Sibelius is a very, very close friend of George "The Killer" Tiller--the most notorious abortionist in the USA.
President Barack Obama asked Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius on Saturday to serve as his secretary of Health and Human Services and she accepted, a senior administration official said.
But just as important in the emerging debate over health care reform is the title she didn’t get: health care czar. It signals that Sebelius will be one of many voices in the administration on health care – rather than the chief figure as Tom Daschle would have been – and the effort will be run out of the White House
And another end-run around the Cabinet structure of Gummint, to boot!
Saturday, February 28, 2009
"Papers"? No. Just Napolitano's New Driver's License
No surprise at all that Napolitano endorses this.
Privacy advocates are issuing warnings about a new radio
chip plan that ultimately could provide electronic identification for every adult in the U.S. and allow agents to compile attendance lists at anti-government rallies simply by walking through the assembly.
The proposal, which has earned the support of Janet Napolitano, the newly chosen chief of the Department of Homeland Security, would embed radio chips in driver's licenses, or "enhanced driver's licenses."
She doesn't like "REAL ID" because it proves citizenship--no matter her excuse (below). Note that there is no mention of 'citizenship' in the description.
But she DOES like tracking the whereabouts of everyone with a driver's license.
"Enhanced driver's licenses give confidence that the person holding the card is the person who is supposed to be holding the card, and it's less elaborate than REAL ID," Napolitano said in a Washington Times report
BS, Janet.
Enhanced driver's licenses have built-in radio chips providing an identifying number or information that can be accessed by a remote reading unit while the license is inside a wallet or purse
THAT'S what the Statists want.
Privacy advocates are issuing warnings about a new radio
chip plan that ultimately could provide electronic identification for every adult in the U.S. and allow agents to compile attendance lists at anti-government rallies simply by walking through the assembly.
The proposal, which has earned the support of Janet Napolitano, the newly chosen chief of the Department of Homeland Security, would embed radio chips in driver's licenses, or "enhanced driver's licenses."
She doesn't like "REAL ID" because it proves citizenship--no matter her excuse (below). Note that there is no mention of 'citizenship' in the description.
But she DOES like tracking the whereabouts of everyone with a driver's license.
"Enhanced driver's licenses give confidence that the person holding the card is the person who is supposed to be holding the card, and it's less elaborate than REAL ID," Napolitano said in a Washington Times report
BS, Janet.
Enhanced driver's licenses have built-in radio chips providing an identifying number or information that can be accessed by a remote reading unit while the license is inside a wallet or purse
THAT'S what the Statists want.
Payback for WEAC: State to Take Your Kid Earlier
This is pure crap.
The state would require 5-year-olds to attend school under a bill introduced earlier this week in the Legislature.
Two Racine lawmakers, Sen. John Lehman, D-Racine and Rep. Cory Mason, D-Racine, co-sponsored the bill that would require children to complete 5-year-old kindergarten as a prerequisite to being admitted to first grade in a public school, including a charter school, beginning in the 2011−12 school year.
K-garten is nice--but your kid won't miss anything if they aren't there--assuming you're actually being a parent.
The state would require 5-year-olds to attend school under a bill introduced earlier this week in the Legislature.
Two Racine lawmakers, Sen. John Lehman, D-Racine and Rep. Cory Mason, D-Racine, co-sponsored the bill that would require children to complete 5-year-old kindergarten as a prerequisite to being admitted to first grade in a public school, including a charter school, beginning in the 2011−12 school year.
K-garten is nice--but your kid won't miss anything if they aren't there--assuming you're actually being a parent.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Bp. Martino (Scranton) Draws Tight the Bowstring on Casey
One plus one always equals two.
Bp. Martino sent a letter to Sen. Casey--some parts of which are reproduced here. It is the second letter on the same topic (Mexico City Policy) and is explicit.
It is a matter of deep concern that your recent vote against the Mexico City Policy is continually misrepresented by your staff as a pro-life vote intended to promote “contraception and other family planning that avoid unintended pregnancies”
...My letter of January 30 urging you to rescind your vote on the Mexico City Policy was in no way mistaken regarding the nature and the effect of President Obama’s order to rescind America’s long-standing policy to avoid using U.S. tax dollars to support organizations that promote abortion abroad. It is imperative that this fact be made known to the public.
It is also imperative that there be utter clarity when it comes to the teaching of the Church on matters that pertain to the taking of innocent life and the special responsibilities that fall to you, Senator, as a lawmaker to oppose abortion and other clear evils.
On the VERY SAME DAY as that letter was released publicly, the following appeared on Bp. Martino's Diocesan website.
In 2004, the then Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI) instructed the Bishops of the United States as follows:
Regarding the grave sin of abortion or euthanasia, when a person’s formal cooperation becomes manifest (understood, in the case of a Catholic politician, as his consistently campaigning and voting for permissive abortion and euthanasia laws), his Pastor should meet with him, instructing him about the Church’s teaching, informing him that he is not to present himself for Holy Communion until he brings to an end the objective situation of sin, and warning him that he will otherwise be denied the Eucharist
Therefore, His Excellency, the Most Reverend Joseph F. Martino, Bishop of Scranton, reminds all ministers of Holy Communion, ordinary and extraordinary, that:
To administer the Sacred Body and Blood of the Lord is a serious duty which they have received from the Church, and no one having accepted this responsibility has the right to ignore the Church’s law in this regard;
Those whose unworthiness to receive Holy Communion is known publicly to the Church must be refused Holy Communion in order to prevent sacrilege and to prevent the Catholic in question from committing further grave sin through unworthy reception
One plus one equals two. Read between the lines.
HT: Creative Minority
Bp. Martino sent a letter to Sen. Casey--some parts of which are reproduced here. It is the second letter on the same topic (Mexico City Policy) and is explicit.
It is a matter of deep concern that your recent vote against the Mexico City Policy is continually misrepresented by your staff as a pro-life vote intended to promote “contraception and other family planning that avoid unintended pregnancies”
...My letter of January 30 urging you to rescind your vote on the Mexico City Policy was in no way mistaken regarding the nature and the effect of President Obama’s order to rescind America’s long-standing policy to avoid using U.S. tax dollars to support organizations that promote abortion abroad. It is imperative that this fact be made known to the public.
It is also imperative that there be utter clarity when it comes to the teaching of the Church on matters that pertain to the taking of innocent life and the special responsibilities that fall to you, Senator, as a lawmaker to oppose abortion and other clear evils.
On the VERY SAME DAY as that letter was released publicly, the following appeared on Bp. Martino's Diocesan website.
In 2004, the then Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI) instructed the Bishops of the United States as follows:
Regarding the grave sin of abortion or euthanasia, when a person’s formal cooperation becomes manifest (understood, in the case of a Catholic politician, as his consistently campaigning and voting for permissive abortion and euthanasia laws), his Pastor should meet with him, instructing him about the Church’s teaching, informing him that he is not to present himself for Holy Communion until he brings to an end the objective situation of sin, and warning him that he will otherwise be denied the Eucharist
Therefore, His Excellency, the Most Reverend Joseph F. Martino, Bishop of Scranton, reminds all ministers of Holy Communion, ordinary and extraordinary, that:
To administer the Sacred Body and Blood of the Lord is a serious duty which they have received from the Church, and no one having accepted this responsibility has the right to ignore the Church’s law in this regard;
Those whose unworthiness to receive Holy Communion is known publicly to the Church must be refused Holy Communion in order to prevent sacrilege and to prevent the Catholic in question from committing further grave sin through unworthy reception
One plus one equals two. Read between the lines.
HT: Creative Minority
Wilson's War
As usual, Roeser provides facts usually NOT admitted to evidence by the "historians."
...That would be the same Wilson who hoodwinked us into World War I by insisting Americans have a right to travel on belligerent ships such as Cunard’s Lusitania despite warnings from the German government that British merchant ships were continually carrying munitions and henceforth would be regarded as military vessels. Yes the same so-called 9th greatest president of the United States-a purported idealist-who maneuvered us secretly to enter World War I which inevitably produced the inequities that prompted World War II…which in turn led to the Cold War. Certainly one of the most duplicitous stratagems involved the Lusitania.
The Lusitania, secretly loaded with munitions in the U. S. for Britain, was sunk by a German U-boat on May 7, 1915 with one torpedo-killing 1,198 including 128 Americans and 102 children. The 31,000-ton vessel sank in 18 minutes, spurring suspicions it was loaded with munitions which exploded-steadfastly denied by Wilson. Goaded by Wilson’s government propaganda agency under hired propagandist George Creel…the first such created…American public opinion exploded in a furor leading to demands we go to war against Germany.
The horror of German barbarity in sinking the Lusitania (without mention that it was an arms ship, of course) trumped up by Wilson’s Creel director of the U.S. Bureau on Public Information, was invented out of whole cloth…along with Creel’s fictitious story that Germans celebrated the anniversary of the Lusitania torpedoing, as a national holiday-a myth which angered the U.S. public to the boiling point.
In 1915, Wilson sent three angry well-publicized notes of protest to the German government, insisting the ship was a peaceful merchant vessel. After his reelection in 1916 in which his slogan was “He kept us out of war,” Wilson used the case of the Lusitania and other events as a pretext for war, justifying the hopes of Winston Churchill, then 1st lord of the admiralty: “It is most important to attract neutral shipping to our shores in the hope of embroiling the United States with Germany…If some get into trouble, better still.” Following his reelection, the sinking of four other merchant ships armed with U.S. Navy guns, qualifying them as military vessels, led Wilson to request a declaration of war with Germany in April, 1917.
And some complain that Bush "had no evidence...."
Churchill needed the US badly. He couldn't win a checkers game playing against a 4-year-old.
...That would be the same Wilson who hoodwinked us into World War I by insisting Americans have a right to travel on belligerent ships such as Cunard’s Lusitania despite warnings from the German government that British merchant ships were continually carrying munitions and henceforth would be regarded as military vessels. Yes the same so-called 9th greatest president of the United States-a purported idealist-who maneuvered us secretly to enter World War I which inevitably produced the inequities that prompted World War II…which in turn led to the Cold War. Certainly one of the most duplicitous stratagems involved the Lusitania.
The Lusitania, secretly loaded with munitions in the U. S. for Britain, was sunk by a German U-boat on May 7, 1915 with one torpedo-killing 1,198 including 128 Americans and 102 children. The 31,000-ton vessel sank in 18 minutes, spurring suspicions it was loaded with munitions which exploded-steadfastly denied by Wilson. Goaded by Wilson’s government propaganda agency under hired propagandist George Creel…the first such created…American public opinion exploded in a furor leading to demands we go to war against Germany.
The horror of German barbarity in sinking the Lusitania (without mention that it was an arms ship, of course) trumped up by Wilson’s Creel director of the U.S. Bureau on Public Information, was invented out of whole cloth…along with Creel’s fictitious story that Germans celebrated the anniversary of the Lusitania torpedoing, as a national holiday-a myth which angered the U.S. public to the boiling point.
In 1915, Wilson sent three angry well-publicized notes of protest to the German government, insisting the ship was a peaceful merchant vessel. After his reelection in 1916 in which his slogan was “He kept us out of war,” Wilson used the case of the Lusitania and other events as a pretext for war, justifying the hopes of Winston Churchill, then 1st lord of the admiralty: “It is most important to attract neutral shipping to our shores in the hope of embroiling the United States with Germany…If some get into trouble, better still.” Following his reelection, the sinking of four other merchant ships armed with U.S. Navy guns, qualifying them as military vessels, led Wilson to request a declaration of war with Germany in April, 1917.
And some complain that Bush "had no evidence...."
Churchill needed the US badly. He couldn't win a checkers game playing against a 4-year-old.
Pro-Life MD's, RN's in the 10-Ring
No surprise here.
The Obama administration has begun the process of rescinding sweeping new federal protections that were granted in December to health-care workers who refuse to provide care that violates their personal, moral or religious beliefs.
The Office of Management and Budget announced this morning that it was reviewing a proposal to lift the controversial "conscience" regulation, the first step toward reversing the policy...
That's "Kill or Be Killed" if you want the translation.
HT Ignatius
The Obama administration has begun the process of rescinding sweeping new federal protections that were granted in December to health-care workers who refuse to provide care that violates their personal, moral or religious beliefs.
The Office of Management and Budget announced this morning that it was reviewing a proposal to lift the controversial "conscience" regulation, the first step toward reversing the policy...
That's "Kill or Be Killed" if you want the translation.
HT Ignatius
Kasriel's Commentary Is Mildly Optimistic
This guy always produces readable stuff. And it's well-informed, insofar as he's with a major-player Midwestern bank. This is from his February letter.
...The Federal Reserve proposes through TALF to provide non-recourse financing to entities that purchase newly-issued securitized debt with a credit rating of AAA. The term of these loans would be three years. ...When TALF was first proposed, back in November of last year, its funding allocation was $200 billion. Under the Treasury’s new FSP [formerly called TARP], TALF’s funding amount has been increased to $1 trillion.
TALF expands the capacity for the Fed to, in effect, create credit for the private sector. We believe that TALF will be the most important element of the FSP to increase the flow of credit to the private sector in the coming 12 months
In other words, TALF is designed specifically to 'liquify' Banks, unlike TARP which seemed to be recapitalization-oriented. (Maybe "seemed" should be followed by a question mark; it remains unclear what the Hell TARP actually was for.)
Is Kasriel an optimist?
In sum, we believe that the nadir of this recession is occurring now. Moreover, we believe that the combination of the $1 trillion TALF program and the $787 billion fiscal stimulus program, assuming it is financed by the banking system and the Fed, will have a salutary effect on aggregate real activity, perhaps inducing an economic recovery by the fourth quarter of this year
Well, he hasn't changed his call for end-of-'09 recovery.
...The Federal Reserve proposes through TALF to provide non-recourse financing to entities that purchase newly-issued securitized debt with a credit rating of AAA. The term of these loans would be three years. ...When TALF was first proposed, back in November of last year, its funding allocation was $200 billion. Under the Treasury’s new FSP [formerly called TARP], TALF’s funding amount has been increased to $1 trillion.
TALF expands the capacity for the Fed to, in effect, create credit for the private sector. We believe that TALF will be the most important element of the FSP to increase the flow of credit to the private sector in the coming 12 months
In other words, TALF is designed specifically to 'liquify' Banks, unlike TARP which seemed to be recapitalization-oriented. (Maybe "seemed" should be followed by a question mark; it remains unclear what the Hell TARP actually was for.)
Is Kasriel an optimist?
In sum, we believe that the nadir of this recession is occurring now. Moreover, we believe that the combination of the $1 trillion TALF program and the $787 billion fiscal stimulus program, assuming it is financed by the banking system and the Fed, will have a salutary effect on aggregate real activity, perhaps inducing an economic recovery by the fourth quarter of this year
Well, he hasn't changed his call for end-of-'09 recovery.
Chase: It's Worse
I thought I saw an item wherein Jamie Dimon said he wanted to repay the TARP stuff soon.
Well, maybe.
...[Chase] bank anticipates quarterly losses this year of $1 billion to $1.4 billion just on its home equity loans to more credit-worthy borrowers. Those figures exclude loans Chase picked up in its purchase last September of the failed banking operations of Washington Mutual
So "good paper" is going "bad" at $1+Bn/quarter at Chase, alone...
Source: Milwaukee BizJournal
Well, maybe.
...[Chase] bank anticipates quarterly losses this year of $1 billion to $1.4 billion just on its home equity loans to more credit-worthy borrowers. Those figures exclude loans Chase picked up in its purchase last September of the failed banking operations of Washington Mutual
So "good paper" is going "bad" at $1+Bn/quarter at Chase, alone...
Source: Milwaukee BizJournal
The Left In Full Screech (Fact-Free Zone)
The screech-and-wail crowd once again demonstrates that calling names is its only trick.
One Wisconsin now says the appearance of Todd Berry, president of the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance, at an Americans for Prosperity rally is proof of the WTA's conservative, Republican-leaning bias.
...Berry, a former state Department of Revenue official, said in response:
"I will speak just about anywhere I am invited. I've spoken to WEAC and WMC, county Democratic and Republican parties, rural groups, urban groups... We receive donations or subscriptions from individuals, unions, including WEAC, local governments, state agencies, trade associations, firms and foundations. I'll go anywhere because our support comes from everywhere
Far more important, however, is this:
"I do find it interesting that our numerical analysis is never contradicted,"
....proving that to the Left (following its proclivities) appearances are far more meaningful than content.
One Wisconsin now says the appearance of Todd Berry, president of the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance, at an Americans for Prosperity rally is proof of the WTA's conservative, Republican-leaning bias.
...Berry, a former state Department of Revenue official, said in response:
"I will speak just about anywhere I am invited. I've spoken to WEAC and WMC, county Democratic and Republican parties, rural groups, urban groups... We receive donations or subscriptions from individuals, unions, including WEAC, local governments, state agencies, trade associations, firms and foundations. I'll go anywhere because our support comes from everywhere
Far more important, however, is this:
"I do find it interesting that our numerical analysis is never contradicted,"
....proving that to the Left (following its proclivities) appearances are far more meaningful than content.
Congrats! Now You Own 40% of Citigroup!
This morning's news.
As part of the TARP plan, and also in a supplemental purchase, you the taxpayer have purchased about $45 billion worth of convertible preferred stock in Citigroup.
Today, the government has made a deal with Citi to swap about $27 bn of that preferred for common.
Since the entire market value of Citigroup’s common stock was slightly below $27 bn as of yesterday’s close, the deal amounts to creating about as much new stock as existed beforehand. So each existing share is now worth about half as much.
And in pre-market trading, they’re down just about… half.
I'm waiting for my dividend check.
Ritholtz has an opinion on this move: Losers double down
HT: RedState
As part of the TARP plan, and also in a supplemental purchase, you the taxpayer have purchased about $45 billion worth of convertible preferred stock in Citigroup.
Today, the government has made a deal with Citi to swap about $27 bn of that preferred for common.
Since the entire market value of Citigroup’s common stock was slightly below $27 bn as of yesterday’s close, the deal amounts to creating about as much new stock as existed beforehand. So each existing share is now worth about half as much.
And in pre-market trading, they’re down just about… half.
I'm waiting for my dividend check.
Ritholtz has an opinion on this move: Losers double down
HT: RedState
Stupid Credit-Rating Jokes
Except that these are not jokes, the headline applies. "Credit-Rating" folks like S&P made a few bad calls recently:
*Bear Stearns, rated A+ as recently as October 2007, was rescued in a Federal Reserve-assisted transaction by JPMorganChase on March 14, 2008.
*AAA-rated FNMA [Fannie Mae] was put into receivership on September 7, 2008.
*AAA-rated FHLMC [Freddy Mac] was put into receivership on September 7, 2008.
*Lehman Brothers declared bankruptcy on September 15, 2008, but it had been rated A+ in May 2008.
*AIG, which had been rated AAA as recently as 2005, was rescued by the U.S. government on September 16, 2008.
*Kaupthing Bank, rated AAA as recently as February 2007, was nationalized by the Icelandic government on October 9, 2008.
*Wachovia, rted AA- in June 2008, was "purchased" by Citigroup on September 29 in a distressed merger, only to sell later at a higher price to Wells Fargo.
*Citigroup, rated AA as recently as December 2007, was rescued by the U.S. government on November 23, 2008.
Remember those "dumb predictions" like the one from the Patent Office guy who opined (in the early 1900's) that 'everything which could be invented has already been invented'? Or IBM's Watson opining that there will never be a need for 'small computers'?
HT: PowerLine
*Bear Stearns, rated A+ as recently as October 2007, was rescued in a Federal Reserve-assisted transaction by JPMorganChase on March 14, 2008.
*AAA-rated FNMA [Fannie Mae] was put into receivership on September 7, 2008.
*AAA-rated FHLMC [Freddy Mac] was put into receivership on September 7, 2008.
*Lehman Brothers declared bankruptcy on September 15, 2008, but it had been rated A+ in May 2008.
*AIG, which had been rated AAA as recently as 2005, was rescued by the U.S. government on September 16, 2008.
*Kaupthing Bank, rated AAA as recently as February 2007, was nationalized by the Icelandic government on October 9, 2008.
*Wachovia, rted AA- in June 2008, was "purchased" by Citigroup on September 29 in a distressed merger, only to sell later at a higher price to Wells Fargo.
*Citigroup, rated AA as recently as December 2007, was rescued by the U.S. government on November 23, 2008.
Remember those "dumb predictions" like the one from the Patent Office guy who opined (in the early 1900's) that 'everything which could be invented has already been invented'? Or IBM's Watson opining that there will never be a need for 'small computers'?
HT: PowerLine
Holder's Straw-Man: GUNS!! And US CITIZENS!!
Demonstrating that two (or more) can play the straw-man game, Eric Holder, our new Attorney-General, lies for the cameras.
Holder said that putting the ban back in place would not only be a positive move by the United States, it would help cut down on the flow of guns going across the border into Mexico, which is struggling with heavy violence among drug cartels along the border
...Mexican government officials have complained that the availability of sophisticated guns from the United States have emboldened drug traffickers to fight over access routes into the U.S
"Sophisticated guns"?
Quoting a State Department release:
"Some recent Mexican army and police confrontations with drug cartels have resembled small-unit combat, with cartels employing automatic weapons and grenades," the warning said.
Owen picked this up yesterday, and it is clear that there's a load of crappy-crap-crap in the Holder logic-bin.
Cramer:
Any automatic weapon is subject to National Firearms Act regulation. You can't just go into a store and buy automatic weapons in the U.S. There is a procedure, involving background checks, fingerprinting, a several month wait, signoff by your police chief, sheriff, or other chief law enforcement officer. In many states, it isn't even possible--state law either has additional restrictions or completely prohibits it. Further: ... new manufacture of automatic weapons for civilian ownership is unlawful--and as a result, legal automatic weapons are hideously expensive.
In contrast, one can purchase full-auto AK's overseas for a couple of hundred bucks.
And "grenades"????
Hand grenades aren't even as available as automatic weapons. I suppose in theory that they are considered destructive devices and there might be a way to get a license for them...I have never seen a live hand grenade offered for sale.
Let's face it. There are at least two Mexican provinces that are ruled by drug cartels (one borders West Texas.) This is a MEXICAN problem, not a US problem.
Holder's solution is to prevent US citizens from obtaining weapons.
Most people who read this blog understand that the Second Amendment is in place to make sure that folks such as Holder and Obama don't get too big for their britches. Holder's foofoodust strawman 'it's OUR fault' doesn't play where actual logic is used.
Holder's concerns about the exercise of the 2A are valid. He'd like you to think it's all about Mexico.
It ain't.
Holder said that putting the ban back in place would not only be a positive move by the United States, it would help cut down on the flow of guns going across the border into Mexico, which is struggling with heavy violence among drug cartels along the border
...Mexican government officials have complained that the availability of sophisticated guns from the United States have emboldened drug traffickers to fight over access routes into the U.S
"Sophisticated guns"?
Quoting a State Department release:
"Some recent Mexican army and police confrontations with drug cartels have resembled small-unit combat, with cartels employing automatic weapons and grenades," the warning said.
Owen picked this up yesterday, and it is clear that there's a load of crappy-crap-crap in the Holder logic-bin.
Cramer:
Any automatic weapon is subject to National Firearms Act regulation. You can't just go into a store and buy automatic weapons in the U.S. There is a procedure, involving background checks, fingerprinting, a several month wait, signoff by your police chief, sheriff, or other chief law enforcement officer. In many states, it isn't even possible--state law either has additional restrictions or completely prohibits it. Further: ... new manufacture of automatic weapons for civilian ownership is unlawful--and as a result, legal automatic weapons are hideously expensive.
