bill to the president of the road, George B. McClellan by name, the vice president of Illinois Central-yes the same McClellan who would work for Lincoln as the Union’s top general of the Grand Army of the Potomac, whom Lincoln replaced twice and who ran against Lincoln as a Democrat in 1864. The IC board didn’t want to pay it so Lincoln and McClellan hatched a plan to get him the fee. Lincoln then sued IC for the money but meanwhile McClellan worked inside the company to get them to lay down for it so when Lincoln showed up in court, no lawyers from IC were there, so he got paid by default.
Lincoln became the most successful railroad lawyer of his time…representing not just the IC but the Chicago & Alton, the Ohio & Mississippi and the Chicago & Rock Island. Nothing wrong with that nor with the fact that the New York Central offered him its general counsel’s job at a stratospheric salary…$10,000 per annum…then approaching a million a year-which he turned down because he would have to move to New York and he had political plans here.
Well, ya know, he freed the slaves...
Nor by the standards of the time with the trip he took free on the railroad to Council Bluffs, Iowa where he purchased some property from his fellow railroad attorney Norm Judd who had acquired the tracts from the Chicago & Rock Island.
Why did he do so when Council Bluffs was a town of 1,500 with little future? Because Lincoln knew there would be a transcontinental railroad sometime and that Council Bluffs would figure in the future as being a good starting point for the railroad.
How did he know that coming from Springfield? Because the renowned railroad engineer (one who designed routes), Grenville Dodge, told him so.
And thus it came to pass that when he became president he proposed emergency legislation to create just that self-same transcontinental railroad and that he personally picked Council Bluffs, Iowa as the eastern terminus. And he named Dodge as chief engineer for the UP.
Well, ya know, he freed the slaves...
I take second to no one in condemning Blago but I must say I was rather troubled when Patrick Fitzgerald said that Lincoln must be turning over in his grave. Undeniably, Lincoln was the second greatest president…and more than that-a genius-which the first greatest, Washington surely wasn’t, But turning over in his grave?
Are we talking about the same Lincoln, the railroad lobbyist, who as state rep led his Whig party to appropriate $12 million…then a huge sum…for subsidies for railroad building and where, in the old capitol, he drew a map for a railroad from Galena in the extreme northwestern part of the state and a road to run north of St. Louis, three roads to radiate and then a road to run from Quincy through Springfield and another from Warsaw to Peoria…another from Pekin to Bloomington? I think we are. It led to a huge financial debacle with no projects being completed and all of the money either wasted or stolen…or paid to railroad lawyers of which Lincoln was the prime example.
Yes we are, that same Lincoln who became the nation’s premier railroad lawyer (read: “Lincoln and the Railroads” by John W. Starr)…the same Lincoln who was continuously one of the crack attorneys for the Illinois Central from its organization in 1849 until he became president…who was such a corporate insider that he traveled the Midwest in a private rail car with a free pass…who successfully defended the road against McLean county which wanted to tax the road’s property.
He won and sent the railroad a bill for $5,000. That sum is roughly equal to more than $200,000 today, the largest sum ever paid at that time to any Midwest lawyer for a single case in the 1850s. Lincoln presented his staggering bill to the president of the road, George B. McClellan by name, the vice president of Illinois Central-yes the same McClellan who would work for Lincoln as the Union’s top general of the Grand Army of the Potomac, whom Lincoln replaced twice and who ran against Lincoln as a Democrat in 1864. The IC board didn’t want to pay it so Lincoln and McClellan hatched a plan to get him the fee. Lincoln then sued IC for the money but meanwhile McClellan worked inside the company to get them to lay down for it so when Lincoln showed up in court, no lawyers from IC were there, so he got paid by default.
Lincoln became the most successful railroad lawyer of his time…representing not just the IC but the Chicago & Alton, the Ohio & Mississippi and the Chicago & Rock Island. Nothing wrong with that nor with the fact that the New York Central offered him its general counsel’s job at a stratospheric salary…$10,000 per annum…then approaching a million a year-which he turned down because he would have to move to New York and he had political plans here.
Well, ya know, he freed the slaves...