In contrast, one can purchase full-auto AK's overseas for a couple of hundred bucks.
And "grenades"????
Hand grenades aren't even as available as automatic weapons. I suppose in theory that they are considered destructive devices and there might be a way to get a license for them...I have never seen a live hand grenade offered for sale.
Let's face it. There are at least two Mexican provinces that are ruled by drug cartels (one borders West Texas.) This is a MEXICAN problem, not a US problem.
Holder's solution is to prevent US citizens from obtaining weapons.
Most people who read this blog understand that the Second Amendment is in place to make sure that folks such as Holder and Obama don't get too big for their britches. Holder's foofoodust strawman 'it's OUR fault' doesn't play where actual logic is used.
Holder's concerns about the exercise of the 2A are valid. He'd like you to think it's all about Mexico.
It ain't.
Fannie Mae Will Just Get Worse
Earnings report from Barney's BFF, Fannie.
Fannie Mae reported a loss of $25.2 billion ... in the fourth quarter of 2008, compared with a third-quarter 2008 loss of $29.0 billion ...
That's not all, folks.
We expect the market conditions that contributed to our net loss for each quarter of 2008 to continue and possibly worsen in 2009, which is likely to cause further reductions in our net worth
And that's BEFORE "rescues" and "cram-downs."
HT: Calc
Fannie Mae reported a loss of $25.2 billion ... in the fourth quarter of 2008, compared with a third-quarter 2008 loss of $29.0 billion ...
That's not all, folks.
We expect the market conditions that contributed to our net loss for each quarter of 2008 to continue and possibly worsen in 2009, which is likely to cause further reductions in our net worth
And that's BEFORE "rescues" and "cram-downs."
HT: Calc
"Big Bath" or "Big Lie" Accounting?
McArdle is not overly enthused by Obama's "Big Lie" budget claims. She starts with the concept:
Analysts have long recognized the tendency of companies who are forced to report bad news to make the news worse than they have to, piling every single thing that might goi wrong into one hell of a charge-off. The logic of this is simple: if your stock is going to take a hit, make it one gigantic hit, so that you can later "surprise" everyone when aliens from the Planet Zork do not actually land...
You can see a lot of that stuff in recent bank earnings reports (except the stuff about Zork.)
Now she shows how HopeyChangey is massaging numbers--with the objective of making himself look good.
Looking through Obama's budget, I am reminded of those massive one-time-write-off festivals
...Take the Iraq war. We were not, under any administration, going to spend as much in 2015 as we did in 2005. But by treating that spending as an ongoing cost, Obama now gets to take as much credit for reducing it as he would for closing permanent air bases in Germany, or trimming Social Security. Reducing the cost of "overseas contingency operations" acounts for $1.5 trillion of Obama's much vaunted $2 trillion in savings. Likewise the AMT fix--with high-end incomes falling, deflation in the air, and homeownership rates declining, AMT collections are going to decline even without a fix; this lets them recognize the entire decline at a time when the numbers are so large that taxpayers are too dazed to notice the fall.
This is classic "straw man" technique. First, establish a Scary Scene which is fictional. Next, "defeat" the "scary scene" in real life. (You can do that while working out at the gym, for example. Since the scene doesn't exist, no actual effort is required.) Finally, declare "Victory!!" and seek re-election.
Same BS as Doyle's "$530Bn Deficit" mutterings. There WAS no $530Bn deficit--the number existed only because Doyle fabricated it.
Some people may actually buy what he's selling. Others will buy tea and throw it into the face of home-visiting (D) co-conspirators.
Analysts have long recognized the tendency of companies who are forced to report bad news to make the news worse than they have to, piling every single thing that might goi wrong into one hell of a charge-off. The logic of this is simple: if your stock is going to take a hit, make it one gigantic hit, so that you can later "surprise" everyone when aliens from the Planet Zork do not actually land...
You can see a lot of that stuff in recent bank earnings reports (except the stuff about Zork.)
Now she shows how HopeyChangey is massaging numbers--with the objective of making himself look good.
Looking through Obama's budget, I am reminded of those massive one-time-write-off festivals
...Take the Iraq war. We were not, under any administration, going to spend as much in 2015 as we did in 2005. But by treating that spending as an ongoing cost, Obama now gets to take as much credit for reducing it as he would for closing permanent air bases in Germany, or trimming Social Security. Reducing the cost of "overseas contingency operations" acounts for $1.5 trillion of Obama's much vaunted $2 trillion in savings. Likewise the AMT fix--with high-end incomes falling, deflation in the air, and homeownership rates declining, AMT collections are going to decline even without a fix; this lets them recognize the entire decline at a time when the numbers are so large that taxpayers are too dazed to notice the fall.
This is classic "straw man" technique. First, establish a Scary Scene which is fictional. Next, "defeat" the "scary scene" in real life. (You can do that while working out at the gym, for example. Since the scene doesn't exist, no actual effort is required.) Finally, declare "Victory!!" and seek re-election.
Same BS as Doyle's "$530Bn Deficit" mutterings. There WAS no $530Bn deficit--the number existed only because Doyle fabricated it.
Some people may actually buy what he's selling. Others will buy tea and throw it into the face of home-visiting (D) co-conspirators.
The O-and-Savior Alienates the Military
Levin reported last night that HopeyChangey's budget gives the military the bare minimum 2.9% annual pay-increase.
Kinda cheesy, compared to the bladder-emptying spending he's committed to "mortgage rescues."
Members of the Armed Forces may wind up disliking C-I-C HopeyChangey.
Kinda cheesy, compared to the bladder-emptying spending he's committed to "mortgage rescues."
Members of the Armed Forces may wind up disliking C-I-C HopeyChangey.
Mortgage Interest and Housing Values: The Golden Mean
So this is the Administration of HopeyChangey.
Only a week ago, the O-and-Savior's gang of Enlightened Ones was trying to find a way to prop up home values, remember? Something about "rescuing" homeowners in default...
Well, that was then. This is now.
The new proposal is to QUASH home-values, if those homes are owned by people earning in excess of $250K or so.
How to do that? Simple. Reduce the value of the deduction for mortgage-interest paid!
Maybe the point is to push UP the value of small homes, and push DOWN the value of big homes so there will be only one value for homes?
Only a week ago, the O-and-Savior's gang of Enlightened Ones was trying to find a way to prop up home values, remember? Something about "rescuing" homeowners in default...
Well, that was then. This is now.
The new proposal is to QUASH home-values, if those homes are owned by people earning in excess of $250K or so.
How to do that? Simple. Reduce the value of the deduction for mortgage-interest paid!
Maybe the point is to push UP the value of small homes, and push DOWN the value of big homes so there will be only one value for homes?
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Where Paul Ryan Thinks the (R) Party Should Go
No, not there.
He said Republicans should focus on the following:
1) Sound Money
2) Tax Reform -- calls for junking 64,000 page tax code and replacing it with a new one. Supports optional two bracket "flatter" tax code.
3) Health Care -- Makes the case for consumer-based health care.
4) Federal Budget -- Binding cap on federal spending. Says on our current course, taxes will have to double from 20 cents out of every dollar of GDP to 40 cents.
5) Regulatory reform
Rep. Ryan assumes that the US will recover from Obama's $Zillion Dollar Deficit, although he is doing a Cassandra:
Rep. Paul Ryan, the opening speaker at CPAC, just warned that America is currently at a "irreversible tipping point" as it is on the verge of drastically remaking the individuals' relationship with government. The stimulus bill, the housing bailout, the prospect of bank nationionalization, cap and trade, government-run health care, when you add them all up, he said, we could get to the point where more people depend on the government than free enterprise.
President Obama's housing proposal, he said, is an update of Marx's "from each according to his ability, to each according to his need." Instead, it's “From the suckers who followed the rules to those who borrowed beyond their means."
And Obama's budget wasn't released until AFTER this speech.
He said Republicans should focus on the following:
1) Sound Money
2) Tax Reform -- calls for junking 64,000 page tax code and replacing it with a new one. Supports optional two bracket "flatter" tax code.
3) Health Care -- Makes the case for consumer-based health care.
4) Federal Budget -- Binding cap on federal spending. Says on our current course, taxes will have to double from 20 cents out of every dollar of GDP to 40 cents.
5) Regulatory reform
Rep. Ryan assumes that the US will recover from Obama's $Zillion Dollar Deficit, although he is doing a Cassandra:
Rep. Paul Ryan, the opening speaker at CPAC, just warned that America is currently at a "irreversible tipping point" as it is on the verge of drastically remaking the individuals' relationship with government. The stimulus bill, the housing bailout, the prospect of bank nationionalization, cap and trade, government-run health care, when you add them all up, he said, we could get to the point where more people depend on the government than free enterprise.
President Obama's housing proposal, he said, is an update of Marx's "from each according to his ability, to each according to his need." Instead, it's “From the suckers who followed the rules to those who borrowed beyond their means."
And Obama's budget wasn't released until AFTER this speech.
One Obama Winner: GE
Well, of course, there's a loser, too: people who depend on electricity.
...according to the table from the budget preview, they are claiming that only $525 billion is targeted for the new welfare payment Obama calls a tax cut (approx. $52 billion a year, not $80 billion). With the $120 billion for green pork to major lobbying parties like GE (windmills, among other items)...
Windmills are great generators.
IF there is wind.
...according to the table from the budget preview, they are claiming that only $525 billion is targeted for the new welfare payment Obama calls a tax cut (approx. $52 billion a year, not $80 billion). With the $120 billion for green pork to major lobbying parties like GE (windmills, among other items)...
Windmills are great generators.
IF there is wind.
Steyn on Self-Extinction
This Steyn guy is really good.
It's striking that, no matter how many British women think globally and sterilize locally, the population of the United Kingdom keeps rising: those London ladies assume they're saving the planet for Al Gore's polar bears, and the spotted owl, and the three-toed tree sloth, and the green-cheeked parrot. In fact, they're saving it for the cultures whose womenfolk don't get themselves sterilized. Forty per cent of children in London primary schools now speak a language other than English at home. The Muslim population of the United Kingdom is growing 10 times faster than the rest of the population. No matter how frantically the ecochondriacs tie their tubes, their country grows ever more crowded. This is a story not of "overpopulation," but of population transformation
And yes, there is a parallel in the USA.
HT: Off the Record
It's striking that, no matter how many British women think globally and sterilize locally, the population of the United Kingdom keeps rising: those London ladies assume they're saving the planet for Al Gore's polar bears, and the spotted owl, and the three-toed tree sloth, and the green-cheeked parrot. In fact, they're saving it for the cultures whose womenfolk don't get themselves sterilized. Forty per cent of children in London primary schools now speak a language other than English at home. The Muslim population of the United Kingdom is growing 10 times faster than the rest of the population. No matter how frantically the ecochondriacs tie their tubes, their country grows ever more crowded. This is a story not of "overpopulation," but of population transformation
And yes, there is a parallel in the USA.
HT: Off the Record
Music: What Is It GOOD For?
We could talk about "what is music" with some benefit, but it's easier to cut to the chase.
In the February 21-22 weekend edition of the Wall Street Journal, American composer Morten Lauridsen explained what he was trying to achieve in his sublime choral work, O Magnum Mysterium. "In composing music to these inspirational words about Christ's birth and the veneration of the Virgin Mary," he said, "I sought to impart . . . a transforming spiritual experience within what I call 'a quiet song of profound inner joy.' I wanted this piece to resonate immediately and deeply into the core of the listener, to illumine through sound."
The MSOChorus performed that work. It does exactly what Lauridsen suggests.
And the further 'music' goes from that illumination, the less 'music' it is, folks.
In the February 21-22 weekend edition of the Wall Street Journal, American composer Morten Lauridsen explained what he was trying to achieve in his sublime choral work, O Magnum Mysterium. "In composing music to these inspirational words about Christ's birth and the veneration of the Virgin Mary," he said, "I sought to impart . . . a transforming spiritual experience within what I call 'a quiet song of profound inner joy.' I wanted this piece to resonate immediately and deeply into the core of the listener, to illumine through sound."
The MSOChorus performed that work. It does exactly what Lauridsen suggests.
And the further 'music' goes from that illumination, the less 'music' it is, folks.
"Necessary Spending" in the New Budget
Can't do without this, I suppose.
"Congress increases "family planning" budget by $95.5 million to whopping $852 million"
That way, the deficit can be borne by LESS people!
"Congress increases "family planning" budget by $95.5 million to whopping $852 million"
That way, the deficit can be borne by LESS people!
Should Obama Fail? Sanford v. Limbaugh
The Governor of South Carolina doesn't get it. (Limbaugh doesn't get it, either.)
Here's Sanford:
I don’t want him [Obama] to fail. Anybody who wants him to fail is an idiot, because it means we’re all in trouble
Sanford then goes on to brag about his education and "finance" background.
Limbaugh is famous for saying that he wants Obama to fail.
Both are wrong. On my masthead you find the following:
"My kind of loyalty was loyalty to one's country, not to its institutions or its officeholders." ---Mark Twain
Apparently Gov. Sanford doesn't analyze things very well. Limbaugh has an excuse: he's an entertainer. Sanford is supposed to be a thinker.
Thinking would be a refreshing change.
Here's Sanford:
I don’t want him [Obama] to fail. Anybody who wants him to fail is an idiot, because it means we’re all in trouble
Sanford then goes on to brag about his education and "finance" background.
Limbaugh is famous for saying that he wants Obama to fail.
Both are wrong. On my masthead you find the following:
"My kind of loyalty was loyalty to one's country, not to its institutions or its officeholders." ---Mark Twain
Apparently Gov. Sanford doesn't analyze things very well. Limbaugh has an excuse: he's an entertainer. Sanford is supposed to be a thinker.
Thinking would be a refreshing change.
Irish-Dance Fan? Fuggeddaboutit!
Remember the Trinity Dancers? That's a group of young'uns who are world-class prize-winning Irish dancers.
They're in the 10-ring of the new CPSIA law, too. Seems the 'bling' on the dresses contains lead.
...if you’re, say, a teacher of Irish step dancing, with a stock of performance dresses in youth sizes (quite possibly with crystals, rhinestones or sequins, since nothing picks up stage lights the way they do).
That stock of costumes, which might even be your most costly asset, by law at least may now occupy the same frozen contraband category as those tarped-over new youth minibikes at the sports dealer’s. As message-boarder “GailV” put it, “The dresses are worn for about 15 minutes at a time, the possibly lead-containing parts never touch the child, but it’s still illegal.” For more on the dismay CPSIA has struck into the Irish dance apparel community, see Irish Dance Moms, Fashion Incubator Forums, and Voy Forums comments here, here, and here (”Heidi”: “Most of us would like to be successful and running legitimate (law abiding) businesses. I want to grow my business, not hide in the shadows looking for ways to circumvent the law. Besides, the jealous world of Irish dance is full of potential whistle blowers.”)
Oh, well.
Now even "for the chillllllllren" is meaningless.
HT: Overlawyered
They're in the 10-ring of the new CPSIA law, too. Seems the 'bling' on the dresses contains lead.
...if you’re, say, a teacher of Irish step dancing, with a stock of performance dresses in youth sizes (quite possibly with crystals, rhinestones or sequins, since nothing picks up stage lights the way they do).
That stock of costumes, which might even be your most costly asset, by law at least may now occupy the same frozen contraband category as those tarped-over new youth minibikes at the sports dealer’s. As message-boarder “GailV” put it, “The dresses are worn for about 15 minutes at a time, the possibly lead-containing parts never touch the child, but it’s still illegal.” For more on the dismay CPSIA has struck into the Irish dance apparel community, see Irish Dance Moms, Fashion Incubator Forums, and Voy Forums comments here, here, and here (”Heidi”: “Most of us would like to be successful and running legitimate (law abiding) businesses. I want to grow my business, not hide in the shadows looking for ways to circumvent the law. Besides, the jealous world of Irish dance is full of potential whistle blowers.”)
Oh, well.
Now even "for the chillllllllren" is meaningless.
HT: Overlawyered
Statist Goon-Kisser to Head HopeyChangey Nat'l Intel Council
This guy Freeman really likes Gummint Goons. Or Goons Who Govern.
Probably both.
...here's more information on Chas Freeman, the bin Laden associate Chairman Zero deems fit to head the National Intelligence Council.
Here's what he had to say about the communist Tiananmen Square massacre of 1989:
I find the dominant view in China about this very plausible, i.e. that the truly unforgivable mistake of the Chinese authorities was the failure to intervene on a timely basis to nip the demonstrations in the bud, rather than — as would have been both wise and efficacious — to intervene with force when all other measures had failed to restore domestic tranquility to Beijing and other major urban centers in China. In this optic, the Politburo's response to the mob scene at "Tian'anmen" stands as a monument to overly cautious behavior on the part of the leadership, not as an example of rash action. …
I thus share the hope of the majority in China that no Chinese government will repeat the mistakes of Zhao Ziyang's dilatory tactics of appeasement in dealing with domestic protesters in China.
Did I mention that it's time to BUY MORE AMMO??
He's even more blatant when describing his 'ideal solution' for Iraq:
Regarding Iraq, Freeman wants to "help the Shiites win fast, consolidate their damn dictatorship and get the hell out" because "it's very hard to imagine anything except a Saddam-style reign of terror succeeding in pacifying the place."
HT: Moonbattery
Probably both.
...here's more information on Chas Freeman, the bin Laden associate Chairman Zero deems fit to head the National Intelligence Council.
Here's what he had to say about the communist Tiananmen Square massacre of 1989:
I find the dominant view in China about this very plausible, i.e. that the truly unforgivable mistake of the Chinese authorities was the failure to intervene on a timely basis to nip the demonstrations in the bud, rather than — as would have been both wise and efficacious — to intervene with force when all other measures had failed to restore domestic tranquility to Beijing and other major urban centers in China. In this optic, the Politburo's response to the mob scene at "Tian'anmen" stands as a monument to overly cautious behavior on the part of the leadership, not as an example of rash action. …
I thus share the hope of the majority in China that no Chinese government will repeat the mistakes of Zhao Ziyang's dilatory tactics of appeasement in dealing with domestic protesters in China.
Did I mention that it's time to BUY MORE AMMO??
He's even more blatant when describing his 'ideal solution' for Iraq:
Regarding Iraq, Freeman wants to "help the Shiites win fast, consolidate their damn dictatorship and get the hell out" because "it's very hard to imagine anything except a Saddam-style reign of terror succeeding in pacifying the place."
HT: Moonbattery
"Fascism" --Part 10,875
Take it seriously, folks.
I don't think the idea of nationalizing, as it's now being called — which means bailing out these banks, setting them straight, then letting them go private again, which is the model that everybody is using, and the people who get screwed are the people whose retirement funds had common or preferred shares and they get wiped out, and these bankers come out richer than ever at the other end — that's not a leftist idea and it's not socialism. This is what we used to, in Comparative Economic Systems, call fascism. It's putting government at the service of the big financial interests. That's what happened in Italy, that's what happened in Germany, that's what happened in Japan ---Robert Scheer/NPR
After which Scheer frankly admits that 'he is disappointed' in the O-and-Savior and 'is not quite sure what [O] is doing.'
Well, Robert, you DO know what he's doing--you named it.
HT: Moonbattery
I don't think the idea of nationalizing, as it's now being called — which means bailing out these banks, setting them straight, then letting them go private again, which is the model that everybody is using, and the people who get screwed are the people whose retirement funds had common or preferred shares and they get wiped out, and these bankers come out richer than ever at the other end — that's not a leftist idea and it's not socialism. This is what we used to, in Comparative Economic Systems, call fascism. It's putting government at the service of the big financial interests. That's what happened in Italy, that's what happened in Germany, that's what happened in Japan ---Robert Scheer/NPR
After which Scheer frankly admits that 'he is disappointed' in the O-and-Savior and 'is not quite sure what [O] is doing.'
Well, Robert, you DO know what he's doing--you named it.
HT: Moonbattery
Saturday: The Tea Party Schedule
Looking for a Tea Party to attend this Saturday?
Here's the schedule as of today.
The national event will be in Chicago--and there is one in Wisconsin!! (Green Bay.)
Here's the schedule as of today.
The national event will be in Chicago--and there is one in Wisconsin!! (Green Bay.)
Think You're NOT Going to Pay for HopeyChangey?
If you think for one second that you're not paying for HopeyChangey's fascism, think again.
Obama's budget also would make permanent a tax cut for the middle class enacted in the recent stimulus package. But to pay for it, the president counts on a big infusion of cash from a politically controversial cap-and-trade system, which would force companies to buy allowances to exceed pollution limits....
"Cap and trade" will be costly to utilities and manufacturers. Utilities don't actually pay their own expenses--utility CUSTOMERS pay utility expenses.
So not only will the "middle class" pay more to heat and light their homes, but so will the poor.
...Makes no difference who you are/Just to heat your home will cost/Your left leg, too!!...
Obama's budget also would make permanent a tax cut for the middle class enacted in the recent stimulus package. But to pay for it, the president counts on a big infusion of cash from a politically controversial cap-and-trade system, which would force companies to buy allowances to exceed pollution limits....
"Cap and trade" will be costly to utilities and manufacturers. Utilities don't actually pay their own expenses--utility CUSTOMERS pay utility expenses.
So not only will the "middle class" pay more to heat and light their homes, but so will the poor.
...Makes no difference who you are/Just to heat your home will cost/Your left leg, too!!...
Big Spending on Ag: What's Mentioned, What's Not
Two newspaper stories about the ag sector today. One focuses on Porkulus and tells us what you already suspect, but doesn't mention a key word.
Here's the part you expect:
Most of the money slated for agriculture, however, will increase spending at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and won't go directly into farmers' pockets.
Yup.
In contrast, what's missing from this section?
Wisconsin stands to lose hundreds of dairy farms this year as profit margins have all but vanished in recent months. Some farmers will be forced out of business by debt that can't be refinanced and by high operating costs, according to industry experts
OK--I'll give you another crack at the missing information. Here's another story--not a pleasant one--in which the very same information is notably absent.
The critical paragraph:
He wasn't the first farmer to shut his operation during this recession, and he won't be the last. Milk prices are down, feed prices are up. The math doesn't work.
Still don't get it?
Here's the part you expect:
Most of the money slated for agriculture, however, will increase spending at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and won't go directly into farmers' pockets.
Yup.
In contrast, what's missing from this section?
Wisconsin stands to lose hundreds of dairy farms this year as profit margins have all but vanished in recent months. Some farmers will be forced out of business by debt that can't be refinanced and by high operating costs, according to industry experts
OK--I'll give you another crack at the missing information. Here's another story--not a pleasant one--in which the very same information is notably absent.
The critical paragraph:
He wasn't the first farmer to shut his operation during this recession, and he won't be the last. Milk prices are down, feed prices are up. The math doesn't work.
Still don't get it?
The Missing Words Are "CORN PRICES"
"Operating costs" and "Feed Prices" are code for "Ethanol Is Killing Farming."
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Planned Barrenhood's Foundress
Yes, that's Margaret Sanger. The current Senator from West Virginia is third from the left.
Hopey-Changey, Unicorns, Seashells, and Balloons
Had to get Al McGuire in there what with UConn on the horizon...
So why will Hopey-Changey's plan NOT WORK?
The fact of the matter is that this 2/3rds of the credit provided to our market has left and is not coming back until the misrepresentation ends and they can be assured that it will not happen again.