Nor by the standards of the time with the trip he took free on the railroad to Council Bluffs, Iowa where he purchased some property from his fellow railroad attorney Norm Judd who had acquired the tracts from the Chicago & Rock Island.
Why did he do so when Council Bluffs was a town of 1,500 with little future? Because Lincoln knew there would be a transcontinental railroad sometime and that Council Bluffs would figure in the future as being a good starting point for the railroad.
How did he know that coming from Springfield? Because the renowned railroad engineer (one who designed routes), Grenville Dodge, told him so.
And thus it came to pass that when he became president he proposed emergency legislation to create just that self-same transcontinental railroad and that he personally picked Council Bluffs, Iowa as the eastern terminus. And he named Dodge as chief engineer for the UP.
Well, ya know, he freed the slaves...
Edmund Burke on The Revolutionaries
Burke was a thinker; Reno conveys some of his thoughts and adds a few of his own.
In his Reflections on the Revolution in France, Burke helps us see beyond our usual moral sentimentalism. He recognized the way in which abstract principles can become objects of devotion. The great patrons of liberty and equality in revolutionary France loved their ideas of justice, so much so that they would willingly destroy the actual goods of their imperfect society in order to implement an imagined state of perfection. Nothing is so selfish as to attack reality—and to do so on the basis of one’s own ideals.
Burke had an epithet for these selfish idealists. They were “men of theory,” and they so often seem to have the rhetorical advantage. The imagined world is shiny and spotless, unlike the real world and its hopelessly compromised institutions. It’s easy to compliment your moral insights when you juxtapose the ideal with the real.
Think for a moment of "pollution," the most significant assault on the West, now modified to include "climate change." Or think of the 'shiny, spotless' imaginary world without "burdensome" children, or elderly...
“The pretended rights of these theorists are all extreme,” he wrote, “and in proportion as they are metaphysically true, they are morally and politically false.”
...The wickedness comes from a crucial fact about progressive politics: Our social world needs to be destroyed in order for moral and political ideals to be realized, unsullied by the past...We can ascribe specific rights equally. We can say that every adult has a right to vote, or that every citizen has a right to trial by jury. But we can’t say that everyone has a right to be equal—unless we’re prepared to destroy the cultural forms that give people their diverse roles and identities
Gay "marriage," anyone?
“All the pleasing illusions,” Burke wrote, “which made power gentle and obedience liberal, which harmonized the different shades of life, and which, by a bland assimilation, incorporated into politics the sentiments that beautify and soften private society, are to be dissolved by this new conquering empire of light and reason.” Thus the pattern was set: For every progressive political agenda, a culture of critique must replace a culture of loyalty.
Unmask, disenchant, critique—these are important, foundational political acts, as our university professors now openly champion. They undermine the sentiments and convictions that make men feel old moral sentiments, even after the old system is swept away...
Some things are familiar to occupants of the blogosphere:
...establishing an empire of desire requires more than political triumph, more than legal protection. Like all progressive ideals, it requires the destruction of the sentiments and pieties that lead people to think otherwise. This ideological project takes on the familiar distortions of all modern propaganda. “Words take on new meanings,” James Kalb writes in The Tyranny of Liberalism, “hatred comes to include opposition to liberal initiatives, while inclusiveness requires non-liberals to abandon their principles and even their identity. Tolerance treats objections to liberalism as attacks on neutrality that are oppressive simply by being made.”
Summarily,
Conservatism wants to protect, nurture, and perfect aspects of the social norms we already have. Drawing its strength from what exists, it has room for dissent. Progressivism pours Agent Orange on the cultural landscape to make space for something new, something it imagines to be better. Seeking what is ideal, it often excludes dissent as a matter of moral principle
Let's see how the Obamatrons navigate the next few years...
In his Reflections on the Revolution in France, Burke helps us see beyond our usual moral sentimentalism. He recognized the way in which abstract principles can become objects of devotion. The great patrons of liberty and equality in revolutionary France loved their ideas of justice, so much so that they would willingly destroy the actual goods of their imperfect society in order to implement an imagined state of perfection. Nothing is so selfish as to attack reality—and to do so on the basis of one’s own ideals.
Burke had an epithet for these selfish idealists. They were “men of theory,” and they so often seem to have the rhetorical advantage. The imagined world is shiny and spotless, unlike the real world and its hopelessly compromised institutions. It’s easy to compliment your moral insights when you juxtapose the ideal with the real.
Think for a moment of "pollution," the most significant assault on the West, now modified to include "climate change." Or think of the 'shiny, spotless' imaginary world without "burdensome" children, or elderly...
“The pretended rights of these theorists are all extreme,” he wrote, “and in proportion as they are metaphysically true, they are morally and politically false.”
...The wickedness comes from a crucial fact about progressive politics: Our social world needs to be destroyed in order for moral and political ideals to be realized, unsullied by the past...We can ascribe specific rights equally. We can say that every adult has a right to vote, or that every citizen has a right to trial by jury. But we can’t say that everyone has a right to be equal—unless we’re prepared to destroy the cultural forms that give people their diverse roles and identities
Gay "marriage," anyone?
“All the pleasing illusions,” Burke wrote, “which made power gentle and obedience liberal, which harmonized the different shades of life, and which, by a bland assimilation, incorporated into politics the sentiments that beautify and soften private society, are to be dissolved by this new conquering empire of light and reason.” Thus the pattern was set: For every progressive political agenda, a culture of critique must replace a culture of loyalty.
Unmask, disenchant, critique—these are important, foundational political acts, as our university professors now openly champion. They undermine the sentiments and convictions that make men feel old moral sentiments, even after the old system is swept away...
Some things are familiar to occupants of the blogosphere:
...establishing an empire of desire requires more than political triumph, more than legal protection. Like all progressive ideals, it requires the destruction of the sentiments and pieties that lead people to think otherwise. This ideological project takes on the familiar distortions of all modern propaganda. “Words take on new meanings,” James Kalb writes in The Tyranny of Liberalism, “hatred comes to include opposition to liberal initiatives, while inclusiveness requires non-liberals to abandon their principles and even their identity. Tolerance treats objections to liberalism as attacks on neutrality that are oppressive simply by being made.”
Summarily,
Conservatism wants to protect, nurture, and perfect aspects of the social norms we already have. Drawing its strength from what exists, it has room for dissent. Progressivism pours Agent Orange on the cultural landscape to make space for something new, something it imagines to be better. Seeking what is ideal, it often excludes dissent as a matter of moral principle
Let's see how the Obamatrons navigate the next few years...
Capper Comments on "The System" of Child Protection
Capper and I disagree over almost every issue. But this post is well-worth the reading.
In industry, it is a given that when you want to know what a job entails, you ask the person who is doing the job. It's also a given that if you want to improve a given operation, you ask the person who does it how THEY would improve the job.
With that in mind, read the post. I'll give you a flavor in advance:
To make things even worse, all of these reports had to be completed via a special state computer program invented by the state and only with that program. The problem was the computer program didn't work very well, and saved information would often be lost, required the worker to start all over again.
He describes a system which has every single earmark of bureaucratic territorialism and inanity. Every. Single. One.
(We will now resume disagreeing with Capper.)
In industry, it is a given that when you want to know what a job entails, you ask the person who is doing the job. It's also a given that if you want to improve a given operation, you ask the person who does it how THEY would improve the job.
With that in mind, read the post. I'll give you a flavor in advance:
To make things even worse, all of these reports had to be completed via a special state computer program invented by the state and only with that program. The problem was the computer program didn't work very well, and saved information would often be lost, required the worker to start all over again.
He describes a system which has every single earmark of bureaucratic territorialism and inanity. Every. Single. One.
(We will now resume disagreeing with Capper.)
Banking on Appraisals, Obama Style
This adds up.
Rezko came in to buy the empty lot, which he sweetly never did anything with, giving Obama effectively the entire two-lot parcel for his own use. But even better -- Rezko "grossly overpaid" for his empty lot, leading to suspicions the owner charged Obama less for his property only because Rezko was willing to overpay for his by about $300,000. Allowing Obama to underpay by about the same $300,000
Recall that a bank officer was canned over the transaction. He noticed that the appraisal used by the Bank was far more than the property's worth and wrote it up. Bank officials fired his ass for his impertinence, and left the inflated appraisal in the file for review by the FDIC (or whoever.)