Feb. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Asian investors won’t buy debt and mortgage-backed securities from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac until they carry explicit U.S. guarantees, similar to those given on bonds issued by Bank of America Corp. or Citigroup Inc
...in the attempt to divert attention from one group or another - and all of the guilty parties are engaged in it at this point, including Congress and our other regulatory agencies such as The Fed - we are forgetting that the private capital is still gone and until we find a way to guarantee that another assault will not happen that capital will not return.
And that "private capital" is not just "private," and certainly NOT the capital held by All The Rich Guys In The USA.
It includes Arab money, Chinese money, Japanese money, European money....
You really think they are going to buy T-Bonds which simply cannot be repaid?
Look, folks, that Old Money didn't get Money by being stupid. They, (unlike bankers), place a higher value on a "revolution is possible"-factor to their risk-analysis.
And when Hopey-Changey argues that it's all Seashells & Balloons & Unicorns after just $1Trillion more (and more, and more), the bond-buyers also think "...but who's going to pay 50++% taxes to FUND the repayment of the bonds?"...
Why do you think HRC was begging in PRChina?
Hint: It's not because of her nature...
HT: Ticker
So why will Hopey-Changey's plan NOT WORK?
The fact of the matter is that this 2/3rds of the credit provided to our market has left and is not coming back until the misrepresentation ends and they can be assured that it will not happen again.
Feb. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Asian investors won’t buy debt and mortgage-backed securities from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac until they carry explicit U.S. guarantees, similar to those given on bonds issued by Bank of America Corp. or Citigroup Inc
...in the attempt to divert attention from one group or another - and all of the guilty parties are engaged in it at this point, including Congress and our other regulatory agencies such as The Fed - we are forgetting that the private capital is still gone and until we find a way to guarantee that another assault will not happen that capital will not return.
And that "private capital" is not just "private," and certainly NOT the capital held by All The Rich Guys In The USA.
It includes Arab money, Chinese money, Japanese money, European money....
You really think they are going to buy T-Bonds which simply cannot be repaid?
Look, folks, that Old Money didn't get Money by being stupid. They, (unlike bankers), place a higher value on a "revolution is possible"-factor to their risk-analysis.
And when Hopey-Changey argues that it's all Seashells & Balloons & Unicorns after just $1Trillion more (and more, and more), the bond-buyers also think "...but who's going to pay 50++% taxes to FUND the repayment of the bonds?"...
Why do you think HRC was begging in PRChina?
Hint: It's not because of her nature...
HT: Ticker
Dogbert Does DC
I would suggest that Dogbert was overly kind and gentle in his selection of adjectives.
The "F"-Word Again; Obama's Continuing Fascist Chatter
In the middle of Dan McLaughlin's essay describing the ....ahhhh..... contradictions, ironies, and pure foofoodust spewed by the O-and-Savior last night, we find this:
Obama’s reading of American history fits neatly in what Jonah Goldberg has described as the literally fascistic tendency to demand the peacetime permanent military-style mobilization of civilian society, the endless search for moral equivalents of war that has been a unifying theme since the days of Woodrow Wilson...
(Followed by the pertinent quotation, which includes railroads, high-schools, and the I-system.)
And a promise we'd like to see kept:
I’ll get some other day into my review of Goldberg’s book, which details the history of this sort of thinking in the U.S. and Europe between the rise of Bismarck in Germany and Hillary’s “politics of meaning” in much greater detail...
McLaughlin links to an earlier RedState item he penned, which includes the "10 Commandments of Socialism" written by Walter Ulbricht (yup, I recalled the name and his position!) back in East Germany.
It is important to recall that "Fascism" does not necessarily include "Socialism." Socialism, properly speaking, denies a 'right to private property;' Fascists did not necessarily adopt that line.
Given that, here are Ulbricht's "Big 10" for your careful review:
1. Thou shalt always defend the international solidarity of the working class as well as the permanent bonds that unite all socialist countries.
2. Thou shalt love thy Fatherland and always be ready to defend worker and peasant power with all thy strength and capacity.
3. Thou shalt help to eliminate the exploitation of humans by one another.
4. Thou shalt perform good deeds for socialism, since socialism produces a better life for all working people.
5. Thou shalt act in the spirit of mutual support and comradely cooperation during the construction of socialism, respect the collective, and take its criticisms to heart.
6. Thou shalt protect and increase the property of the people.
7. Thou shalt always pursue ways to improve thy performance, be thrifty, and strengthen socialist work discipline.
8. Thou shalt rear thy children in the spirit of peace and socialism to become citizens who are well-educated, strong in character, and physically healthy.
9. Thou shalt live a clean and decent life and respect thy family.
10. Thou shalt exhibit solidarity with all those people who are fighting for national liberation and defending their independence.
As McLaughlin comments,
Taken collectively as an official statement of the government's ruling class, they are an abomination, a symbol of the subservient relationship of the individual to the constantly hectoring collective state.
McLaughlin needs look no further than Doyle's Wisconsin to see a "hectoring collective."
If you think that this is a bit speculative (like, e.g., my term-of-endearment for the Obey/Kohl/Feingold "Final Solution"), you haven't considered Michelle Obama's words very carefully.
Barack Obama will require you to work. He is going to demand that you shed your cynicism. That you put down your divisions. That you come out of your isolation, that you move out of your comfort zones. That you push yourselves to be better. And that you engage. Barack will never allow you to go back to your lives as usual, uninvolved, uninformed.
You have to stay at the seat at the table of democracy with a man like Barack Obama not just on Tuesday but in a year from now, in four years from now, in eights years from now, you will have to be engaged.
Oh?
In a free society, citizens have not just the right but the duty to have a healthy skepticism about government and politicians and what they propose to do with our liberty and our property. The Right has always known that, as far back as Madison's view that "if men were angels, no government would be necessary"
We'll not quibble with "self-improvement" and "hard work." But we WILL quibble, strenuously, about how that "hard work" is assigned--and by whom.
HOO RAH!
Obama’s reading of American history fits neatly in what Jonah Goldberg has described as the literally fascistic tendency to demand the peacetime permanent military-style mobilization of civilian society, the endless search for moral equivalents of war that has been a unifying theme since the days of Woodrow Wilson...
(Followed by the pertinent quotation, which includes railroads, high-schools, and the I-system.)
And a promise we'd like to see kept:
I’ll get some other day into my review of Goldberg’s book, which details the history of this sort of thinking in the U.S. and Europe between the rise of Bismarck in Germany and Hillary’s “politics of meaning” in much greater detail...
McLaughlin links to an earlier RedState item he penned, which includes the "10 Commandments of Socialism" written by Walter Ulbricht (yup, I recalled the name and his position!) back in East Germany.
It is important to recall that "Fascism" does not necessarily include "Socialism." Socialism, properly speaking, denies a 'right to private property;' Fascists did not necessarily adopt that line.
Given that, here are Ulbricht's "Big 10" for your careful review:
1. Thou shalt always defend the international solidarity of the working class as well as the permanent bonds that unite all socialist countries.
2. Thou shalt love thy Fatherland and always be ready to defend worker and peasant power with all thy strength and capacity.
3. Thou shalt help to eliminate the exploitation of humans by one another.
4. Thou shalt perform good deeds for socialism, since socialism produces a better life for all working people.
5. Thou shalt act in the spirit of mutual support and comradely cooperation during the construction of socialism, respect the collective, and take its criticisms to heart.
6. Thou shalt protect and increase the property of the people.
7. Thou shalt always pursue ways to improve thy performance, be thrifty, and strengthen socialist work discipline.
8. Thou shalt rear thy children in the spirit of peace and socialism to become citizens who are well-educated, strong in character, and physically healthy.
9. Thou shalt live a clean and decent life and respect thy family.
10. Thou shalt exhibit solidarity with all those people who are fighting for national liberation and defending their independence.
As McLaughlin comments,
Taken collectively as an official statement of the government's ruling class, they are an abomination, a symbol of the subservient relationship of the individual to the constantly hectoring collective state.
McLaughlin needs look no further than Doyle's Wisconsin to see a "hectoring collective."
If you think that this is a bit speculative (like, e.g., my term-of-endearment for the Obey/Kohl/Feingold "Final Solution"), you haven't considered Michelle Obama's words very carefully.
Barack Obama will require you to work. He is going to demand that you shed your cynicism. That you put down your divisions. That you come out of your isolation, that you move out of your comfort zones. That you push yourselves to be better. And that you engage. Barack will never allow you to go back to your lives as usual, uninvolved, uninformed.
You have to stay at the seat at the table of democracy with a man like Barack Obama not just on Tuesday but in a year from now, in four years from now, in eights years from now, you will have to be engaged.
Oh?
In a free society, citizens have not just the right but the duty to have a healthy skepticism about government and politicians and what they propose to do with our liberty and our property. The Right has always known that, as far back as Madison's view that "if men were angels, no government would be necessary"
We'll not quibble with "self-improvement" and "hard work." But we WILL quibble, strenuously, about how that "hard work" is assigned--and by whom.
HOO RAH!
House Dems Guarantee Medicare Bankruptcy
From the Minority:
...the Democratic leadership, in their Rules package for the 111th Congress, turned off the Medicare trigger, ensuring no proposal to address Medicare’s long-term spending crisis would receive the special consideration provided by law in the Medicare Modernization Act [MMA] of 2003
So what?
--The Medicare Trustees estimate the unfunded liability of the Medicare Program at $36 trillion over 75 years, a per-household burden of approximately $317,000. Without reform, this number skyrockets to nearly $48 trillion in just 5 years, or about $421,402 per household
--The Congressional Budget Office [CBO] estimates that Medicare alone will constitute 17 percent of gross domestic product [GDP] by 2082 – a sixfold increase from 2006, and nearly the same percentage of GDP absorbed by the entire Federal budget today
That's what. Your own CHILDREN cannot afford this, unless they are living in slums comparable to those of Mumbai.
And they will be, with cap-and-trade, and nationalhealthcare.
...the Democratic leadership, in their Rules package for the 111th Congress, turned off the Medicare trigger, ensuring no proposal to address Medicare’s long-term spending crisis would receive the special consideration provided by law in the Medicare Modernization Act [MMA] of 2003
So what?
--The Medicare Trustees estimate the unfunded liability of the Medicare Program at $36 trillion over 75 years, a per-household burden of approximately $317,000. Without reform, this number skyrockets to nearly $48 trillion in just 5 years, or about $421,402 per household
--The Congressional Budget Office [CBO] estimates that Medicare alone will constitute 17 percent of gross domestic product [GDP] by 2082 – a sixfold increase from 2006, and nearly the same percentage of GDP absorbed by the entire Federal budget today
That's what. Your own CHILDREN cannot afford this, unless they are living in slums comparable to those of Mumbai.
And they will be, with cap-and-trade, and nationalhealthcare.
Kyl Affirms: Obama Uses "Strawman" Deficit Numbers
As No Runny Eggs pointed out, the President created a "strawman" budget deficit number--and then promised to reduce it.
Whoop-deee-doo!
Sen. Kyl confirmed NoRunny/Shoebox's contention last night on Fox News following Obama's speech.
Here's the relevant post and excerpts.
According to [a] CBO forecast, the budget deficit for the last year of Obama’s first term, FY 2013, was projected to be $257 Billion.
[Even with the Porkulus added,] [a]ccording to the CBO’s analysis, the increase is $28 billion in 2013 for a total of $285 Billion
With a few minor adjustments having to do with military spending, etc., we STILL only have a $290Bn deficit by 2013.
That looks to be more than 45% less, $243 billion below, the audacious target President Obama has set for himself
Don't worry: he will take credit for all the "work" he did (in the gym?) to "reduce the deficit."
Except he won't have to do a damn thing.
Whoop-deee-doo!
Sen. Kyl confirmed NoRunny/Shoebox's contention last night on Fox News following Obama's speech.
Here's the relevant post and excerpts.
According to [a] CBO forecast, the budget deficit for the last year of Obama’s first term, FY 2013, was projected to be $257 Billion.
[Even with the Porkulus added,] [a]ccording to the CBO’s analysis, the increase is $28 billion in 2013 for a total of $285 Billion
With a few minor adjustments having to do with military spending, etc., we STILL only have a $290Bn deficit by 2013.
That looks to be more than 45% less, $243 billion below, the audacious target President Obama has set for himself
Don't worry: he will take credit for all the "work" he did (in the gym?) to "reduce the deficit."
Except he won't have to do a damn thing.
Schumer: Blowhard With Imperial Gas
Seems like Chuckles doesn't like all that "Federalism" stuff.
Chuck Schumer wants the White House's Office of Management and Budget to tell states they have no choice in the use of porkulus funds.
...This stems from Gov. Bobby Jindal and others saying they would not take the whole package because some parts would force state tax increases to comply with the terms of Porkulus.
Schumer says that's tough. States will be forced to increase taxes and take 100% of the money if he has his way. And the states will have no discretion
Well, maybe it's about time to try this before a Federal Court.
Chuck Schumer wants the White House's Office of Management and Budget to tell states they have no choice in the use of porkulus funds.
...This stems from Gov. Bobby Jindal and others saying they would not take the whole package because some parts would force state tax increases to comply with the terms of Porkulus.
Schumer says that's tough. States will be forced to increase taxes and take 100% of the money if he has his way. And the states will have no discretion
Well, maybe it's about time to try this before a Federal Court.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Tonight's Drinking Game
You know the routine...More here--including downloadable playing-boards, etc., courtesy Americans for Tax Reform
James Burnham: Prophet
Wow.
I knew about Burnham's history, but I shoulda read the book. Here George Marlin, a Chestertonian extraordinaire, writes about the Gudge described by Burnham.
In 1941, New York University philosopher James Burnham published a prophetic book, The Managerial Revolution: What Is Happening in the World, to critical acclaim. Fortune called it the most debated book of the year. Time had it on its annual most notable list. And it made The New York Times best sellers. It was translated into a dozen languages.
Burnham (1905-1987), an ex-Trotsykyite who became a founding editor of National Review and returned to the Church late in life, held that self-destructing capitalism would not be replaced by socialism, which he thought “a mythical dream,” but by a managerial class that administers corporate policy.
Uh-huh. Details?
In times of economic crisis, Burnham argued, the capitalist class – bankers, industrialists, merchants – will gradually be replaced by a new class of self-confident government managers. These administrative experts, directing engineers, and technocrats, will control ever-expanding government bureaus, agencies, and commissions that dictate how resources will be distributed. They will stress the state over individuals, will talk about planning more than free initiative, `jobs over opportunity, and as “economic conditions progressively decay, the reward allocated to the finance-capitalists [will] seem inordinate and unjustified.…”
And with familiar rhetoric, too:
The managerial society will be promoted as the salvation of mankind ushering “in an age of plenty, sweetness, and light..."
How can one accomplish that goal? Well, here's one way:
The Roosevelt administration created scores of federal agencies that governed by fiat. The National Recovery Administration (NRA), for instance, determined prices and wages throughout America until it was declared unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court. Subscribing to a “high wage” theory that assumed efficient cost-cutting measures were bad, NRA managers created volumes of price codes; every business, big or small, had to comply. Policing the nation for violators, NRA agents actually jailed a Cleveland couple who owned a dry cleaner “because they cleaned suits for five cents less than the NRA codes provides.”
Not exactly the NRA we know and love today, eh? 'S OK--the OLD NRA was replaced by the Minimum Wage police--and a helluva lot more than that:
The emerging managerial class that Burnham described in the 1940s has continued to expand – even during Republican ascendency in the last third of the twentieth century. Today there are more than 400 Federal agencies, programs and activities ...(ACYF), (APHIS), (CRS), (ERA), ...
(More at the link, if you have the stomach for it.)
...The present economic crisis opens whole new vistas to managerial types.
Oh, goodie goodie gumdrop!!
...Don’t expect the agenda of this professional governing class to be limited to economics. They will reach into every home and church. Catholics should be especially wary of them. Their significance in the world hinges on the transformation of America into a Ward Three nation. For them, liberty means obedience to the enlightened values of a managerial elite, which is also becoming international in scope.
Some of them may still believe in God, but He lives in a different neighborhood, has odd views not shared by the very best people, and anyway there are multiple crises to deal with – and managerial opportunities.
Yah. Clinging to His Bible...and all that.
I knew about Burnham's history, but I shoulda read the book. Here George Marlin, a Chestertonian extraordinaire, writes about the Gudge described by Burnham.
In 1941, New York University philosopher James Burnham published a prophetic book, The Managerial Revolution: What Is Happening in the World, to critical acclaim. Fortune called it the most debated book of the year. Time had it on its annual most notable list. And it made The New York Times best sellers. It was translated into a dozen languages.
Burnham (1905-1987), an ex-Trotsykyite who became a founding editor of National Review and returned to the Church late in life, held that self-destructing capitalism would not be replaced by socialism, which he thought “a mythical dream,” but by a managerial class that administers corporate policy.
Uh-huh. Details?
In times of economic crisis, Burnham argued, the capitalist class – bankers, industrialists, merchants – will gradually be replaced by a new class of self-confident government managers. These administrative experts, directing engineers, and technocrats, will control ever-expanding government bureaus, agencies, and commissions that dictate how resources will be distributed. They will stress the state over individuals, will talk about planning more than free initiative, `jobs over opportunity, and as “economic conditions progressively decay, the reward allocated to the finance-capitalists [will] seem inordinate and unjustified.…”
And with familiar rhetoric, too:
The managerial society will be promoted as the salvation of mankind ushering “in an age of plenty, sweetness, and light..."
How can one accomplish that goal? Well, here's one way:
The Roosevelt administration created scores of federal agencies that governed by fiat. The National Recovery Administration (NRA), for instance, determined prices and wages throughout America until it was declared unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court. Subscribing to a “high wage” theory that assumed efficient cost-cutting measures were bad, NRA managers created volumes of price codes; every business, big or small, had to comply. Policing the nation for violators, NRA agents actually jailed a Cleveland couple who owned a dry cleaner “because they cleaned suits for five cents less than the NRA codes provides.”
Not exactly the NRA we know and love today, eh? 'S OK--the OLD NRA was replaced by the Minimum Wage police--and a helluva lot more than that:
The emerging managerial class that Burnham described in the 1940s has continued to expand – even during Republican ascendency in the last third of the twentieth century. Today there are more than 400 Federal agencies, programs and activities ...(ACYF), (APHIS), (CRS), (ERA), ...
(More at the link, if you have the stomach for it.)
...The present economic crisis opens whole new vistas to managerial types.
Oh, goodie goodie gumdrop!!
...Don’t expect the agenda of this professional governing class to be limited to economics. They will reach into every home and church. Catholics should be especially wary of them. Their significance in the world hinges on the transformation of America into a Ward Three nation. For them, liberty means obedience to the enlightened values of a managerial elite, which is also becoming international in scope.
Some of them may still believe in God, but He lives in a different neighborhood, has odd views not shared by the very best people, and anyway there are multiple crises to deal with – and managerial opportunities.
Yah. Clinging to His Bible...and all that.
Why MU Defeated Georgetown TWICE This Year
The Georgetown folks had other things on their minds. Two seminars (pun there) to be held at Georgetown U:
Tuesday Feb 24, 8:00, Reiss 262: TORN ABOUT PORN?
This event will is important to open dialogue around pornography and how it affects our lives. It is important to be open to discussion about arguably alternative forms of pornography that are not supposed to be exploitative, but rather radical and empowering. The question of the day: Can pornography be sex positive?
And:
Saturday, February 28, 7:00 pm Washington DC
JENNY BLOCK & TRISTAN TAORMINO OPEN IT UP
Jenny Block reads from her memoir Open: Love, Sex, and Life in an Open Marriage and Tristan Taormino reads from her book Opening Up: A Guide to Creating and Sustaining Open Relationships. Their readings will be followed by a question & answer and discussion about monogamy, non-monogamy, and the state of love and relationships today. This event is co-sponsored by Georgetown University Pride as part of their Sex Positive Week and by Whole DC
Who needs buckets?
HT: Dreher
Tuesday Feb 24, 8:00, Reiss 262: TORN ABOUT PORN?
This event will is important to open dialogue around pornography and how it affects our lives. It is important to be open to discussion about arguably alternative forms of pornography that are not supposed to be exploitative, but rather radical and empowering. The question of the day: Can pornography be sex positive?
And:
Saturday, February 28, 7:00 pm Washington DC
JENNY BLOCK & TRISTAN TAORMINO OPEN IT UP
Jenny Block reads from her memoir Open: Love, Sex, and Life in an Open Marriage and Tristan Taormino reads from her book Opening Up: A Guide to Creating and Sustaining Open Relationships. Their readings will be followed by a question & answer and discussion about monogamy, non-monogamy, and the state of love and relationships today. This event is co-sponsored by Georgetown University Pride as part of their Sex Positive Week and by Whole DC
Who needs buckets?
HT: Dreher
Implementing the Final Solution
Thought I was just being a bit ...ahhhh.... 'over the top' with that language, eh?
Not really.
Humana Inc. is “closely analyzing” an announcement by the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services that includes preliminary 2010 Medicare Advantage payment rates, the health insurer said Monday.
The preliminary rates were announced by CMS after the close of trading on Friday, Feb. 20.
Medicare Advantage plans are government-approved plans that are run by private companies.
Humana, one of the largest health insurers in Wisconsin, is examining “all aspects of the CMS announcement because the company finds certain assumptions behind the preliminary 2010 rates to be unusual and inconsistent with decades of experience and with past CMS practice,” a Humana news release stated.
The CMS notice includes a preliminary estimate of a 0.5 percent payment rate increase in the Medicare Advantage plans. Analysts had expected the increase to be considerably more, according to a Reuters article.
According to Humana, the Feds' announcement means that premiums will rise substantially.
Or, of course, medical treatments could be cut back substantially.
Or we could adopt the Dave Obey/Herb Kohl/Russ Feingold position: have the Gummint decide whether or not you are worth the indicated treatment dollars.
Not really.
Humana Inc. is “closely analyzing” an announcement by the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services that includes preliminary 2010 Medicare Advantage payment rates, the health insurer said Monday.
The preliminary rates were announced by CMS after the close of trading on Friday, Feb. 20.
Medicare Advantage plans are government-approved plans that are run by private companies.
Humana, one of the largest health insurers in Wisconsin, is examining “all aspects of the CMS announcement because the company finds certain assumptions behind the preliminary 2010 rates to be unusual and inconsistent with decades of experience and with past CMS practice,” a Humana news release stated.
The CMS notice includes a preliminary estimate of a 0.5 percent payment rate increase in the Medicare Advantage plans. Analysts had expected the increase to be considerably more, according to a Reuters article.
According to Humana, the Feds' announcement means that premiums will rise substantially.
Or, of course, medical treatments could be cut back substantially.
Or we could adopt the Dave Obey/Herb Kohl/Russ Feingold position: have the Gummint decide whether or not you are worth the indicated treatment dollars.
Iran: Worse Than You Think
Spengler has a very revealing essay.
Iran is dying. The collapse of Iran's birth rate during the past 20 years is the fastest recorded in any country, ever. Demographers have sought in vain to explain Iran's population implosion through family planning policies, or through social factors such as the rise of female literacy
...[The mullahs'] efforts to isolate Iran from the cultural degradation of the American "great Satan" have produced social pathologies worse than those in any Western country. With oil at barely one-fifth of its 2008 peak price, they will run out of money some time in late 2009 or early 2010. Game theory would predict that Iran's leaders will gamble on a strategic long shot. That is not a comforting thought for Iran's neighbors.
In fact, the Iranian fertility rate-drop is "a world record."
It gets worse.
...prostitution has become a career of choice among educated Iranian women. On February 3, the Austrian daily Der Standard published the results of two investigations conducted by the Tehran police, suppressed by the Iranian media. [1]
"More than 90% of Tehran's prostitutes have passed the university entrance exam, according to the results of one study, and more than 30% of them are registered at a university or studying," reports Der Standard. "The study was assigned to the Tehran Police Department and the Ministry of Health, and when the results were tabulated in early January no local newspaper dared to so much as mention them."
Spengler goes on to analyze the cause, and has this conclusion.
As in the decline of communism, what follows on the breakdown of a state ideology is likely to be nihilism. Iran is a dying country, and it is very difficult to have a rational dialogue with a nation all of whose available choices terminate in oblivion.
The Mullahcracy failed, spectacularly--the corruption of the Iranian regime is comparable to that of late Rome (which also collapsed, as you recall.)
No wonder Israel has grave concerns.
HT: Vox
Iran is dying. The collapse of Iran's birth rate during the past 20 years is the fastest recorded in any country, ever. Demographers have sought in vain to explain Iran's population implosion through family planning policies, or through social factors such as the rise of female literacy
...[The mullahs'] efforts to isolate Iran from the cultural degradation of the American "great Satan" have produced social pathologies worse than those in any Western country. With oil at barely one-fifth of its 2008 peak price, they will run out of money some time in late 2009 or early 2010. Game theory would predict that Iran's leaders will gamble on a strategic long shot. That is not a comforting thought for Iran's neighbors.
In fact, the Iranian fertility rate-drop is "a world record."
It gets worse.
...prostitution has become a career of choice among educated Iranian women. On February 3, the Austrian daily Der Standard published the results of two investigations conducted by the Tehran police, suppressed by the Iranian media. [1]
"More than 90% of Tehran's prostitutes have passed the university entrance exam, according to the results of one study, and more than 30% of them are registered at a university or studying," reports Der Standard. "The study was assigned to the Tehran Police Department and the Ministry of Health, and when the results were tabulated in early January no local newspaper dared to so much as mention them."
Spengler goes on to analyze the cause, and has this conclusion.
As in the decline of communism, what follows on the breakdown of a state ideology is likely to be nihilism. Iran is a dying country, and it is very difficult to have a rational dialogue with a nation all of whose available choices terminate in oblivion.
The Mullahcracy failed, spectacularly--the corruption of the Iranian regime is comparable to that of late Rome (which also collapsed, as you recall.)
No wonder Israel has grave concerns.
HT: Vox
Poster-Worm for Projection: Bill Moyers
Heh.
Seems Moyers directed the FBI to find homosexuals in Goldwater's campaign staff, back when Moyers was working for LBJ (another un-indicted criminal.)
And Moyers suffers from "projection," the most common Lefty mental disease:
Mr. Moyers has gone on to promote himself as a political moralist, routinely sermonizing about what he claims are abuses of power by his ideological enemies. Since 9/11, he has been particularly intense in criticizing President Bush for his antiterror policies, such as warrantless wiretapping against al Qaeda.
Yet the historical record suggests that when Mr. Moyers was in a position of actual power, he was complicit in FBI dirt-digging against U.S. citizens solely for political purposes
If you want to see more of "projection," visit any LeftyBlog which advocates the repeal of the 2A, or for that matter, which advocates for the repeal of Free Speech.
HT: Moonbattery
Seems Moyers directed the FBI to find homosexuals in Goldwater's campaign staff, back when Moyers was working for LBJ (another un-indicted criminal.)
And Moyers suffers from "projection," the most common Lefty mental disease:
Mr. Moyers has gone on to promote himself as a political moralist, routinely sermonizing about what he claims are abuses of power by his ideological enemies. Since 9/11, he has been particularly intense in criticizing President Bush for his antiterror policies, such as warrantless wiretapping against al Qaeda.
Yet the historical record suggests that when Mr. Moyers was in a position of actual power, he was complicit in FBI dirt-digging against U.S. citizens solely for political purposes
If you want to see more of "projection," visit any LeftyBlog which advocates the repeal of the 2A, or for that matter, which advocates for the repeal of Free Speech.
HT: Moonbattery
The ACORN Fraud in Baltimore
Malkin:
Here is what the MSM won’t be telling you about the so-called “victim” in that case, ACORN worker Donna Hanks — all based on public records and court documents.
Hmmmm--she's an ACORN employee!!
According to real property data search information, Hanks bought the two-story home in the summer of 2001 for $87,000. At some point in the next five years, she re-financed the original home loan for $270,000
That's a helluvalotta gain in 5 years, no?
She went BK in '06, and filed a Chapter XIII plan to repay; that repayment plan stipulated the $340/month which she claimed to be a "mortgage company increase" in payment.
But she WAS using the joint as an income property, (illegally)---and managed to rack up a couple of convictions, too.
Then the second FC, about which we have heard a great deal.
The whole thing is a fraud, top to bottom.
We don't need to remind you that Barack Obama trained ACORN people, do we?
Here is what the MSM won’t be telling you about the so-called “victim” in that case, ACORN worker Donna Hanks — all based on public records and court documents.
Hmmmm--she's an ACORN employee!!
According to real property data search information, Hanks bought the two-story home in the summer of 2001 for $87,000. At some point in the next five years, she re-financed the original home loan for $270,000
That's a helluvalotta gain in 5 years, no?
She went BK in '06, and filed a Chapter XIII plan to repay; that repayment plan stipulated the $340/month which she claimed to be a "mortgage company increase" in payment.
But she WAS using the joint as an income property, (illegally)---and managed to rack up a couple of convictions, too.
Then the second FC, about which we have heard a great deal.
The whole thing is a fraud, top to bottom.
We don't need to remind you that Barack Obama trained ACORN people, do we?
Good News? Bad News?
NOTE: The Great Depression chart is DOW--all the others are S&P
Although the technical barrier was broken (down >50%), it's possible that the stockdump is near the nadir.
As we mentioned yesterday, however, the President-Savior and his Cabinet have not finished bad-mouthing/talking down the economy.
Another round of TEOTWAWKI comes tonight!
HT: CalculatedRisk
Monday, February 23, 2009
Dow 5,000?
Well, the Dow lost 4,000 points or so since Obama took the permanent lead in the Pres race--a bit more than 30% off.
Now at 7,000++
Can it hit 5,000?
Sure!!
All Obama has to do is talk twice a week, and fill in the gaps with Geithner-talk, LaHood talk, and any-old-Cabinet-moron chatter about National Healthcare.
For the double-dog-dare challenge: can the O-and-Savior's Administration get Dow to 1,500 before the end of 2009?
Now at 7,000++
Can it hit 5,000?
Sure!!
All Obama has to do is talk twice a week, and fill in the gaps with Geithner-talk, LaHood talk, and any-old-Cabinet-moron chatter about National Healthcare.
For the double-dog-dare challenge: can the O-and-Savior's Administration get Dow to 1,500 before the end of 2009?
Kmiec in Time Mag-a-Rag: Deceptive.
Since at least 1960, high-school debate competitors have not been allowed to cite from Time magazine, as it was (even then) regarded as unreliable.
Nothing has changed.
Latest example is from Doug Kmiec, who really, really, really wants to be on SCOTUS--and in order to get there, he has used his 'Intellectualoid' status to wage war against the unborn and their Catholic supporters.
Fr. Z. picked up the subtle, but clear, problem in Kmiec's essay.
Following the Pelosi meeting, the Holy See issued the following statement:
"His Holiness took the opportunity to speak of the requirements of the natural moral law and the Church’s consistent teaching on the dignity of human life from conception to natural death which enjoin all Catholics, and especially legislators, jurists and those responsible for the common good of society, to work in cooperation with all men and women of good will in creating a just system of laws capable of protecting human life at all stages of its development."
So what? Here's what:
Kmiec wants the reader to accept the premise that the Pope is imposing a new moral duty imposed on jurists, a duty to "undertake an activist, law-changing role".
The Pope didn’t say that at all.
The statement does not say that jurists must be activists. It says that jurists should "work for a system of law capable of protecting human life at all stages of its development".
Kmiec says that there is now a "new directive" from Rome. There isn’t.
Here's the root sleight-of-hand:
Kmiec wrongly interprets the papal statement as putting jurists and legislators in the same category so that their responsibilities about protecting human life must be exercised in the same way. Kmiec says the pope doesn’t recognize that there are different roles
...which is patently untrue.
The old wisdom about Time magazine proves correct, again.
Nothing has changed.
Latest example is from Doug Kmiec, who really, really, really wants to be on SCOTUS--and in order to get there, he has used his 'Intellectualoid' status to wage war against the unborn and their Catholic supporters.
Fr. Z. picked up the subtle, but clear, problem in Kmiec's essay.
Following the Pelosi meeting, the Holy See issued the following statement:
"His Holiness took the opportunity to speak of the requirements of the natural moral law and the Church’s consistent teaching on the dignity of human life from conception to natural death which enjoin all Catholics, and especially legislators, jurists and those responsible for the common good of society, to work in cooperation with all men and women of good will in creating a just system of laws capable of protecting human life at all stages of its development."
So what? Here's what:
Kmiec wants the reader to accept the premise that the Pope is imposing a new moral duty imposed on jurists, a duty to "undertake an activist, law-changing role".
The Pope didn’t say that at all.
The statement does not say that jurists must be activists. It says that jurists should "work for a system of law capable of protecting human life at all stages of its development".
Kmiec says that there is now a "new directive" from Rome. There isn’t.
Here's the root sleight-of-hand:
Kmiec wrongly interprets the papal statement as putting jurists and legislators in the same category so that their responsibilities about protecting human life must be exercised in the same way. Kmiec says the pope doesn’t recognize that there are different roles
...which is patently untrue.
The old wisdom about Time magazine proves correct, again.
Abp Dolan Leaving: The Good News/Bad News
For New York, of course, it's the good news.
The Archbishop is far more pastoral than Abp Egan, who is currently in charge--and since Egan did a lot of heavy-lifting in NYC, Abp Dolan will be able to exercise his instincts to the benefit of the NYC folks.
The bad news is that Abp Dolan is leaving here, having done a LOT of good.
The rest of the story? Mixed.
It's likely that the Seminary will be a source of hope over the next several years with its new Rector, Fr. Hying.
But the Rembertine Rabble still dominates most of the bureaucracy; it was not in the nature of Abp. Dolan to fire people who mis-served.
Ah, well. Nobody promised a rose garden.
The Archbishop is far more pastoral than Abp Egan, who is currently in charge--and since Egan did a lot of heavy-lifting in NYC, Abp Dolan will be able to exercise his instincts to the benefit of the NYC folks.
The bad news is that Abp Dolan is leaving here, having done a LOT of good.
The rest of the story? Mixed.
It's likely that the Seminary will be a source of hope over the next several years with its new Rector, Fr. Hying.
But the Rembertine Rabble still dominates most of the bureaucracy; it was not in the nature of Abp. Dolan to fire people who mis-served.
Ah, well. Nobody promised a rose garden.
Like Citibank? You'll OWN It Soon
The trouble with taxpayer-ownership of Citigroup is that it isn't worth a pint of pee--much less the $40Bn we're going to put into it.
“Explain this to me again: We put in many times the value of this company — we have already given them $45 billion dollars, and guaranteed almost $300 billion dollars worth of bad paper — and we get less than 50%? WTF? How the hell does THAT work?"
(A comment imagined by Ritholtz--but which should be part of the "Tea Party" signage...)
Answer to the question:
HT: BigPicture
“Explain this to me again: We put in many times the value of this company — we have already given them $45 billion dollars, and guaranteed almost $300 billion dollars worth of bad paper — and we get less than 50%? WTF? How the hell does THAT work?"
(A comment imagined by Ritholtz--but which should be part of the "Tea Party" signage...)
Answer to the question:
Because Tim Geithner says so, that's why.
HT: BigPicture
Have You Seen the Omnibus Spending Bill? Neither Has Congress
BOHICA!!
As if the $1.2 trillion Democrats spent on “stimulus” last week wasn’t enough of a disaster, this colossal bill encompasses the remaining nine appropriations bills for fiscal year 2009 sloughed off by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).
House minority leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) called upon the Speaker Thursday to release the voluminous spending bill online without delay
And got no response from QueenNancy (who has no pictures of Herself with the Pope)
If Democratic leaders plan to schedule a vote on the half-trillion dollar omnibus spending bill next week, they should post the legislation online immediately so the American people have adequate time to read the measure and understand what is in it,” Boehner said. “My colleagues in the Republican leadership and I made this request two weeks ago, and to date, our request has gone unanswered. Time is running short, and American taxpayers deserve to know how their hard-earned tax dollars will be used under this legislation.”
Apparently we don't.
HT: RedState
As if the $1.2 trillion Democrats spent on “stimulus” last week wasn’t enough of a disaster, this colossal bill encompasses the remaining nine appropriations bills for fiscal year 2009 sloughed off by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).
House minority leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) called upon the Speaker Thursday to release the voluminous spending bill online without delay
And got no response from QueenNancy (who has no pictures of Herself with the Pope)
If Democratic leaders plan to schedule a vote on the half-trillion dollar omnibus spending bill next week, they should post the legislation online immediately so the American people have adequate time to read the measure and understand what is in it,” Boehner said. “My colleagues in the Republican leadership and I made this request two weeks ago, and to date, our request has gone unanswered. Time is running short, and American taxpayers deserve to know how their hard-earned tax dollars will be used under this legislation.”
Apparently we don't.
HT: RedState
A Lesson In Complexity
Tired of depressing news, now that the Democrats control the Gummint?
Here's some enjoyable reading from Planet Moron. I'll give you a tease:
If there’s one thing we know about our current home mortgage and banking crisis, it is that it’s complex...
Don’t believe it's complex? Take a look at this detailed summary we prepared, the result of weeks of painstaking research and study:
People borrowed too much money to purchase homes they couldn’t afford.
Here's some enjoyable reading from Planet Moron. I'll give you a tease:
If there’s one thing we know about our current home mortgage and banking crisis, it is that it’s complex...
Don’t believe it's complex? Take a look at this detailed summary we prepared, the result of weeks of painstaking research and study:
People borrowed too much money to purchase homes they couldn’t afford.
Lots of good Q&A at the link, too!
The Strawman Lie from O-and-Savior
NoRunnyShoebox is a national treasure, today exposing Bambi's "Lie by strawman" trick.
That happens when you simply create a number--not from evidence or fact, but pulled from where the Sun never shines---and tell everybody 'I can fix that!!'
How does it work? Simple.
Bambi announced that he would "reduce the deficit to only $530++Bn" by the end of his first term (2013.) To do that, he'll impose tax increases on the eeeeeeeeeeevil Rich and the eeeeeeeeeevil Corporations.
Only trouble: the $530++Bn number is a strawman--pulled directly from O's ass.
According to [a] CBO forecast, the budget deficit for the last year of Obama’s first term, FY 2013, was projected to be $257 Billion.
Yeah, yeah, I know.
That nasty stimulus bill really jacked the future deficit up right? According to the CBO’s analysis, the increase is $28 billion in 2013 for a total of $285 Billion
With a few adjustments for war spending, variables on the AMT, etc., Shoebox has the following:
That leaves us at a projected 2013 deficit of $290 Billion. That looks to be more than 45% less, $243 billion below, the audacious target President Obama has set for himself.
Damn! He can spend all DAY in the gym and "reduce the deficit"--so long as you are stupid enough to believe the lies he told you over this weekend.
Of course, it IS possible that there will be a $530++Bn deficit--it's called ObeyPelosiReid.
For the budget deficit to grow $243 Billion over the latest, adjusted for the Stimulus plan, forecast by the CBO, Congress will need to increase their discretionary spending by 20% over the assumed increases for inflation, growth and GDP adjustments. In the CBO’s forecast, discretionary spending is only expected to increase by $36 Billion over Obama’s term. If discretionary spending does increase by $243 Billion over the rate that the CBO has projected, it will grow at a rate that is 675% higher than that projected rate.
The "Tea Parties" may counter that threat. Direct action is possible.
That happens when you simply create a number--not from evidence or fact, but pulled from where the Sun never shines---and tell everybody 'I can fix that!!'
How does it work? Simple.
Bambi announced that he would "reduce the deficit to only $530++Bn" by the end of his first term (2013.) To do that, he'll impose tax increases on the eeeeeeeeeeevil Rich and the eeeeeeeeeevil Corporations.
Only trouble: the $530++Bn number is a strawman--pulled directly from O's ass.
According to [a] CBO forecast, the budget deficit for the last year of Obama’s first term, FY 2013, was projected to be $257 Billion.
Yeah, yeah, I know.
That nasty stimulus bill really jacked the future deficit up right? According to the CBO’s analysis, the increase is $28 billion in 2013 for a total of $285 Billion
With a few adjustments for war spending, variables on the AMT, etc., Shoebox has the following:
That leaves us at a projected 2013 deficit of $290 Billion. That looks to be more than 45% less, $243 billion below, the audacious target President Obama has set for himself.
Damn! He can spend all DAY in the gym and "reduce the deficit"--so long as you are stupid enough to believe the lies he told you over this weekend.
Of course, it IS possible that there will be a $530++Bn deficit--it's called ObeyPelosiReid.
For the budget deficit to grow $243 Billion over the latest, adjusted for the Stimulus plan, forecast by the CBO, Congress will need to increase their discretionary spending by 20% over the assumed increases for inflation, growth and GDP adjustments. In the CBO’s forecast, discretionary spending is only expected to increase by $36 Billion over Obama’s term. If discretionary spending does increase by $243 Billion over the rate that the CBO has projected, it will grow at a rate that is 675% higher than that projected rate.
The "Tea Parties" may counter that threat. Direct action is possible.
White House Mortgage-Bailout Liar Exposed
Gibbs is not only a poor WH spokesman, he's lying like a rug.
Here is the definitive rebuttal to Gibb's pathetic drooling over Santelli's comments.
HT: Moonbattery
Here is the definitive rebuttal to Gibb's pathetic drooling over Santelli's comments.
HT: Moonbattery
Porkulus in Tennessee--Who Is "Stimulated"?
How MIGHT Porkulus be spent in Wisconsin? Let's use Tennessee as a rough guide.
(Sorry--the source materials are 'paid subscription' only, or I'd have the Wisconsin breakdown.)
Here's what Stop the ACLU discovered through a TN blogger.
The Volunteer State stands to have a windfall of $3,779,708,000 thanks to the pork-laden bill passed by Congress and President Obama. The list of payouts is impressive, but it really does show that only a small amount of the total could be considered an economic stimulant.
$771,610,000 on Education
$171,678,000 on “General Purpose”
$1,100,000,000 for Medicaid
$10,200,000 for the Foster Care system
$71,988,000 to mass transit capital grants
$20,394,000 to “clean water” programs
$57,814,000 to drinking water programs
$97,467,000 to something called “weatherization”
$59,065,000 to the state energy program
$7,199,000 for immunization
$2,614,000 for elderly nutrition
$41,932,000 to child care
$19,699,000 to the shadowy idea of “community services”
$2,069,000 to the “temporary emergency food assistance program”
$2,064,000 for emergency food and shelter
$11,500,000 for vocational rehabilitation
$174,210,000 for K thru 12 education
$50,386,000 for school improvement
$236,163,000 goes to the individuals with disabilities act
Yada, yada, yada.
Kinda looks like a Gummint Employees' Preservation Act, no?
Quoting his source:
Of our total $3,779,708,000 - $1,246,017 goes to various Education programs, $1,100,000,000 goes to Medicaid leaving just $1,433,691,000 to spend on everything else. Almost two thirds of the money is excluded from stimulating the Economy in just two general items. Of the monies left, $771,282,000 also fails to stimulate the Economy, $662,409,000 falls under the “Maybe” category and only $12,979,000 has the appearance of true Stimulus spending
I wouldn't be surprised in the least of 2/3rds of Wisconsin's pork-hocks dollars are similarly distributed--that is, directly into the hands of State and local Gummints.
So again--exactly WHO is "stimulated"?
(Sorry--the source materials are 'paid subscription' only, or I'd have the Wisconsin breakdown.)
Here's what Stop the ACLU discovered through a TN blogger.
The Volunteer State stands to have a windfall of $3,779,708,000 thanks to the pork-laden bill passed by Congress and President Obama. The list of payouts is impressive, but it really does show that only a small amount of the total could be considered an economic stimulant.
$771,610,000 on Education
$171,678,000 on “General Purpose”
$1,100,000,000 for Medicaid
$10,200,000 for the Foster Care system
$71,988,000 to mass transit capital grants
$20,394,000 to “clean water” programs
$57,814,000 to drinking water programs
$97,467,000 to something called “weatherization”
$59,065,000 to the state energy program
$7,199,000 for immunization
$2,614,000 for elderly nutrition
$41,932,000 to child care
$19,699,000 to the shadowy idea of “community services”
$2,069,000 to the “temporary emergency food assistance program”
$2,064,000 for emergency food and shelter
$11,500,000 for vocational rehabilitation
$174,210,000 for K thru 12 education
$50,386,000 for school improvement
$236,163,000 goes to the individuals with disabilities act
Yada, yada, yada.
Kinda looks like a Gummint Employees' Preservation Act, no?
Quoting his source:
Of our total $3,779,708,000 - $1,246,017 goes to various Education programs, $1,100,000,000 goes to Medicaid leaving just $1,433,691,000 to spend on everything else. Almost two thirds of the money is excluded from stimulating the Economy in just two general items. Of the monies left, $771,282,000 also fails to stimulate the Economy, $662,409,000 falls under the “Maybe” category and only $12,979,000 has the appearance of true Stimulus spending
I wouldn't be surprised in the least of 2/3rds of Wisconsin's pork-hocks dollars are similarly distributed--that is, directly into the hands of State and local Gummints.
So again--exactly WHO is "stimulated"?
Is There a REAL REPORTER in the House? Part 2
Don't you love it when "news stories" lie?
In the budget he proposed last week, Doyle called for offering limited legal protections for same-sex couples, such as allowing domestic partners to take family and medical leave to care for a seriously ill partner, make end-of-life decisions and add health care coverage
"Limited"?? LIMITED???
Ms. Forster, do you have ANY idea what that "health care coverage" is going to cost the taxpayer?
Doyle is not "limiting" this proposal in any way whatsoever.
If you are a public employee--State, Municipal, or County--and you have a "partner," whether homosex or heterosex, you can put that partner on the taxpayer's health-insurance tab.
Oh, and by the way, it's been about a week since LRB put out the memo mentioning this little provision.
Were you on vacation?
In the budget he proposed last week, Doyle called for offering limited legal protections for same-sex couples, such as allowing domestic partners to take family and medical leave to care for a seriously ill partner, make end-of-life decisions and add health care coverage
"Limited"?? LIMITED???
Ms. Forster, do you have ANY idea what that "health care coverage" is going to cost the taxpayer?
Doyle is not "limiting" this proposal in any way whatsoever.
If you are a public employee--State, Municipal, or County--and you have a "partner," whether homosex or heterosex, you can put that partner on the taxpayer's health-insurance tab.
Oh, and by the way, it's been about a week since LRB put out the memo mentioning this little provision.
Were you on vacation?
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Its' The SPENDING, Stupid, Part 25,896
McIlheran has a more elegant phrasing of the spending stream dribbling down Jim Doyle's leg.
"This budget makes the largest cuts we've ever seen," said Gov. Jim Doyle the other night.
And: "It makes a lot of tough cuts," so that "everyone is going to have to share in the sacrifice." Oh, and did he say he's cutting?
Or, rather, cutting*. Because the state is not cutting its spending. It's raising it.
In other words, you know he's lying because his lips moved.
But P-Mac, a gentle soul, won't call Doyle a liar.