The real estate specialist, Kenneth J. Conner, said bank officials replaced an appraisal review he prepared on the property and FBI agents were investigating in late 2007 whether the Rezko-Obama deal was proper.
“Agents and I talked about payoff, bribe, kickback for a long time, though it took them only a short number of minutes of talking with me while looking at the appraisal to acknowledge what they already seemed to know: The Rezko lot was grossly overvalued,” Mr. Conner told The Washington Times Monday.
“Rezko paid the asking price on the same day Obama paid $300,000 less than the asking price to the same seller for his adjacent mansion,” he said. “This begs the question of payoff, bribe, kickback."
Nah. Couldn't possibly be a payoff, bribe, or kickback. Not to the Messiah!
HT: Ace
Rezko came in to buy the empty lot, which he sweetly never did anything with, giving Obama effectively the entire two-lot parcel for his own use. But even better -- Rezko "grossly overpaid" for his empty lot, leading to suspicions the owner charged Obama less for his property only because Rezko was willing to overpay for his by about $300,000. Allowing Obama to underpay by about the same $300,000
Recall that a bank officer was canned over the transaction. He noticed that the appraisal used by the Bank was far more than the property's worth and wrote it up. Bank officials fired his ass for his impertinence, and left the inflated appraisal in the file for review by the FDIC (or whoever.)
The real estate specialist, Kenneth J. Conner, said bank officials replaced an appraisal review he prepared on the property and FBI agents were investigating in late 2007 whether the Rezko-Obama deal was proper.
“Agents and I talked about payoff, bribe, kickback for a long time, though it took them only a short number of minutes of talking with me while looking at the appraisal to acknowledge what they already seemed to know: The Rezko lot was grossly overvalued,” Mr. Conner told The Washington Times Monday.
“Rezko paid the asking price on the same day Obama paid $300,000 less than the asking price to the same seller for his adjacent mansion,” he said. “This begs the question of payoff, bribe, kickback."
Nah. Couldn't possibly be a payoff, bribe, or kickback. Not to the Messiah!
HT: Ace
Dead Deer, Dan Vrakas, and a Solution
Apparently, DNR will stop paying for pickups of road-kill deer. (That's so they can piss away $640K buying a bunch of weeds and grass.)
Anyhoo, Dan Vrakas is not happy about that.
Waukesha County ranks second behind Dane County in the number of deer removed each year at public expense.
In 2008, 1,325 deer have been removed from Waukesha County roads, according to the DNR. In Washington County, the tally is 615 deer, in Ozaukee County, 345, and Milwaukee County, 336.
"We think it's a poor decision, and we hope that they will reconsider it," said Allison Bussler, chief of staff for Waukesha County Executive Dan Vrakas.
Maybe Mr. Vrakas should consider WHY there are so many roadkill deer in Waukesha County.
Hint: People cannot SHOOT the damn pests in most of the eastern half of the county.
All Dan has to do is transfer the pickup costs to the municipalities to see a change of heart (except in Elm Grove, of course.)
HT: FoxPolitics
Anyhoo, Dan Vrakas is not happy about that.
Waukesha County ranks second behind Dane County in the number of deer removed each year at public expense.
In 2008, 1,325 deer have been removed from Waukesha County roads, according to the DNR. In Washington County, the tally is 615 deer, in Ozaukee County, 345, and Milwaukee County, 336.
"We think it's a poor decision, and we hope that they will reconsider it," said Allison Bussler, chief of staff for Waukesha County Executive Dan Vrakas.
Maybe Mr. Vrakas should consider WHY there are so many roadkill deer in Waukesha County.
Hint: People cannot SHOOT the damn pests in most of the eastern half of the county.
All Dan has to do is transfer the pickup costs to the municipalities to see a change of heart (except in Elm Grove, of course.)