It's not at all prohibited for him to say he's cutting and to really mean that he's cutting ever so slightly the state's general fund, which is about half the budget. He is increasing spending in the other half, in many cases shifting which pot of money pays for things. That's why, even as he moans about the enormous deficit, his budget is rising at least 7%.
Wait till you get to the part where Doyle "is going to eliminate 10,000 State jobs." Remember that one? Or the one about "..we can not, we must not, and I will not raise taxes!!? Remember that one?
He wasn't lying, really. He was just kidding. On the record, in front of the cameras.
Tea-party Time!
Now, Jimbo: am I just kidding, like you--or am I lying, like you?
Or do I really mean it, Jimbo?
"This budget makes the largest cuts we've ever seen," said Gov. Jim Doyle the other night.
And: "It makes a lot of tough cuts," so that "everyone is going to have to share in the sacrifice." Oh, and did he say he's cutting?
Or, rather, cutting*. Because the state is not cutting its spending. It's raising it.
In other words, you know he's lying because his lips moved.
But P-Mac, a gentle soul, won't call Doyle a liar.
It's not at all prohibited for him to say he's cutting and to really mean that he's cutting ever so slightly the state's general fund, which is about half the budget. He is increasing spending in the other half, in many cases shifting which pot of money pays for things. That's why, even as he moans about the enormous deficit, his budget is rising at least 7%.
Wait till you get to the part where Doyle "is going to eliminate 10,000 State jobs." Remember that one? Or the one about "..we can not, we must not, and I will not raise taxes!!? Remember that one?
He wasn't lying, really. He was just kidding. On the record, in front of the cameras.
Tea-party Time!
Now, Jimbo: am I just kidding, like you--or am I lying, like you?
Or do I really mean it, Jimbo?
Mini-Crime Wave at Brookfield High School
Noted in today's "police reports":
A wallet, gift cards and digital media players were taken from the girls locker room at Brookfield Central High School, 16900 W. Gebhardt Road, before 12:15 p.m. Feb. 9.
A backpack, calculator and digital media player were taken from a gym locker at Brookfield Central about 3 p.m. Feb. 9.
A student's cell phone and wallet were taken from the boys locker room at Brookfield Central before 5:55 p.m. Feb. 9.
And only a few days later:
A digital media player was taken from an unlocked locker in the boys locker room at Brookfield Central between 10:30 and 10:40 a.m. Feb. 13.
Ummmmmnnnnnhhhhhh....make sure you lock your lockers. And don't take stuff to school if you don't want it to be lost/snatched.
A wallet, gift cards and digital media players were taken from the girls locker room at Brookfield Central High School, 16900 W. Gebhardt Road, before 12:15 p.m. Feb. 9.
A backpack, calculator and digital media player were taken from a gym locker at Brookfield Central about 3 p.m. Feb. 9.
A student's cell phone and wallet were taken from the boys locker room at Brookfield Central before 5:55 p.m. Feb. 9.
And only a few days later:
A digital media player was taken from an unlocked locker in the boys locker room at Brookfield Central between 10:30 and 10:40 a.m. Feb. 13.
Ummmmmnnnnnhhhhhh....make sure you lock your lockers. And don't take stuff to school if you don't want it to be lost/snatched.
Phil Gramm's FooFooDust Machine
Ticker absolutely demolishes Phil Gramm.
I believe that a strong case can be made that the financial crisis stemmed from a confluence of two factors. The first was the unintended consequences of a monetary policy, developed to combat inventory cycle recessions in the last half of the 20th century, that was not well suited to the speculative bubble recession of 2001. The second was the politicization of mortgage lending--Phil Gramm, WSJournal
That's a statement so blatantly self-serving that it deserves the nuking awarded by Ticker:
You mean to tell me that the creation of 2/28, 3/27 and OptionARM loans was the result of politicization of mortgage lending?
Well, Gramm hopes you're stupid enough to believe that.
Why?
Because Gramm was a big part of the problem, that's why.
Step One:
Mr. Gramm, as someone who claims to understand finance, you of all people should know that the law of exponents does not permit the fanciful view you claim bankers had above to be the case.
Advancement in income is a known, published fact - the government puts out this number for personal income (annualized) every month. It is not possible for home prices to continually advance at a rate that exceeds the growth in personal income, and to the extent that it does, compounding (that is, the mathematical law of exponents) guarantees that a collapse will eventually take place
We're not done yet.
Recall, Phil, the repeal of Glass-Steagall? Why yes, Phil does recall it--he was behind the move.
Moreover, GLB didn't deregulate anything. It established the Federal Reserve as a superregulator, overseeing all Financial Services Holding Companies
...quoth Phil.
Yah, but:
That same Federal Reserve then proceeded to remove all reserve requirements through various machinations with sweeps and most recently lobbied for (and got, in the EESA) authority to set reserve levels to zero!
Oh, yes, there's more.
Every single one of the firms that has failed - Fannie, Freddie, AIG, Lehman and Bear Stearns - was operating with more than double the previously-lawful limit of 14:1 leverage at the time of their collapse.
All of them.
That limit was removed due to explicit lobbying by Henry Paulson (then in charge of Goldman Sachs) in front of Congress and the SEC in 2004 - after being rejected on the very same request in 2000.
The fact of the matter, Mr. Gramm, is that absent excessive leverage credit bubbles cannot grow to a dangerous size. Leverage limits prohibit that growth by constraining the ability to grow a balance sheet beyond what tangible capital will reasonably support. The housing bubble, LBO bubble, commercial real-estate bubble and consumer credit bubble had all reached their limit under the previous leverage ratio caps around the 2004 time frame, and so the banking industry went to Congress and the SEC and asked for it to be removed, claiming that they were "better able to manage risk."
And the SEC granted their wish, just like Fairy Godmother! Except the bad news is that there is no Fairy Godmother, and granting wishes in the real world created problems.
Oh, and Phil: that "mental recession" you talked about a quarter back or so? How's that working out for you?
I believe that a strong case can be made that the financial crisis stemmed from a confluence of two factors. The first was the unintended consequences of a monetary policy, developed to combat inventory cycle recessions in the last half of the 20th century, that was not well suited to the speculative bubble recession of 2001. The second was the politicization of mortgage lending--Phil Gramm, WSJournal
That's a statement so blatantly self-serving that it deserves the nuking awarded by Ticker:
You mean to tell me that the creation of 2/28, 3/27 and OptionARM loans was the result of politicization of mortgage lending?
Well, Gramm hopes you're stupid enough to believe that.
Why?
Because Gramm was a big part of the problem, that's why.
Step One:
Mr. Gramm, as someone who claims to understand finance, you of all people should know that the law of exponents does not permit the fanciful view you claim bankers had above to be the case.
Advancement in income is a known, published fact - the government puts out this number for personal income (annualized) every month. It is not possible for home prices to continually advance at a rate that exceeds the growth in personal income, and to the extent that it does, compounding (that is, the mathematical law of exponents) guarantees that a collapse will eventually take place
We're not done yet.
Recall, Phil, the repeal of Glass-Steagall? Why yes, Phil does recall it--he was behind the move.
Moreover, GLB didn't deregulate anything. It established the Federal Reserve as a superregulator, overseeing all Financial Services Holding Companies
...quoth Phil.
Yah, but:
That same Federal Reserve then proceeded to remove all reserve requirements through various machinations with sweeps and most recently lobbied for (and got, in the EESA) authority to set reserve levels to zero!
Oh, yes, there's more.
Every single one of the firms that has failed - Fannie, Freddie, AIG, Lehman and Bear Stearns - was operating with more than double the previously-lawful limit of 14:1 leverage at the time of their collapse.
All of them.
That limit was removed due to explicit lobbying by Henry Paulson (then in charge of Goldman Sachs) in front of Congress and the SEC in 2004 - after being rejected on the very same request in 2000.
The fact of the matter, Mr. Gramm, is that absent excessive leverage credit bubbles cannot grow to a dangerous size. Leverage limits prohibit that growth by constraining the ability to grow a balance sheet beyond what tangible capital will reasonably support. The housing bubble, LBO bubble, commercial real-estate bubble and consumer credit bubble had all reached their limit under the previous leverage ratio caps around the 2004 time frame, and so the banking industry went to Congress and the SEC and asked for it to be removed, claiming that they were "better able to manage risk."
And the SEC granted their wish, just like Fairy Godmother! Except the bad news is that there is no Fairy Godmother, and granting wishes in the real world created problems.
Oh, and Phil: that "mental recession" you talked about a quarter back or so? How's that working out for you?
Robber Barons? Call Them "Rent Seekers"
The Warrior highlights an analysis from FrontPage identifying the next wave of Robber Barons.
But they are called "rent seekers." Elegant, no?
...Alarmists have tried to induce the public to think that simply because the Arctic ice cap has shrunk on our watch, for example, then industrialized man must have caused it. The reason they do this is because they have been unable to prove their fundamental contention in the global warming debate - that manmade emissions of greenhouse gases drive global climate - despite the expenditure of tens of billions of dollars on climate research over the last 25 years
...First, we know from studies of Antarctic ice that, over the last 650,000 years or so, warmer temperatures have preceded increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide levels by hundreds, if not thousands of years. The ice studies indicate that the carbon-dioxide-causes-global warming theory is precisely backwards
Summarily, 'anthropogenic global warming' is a crock of crap--you know it, I know it, and the Members of Congress with an IQ above 42 know it, too.
Why doesn't the whole charade-and-parade stop?
When in doubt, go to Rule Number One: FOLLOW THE MONEY!!
...we’re in crushing jaws of global warming regulation thanks to big business and other rent-seekers, including Gore, who hope to profit from new laws.
Leading the lobbying charge on Capitol Hill is the U.S. Climate Action Partnership, a big business-environmental activist group coalition that is urging Congress to enact a so-called cap-and-trade bill...we’re in crushing jaws of global warming regulation thanks to big business and other rent-seekers, including Gore, who hope to profit from new laws.
...Under cap-and-trade, Congress would issue more than one trillion dollars worth of permits over the programs first ten years - so there’s a lot of money at stake. Who’s set to profit from all this?
Alcoa, Dow Chemical and Dupont...Exelon, Florida Power & Light, and NRG Energy...Goldman Sachs (which has more "plants" in the FedGov than the entire population of the City of Brookfield) ...General Electric...[and] the venture capital firm of Kleiner Perkins [in which AlGore holds a partnership.] Let's not forget "Boondoggle" Pickens, by the way.
By the way, many of those firms are perfectly happy with the "no more nukes" mantra of such slimeballs as Jim Doyle. You'll notice the effects of "cap-and-trade" in Wisconsin, which relies on CO2-emitting coal and gas plants for 2/3rds of its electricity.
By "notice", I mean that you will pay, dearly, to fire up the single 60-watt lightbulb you can afford to purchase after Doylie's tax increases go into effect.
But they are called "rent seekers." Elegant, no?
...Alarmists have tried to induce the public to think that simply because the Arctic ice cap has shrunk on our watch, for example, then industrialized man must have caused it. The reason they do this is because they have been unable to prove their fundamental contention in the global warming debate - that manmade emissions of greenhouse gases drive global climate - despite the expenditure of tens of billions of dollars on climate research over the last 25 years
...First, we know from studies of Antarctic ice that, over the last 650,000 years or so, warmer temperatures have preceded increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide levels by hundreds, if not thousands of years. The ice studies indicate that the carbon-dioxide-causes-global warming theory is precisely backwards
Summarily, 'anthropogenic global warming' is a crock of crap--you know it, I know it, and the Members of Congress with an IQ above 42 know it, too.
Why doesn't the whole charade-and-parade stop?
When in doubt, go to Rule Number One: FOLLOW THE MONEY!!
...we’re in crushing jaws of global warming regulation thanks to big business and other rent-seekers, including Gore, who hope to profit from new laws.
Leading the lobbying charge on Capitol Hill is the U.S. Climate Action Partnership, a big business-environmental activist group coalition that is urging Congress to enact a so-called cap-and-trade bill...we’re in crushing jaws of global warming regulation thanks to big business and other rent-seekers, including Gore, who hope to profit from new laws.
...Under cap-and-trade, Congress would issue more than one trillion dollars worth of permits over the programs first ten years - so there’s a lot of money at stake. Who’s set to profit from all this?
Alcoa, Dow Chemical and Dupont...Exelon, Florida Power & Light, and NRG Energy...Goldman Sachs (which has more "plants" in the FedGov than the entire population of the City of Brookfield) ...General Electric...[and] the venture capital firm of Kleiner Perkins [in which AlGore holds a partnership.] Let's not forget "Boondoggle" Pickens, by the way.
By the way, many of those firms are perfectly happy with the "no more nukes" mantra of such slimeballs as Jim Doyle. You'll notice the effects of "cap-and-trade" in Wisconsin, which relies on CO2-emitting coal and gas plants for 2/3rds of its electricity.
By "notice", I mean that you will pay, dearly, to fire up the single 60-watt lightbulb you can afford to purchase after Doylie's tax increases go into effect.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
It's the SPENDING, Stupid!!
Eggster did a lot of homework (which you can see here.)
Let's focus:
- Spending increases in the initial FY2010/2011 budget: $2.8 billion (4.7% increase over FY2008/2009)
- Spending increases between Wisconsin’s Porkulus and the Necro-Budget (estimated; assumes no deficit on 6/30/2011 even though I’ve seen projections of a $2.1 billion structural deficit at that point): $2.2 billion (3.7% increase over FY2008/2009)
- Spending increases between Wisconsin’s Porkulus and the Necro-Budget (estimated; assumes a $2.1 billion structural deficit on 6/30/2011): $4.3 billion (7.2% increase over FY2008/2009)
Doylie intends to blow every single Porkulus dollar ($2Bn or so) and then ADD ANOTHER $2.3Bn in spending--in a State with rapidly-declining revenues, and some "revenue projections" that will not make it past 10 minutes in Federal Court (the oil-company tax.)
Doylie is insulting you, folks.
Maybe he needs his own special tea-party stimulation next time he shows his grin in the Milwaukee area.
Hot, wet, tea. Right in the kisser.
Let's focus:
- Spending increases in the initial FY2010/2011 budget: $2.8 billion (4.7% increase over FY2008/2009)
- Spending increases between Wisconsin’s Porkulus and the Necro-Budget (estimated; assumes no deficit on 6/30/2011 even though I’ve seen projections of a $2.1 billion structural deficit at that point): $2.2 billion (3.7% increase over FY2008/2009)
- Spending increases between Wisconsin’s Porkulus and the Necro-Budget (estimated; assumes a $2.1 billion structural deficit on 6/30/2011): $4.3 billion (7.2% increase over FY2008/2009)
Doylie intends to blow every single Porkulus dollar ($2Bn or so) and then ADD ANOTHER $2.3Bn in spending--in a State with rapidly-declining revenues, and some "revenue projections" that will not make it past 10 minutes in Federal Court (the oil-company tax.)
Doylie is insulting you, folks.
Maybe he needs his own special tea-party stimulation next time he shows his grin in the Milwaukee area.
Hot, wet, tea. Right in the kisser.
Kill People or Cut Emissions?
Owen notes that some priorities are more important than others.
When dealing with PRChina: “human rights cannot interfere with the global economic crisis, the global climate change crisis and the security crises,” said Clinton
Certainly. After all, it's PEOPLE that emit all that poisonous CO2.
When dealing with PRChina: “human rights cannot interfere with the global economic crisis, the global climate change crisis and the security crises,” said Clinton
Certainly. After all, it's PEOPLE that emit all that poisonous CO2.
Obama's Budget Squeeze Play
The WaPo has an article laying out The O-and-Savior's initial budget plan.
He's putting a "squeeze play" on private health insurance.
Administration officials and outside experts say the most likely path to revamping the health system is to begin with Medicare, the federal program for retirees and people with disabilities, and Medicaid, which serves the poor.
...Making policy changes in those programs -- such as rewarding physicians who computerize their medical records or paying doctors for results rather than procedures--could improve care while generating long-term savings, expert say. It also could prod private insurers to follow suit
So he's 'reducing spending on Medicare/Medicaid.'
Uh-huh.
Traditionally, those "reductions" are offset by increases in doctor and hospital fees charged to patients covered by traditional health insurance--that would be you and me, folks.
And guess what that does to premiums?
What he wants to do is make 'traditional insurance' expensive enough so that employers will be happy to dump the plans when Gummint Health Insurance is finally organized and available--including the "Final Solution" cost/benefit provisions.
You read it here first.
He's putting a "squeeze play" on private health insurance.
Administration officials and outside experts say the most likely path to revamping the health system is to begin with Medicare, the federal program for retirees and people with disabilities, and Medicaid, which serves the poor.
...Making policy changes in those programs -- such as rewarding physicians who computerize their medical records or paying doctors for results rather than procedures--could improve care while generating long-term savings, expert say. It also could prod private insurers to follow suit
So he's 'reducing spending on Medicare/Medicaid.'
Uh-huh.
Traditionally, those "reductions" are offset by increases in doctor and hospital fees charged to patients covered by traditional health insurance--that would be you and me, folks.
And guess what that does to premiums?
What he wants to do is make 'traditional insurance' expensive enough so that employers will be happy to dump the plans when Gummint Health Insurance is finally organized and available--including the "Final Solution" cost/benefit provisions.
You read it here first.
Friday, February 20, 2009
Is There a REAL REPORTER in the House?
BudgetBlog reports as follows:
Gov. Jim Doyle on Thursday defended his budget proposal to grant domestic partner benefits to state employees by saying "it isn't marriage."
Critics have said the proposal may violate the state ban on same sex unions "I think most people think that somebody ought be able to make end of life decisions for a lifelong partner," Doyle told reporters following the signing ceremony for the budget adjustment bill passed Wednesday by the Legislature.
"I think you'll see these are pretty common sense rights that would come to people on the registry, and they don't cost the state any money, they're just a way that you can be a little more decent to people," he said.
OK. And I don't have a problem with those provisions.
But what about the provision that Wisconsin TAXPAYERS will now pay for BENEFITS to "shack-up partners" who happen to have one member on the public payroll?
Hello!! Is there an actual, real-live REPORTER someplace?
Gov. Jim Doyle on Thursday defended his budget proposal to grant domestic partner benefits to state employees by saying "it isn't marriage."
Critics have said the proposal may violate the state ban on same sex unions "I think most people think that somebody ought be able to make end of life decisions for a lifelong partner," Doyle told reporters following the signing ceremony for the budget adjustment bill passed Wednesday by the Legislature.
"I think you'll see these are pretty common sense rights that would come to people on the registry, and they don't cost the state any money, they're just a way that you can be a little more decent to people," he said.
OK. And I don't have a problem with those provisions.
But what about the provision that Wisconsin TAXPAYERS will now pay for BENEFITS to "shack-up partners" who happen to have one member on the public payroll?
Hello!! Is there an actual, real-live REPORTER someplace?
Porkulus Letter from Sen. Kohl
Yah, Kohl says "he has concerns" about it, and sent a letter telling me that the 'concerns' were over-ridden due to the awfulness of the Apocalypse upcoming.
OK.
But maybe the letter was pre-written?
Here is the direct quote of interest:
On February XXth, 2009, President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act into law
Could you be a bit more specific about that date, Senator?
OK.
But maybe the letter was pre-written?
Here is the direct quote of interest:
On February XXth, 2009, President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act into law
Could you be a bit more specific about that date, Senator?
"Black Flag'? Hoist It Over CO2
Regulating carbon dioxide (CO2) will bring about the worst calamity this country has ever seen (and that's saying a lot, given Porkulus).
Regulating greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act will create a regulatory train-wreck. It will impose substantial costs, and yet fail to meet the President's ambitious emission reduction targets (80% by 2050).
Coal-generated electricity and heat, gas-generated electricity and heat, ANY petroleum-fired vehicles, and, of course, vegetation--ALL emit CO2.* So do you, if you exhale.
If, as the President has suggested, Congress puts forward a cap-and-trade proposal, it will unleash a feeding frenzy of rent-seeking, as every conceivable industry and interest group seeks to protect its own or gain competitive advantage
We know from rent-seeking, which usually leads to corruption (see Murtha, e.g.).
And we have more than enough corruption at this time.
*CORRECTION: As pointed out in the comments, vegetation does not "emit" CO2. Therefore, there IS an obvious and easy solution: kill off all those damn polluter-people.
Another use for the Obey/Kohl/Feingold/Obama "Final Solution" Healthcare regime!
Regulating greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act will create a regulatory train-wreck. It will impose substantial costs, and yet fail to meet the President's ambitious emission reduction targets (80% by 2050).
Coal-generated electricity and heat, gas-generated electricity and heat, ANY petroleum-fired vehicles, and, of course, vegetation--ALL emit CO2.* So do you, if you exhale.
If, as the President has suggested, Congress puts forward a cap-and-trade proposal, it will unleash a feeding frenzy of rent-seeking, as every conceivable industry and interest group seeks to protect its own or gain competitive advantage
We know from rent-seeking, which usually leads to corruption (see Murtha, e.g.).
And we have more than enough corruption at this time.
*CORRECTION: As pointed out in the comments, vegetation does not "emit" CO2. Therefore, there IS an obvious and easy solution: kill off all those damn polluter-people.
Another use for the Obey/Kohl/Feingold/Obama "Final Solution" Healthcare regime!
Thursday, February 19, 2009
WI PublickScrewels Worser Thn U Thunk
McIlheran:
Under the federal No Child Left Behind act, schools have to teach students well enough that a certain number reach certain scores on standard tests. The idea was that parents could then tell whether schools were actually doing a good job rather just having to trust administrators when they said they were. But, as the report notes, states get to “craft their own academic standards, select their own tests, and define proficiency in reading and math as they like; as a result, proficiency standards (which take the form of cut scores on state tests) vary widely in their rigor and consistency.”
Yah, so, hey? Net-net-net:
So what’s wrong with Wisconsin? You can read the full report here, but the short answer is, “The high number of schools making AYP in Wisconsin is likely due to the fact that Wisconsin’s proficiency standards are extremely easy compared to other states, plus it uses a proficiency index, which means it gives ‘partial credit’ to students performing below proficient.”
"Sally, what's 1+1?"
"Well, teacher, maybe 3?"
Good enough for Wisconsin's WEAC-dominated DPI.
Under the federal No Child Left Behind act, schools have to teach students well enough that a certain number reach certain scores on standard tests. The idea was that parents could then tell whether schools were actually doing a good job rather just having to trust administrators when they said they were. But, as the report notes, states get to “craft their own academic standards, select their own tests, and define proficiency in reading and math as they like; as a result, proficiency standards (which take the form of cut scores on state tests) vary widely in their rigor and consistency.”
Yah, so, hey? Net-net-net:
So what’s wrong with Wisconsin? You can read the full report here, but the short answer is, “The high number of schools making AYP in Wisconsin is likely due to the fact that Wisconsin’s proficiency standards are extremely easy compared to other states, plus it uses a proficiency index, which means it gives ‘partial credit’ to students performing below proficient.”
"Sally, what's 1+1?"
"Well, teacher, maybe 3?"
Good enough for Wisconsin's WEAC-dominated DPI.
The Holder-Worshipping Doyle
Turns out that Doylie's "race-profile" requirement isn't exactly new.
Bill Lann Lee, head of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, insisted that the LAPD be put under a federal monitor who would dictate nearly every aspect of policing practice and policy for a minimum of five years....Included in the proposed decree's 180 provisions were mandates to record the race of every suspect whom officers stopped, though the Rampart scandal had had nothing to do with so-called "racial profiling."
...Complying with the federal straitjacket cost the always cash-starved LAPD $40 million in its first year and $50 million each year thereafter, according to city estimates
Well, $50 million is an interesting marker, anyway. S'pose it will cost Wisconsin the same? Less? More?
We know Doylie doesn't really care.
HT: The Winning McCain
Bill Lann Lee, head of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, insisted that the LAPD be put under a federal monitor who would dictate nearly every aspect of policing practice and policy for a minimum of five years....Included in the proposed decree's 180 provisions were mandates to record the race of every suspect whom officers stopped, though the Rampart scandal had had nothing to do with so-called "racial profiling."
...Complying with the federal straitjacket cost the always cash-starved LAPD $40 million in its first year and $50 million each year thereafter, according to city estimates
Well, $50 million is an interesting marker, anyway. S'pose it will cost Wisconsin the same? Less? More?
We know Doylie doesn't really care.
HT: The Winning McCain
Part TWO of the Siefert Decision
Esenberg brings up something that is very significant.
More significant, it seems to me, is that part of the decision striking down the Code of Judicial Conduct's prohibition against the personal solicitation of funds by judges and judicial candidates. This represents a sea change in the nature of judicial campaigns and may further dissuade lawyers from running for judge.
...It is not clear to me that prohibiting personal solicitation represents the same type of restriction on communication as a prohibition on identifying one's partisan affiliation (or, as in White, one's position on certain issues of public interest). Nor am I sure that it is unreasonable for a state to conclude that personal solicitation of funds by a judge or judicial officer represents a substantial risk of actual or apparent corruption that is not presented by solicitation through a judicial committee.
Ummnhhh, yah!
Look--I think well of most judges. But allowing them to 'dial for dollars' for their election campaign is risky. Yes, I KNOW that they read their campaign-finance reports, and they probably remember stuff that's on them.
But that's very different from actually making the call yourself.
Very different.
More significant, it seems to me, is that part of the decision striking down the Code of Judicial Conduct's prohibition against the personal solicitation of funds by judges and judicial candidates. This represents a sea change in the nature of judicial campaigns and may further dissuade lawyers from running for judge.
...It is not clear to me that prohibiting personal solicitation represents the same type of restriction on communication as a prohibition on identifying one's partisan affiliation (or, as in White, one's position on certain issues of public interest). Nor am I sure that it is unreasonable for a state to conclude that personal solicitation of funds by a judge or judicial officer represents a substantial risk of actual or apparent corruption that is not presented by solicitation through a judicial committee.
Ummnhhh, yah!
Look--I think well of most judges. But allowing them to 'dial for dollars' for their election campaign is risky. Yes, I KNOW that they read their campaign-finance reports, and they probably remember stuff that's on them.
But that's very different from actually making the call yourself.
Very different.
Time for This?
Chris/Badger thinks so. So do those floor-traders at CBOE (?) that Drudge found this morning.
For those of you who do not know, raising the black flag on a battlefield was a message that you would fight to the death, you would take no prisoners no quarter would be asked for or given
That's , umnnnnhhhh, strong.
Buy more ammo!!
The Church Militant
A fine example!
...the Roman Catholic Diocese of Scranton has threatened to close St. Peter’s Cathedral during St. Patrick’s Day celebrations if the groups feature elected officials who support abortion rights at their annual events.
The letter, which was signed by Auxiliary Bishop John M. Dougherty, reports that Bishop Joseph F. Martino is “determined to prevent scandal,” which would be caused if the organizations “in any way” should “honor pro-abortion officials” by giving them parade or dais positions or opportunities to speak and “the Catholic Church is seen to be involved in this honoring.”
Actually aimed directly at Joe Biden, a Scranton native.
Good!
HT: Rocco
...the Roman Catholic Diocese of Scranton has threatened to close St. Peter’s Cathedral during St. Patrick’s Day celebrations if the groups feature elected officials who support abortion rights at their annual events.
The letter, which was signed by Auxiliary Bishop John M. Dougherty, reports that Bishop Joseph F. Martino is “determined to prevent scandal,” which would be caused if the organizations “in any way” should “honor pro-abortion officials” by giving them parade or dais positions or opportunities to speak and “the Catholic Church is seen to be involved in this honoring.”
Actually aimed directly at Joe Biden, a Scranton native.
Good!
HT: Rocco
The "Inclusive" Left
When The Left yaps about "inclusion," they lie.
We, Catholic theologians from 20 countries, gathered together in Ghent for a meeting of the Curatorium (Board) of the European Society for Catholic Theology, are deeply concerned by the current crisis within the Church. We are especially worried that the unconditional lifting of the excommunication of four bishops of the Society of Saint Pius X threatens the internal unity of the Church and the credibility of its witness in the world
To these simpering twits, "inclusion" actually means "EXclusion" of those who remind them that the 'hermeneutic of rupture' is NOT the correct way to read the documents of the Second Vatican Council.
It is perfectly obvious that the Left thinks B-16 is vulnerable; these whimperings and whinings are piling up. See, e.g., the Austrian Bishops' Conference's statement on the elevation of Mgr. Wagner and the deftly-engineered campaign against the un-excom of the SSPX Bishops--led, it is rumored, by a retired Jebby Cardinal in northern Italy who counts among his close personal friends the disgraced ex-Archbishop of Milwaukee.
I'll join Simplex any old day on this stuff. About time that the Powdered-Hand folks got out of the way, as did Judas.
Simplex: I'll bring the shootin' irons...
HT: FrZ
We, Catholic theologians from 20 countries, gathered together in Ghent for a meeting of the Curatorium (Board) of the European Society for Catholic Theology, are deeply concerned by the current crisis within the Church. We are especially worried that the unconditional lifting of the excommunication of four bishops of the Society of Saint Pius X threatens the internal unity of the Church and the credibility of its witness in the world
To these simpering twits, "inclusion" actually means "EXclusion" of those who remind them that the 'hermeneutic of rupture' is NOT the correct way to read the documents of the Second Vatican Council.
It is perfectly obvious that the Left thinks B-16 is vulnerable; these whimperings and whinings are piling up. See, e.g., the Austrian Bishops' Conference's statement on the elevation of Mgr. Wagner and the deftly-engineered campaign against the un-excom of the SSPX Bishops--led, it is rumored, by a retired Jebby Cardinal in northern Italy who counts among his close personal friends the disgraced ex-Archbishop of Milwaukee.
I'll join Simplex any old day on this stuff. About time that the Powdered-Hand folks got out of the way, as did Judas.
Simplex: I'll bring the shootin' irons...
HT: FrZ
And the Study Says!!!!......
YOU paid for this study. The double-entendres are in the original text.
Sexy women in bikinis really do inspire some men to see them as objects, according to a new study of male behavior.
Brain scans revealed that when men are shown pictures of scantily clad women, the region of the brain associated with tool use lights up.
Men were also more likely to associate images of sexualized women with first-person action verbs such as "I push, I grasp, I handle," said lead researcher Susan Fiske, a psychologist at Princeton University.
And in a "shocking" finding, Fiske noted, some of the men studied showed no activity in the part of the brain that usually responds when a person ponders another's intentions. This means that these men see women "as sexually inviting, but they are not thinking about their minds," Fiske said. "The lack of activation in this social cognition area is really odd, because it hardly ever happens."
Actually, this could have come from The Onion.
HT: DigiHairshirt
Sexy women in bikinis really do inspire some men to see them as objects, according to a new study of male behavior.
Brain scans revealed that when men are shown pictures of scantily clad women, the region of the brain associated with tool use lights up.
Men were also more likely to associate images of sexualized women with first-person action verbs such as "I push, I grasp, I handle," said lead researcher Susan Fiske, a psychologist at Princeton University.
And in a "shocking" finding, Fiske noted, some of the men studied showed no activity in the part of the brain that usually responds when a person ponders another's intentions. This means that these men see women "as sexually inviting, but they are not thinking about their minds," Fiske said. "The lack of activation in this social cognition area is really odd, because it hardly ever happens."
Actually, this could have come from The Onion.
HT: DigiHairshirt
Say What You Really Mean, Newt!
RedState links to this:
I think Republican consultants are mostly very stupid. I think they have no education. I think they have no sense of history. ... If I throw away African Americans, and then I throw away Latinos, and then I throw away suburban women, and then I throw away people under 40, and then I throw away everything north of Philadelphia -- there's a morning where Republicans can't get to a majority. ---Newt Gingrich
And that's hardly the end. RedState's Martin Wright adds this:
Republican campaign consultants are probably the dumbest, most short-sighted unimaginative pedestrian minds working in politics today. And, in hindsight, even while acknowledging the great job he did in 2004, I think I’ll lay some of the blame at the feet of Karl Rove as one of the major reasons why in recent years with his 50+1 strategy.
And the legendary Republican lack-of-balls has consequences.
Barack Obama is probably President today precisely because of the incandescent stupidity of the ILGOP in abandoning Jack Ryan when his child-custody records were unsealed by a Democrat judge against *both* his and his ex-wife’s wishes thanks to the Chicago Tribune and the local ABC affiliate working in tandem with the Obama Senate campaign in 2004. Instead of opening fire on the Chicago Tribune and ABC for a horrible violation of privacy affecting a minor child that neither the Tribune nor ABC would have tolerated if it were directed at a Democrat, (ILGOP Chairwoman) Judy Baar Topinka and her “moderate” friends aimed their guns at Ryan and pulled the trigger.
There are plenty more examples of witless, simpering, twits--Bob Dole comes to mind, along with Bob Michel, and (recently) the Senator from Scottish Law (Specter), and his matrons-in-waiting from the province of Maine.
I think Republican consultants are mostly very stupid. I think they have no education. I think they have no sense of history. ... If I throw away African Americans, and then I throw away Latinos, and then I throw away suburban women, and then I throw away people under 40, and then I throw away everything north of Philadelphia -- there's a morning where Republicans can't get to a majority. ---Newt Gingrich
And that's hardly the end. RedState's Martin Wright adds this:
Republican campaign consultants are probably the dumbest, most short-sighted unimaginative pedestrian minds working in politics today. And, in hindsight, even while acknowledging the great job he did in 2004, I think I’ll lay some of the blame at the feet of Karl Rove as one of the major reasons why in recent years with his 50+1 strategy.
And the legendary Republican lack-of-balls has consequences.
Barack Obama is probably President today precisely because of the incandescent stupidity of the ILGOP in abandoning Jack Ryan when his child-custody records were unsealed by a Democrat judge against *both* his and his ex-wife’s wishes thanks to the Chicago Tribune and the local ABC affiliate working in tandem with the Obama Senate campaign in 2004. Instead of opening fire on the Chicago Tribune and ABC for a horrible violation of privacy affecting a minor child that neither the Tribune nor ABC would have tolerated if it were directed at a Democrat, (ILGOP Chairwoman) Judy Baar Topinka and her “moderate” friends aimed their guns at Ryan and pulled the trigger.
There are plenty more examples of witless, simpering, twits--Bob Dole comes to mind, along with Bob Michel, and (recently) the Senator from Scottish Law (Specter), and his matrons-in-waiting from the province of Maine.
More on CPSIA (Pun Intended)
Planet Moron has a few appropriate remarks on the CPSIA.
...Congress felt compelled to pass The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) that requires any product that contains lead, from toys to books to clothing to off-highway vehicles, intended for use by children under twelve, be prohibited from sale
...The obvious danger is the possibility that a six-year-old might accidentally swallow a motorcycle fender. Never mind extensive damage to the gastro-intestinal system, think of the low-levels of lead exposure! You want that on your conscience?
...the law doesn’t actually require that you subject your products to prohibitively expensive and time-consuming tests that might put you out of business, only that if you don’t, you could go to jail.
Talk about simple!
And he points out the obvious:
And besides, much of the whining is coming from smaller makers of children’s toys. You don’t hear that coming from the true champions of free enterprise and consumer safety, the gigantic multinational toy companies, each of which is perfectly willing to do whatever it takes, no matter how many of their smaller competitors are thrown out of business.
Tim Carney has another chapter for the sequel to The Big Ripoff.
...Congress felt compelled to pass The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) that requires any product that contains lead, from toys to books to clothing to off-highway vehicles, intended for use by children under twelve, be prohibited from sale
...The obvious danger is the possibility that a six-year-old might accidentally swallow a motorcycle fender. Never mind extensive damage to the gastro-intestinal system, think of the low-levels of lead exposure! You want that on your conscience?
...the law doesn’t actually require that you subject your products to prohibitively expensive and time-consuming tests that might put you out of business, only that if you don’t, you could go to jail.
Talk about simple!
And he points out the obvious:
And besides, much of the whining is coming from smaller makers of children’s toys. You don’t hear that coming from the true champions of free enterprise and consumer safety, the gigantic multinational toy companies, each of which is perfectly willing to do whatever it takes, no matter how many of their smaller competitors are thrown out of business.
Tim Carney has another chapter for the sequel to The Big Ripoff.
Dumb, Dumber, Dumbest...
Most people don't watch "The View."
It's safe to say that were all the women on that stage to exit the stage, the average on-stage IQ would rise by 75 points.
Elisabeth Hasselbeck replied to Walters by interjecting ...["] last year, the Vatican added seven new sins....They updated the seven. But they -- yes, genetic modification, human experimentation, pollution, social injustice"...
Wrong-o, Liz. That was the whole-cloth construction of a newspaper reporter...
Goldberg reacted in disbelief to the supposed list Hasselbeck had read: “Explain to me how you suddenly can write new sins. You can’t -- you’re not allowed to do that.” Lapsed Catholic Joy Behar had an explanation for her co-host: “But Whoopi, the Pope is supposed to be infallible, so he can say whatever he wants and people believe it. That’s how it goes.”
Her abysmal ignorance does not prevent her from talking.
The reality of 'infallibility'?
According to Catholic doctrine, the Pope is infallible only “when the Roman Pontiff speaks ex cathedra, that is, when, in the exercise of his office as shepherd and teacher of all Christians... [as] he defines a doctrine concerning faith or morals to be held by the whole Church,”
It gets even more humorous.
Walters asked, “What do you think is the biggest sin?” Behar answered, “Lust among priests -- that’s a big one,” in an apparent slam on the Catholic Church. Hasselbeck echoed Behar when she named pedophilia. Goldberg gave a more generically liberal answer: “Intolerance....because Jesus was not intolerant of anybody.”
That phrasing is deceptive, to say the least. Goldberg would have us believe that Christ tolerated sin because he spoke with 'publicans and tax-collectors,' and Mary Magdalene, the prostitute.
Nope. He was intolerant of sin--and on occasion, intolerant of sinners.
Goldberg must have forgotten the several places in the Bible where Jesus chastised the Pharisees, referring to them as a “brood of vipers” and “hypocrites."
Not that anyone actually expects anything from these ditzes...
It's safe to say that were all the women on that stage to exit the stage, the average on-stage IQ would rise by 75 points.
Elisabeth Hasselbeck replied to Walters by interjecting ...["] last year, the Vatican added seven new sins....They updated the seven. But they -- yes, genetic modification, human experimentation, pollution, social injustice"...
Wrong-o, Liz. That was the whole-cloth construction of a newspaper reporter...
Goldberg reacted in disbelief to the supposed list Hasselbeck had read: “Explain to me how you suddenly can write new sins. You can’t -- you’re not allowed to do that.” Lapsed Catholic Joy Behar had an explanation for her co-host: “But Whoopi, the Pope is supposed to be infallible, so he can say whatever he wants and people believe it. That’s how it goes.”
Her abysmal ignorance does not prevent her from talking.
The reality of 'infallibility'?
According to Catholic doctrine, the Pope is infallible only “when the Roman Pontiff speaks ex cathedra, that is, when, in the exercise of his office as shepherd and teacher of all Christians... [as] he defines a doctrine concerning faith or morals to be held by the whole Church,”
It gets even more humorous.
Walters asked, “What do you think is the biggest sin?” Behar answered, “Lust among priests -- that’s a big one,” in an apparent slam on the Catholic Church. Hasselbeck echoed Behar when she named pedophilia. Goldberg gave a more generically liberal answer: “Intolerance....because Jesus was not intolerant of anybody.”
That phrasing is deceptive, to say the least. Goldberg would have us believe that Christ tolerated sin because he spoke with 'publicans and tax-collectors,' and Mary Magdalene, the prostitute.
Nope. He was intolerant of sin--and on occasion, intolerant of sinners.
Goldberg must have forgotten the several places in the Bible where Jesus chastised the Pharisees, referring to them as a “brood of vipers” and “hypocrites."
Not that anyone actually expects anything from these ditzes...
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Can Politicians Actually Be Leaders?
Here's an interesting snip from another blogsite.
As a facilitator for the New York City Leadership Academy, I listened to Jack Welch admonish public school principals to develop the kind of deep-seated confidence that would allow them to work anywhere they wanted with people they admired and respected. When several principals told him they could not speak their minds or they would be fired, he replied, “If that’s how you work, you should be fired.”
His point: As a leader, you must develop your own strength and courage before you can even think about leading others.
Well, now. If leadership includes speaking one's own mind--the actualities--then let's look again at the last Presidential race.
One participant (hint: a female) actually did that. Another participant (a white male with a sterling armed-forces-service record) did that, most of the time. A third participant (white male) spoke continually and didn't appear to HAVE a mind.
And then there was O--who spoke, but apparently didn't mean a damn thing he said (Gitmo? Renditions? Missles in Poland?)....
Hmmmm.
As a facilitator for the New York City Leadership Academy, I listened to Jack Welch admonish public school principals to develop the kind of deep-seated confidence that would allow them to work anywhere they wanted with people they admired and respected. When several principals told him they could not speak their minds or they would be fired, he replied, “If that’s how you work, you should be fired.”
His point: As a leader, you must develop your own strength and courage before you can even think about leading others.
Well, now. If leadership includes speaking one's own mind--the actualities--then let's look again at the last Presidential race.
One participant (hint: a female) actually did that. Another participant (a white male with a sterling armed-forces-service record) did that, most of the time. A third participant (white male) spoke continually and didn't appear to HAVE a mind.
And then there was O--who spoke, but apparently didn't mean a damn thing he said (Gitmo? Renditions? Missles in Poland?)....
Hmmmm.
Little Gems in Doylie's Budget
I'll just post 'em. You decide. Belling was kind enough to post the link which is from the Legislative Reference Bureau.
This bill establishes an assessment to be paid to DATCP by businesses that
slaughter certain kinds of animals. The assessment per animal is one cent for
poultry, ten cents for calves, and 14 cents for older cattle and for swine. The bill
appropriates the revenue from the assessment for meat safety inspections and
animal health programs
Looks like a fee, works like a tax.
Currently, DATCP awards grants for land and water resource management
projects and for the construction of animal waste management systems. This bill
increases the general obligation bonding authority for the grants by $7,000,000.
Looks like more debt-financing.
This bill consolidates the development zones, enterprise development zones,
agricultural development zones, technology zones, and airport development zones
(five development zone programs) into a program that provides tax benefits to
persons who enter into a contract with Commerce to undertake eligible activities
anywhere in the state. Eligible activities under the bill include all of the following:
1. Projects that result in the creation and maintenance of jobs paying wages
and providing benefits at a level approved by Commerce
Looks like "some businesses are more equal than others."
Under current law, Commerce may award grants for the redevelopment of
“brownfields,” which include facilities or sites that are idle or underused because of
environmental contamination. Commerce may award a brownfields redevelopment
grant only if certain persons responsible for the contamination of the project site are
financially unable to pay the costs to remediate or redevelop the site. Commerce
must consider four criteria when awarding brownfields redevelopment grants and
must accord different values to the criteria.
This bill eliminates the requirement that the person who caused the
environmental contamination be financially unable to pay the costs to redevelop the
site.
Looks like a Friend of Jimbo has a chunk of land that could be profitable, if only...
Current law establishes the maximum fees that Commerce may charge for certain services it provides including administering examinations and issuing licenses. This bill eliminates the
mandatory caps on the amounts that Commerce may charge for these services and instead provides that the fees must as closely as possible equal the cost of providing the services
You'll pay more for a trades-license.
This bill increases from $750 to $1,000 the securities registration and notice
filing fee paid to DFI and, for investment companies such as mutual funds, increases
the minimum and maximum annual sales fee from a minimum of $150 and a
maximum of $1,500 to a minimum of $500 and a maximum of $10,000.
This bill increases from $30 to $60 the license fee paid to DFI for securities
agents and investment adviser representatives. The bill also increases from $30 to
$60 the broker−dealer and investment adviser branch office filing fee.
Under current law, Commerce awards grants to eligible applicants for the
purchase of devices that provide heat, air conditioning, or electricity to a diesel truck
when the main drive engine of the truck is not operating. Currently, the program
sunsets at the end of fiscal year 2010−11. This bill eliminates this grant program
Pay more, pay more, pay more. And if you're a truck driver? Suffer, Suckah!
Here's something that Belling mentioned on his show:
This bill eliminates the provision regarding persons acting in concert, the
provision that the negligence of the person seeking recovery is compared to each
person who was negligent separately, the provision that the liability of a person who
is less than 51 percent negligent is limited to that person’s percentage of the total
negligence, and the provision that the liability of a person whose causal negligence
is 51 percent or more is jointly and severally liable. Instead, the bill allows an injured
person to recover damages if that person’s negligence is not greater than the
combined negligence of all of the persons against whom recovery is sought. The bill
also provides that any person whose causal negligence is equal to or greater than the
causal negligence of the person seeking recovery is jointly and severally liable for the
damages awarded to the person seeking recovery
The PI-lawyer Retirement and Chenequa-Housing Bill.
This bill defines a “surviving domestic partner” as a person who was the
domestic partner, as defined in the bill, of the decedent at the time of the decedent’s
death. The bill provides the following inheritance rights for a surviving domestic
partner, which are equivalent to the rights of a surviving spouse:
1. The surviving domestic partner of a decedent who dies intestate is entitled
to inherit all of the decedent’s estate unless the decedent had children that were not
also the children of the surviving domestic partner, in which case the surviving
domestic partner receives half of the intestate estate.
2. A surviving domestic partner may petition the court for the full property
interest the decedent had in a home, subject to payment to the estate under a
governing instrument or under intestacy.
3. If a decedent executed his or her will before the registration of the domestic
partnership, the surviving domestic partner is entitled to what the share would be
if the decedent died intestate...
...blahblahblah. You'll hear a LOT more about "domestic partnerships" in the near future.
This bill directs DPI to use the federal funds received by the state pursuant to
the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to make state aid payments
to schools in June 2009 and in the 2009−10 and 2010−11 fiscal years. The bill lapses
to the general fund $291,000,000 in state school aids in the 2008−09 fiscal year
The switcheroo. He'll call that "saving money." The laugh is on you if you believe that.
Under current law, a private school participating in the MPCP must achieve
accreditation by an accrediting organization or association by December 31 of the
third school year following the first school year in which it participates in the MPCP.
This bill requires the private school to attain accreditation by August 1 of the school
year in which the school first participates in the MPCP.
Currently, teachers at private schools participating in the MPCP are required
to have graduated from high school or to have been granted a declaration of
equivalency of high school graduation. Beginning in the 2010−11 school year, this
bill directs each private school participating in the MPCP to ensure that every
teacher and administrator at the private school has at least a bachelor’s degree from
an accredited institution of higher education.
Under current law, a school board must schedule at least 1,050 hours of direct
pupil instruction in grades one to six and at least 1,137 hours of direct pupil
instruction in grades seven to twelve. This bill requires private schools participating
in the MPCP to comply with these requirements.
(As though a college degree actually confers competence in "teaching" and/or "subject-matter.")
But it most certainly will increase the costs of MPCP schools--and jacking that "accreditation date" requirement forward will make things much more...intense.