HT: FoxPolitics
Rezko Songs
Noted by Hot Air:
A footnote to the 76-page criminal complaint and affidavit charging Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) with soliciting bribes confirms what has long been rumored — that a former longtime friend and fundraiser for President-elect Barack Obama is talking to federal prosecutors in hopes of a reduced sentence.
Antoin “Tony” Rezko’s offer to provide authorities with evidence of others’ wrongdoing is “not complete,” and prosecutors are working to corroborate the claims he has made so far, the footnote said
Uh huh.
Comments Hot Air:
If Rezko’s singing, many politicians are sweating. Obama may be one of them. Let’s see what happens before being dismissive of the possibility.
Rezko is not a fat lady, so the opera ain't over yet...
A footnote to the 76-page criminal complaint and affidavit charging Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) with soliciting bribes confirms what has long been rumored — that a former longtime friend and fundraiser for President-elect Barack Obama is talking to federal prosecutors in hopes of a reduced sentence.
Antoin “Tony” Rezko’s offer to provide authorities with evidence of others’ wrongdoing is “not complete,” and prosecutors are working to corroborate the claims he has made so far, the footnote said
Uh huh.
Comments Hot Air:
If Rezko’s singing, many politicians are sweating. Obama may be one of them. Let’s see what happens before being dismissive of the possibility.
Rezko is not a fat lady, so the opera ain't over yet...
CNN Bombs the Marines
Just so you're prepared for this crap, here's the CNN story:
The U.S. Marine Corps knew of the threat posed by roadside bombs before the start of the Iraq war, yet did nothing to buy protective vehicles for troops, according to a report to be released by the Pentagon.
Additionally, Marine leaders in 2005 decided to buy up-armored, or reinforced, Humvees instead of Mine Resistant Ambush-Protected vehicles to shield troops in Iraq from mines and other explosives -- a decision that could have cost lives, according to the report obtained Tuesday by CNN.
And here's the actualities of USMC tactics:
What the author of this CNN article fails to explain is that you can have either mobility, or you can have armor; you can't have both.
A vehicle that can withstand IEDs built from artillery shells is going to be too heavy (14 tons in some variations) to leave the main roads or even cross many of the world's bridges. The has two significant and lasting effects. It cedes the majority of territory to the insurgents, and also creates targeting funnels where ambushes can be concentrated, increasing the likelihood of Marines being hit by IEDs.
When insurgents know that they face a vehicle with limited mobility, they can then concentrate on building bigger or more effective types of IEDs to defeat that specific vehicle, while simultaneously using the majority or their forces to dominate the surrounding towns and villages.
Historically, the Marines have always chosen mobility over armor, using speed, tenacity, and tactics to overwhelm opposing forces with weapons systems lighter armed and armored than that of their more heavily armed and armored Army counterparts.
In other words, what CNN knows about military strategy and tactics would not fill a pee-cup.
HT: Confederate Yankee
The U.S. Marine Corps knew of the threat posed by roadside bombs before the start of the Iraq war, yet did nothing to buy protective vehicles for troops, according to a report to be released by the Pentagon.
Additionally, Marine leaders in 2005 decided to buy up-armored, or reinforced, Humvees instead of Mine Resistant Ambush-Protected vehicles to shield troops in Iraq from mines and other explosives -- a decision that could have cost lives, according to the report obtained Tuesday by CNN.
And here's the actualities of USMC tactics:
What the author of this CNN article fails to explain is that you can have either mobility, or you can have armor; you can't have both.
A vehicle that can withstand IEDs built from artillery shells is going to be too heavy (14 tons in some variations) to leave the main roads or even cross many of the world's bridges. The has two significant and lasting effects. It cedes the majority of territory to the insurgents, and also creates targeting funnels where ambushes can be concentrated, increasing the likelihood of Marines being hit by IEDs.
When insurgents know that they face a vehicle with limited mobility, they can then concentrate on building bigger or more effective types of IEDs to defeat that specific vehicle, while simultaneously using the majority or their forces to dominate the surrounding towns and villages.
Historically, the Marines have always chosen mobility over armor, using speed, tenacity, and tactics to overwhelm opposing forces with weapons systems lighter armed and armored than that of their more heavily armed and armored Army counterparts.