Current law requires each private school participating in the MPCP to
administer a nationally normed standardized test in reading, mathematics, and
science to pupils attending the school under the program in the fourth, eighth, and
tenth grades. This bill requires each private school participating in the MPCP to
administer the examinations adopted or approved by DPI
Screw the national standards! Wis. DPI has much more better ones!
The bill also requires MPCP schools to give every applicant-student a long, long, list of policies, procedures, and names/addresses. It's a device which will be maliciously misused by parties which are interested in destroying the MPCP school--trust me (or look on P. 23 of the PDF).
Generally, current law allows a UW System student who has been a bona fide
Wisconsin resident for the 12 months preceding the beginning of a semester or
session for which the student registers to pay resident, as opposed to nonresident,
tuition.
This bill allows an alien who is not a legal permanent resident of the United
States to pay resident, as opposed to nonresident, tuition if he or she: 1) graduated
from a Wisconsin high school or received a declaration of equivalency of high school
graduation from Wisconsin; 2) was continuously present in Wisconsin for at least
three years following the first day of attending a Wisconsin high school or
immediately preceding receipt of a declaration of equivalency of high school
graduation; and 3) enrolls in a UW System institution and provides the institution
with an affidavit stating that he or she has filed or will file an application for
permanent residency with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services as soon as the
person is eligible to do so. The bill also provides that such persons are to be
considered residents of this state for purposes of admission to and payment of fees
at a technical college.
In other words, ILLEGAL ALIENS will be eligible for in-state tuition schedules. Thank you, actual Wisconsin residents who pay the taxes!!
This bill eliminates the QEO exception from the compulsory, final, and binding arbitration process
You'll pay for those 14 words. A lot. Why? See below:
...under current law, the arbitrator must give greater weight to economic
conditions in the jurisdiction of the employer and the greatest weight to any state law
or directive that places expenditure or revenue limitations on an employer. This bill
eliminates the requirement for the arbitrator to give any weight to economic
conditions in the jurisdiction of the employer or to any state law or directive that
places expenditure or revenue limitations on an employer if the decision involves a
collective bargaining unit comprised of school district employees
IOW, it doesn't make any difference that GM closed its plant and Janesville is a nuclear disaster zone as a result. Teachers WILL be given raises.
How much in raises??
Finally, the bill eliminates a 3.8 percent cap imposed on salary and fringe
benefit annual cost increases for all nonrepresented professional school district
employees
...as much as the WEAC negotiator can get. Usually, that's really, really, close to the highest salaries paid in the State (currently Madison, IIRC.)
And UW-system compensation is also in the 10-ring:
Under current law, faculty and academic staff of the UW System do not have
collective bargaining rights under the State Employment Labor Relations Act
(SELRA). This bill provides all UW System academic staff and all faculty, including
specifically faculty who are supervisors or managers, with the right to collectively
bargain over wages, hours, and conditions of employment
And we will pay more for building State monuments:
This bill requires all laborers, workers, mechanics, and truck drivers employed
on a publicly funded private construction project to be paid not less than the
prevailing wage rate and to be paid overtime pay for all hours worked in excess of the
prevailing hours of labor. The bill defines a “publicly funded private construction
project” as a construction project that receives any grant, cooperative agreement,
loan, contract, or any other financial assistance from a local governmental unit.
The bill also sets the threshold for applicability of the prevailing wage law at
an estimated cost of project completion of $2,000, regardless of whether the project
is a single−trade project or a multiple−trade project, and eliminates the authority of
DWD to adjust that threshold.
Payback to the Carpenters, Plumbers/Steamfitters, and Bricklayers.
More of the same here:
This bill
requires a contractor, subcontractor, or agent performing work on a project that is
subject to the prevailing wage law to submit, on a weekly basis, a certified record of
that information for the preceding week to the local governmental unit, state agency,
or private owner or developer authorizing the work
...which records WILL "accidentally" fall into the hands of union organizers...
Currently, the recycling tipping fee is $4 per ton of solid waste, other than
certain kinds of high−volume industrial waste. This bill increases the recycling
tipping fee to $5 per ton
That's a TWENTY-FIVE PERCENT INCREASE.
Currently, the state imposes a monthly, per−bed assessment on nursing homes
that may not exceed $75. This bill increases the maximum amount of the assessment
to $150 in fiscal year 2009−10 and $170 in each fiscal year thereafter
...assuring that more nursing homes will go out of business, or will be forced to reduce their amenities, activities,--you know, the stuff that makes Granny a happy person.
Under this bill, a health insurer that provides coverage for dependents must
cover any child of an insured if the child is unmarried, is under 27 years old, does not
have other health care coverage, and is not employed full time by an employer that
offers health care coverage to its employees. The coverage requirement applies to
both individual and group health insurance policies and plans, including those
offered by the state, and to self−insured health plans of counties, cities, villages,
towns, school districts, and the state.
The cost of health insurance just went up again!!
This bill increases the minimum limits required under a policy that is
acceptable proof of financial responsibility to $100,000 for bodily injury to or death
of one person, $300,000 for bodily injury to or death of more than one person, and
$25,000 for property damage. This bill increases the required level of uninsured motorist coverage to $100,000 per person and $300,000 per accident, and increases the level of required medical payments coverage to $10,000
Some people will pay a LOT more for auto insurance--but most responsible adults will not. Another payback to the PI lawyers.
This bill requires a law enforcement agency to collect the following information
concerning motor vehicle stops made in any county having a population of 125,000
or more (populous county) on or after January 1, 2011: 1) the name, address, gender,
and race of the vehicle operator; 2) the reason for the stop; 3) the make and year of
the vehicle; 4) the date, time, and location of the stop; 5) whether a law enforcement
officer conducted a search of the vehicle, operator, or any passenger and, if so,
whether the search was with consent or by other means; 6) the name, address,
gender, and race of any person searched; and 7) the name and badge number of the
officer making the stop.
The information that is collected is not subject to inspection or copying as a
public record, but must be submitted to DOJ. DOJ must then compile and analyze
it, along with any other relevant information, to determine, both for each law
enforcement agency and as an aggregated total for all law enforcement agencies in
populous counties, whether the number of stops and searches involving vehicles
operated or occupied by members of a racial minority are disproportionate compared
to the number of stops and searches involving vehicles operated or occupied solely
by persons who are not members of a racial minority
Pure crapola, make-work, and pandering.
Under current law, DOJ charges firearms dealers an $8 fee to conduct a
firearms restrictions record search, which includes a criminal history search and a
search to determine if the prospective buyer is prohibited from purchasing a firearm
by state law. Forty−eight hours after requesting the search, the dealer may complete
the sale, unless DOJ has informed the dealer that the purchase is prohibited.
This bill increases the fee to $30
That would be a THREE HUNDRED SEVENTY FIVE PERCENT INCREASE. Buy your guns now, folks!!
This bill provides that domestic partners must be treated in the same manner
as spouses with respect to all pension benefits provided to public employees who are
covered under the Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS) and all other benefits
provided to state employees
The "Shack-Up With Taxpayer Paid Benefits!!" provision.
This bill makes various changes in state building construction procedures to
grant DOA, the Building Commission, and other state agencies increased authority
to award state building construction contracts notwithstanding current statutory
requirements and without obtaining certain approvals required under current law
IOW, "Please bribe me. I have a lot of money to spend and damn few restrictions on how I spend it". This is the General Contractors' Payback Provision.
This bill provides requirements for forming a legal relationship of domestic
partnership
Which is obviously CLOSELY RELATED to budget stuff, no?
This bill authorizes a law enforcement officer to stop or inspect a vehicle solely
to determine compliance with seat belt use requirements, subject to any
constitutional requirement that the officer have probable cause to believe that a
violation has occurred
The bill also increases from $10 to $25 the penalty for
violating this state’s laws requiring the use of seat belts
Sheer revenue-production.
This bill allows state and local law enforcement agencies to use photo radar
speed detection to identify speed limit violations in highway work zones (work zone
speed violations). The bill also allows DOT and local authorities to use traffic control
photographic systems to identify motor vehicles that fail to stop at red traffic signals
at intersections (red light violations).
These "red light" systems have failed miserably in most places they've been used. So Jimbo will jump right in and add to the list of failures.
That's hardly all. I skipped a few areas in which you might have interest, and the summary is only 80 pages long.
Have at it!!
ALSO SEE Sykes' handy-dandy-chart. Read it and weep.
This bill establishes an assessment to be paid to DATCP by businesses that
slaughter certain kinds of animals. The assessment per animal is one cent for
poultry, ten cents for calves, and 14 cents for older cattle and for swine. The bill
appropriates the revenue from the assessment for meat safety inspections and
animal health programs
Looks like a fee, works like a tax.
Currently, DATCP awards grants for land and water resource management
projects and for the construction of animal waste management systems. This bill
increases the general obligation bonding authority for the grants by $7,000,000.
Looks like more debt-financing.
This bill consolidates the development zones, enterprise development zones,
agricultural development zones, technology zones, and airport development zones
(five development zone programs) into a program that provides tax benefits to
persons who enter into a contract with Commerce to undertake eligible activities
anywhere in the state. Eligible activities under the bill include all of the following:
1. Projects that result in the creation and maintenance of jobs paying wages
and providing benefits at a level approved by Commerce
Looks like "some businesses are more equal than others."
Under current law, Commerce may award grants for the redevelopment of
“brownfields,” which include facilities or sites that are idle or underused because of
environmental contamination. Commerce may award a brownfields redevelopment
grant only if certain persons responsible for the contamination of the project site are
financially unable to pay the costs to remediate or redevelop the site. Commerce
must consider four criteria when awarding brownfields redevelopment grants and
must accord different values to the criteria.
This bill eliminates the requirement that the person who caused the
environmental contamination be financially unable to pay the costs to redevelop the
site.
Looks like a Friend of Jimbo has a chunk of land that could be profitable, if only...
Current law establishes the maximum fees that Commerce may charge for certain services it provides including administering examinations and issuing licenses. This bill eliminates the
mandatory caps on the amounts that Commerce may charge for these services and instead provides that the fees must as closely as possible equal the cost of providing the services
You'll pay more for a trades-license.
This bill increases from $750 to $1,000 the securities registration and notice
filing fee paid to DFI and, for investment companies such as mutual funds, increases
the minimum and maximum annual sales fee from a minimum of $150 and a
maximum of $1,500 to a minimum of $500 and a maximum of $10,000.
This bill increases from $30 to $60 the license fee paid to DFI for securities
agents and investment adviser representatives. The bill also increases from $30 to
$60 the broker−dealer and investment adviser branch office filing fee.
Under current law, Commerce awards grants to eligible applicants for the
purchase of devices that provide heat, air conditioning, or electricity to a diesel truck
when the main drive engine of the truck is not operating. Currently, the program
sunsets at the end of fiscal year 2010−11. This bill eliminates this grant program
Pay more, pay more, pay more. And if you're a truck driver? Suffer, Suckah!
Here's something that Belling mentioned on his show:
This bill eliminates the provision regarding persons acting in concert, the
provision that the negligence of the person seeking recovery is compared to each
person who was negligent separately, the provision that the liability of a person who
is less than 51 percent negligent is limited to that person’s percentage of the total
negligence, and the provision that the liability of a person whose causal negligence
is 51 percent or more is jointly and severally liable. Instead, the bill allows an injured
person to recover damages if that person’s negligence is not greater than the
combined negligence of all of the persons against whom recovery is sought. The bill
also provides that any person whose causal negligence is equal to or greater than the
causal negligence of the person seeking recovery is jointly and severally liable for the
damages awarded to the person seeking recovery
The PI-lawyer Retirement and Chenequa-Housing Bill.
This bill defines a “surviving domestic partner” as a person who was the
domestic partner, as defined in the bill, of the decedent at the time of the decedent’s
death. The bill provides the following inheritance rights for a surviving domestic
partner, which are equivalent to the rights of a surviving spouse:
1. The surviving domestic partner of a decedent who dies intestate is entitled
to inherit all of the decedent’s estate unless the decedent had children that were not
also the children of the surviving domestic partner, in which case the surviving
domestic partner receives half of the intestate estate.
2. A surviving domestic partner may petition the court for the full property
interest the decedent had in a home, subject to payment to the estate under a
governing instrument or under intestacy.
3. If a decedent executed his or her will before the registration of the domestic
partnership, the surviving domestic partner is entitled to what the share would be
if the decedent died intestate...
...blahblahblah. You'll hear a LOT more about "domestic partnerships" in the near future.
This bill directs DPI to use the federal funds received by the state pursuant to
the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to make state aid payments
to schools in June 2009 and in the 2009−10 and 2010−11 fiscal years. The bill lapses
to the general fund $291,000,000 in state school aids in the 2008−09 fiscal year
The switcheroo. He'll call that "saving money." The laugh is on you if you believe that.
Under current law, a private school participating in the MPCP must achieve
accreditation by an accrediting organization or association by December 31 of the
third school year following the first school year in which it participates in the MPCP.
This bill requires the private school to attain accreditation by August 1 of the school
year in which the school first participates in the MPCP.
Currently, teachers at private schools participating in the MPCP are required
to have graduated from high school or to have been granted a declaration of
equivalency of high school graduation. Beginning in the 2010−11 school year, this
bill directs each private school participating in the MPCP to ensure that every
teacher and administrator at the private school has at least a bachelor’s degree from
an accredited institution of higher education.
Under current law, a school board must schedule at least 1,050 hours of direct
pupil instruction in grades one to six and at least 1,137 hours of direct pupil
instruction in grades seven to twelve. This bill requires private schools participating
in the MPCP to comply with these requirements.
(As though a college degree actually confers competence in "teaching" and/or "subject-matter.")
But it most certainly will increase the costs of MPCP schools--and jacking that "accreditation date" requirement forward will make things much more...intense.
Current law requires each private school participating in the MPCP to
administer a nationally normed standardized test in reading, mathematics, and
science to pupils attending the school under the program in the fourth, eighth, and
tenth grades. This bill requires each private school participating in the MPCP to
administer the examinations adopted or approved by DPI
Screw the national standards! Wis. DPI has much more better ones!
The bill also requires MPCP schools to give every applicant-student a long, long, list of policies, procedures, and names/addresses. It's a device which will be maliciously misused by parties which are interested in destroying the MPCP school--trust me (or look on P. 23 of the PDF).
Generally, current law allows a UW System student who has been a bona fide
Wisconsin resident for the 12 months preceding the beginning of a semester or
session for which the student registers to pay resident, as opposed to nonresident,
tuition.
This bill allows an alien who is not a legal permanent resident of the United
States to pay resident, as opposed to nonresident, tuition if he or she: 1) graduated
from a Wisconsin high school or received a declaration of equivalency of high school
graduation from Wisconsin; 2) was continuously present in Wisconsin for at least
three years following the first day of attending a Wisconsin high school or
immediately preceding receipt of a declaration of equivalency of high school
graduation; and 3) enrolls in a UW System institution and provides the institution
with an affidavit stating that he or she has filed or will file an application for
permanent residency with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services as soon as the
person is eligible to do so. The bill also provides that such persons are to be
considered residents of this state for purposes of admission to and payment of fees
at a technical college.
In other words, ILLEGAL ALIENS will be eligible for in-state tuition schedules. Thank you, actual Wisconsin residents who pay the taxes!!
This bill eliminates the QEO exception from the compulsory, final, and binding arbitration process
You'll pay for those 14 words. A lot. Why? See below:
...under current law, the arbitrator must give greater weight to economic
conditions in the jurisdiction of the employer and the greatest weight to any state law
or directive that places expenditure or revenue limitations on an employer. This bill
eliminates the requirement for the arbitrator to give any weight to economic
conditions in the jurisdiction of the employer or to any state law or directive that
places expenditure or revenue limitations on an employer if the decision involves a
collective bargaining unit comprised of school district employees
IOW, it doesn't make any difference that GM closed its plant and Janesville is a nuclear disaster zone as a result. Teachers WILL be given raises.
How much in raises??
Finally, the bill eliminates a 3.8 percent cap imposed on salary and fringe
benefit annual cost increases for all nonrepresented professional school district
employees
...as much as the WEAC negotiator can get. Usually, that's really, really, close to the highest salaries paid in the State (currently Madison, IIRC.)
And UW-system compensation is also in the 10-ring:
Under current law, faculty and academic staff of the UW System do not have
collective bargaining rights under the State Employment Labor Relations Act
(SELRA). This bill provides all UW System academic staff and all faculty, including
specifically faculty who are supervisors or managers, with the right to collectively
bargain over wages, hours, and conditions of employment
And we will pay more for building State monuments:
This bill requires all laborers, workers, mechanics, and truck drivers employed
on a publicly funded private construction project to be paid not less than the
prevailing wage rate and to be paid overtime pay for all hours worked in excess of the
prevailing hours of labor. The bill defines a “publicly funded private construction
project” as a construction project that receives any grant, cooperative agreement,
loan, contract, or any other financial assistance from a local governmental unit.
The bill also sets the threshold for applicability of the prevailing wage law at
an estimated cost of project completion of $2,000, regardless of whether the project
is a single−trade project or a multiple−trade project, and eliminates the authority of
DWD to adjust that threshold.
Payback to the Carpenters, Plumbers/Steamfitters, and Bricklayers.
More of the same here:
This bill
requires a contractor, subcontractor, or agent performing work on a project that is
subject to the prevailing wage law to submit, on a weekly basis, a certified record of
that information for the preceding week to the local governmental unit, state agency,
or private owner or developer authorizing the work
...which records WILL "accidentally" fall into the hands of union organizers...
Currently, the recycling tipping fee is $4 per ton of solid waste, other than
certain kinds of high−volume industrial waste. This bill increases the recycling
tipping fee to $5 per ton
That's a TWENTY-FIVE PERCENT INCREASE.
Currently, the state imposes a monthly, per−bed assessment on nursing homes
that may not exceed $75. This bill increases the maximum amount of the assessment
to $150 in fiscal year 2009−10 and $170 in each fiscal year thereafter
...assuring that more nursing homes will go out of business, or will be forced to reduce their amenities, activities,--you know, the stuff that makes Granny a happy person.
Under this bill, a health insurer that provides coverage for dependents must
cover any child of an insured if the child is unmarried, is under 27 years old, does not
have other health care coverage, and is not employed full time by an employer that
offers health care coverage to its employees. The coverage requirement applies to
both individual and group health insurance policies and plans, including those
offered by the state, and to self−insured health plans of counties, cities, villages,
towns, school districts, and the state.
The cost of health insurance just went up again!!
This bill increases the minimum limits required under a policy that is
acceptable proof of financial responsibility to $100,000 for bodily injury to or death
of one person, $300,000 for bodily injury to or death of more than one person, and
$25,000 for property damage. This bill increases the required level of uninsured motorist coverage to $100,000 per person and $300,000 per accident, and increases the level of required medical payments coverage to $10,000
Some people will pay a LOT more for auto insurance--but most responsible adults will not. Another payback to the PI lawyers.
This bill requires a law enforcement agency to collect the following information
concerning motor vehicle stops made in any county having a population of 125,000
or more (populous county) on or after January 1, 2011: 1) the name, address, gender,
and race of the vehicle operator; 2) the reason for the stop; 3) the make and year of
the vehicle; 4) the date, time, and location of the stop; 5) whether a law enforcement
officer conducted a search of the vehicle, operator, or any passenger and, if so,
whether the search was with consent or by other means; 6) the name, address,
gender, and race of any person searched; and 7) the name and badge number of the
officer making the stop.
The information that is collected is not subject to inspection or copying as a
public record, but must be submitted to DOJ. DOJ must then compile and analyze
it, along with any other relevant information, to determine, both for each law
enforcement agency and as an aggregated total for all law enforcement agencies in
populous counties, whether the number of stops and searches involving vehicles
operated or occupied by members of a racial minority are disproportionate compared
to the number of stops and searches involving vehicles operated or occupied solely
by persons who are not members of a racial minority
Pure crapola, make-work, and pandering.
Under current law, DOJ charges firearms dealers an $8 fee to conduct a
firearms restrictions record search, which includes a criminal history search and a
search to determine if the prospective buyer is prohibited from purchasing a firearm
by state law. Forty−eight hours after requesting the search, the dealer may complete
the sale, unless DOJ has informed the dealer that the purchase is prohibited.
This bill increases the fee to $30
That would be a THREE HUNDRED SEVENTY FIVE PERCENT INCREASE. Buy your guns now, folks!!
This bill provides that domestic partners must be treated in the same manner
as spouses with respect to all pension benefits provided to public employees who are
covered under the Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS) and all other benefits
provided to state employees
The "Shack-Up With Taxpayer Paid Benefits!!" provision.
This bill makes various changes in state building construction procedures to
grant DOA, the Building Commission, and other state agencies increased authority
to award state building construction contracts notwithstanding current statutory
requirements and without obtaining certain approvals required under current law
IOW, "Please bribe me. I have a lot of money to spend and damn few restrictions on how I spend it". This is the General Contractors' Payback Provision.
This bill provides requirements for forming a legal relationship of domestic
partnership
Which is obviously CLOSELY RELATED to budget stuff, no?
This bill authorizes a law enforcement officer to stop or inspect a vehicle solely
to determine compliance with seat belt use requirements, subject to any
constitutional requirement that the officer have probable cause to believe that a
violation has occurred
The bill also increases from $10 to $25 the penalty for
violating this state’s laws requiring the use of seat belts
Sheer revenue-production.
This bill allows state and local law enforcement agencies to use photo radar
speed detection to identify speed limit violations in highway work zones (work zone
speed violations). The bill also allows DOT and local authorities to use traffic control
photographic systems to identify motor vehicles that fail to stop at red traffic signals
at intersections (red light violations).
These "red light" systems have failed miserably in most places they've been used. So Jimbo will jump right in and add to the list of failures.
That's hardly all. I skipped a few areas in which you might have interest, and the summary is only 80 pages long.
Have at it!!
ALSO SEE Sykes' handy-dandy-chart. Read it and weep.
The Warning in the West
Actually, the Doyle-ites don't have to look across the Rockies to see the future of Wisconsin--they could look at Michigan, instead.
But California is a hot topic.
We note that JimboDoylie carefully phrased his budget proposal to make it seem as though there would be LESS State employees next year. It's not true, of course...but California teaches a lesson.
Democrats . . . refuse to consider large-scale rollbacks of state government programs. Doing so would jeopardize their standing among key constituencies, especially public-sector unions like AFSCME and SEIU. Instead, they want to bulldoze Republicans into jacking up taxes even higher, making the state that much less competitive and forcing business relocation to increase.
As McCain notes, that is also called "capital flight."
Capital is portable, and predatory governments will eventually cause disinvestment, as investors seek opportunites elsewhere. As investment flees, private-sector employment stagnates and declines, and smart young people leave to find someplace where they have a chance to get ahead
And a large part of the problem is unionized public employees.
By 2005, journalist Steve Malanga observed, "Wages average a hefty 37 percent higher in the public sector, but the differences in benefits are even more dramatic. Local governments pay 128 percent more, on average, than private employers to finance workers' health-care benefits, and 162 percent more on retirement benefits."
By the way, the first city to allow public employees to organize was New York. By no coincidence, the current Mayor of New York City is prophesying Armageddon for that city.
But California is a hot topic.
We note that JimboDoylie carefully phrased his budget proposal to make it seem as though there would be LESS State employees next year. It's not true, of course...but California teaches a lesson.
Democrats . . . refuse to consider large-scale rollbacks of state government programs. Doing so would jeopardize their standing among key constituencies, especially public-sector unions like AFSCME and SEIU. Instead, they want to bulldoze Republicans into jacking up taxes even higher, making the state that much less competitive and forcing business relocation to increase.