In other words, what CNN knows about military strategy and tactics would not fill a pee-cup.
HT: Confederate Yankee
Glossary on Auto Bailout
Planet Moron has more, but this one applies to LOTS of legislation:
Taxpayer Protections:
A set of terms and provisions that are put in place to ensure that politicians voting for the plan are protected from the taxpayers
....at least, those politicians HOPE that they are protected from the taxpayers...
Taxpayer Protections:
A set of terms and provisions that are put in place to ensure that politicians voting for the plan are protected from the taxpayers
....at least, those politicians HOPE that they are protected from the taxpayers...
This Should Be Fixed
Bush spent a helluvalotta money.
The decrease prior to Bush, by the way, was a result of Clinton's reluctance to spend on defense AND congressional Republican resistance to spending.
HT: Calculated Risk
Surprise: It's a Consumption Tax
My prediction was wrong.
Wisconsin Way opts for a consumption-tax formula instead of more income tax.
A diverse coalition of major interest groups on Wednesday unveiled the first draft of a sweeping plan to overhaul the state's tax system and boost economic development.
The Wisconsin Way's Blueprint for Change envisions a tax shift that would reduce property taxes and income taxes - perhaps eliminating the corporate income tax all together - while relying more on sales taxes and user fees.
Right now, the draft is more a collection of ideas than a final set of recommendations, according to coalition members. But while those ideas are being fleshed out, the coalition hopes to use the draft to influence the Legislature's 2009-'11 state budget debate - and to head off any short-term fixes that would threaten the group's long-term goals.
Good luck with that, folks. I think that consumption taxes are the best way to go.
You'll have a fight with the Steve Forbes-ites around the State, but hey! You'll have a bigger fight just in attempting a reform of Wisconsin's budget process.
Wisconsin Way opts for a consumption-tax formula instead of more income tax.
A diverse coalition of major interest groups on Wednesday unveiled the first draft of a sweeping plan to overhaul the state's tax system and boost economic development.
The Wisconsin Way's Blueprint for Change envisions a tax shift that would reduce property taxes and income taxes - perhaps eliminating the corporate income tax all together - while relying more on sales taxes and user fees.
Right now, the draft is more a collection of ideas than a final set of recommendations, according to coalition members. But while those ideas are being fleshed out, the coalition hopes to use the draft to influence the Legislature's 2009-'11 state budget debate - and to head off any short-term fixes that would threaten the group's long-term goals.
Good luck with that, folks. I think that consumption taxes are the best way to go.
You'll have a fight with the Steve Forbes-ites around the State, but hey! You'll have a bigger fight just in attempting a reform of Wisconsin's budget process.
Car Dealer Silly Talk: Bergstrom
Umnnnhhhh.....John.....your statement doesn't make sense.
John Bergstrom called on Congress to approve loans for the auto industry that would help keep people employed at dealerships, auto-parts suppliers and vehicle assembly plants.
Tell me how that works, John.
Taxpayers are not buying cars, so the Gummint should send a buncha taxpayer money to the manufacturers, so that what, exactly, will happen??
Bergstrom said his company is evaluating the possibility of layoffs to reflect projections of lower industry sales and in light of that General Motors Corp. is considering alternatives for the Saturn brand. Bergstrom has eight Saturn dealerships across the state
I see. You bought a bunch of stuff that nobody else wants; so you want to take money from taxpayers so that taxpayers will buy the stuff you have (which they don't want to buy.)
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John Bergstrom called on Congress to approve loans for the auto industry that would help keep people employed at dealerships, auto-parts suppliers and vehicle assembly plants.
Tell me how that works, John.
Taxpayers are not buying cars, so the Gummint should send a buncha taxpayer money to the manufacturers, so that what, exactly, will happen??
Bergstrom said his company is evaluating the possibility of layoffs to reflect projections of lower industry sales and in light of that General Motors Corp. is considering alternatives for the Saturn brand. Bergstrom has eight Saturn dealerships across the state
I see. You bought a bunch of stuff that nobody else wants; so you want to take money from taxpayers so that taxpayers will buy the stuff you have (which they don't want to buy.)
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