As McCain notes, that is also called "capital flight."
Capital is portable, and predatory governments will eventually cause disinvestment, as investors seek opportunites elsewhere. As investment flees, private-sector employment stagnates and declines, and smart young people leave to find someplace where they have a chance to get ahead
And a large part of the problem is unionized public employees.
By 2005, journalist Steve Malanga observed, "Wages average a hefty 37 percent higher in the public sector, but the differences in benefits are even more dramatic. Local governments pay 128 percent more, on average, than private employers to finance workers' health-care benefits, and 162 percent more on retirement benefits."
By the way, the first city to allow public employees to organize was New York. By no coincidence, the current Mayor of New York City is prophesying Armageddon for that city.
Facts About the "Bush Boom"
Facts are such stubborn things...
Beginning and ending in recession, the Bush presidency added a net of 407,000 private sector jobs over eight years, less than 51,000 a year, the worst eight-year record since 1927-35, which includes the first six years of the Great Depression.
By January 2009, the average workweek had fallen to 33.3 hours, the lowest since record keeping began in 1964.
From Jan. 31, 2001, through Jan. 31, 2009, 4.4 million manufacturing jobs, 26 percent of all of the manufacturing jobs in the United States, disappeared.
Not real surprising. Bush's Big Gummint policies, his "charge-it" reliance on increasing national debt, and his trade policies which simply conceded trade-wars rather than fighting them, were harmful.
VERY harmful.
Beginning and ending in recession, the Bush presidency added a net of 407,000 private sector jobs over eight years, less than 51,000 a year, the worst eight-year record since 1927-35, which includes the first six years of the Great Depression.
By January 2009, the average workweek had fallen to 33.3 hours, the lowest since record keeping began in 1964.
From Jan. 31, 2001, through Jan. 31, 2009, 4.4 million manufacturing jobs, 26 percent of all of the manufacturing jobs in the United States, disappeared.
Not real surprising. Bush's Big Gummint policies, his "charge-it" reliance on increasing national debt, and his trade policies which simply conceded trade-wars rather than fighting them, were harmful.
VERY harmful.
Thoughts on Obama's Mortgage Bailout Plan
From Calculated Risk, who read the summaries. Here he points to a specific portion of the proposal.
...For homeowners there are two key paragraphs: first the lender is responsible for bringing the mortgage payment (sounds like P&I) down to 38% of the borrowers monthly gross income. Then the lender and the government will share the burden of bringing the payment down to 31% of the monthly income. Also the homeowner will receive a $1,000 principal reduction each year for five years if they make their payments on time.
This is not so good. The Obama administration doesn't understand that there were two types of speculators during the housing bubble: flippers (they are excluded), and buyers who used excessive leverage hoping for further price appreciation.
...This plan rewards those homebuyers who speculated with excessive leverage. I think this is a mistake
...Another problem with Part 2 is that this lowers the interest rate for borrowers far underwater, but other than the $1,000 per year principal reduction and normal amortization, there is no reduction in the principal. This probably leaves the homeowner far underwater (owing more than their home is worth). When these homeowners eventually try to sell, they will probably still face foreclosure - prolonging the housing slump. These are really not homeowners, they are debtowners / renters.
A larger problem, IMHO, is that all this will be financed by tax dollars downstream.
More, from Malkin's site--questions advanced by the House Republicans:
1. What will your plan do for the over 90% of homeowners who are playing and paying by the rules?
2. Does your plan compensate banks for bad mortgages they should have never made in the first place?
3. Will individuals who misrepresented their income or assets on their original mortgage application be eligible to get the taxpayer funded assistance under your plan?
4. Similarly, will you require mortgage servicers to verify income and other eligibility standards before modifying mortgages?
5. What will you do to prevent the same mortgages that receive assistance and are modified from going into default three, six, or eight months later?
6. How do you intend to move forward in the drafting of the legislation?
And, of course, the Big Question: Do you REALLY think that you can prop up housing values?
...For homeowners there are two key paragraphs: first the lender is responsible for bringing the mortgage payment (sounds like P&I) down to 38% of the borrowers monthly gross income. Then the lender and the government will share the burden of bringing the payment down to 31% of the monthly income. Also the homeowner will receive a $1,000 principal reduction each year for five years if they make their payments on time.
This is not so good. The Obama administration doesn't understand that there were two types of speculators during the housing bubble: flippers (they are excluded), and buyers who used excessive leverage hoping for further price appreciation.
...This plan rewards those homebuyers who speculated with excessive leverage. I think this is a mistake
...Another problem with Part 2 is that this lowers the interest rate for borrowers far underwater, but other than the $1,000 per year principal reduction and normal amortization, there is no reduction in the principal. This probably leaves the homeowner far underwater (owing more than their home is worth). When these homeowners eventually try to sell, they will probably still face foreclosure - prolonging the housing slump. These are really not homeowners, they are debtowners / renters.
A larger problem, IMHO, is that all this will be financed by tax dollars downstream.
More, from Malkin's site--questions advanced by the House Republicans:
1. What will your plan do for the over 90% of homeowners who are playing and paying by the rules?
2. Does your plan compensate banks for bad mortgages they should have never made in the first place?
3. Will individuals who misrepresented their income or assets on their original mortgage application be eligible to get the taxpayer funded assistance under your plan?
4. Similarly, will you require mortgage servicers to verify income and other eligibility standards before modifying mortgages?
5. What will you do to prevent the same mortgages that receive assistance and are modified from going into default three, six, or eight months later?
6. How do you intend to move forward in the drafting of the legislation?
And, of course, the Big Question: Do you REALLY think that you can prop up housing values?
Vatican Diplomacy
Many Catholics were unhappy that Benedict XVI decided to receive QueenNancy Pelosi, aborto-queen of the House.
Since she is number three in succession to the President, it was considered a 'diplomatic' visit, not a personal one.
And the Vatican is also good at sending signals, folks.
Note that the Vatican released a statement--not Nancy--and here's what it said:
Pope Benedict XVI on Wednesday told U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, a Catholic who supports abortion rights, that Catholic politicians have a duty to protect life "at all stages of its development," the Vatican said.
... The Vatican released remarks by the pope to Pelosi, saying Benedict spoke of the church's teaching "on the dignity of human life from conception to natural death." That is an expression often used by the pope when expressing opposition to abortion.
Benedict said all Catholics—especially legislators, jurists and political leaders—should work to create "a just system of laws capable of protecting human life at all stages of its development."
Pretty clear, no? B-16 smiled and delivered a lecture to QueenNancy. SHE 'could not be reached for comment.'
But there's more:
Pelosi could not immediately be reached after the 15-minute meeting, which was closed to reporters and photographers
Heh.
Since she is number three in succession to the President, it was considered a 'diplomatic' visit, not a personal one.
And the Vatican is also good at sending signals, folks.
Note that the Vatican released a statement--not Nancy--and here's what it said:
Pope Benedict XVI on Wednesday told U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, a Catholic who supports abortion rights, that Catholic politicians have a duty to protect life "at all stages of its development," the Vatican said.
... The Vatican released remarks by the pope to Pelosi, saying Benedict spoke of the church's teaching "on the dignity of human life from conception to natural death." That is an expression often used by the pope when expressing opposition to abortion.
Benedict said all Catholics—especially legislators, jurists and political leaders—should work to create "a just system of laws capable of protecting human life at all stages of its development."
Pretty clear, no? B-16 smiled and delivered a lecture to QueenNancy. SHE 'could not be reached for comment.'
But there's more:
Pelosi could not immediately be reached after the 15-minute meeting, which was closed to reporters and photographers
What The Queen wanted most was a photo-op.
Heh.
Three-Card-Monte Doyle
The usual crap.
The tax increases include: $540 million paid from oil company profits....$290 million in higher taxes on cigarette smokers..
We've already been through the "oil company profits" routine. IF it passes Constitutional muster (a big if), THEN the "tax" will be added to the price of gasoline sold in Wisconsin.
And of course, the cigarette tax is also a smoke-and-mirrors trick: IF the State collects it, the new, higher, price will reduce consumption--meaning that the revenues will decrease.
So in both cases, Three-Card-Monte is playing number games again.
Par for the course with Jimbo.
The tax increases include: $540 million paid from oil company profits....$290 million in higher taxes on cigarette smokers..
We've already been through the "oil company profits" routine. IF it passes Constitutional muster (a big if), THEN the "tax" will be added to the price of gasoline sold in Wisconsin.
And of course, the cigarette tax is also a smoke-and-mirrors trick: IF the State collects it, the new, higher, price will reduce consumption--meaning that the revenues will decrease.
So in both cases, Three-Card-Monte is playing number games again.
Par for the course with Jimbo.
'Rasputin' Emanuel Has Tax Problem?
As they say, it's clear why Democrats like to raise taxes--they just don't pay them.
There could be tax troubles on the horizon for White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, who reportedly has lived rent-free in Washington for five years but hasn't paid taxes on the imputed income from that, according to reports.
According to the New York Post, the free rent in a home owned by Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., and not disclosing that "gift" apparently isn't all that's being questioned about Emanuel's arrangements, either.
Another issue is "the work Emanuel tossed the way of DeLauro's husband, Democratic pollster Stan Greenberg."
Emanuel's explanation is a scream.
The report said Emanuel has explained the living arrangements as "hospitality" between colleagues, and that's why it never appeared on his financial-disclosure forms
FIVE YEARS of "hospitality"?
The paper suggests that the "hospitality" was worth about $20K/year in imputed (taxable) income.
There could be tax troubles on the horizon for White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, who reportedly has lived rent-free in Washington for five years but hasn't paid taxes on the imputed income from that, according to reports.
According to the New York Post, the free rent in a home owned by Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., and not disclosing that "gift" apparently isn't all that's being questioned about Emanuel's arrangements, either.
Another issue is "the work Emanuel tossed the way of DeLauro's husband, Democratic pollster Stan Greenberg."
Emanuel's explanation is a scream.
The report said Emanuel has explained the living arrangements as "hospitality" between colleagues, and that's why it never appeared on his financial-disclosure forms
FIVE YEARS of "hospitality"?
The paper suggests that the "hospitality" was worth about $20K/year in imputed (taxable) income.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Zipperer Gets It Right
Now that Doylie has released his confiscation plan budget plan, we note happily that Rich Zipperer understands the problem.
Tonight Governor Doyle proposed doing what politicians in Washington have refused to do -- raise taxes in the midst of a recession. While I am willing to work with anyone to help solve our state's budget mess, I simply cannot support the Governor in his effort to place a higher tax burden on the people of this state.
Combined with the budget bailout bill being fast-tracked through the legislature tomorrow, the Governor has proposed raising taxes on income, capital gains, hospital care, tobacco, internet purchases, and gasoline.
....displaying a singular lack of imagination; Doylie COULD have tried taxing toilet-flushes, food, ATM transactions, and keystrokes.
Maybe next year.
Tonight Governor Doyle proposed doing what politicians in Washington have refused to do -- raise taxes in the midst of a recession. While I am willing to work with anyone to help solve our state's budget mess, I simply cannot support the Governor in his effort to place a higher tax burden on the people of this state.
Combined with the budget bailout bill being fast-tracked through the legislature tomorrow, the Governor has proposed raising taxes on income, capital gains, hospital care, tobacco, internet purchases, and gasoline.
....displaying a singular lack of imagination; Doylie COULD have tried taxing toilet-flushes, food, ATM transactions, and keystrokes.
Maybe next year.
New High School: 600+ Students Already
Some of you noticed, thanks to McIlheran, that St. Anthony's School is opening a high-school division next fall.
There will be over 600 students when it opens. That 600+ registered in the last 10 days with zero, zip, nada in advertising and/or solicitations.
Don't look for the MPS budget to change, however.
There will be over 600 students when it opens. That 600+ registered in the last 10 days with zero, zip, nada in advertising and/or solicitations.
Don't look for the MPS budget to change, however.
Watch for the Spin
Maybe the 32nd is going to Afghanistan.
The troop deployment to Afghanistan will be announced as a "remissioning," meaning many, if not most, of the forces were already scheduled to deploy to Iraq but will now be diverted to Afghanistan.
That will reportedly include two Marine combat battalions and one Army combat brigade. According to one Pentagon official, because this "remissioning" will, in fact, redirect troops from Iraq to Afghanistan, it will be politically characterized as a "drawdown" of U.S. military forces in Iraq, permitting the White House to claim in this one announcement that President Obama is making good on two campaign promises -- withdrawing forces from Iraq and sending additional forces to Afghanistan
Well, at least our guys know from cold and snow. Mountains? Not so much.
And with Doyle around, we also know from "buried in bullshit."
HT: Ace
The troop deployment to Afghanistan will be announced as a "remissioning," meaning many, if not most, of the forces were already scheduled to deploy to Iraq but will now be diverted to Afghanistan.
That will reportedly include two Marine combat battalions and one Army combat brigade. According to one Pentagon official, because this "remissioning" will, in fact, redirect troops from Iraq to Afghanistan, it will be politically characterized as a "drawdown" of U.S. military forces in Iraq, permitting the White House to claim in this one announcement that President Obama is making good on two campaign promises -- withdrawing forces from Iraq and sending additional forces to Afghanistan
Well, at least our guys know from cold and snow. Mountains? Not so much.
And with Doyle around, we also know from "buried in bullshit."
HT: Ace
"Open Carry" Legal in West Allis
I don't advocate "open carry," but it appears to be legal in West Allis.
A West Allis municipal judge today ruled in favor of a local man arrested for disorderly conduct after a neighbor complained that he was carrying a gun while planting a tree.
Judge Paul Murphy found Brad Krause not guilty of disorderly conduct
... West Allis Police Chief Mike Jungbluth could not be reached for comment this afternoon.
West Allis Assistant City Attorney Jenna Merten, who prosecuted the case, was in trial today and was unavailable for comment. City Attorney Scott Post declined to comment because he had not yet learned the basis for the judge's decision, he said.
Man, that's a lot of Ducking and Weaving...
West Allis police responded to Krause's home last August after a neighbor called to ask about the legality of him openly carrying a gun in a holster on his property. Police responded, arrested Krause and ticketed him for disorderly conduct, an offense he and his attorney, Steven Cain, fought during a court trial in December. Police also seized his gun
But it's not really a question of "open carry."
The case is also one that has been watched closely around the country, particularly by the co-founders of the Virginia-based OpenCarry.org, John Pierce and Mike Stollenwerk.
Said Pierce: "Really, the larger issue is not even a gun rights issue. It's the issue of having a disorderly conduct statute that is a catchall statute for otherwise legal behavior."
One suspects that Mr. Krause was just edgy enough with the cops to find himself arrested, but not edgy enough to 'make a case' out of it. At the same time, it appears that the West Allis officers were at about 110% of the recommended daily adrenaline allowance when they hit the scene.
Which is precisely why I don't run around with a 9mm fixed on my belt. The natural response of the police in the Greater Milwaukee area is to assume the worst (not entirely unreasonable), show force like crazy, and ask questions later.
This case, however, has the merit of forcing some re-training. Like "when to ask questions" and "what questions to ask," for example. Obviously, DC charges without really solid substantiation are not going to be the cure-all any more.
At least in West Allis.
HT: Badger
A West Allis municipal judge today ruled in favor of a local man arrested for disorderly conduct after a neighbor complained that he was carrying a gun while planting a tree.
Judge Paul Murphy found Brad Krause not guilty of disorderly conduct
... West Allis Police Chief Mike Jungbluth could not be reached for comment this afternoon.
West Allis Assistant City Attorney Jenna Merten, who prosecuted the case, was in trial today and was unavailable for comment. City Attorney Scott Post declined to comment because he had not yet learned the basis for the judge's decision, he said.
Man, that's a lot of Ducking and Weaving...
West Allis police responded to Krause's home last August after a neighbor called to ask about the legality of him openly carrying a gun in a holster on his property. Police responded, arrested Krause and ticketed him for disorderly conduct, an offense he and his attorney, Steven Cain, fought during a court trial in December. Police also seized his gun
But it's not really a question of "open carry."
The case is also one that has been watched closely around the country, particularly by the co-founders of the Virginia-based OpenCarry.org, John Pierce and Mike Stollenwerk.
Said Pierce: "Really, the larger issue is not even a gun rights issue. It's the issue of having a disorderly conduct statute that is a catchall statute for otherwise legal behavior."
One suspects that Mr. Krause was just edgy enough with the cops to find himself arrested, but not edgy enough to 'make a case' out of it. At the same time, it appears that the West Allis officers were at about 110% of the recommended daily adrenaline allowance when they hit the scene.
Which is precisely why I don't run around with a 9mm fixed on my belt. The natural response of the police in the Greater Milwaukee area is to assume the worst (not entirely unreasonable), show force like crazy, and ask questions later.
This case, however, has the merit of forcing some re-training. Like "when to ask questions" and "what questions to ask," for example. Obviously, DC charges without really solid substantiation are not going to be the cure-all any more.
At least in West Allis.
HT: Badger
Roots of the Economic Problem
As usual, Deneen writes something worth thinking about.
...Ancient philosophy and theology stressed the need for small communities as the best settings for achieving the full measure of virtue. Small settings encourage solidarity while discouraging belief in self-sufficiency. In such settings we see more clearly our bonds and obligations, understanding our place in the work of the community and our connection to past and future generations. At the same time, smaller communities make it far less likely that we pursue (or successfully achieve) worldly glory or wealth, those solvents that undermine solidarity and virtue. There is watchfulness against luxury, gluttony, greed, profligacy, and the pursuit of material plenty, and rather an imperative to live modestly, within limits, fully cultivating the virtues of thrift, frugality, and temperance. Seeking to liberate the individual from the restraints of such settings - restraints that were legally, culturally, and personally enforced - early modern philosophers understood that they faced a profound challenge: how to replace the hard-won achievement of social solidarity? What "glue" would hold together a people who were encouraged to indulge precisely in what had once been considered to be vices: self-interest, concupiscence, luxury, worldliness, the belief in self-sufficiency?
Cognizant that society was fragile and even easily destroyed - given the human propensity toward individual self-aggrandizement - early modern philosophers sought a kind of "replacement" for the cultivation of virtue in and through society. It was Locke and Smith, above all, who understood that economic growth could become a replacement for solidarity and virtue.
So how was that to be structured?
...Thus modern philosophy sought to liberate us from any conception of society comparable to that of a "body": revealingly, Adam Smith argued that the achievement of the functional equivalent of solidarity - the market, in which laws of supply and demand replaced conscious considerations of how our work contributed to the good of the whole - was to be conceived in terms of a part, namely an "invisible hand." There was to be no more "whole," only parts which themselves would be unconsciously contributory to a part. In our separation, we were to pursue our individual goods and thereby increase the overall wealth of society.
Most of the people we meet do not take the Smith/Locke philosophy seriously enough to preclude charity work, nor to preclude lending a helping hand to others--and that's not the argument made by Deneen.
The trouble lies in the 'vision' promulgated by those folks--
One more pertinent item:
According to Joseph Pearce in Small is Still Beautiful (who cites Angus Maddison's book Phases of Capitalist Development), "during the thousand years between AD 500 and 1500, gross domestic product (GDP) grew on average by only 0.1 percent a year. As such, the volume of economic activity in 1500 was between 2.5 and 3 percent higher as it had been a thousand years earlier. To put this in perspective, the Western economies grew as much in percentage terms in the twenty years between 1950 and 1970 as they had done between the thousand years between 500 and 1500.... Today the growth of world GDP regularly exceeds 3 percent per annum" (p. 11).
The numbers are instructive, not normative. The question is whether Big Numbers are better.
Maybe the answer is "no."
...Ancient philosophy and theology stressed the need for small communities as the best settings for achieving the full measure of virtue. Small settings encourage solidarity while discouraging belief in self-sufficiency. In such settings we see more clearly our bonds and obligations, understanding our place in the work of the community and our connection to past and future generations. At the same time, smaller communities make it far less likely that we pursue (or successfully achieve) worldly glory or wealth, those solvents that undermine solidarity and virtue. There is watchfulness against luxury, gluttony, greed, profligacy, and the pursuit of material plenty, and rather an imperative to live modestly, within limits, fully cultivating the virtues of thrift, frugality, and temperance. Seeking to liberate the individual from the restraints of such settings - restraints that were legally, culturally, and personally enforced - early modern philosophers understood that they faced a profound challenge: how to replace the hard-won achievement of social solidarity? What "glue" would hold together a people who were encouraged to indulge precisely in what had once been considered to be vices: self-interest, concupiscence, luxury, worldliness, the belief in self-sufficiency?
Cognizant that society was fragile and even easily destroyed - given the human propensity toward individual self-aggrandizement - early modern philosophers sought a kind of "replacement" for the cultivation of virtue in and through society. It was Locke and Smith, above all, who understood that economic growth could become a replacement for solidarity and virtue.
So how was that to be structured?
...Thus modern philosophy sought to liberate us from any conception of society comparable to that of a "body": revealingly, Adam Smith argued that the achievement of the functional equivalent of solidarity - the market, in which laws of supply and demand replaced conscious considerations of how our work contributed to the good of the whole - was to be conceived in terms of a part, namely an "invisible hand." There was to be no more "whole," only parts which themselves would be unconsciously contributory to a part. In our separation, we were to pursue our individual goods and thereby increase the overall wealth of society.
Most of the people we meet do not take the Smith/Locke philosophy seriously enough to preclude charity work, nor to preclude lending a helping hand to others--and that's not the argument made by Deneen.
The trouble lies in the 'vision' promulgated by those folks--
One more pertinent item:
According to Joseph Pearce in Small is Still Beautiful (who cites Angus Maddison's book Phases of Capitalist Development), "during the thousand years between AD 500 and 1500, gross domestic product (GDP) grew on average by only 0.1 percent a year. As such, the volume of economic activity in 1500 was between 2.5 and 3 percent higher as it had been a thousand years earlier. To put this in perspective, the Western economies grew as much in percentage terms in the twenty years between 1950 and 1970 as they had done between the thousand years between 500 and 1500.... Today the growth of world GDP regularly exceeds 3 percent per annum" (p. 11).
The numbers are instructive, not normative. The question is whether Big Numbers are better.
Maybe the answer is "no."
Think the Pubbie Party Has Problems?
Dreher finds this nugget from Michael Lind--a Democrat, we remind you...
For a generation, the white-collar liberals who now dominate the Democratic Party have shown a remarkable ability to dress up their own economic interests in the rhetoric of globalization and anti-racism while attacking the motives and assaulting the characters of Americans who are far less wealthy and privileged. They conveniently forget to pay taxes for their illegal-immigrant maids and nannies, and then they denounce fellow citizens who can't afford servants as Nazi-like xenophobes for insisting that all immigrants, not just some, obey federal immigration laws. They use their status as alumni of elite universities to get their mediocre children admitted by means of legacy programs (class-based affirmative action), and then they blame racism when working-class and middle-class whites criticize race-based affirmative action. They benefit from a regulated national labor market that effectively restricts the number of lawyers, MBAs and teachers allowed to practice in the US, and then they altruistically offer to sacrifice the livelihoods of American factory workers to help out the Chinese poor and to put American farms out of business to help the African poor. They claim that by living in expensive doorman buildings in fashionable downtowns and using uneconomical, taxpayer-subsidized mass transit they are saving the planet from global warming, and then they criticize working-class Americans with a fraction of their incomes who can only afford to live in exurbs and shop at Sam's Club as sprawl-creating slobs. And they nod their heads in agreement when the elite editorial pages tell them on a near-daily basis that the greatest threat to America's future is not ruthlessly nationalistic Asian mercantilism or lawless hedge-fund operations, but the danger that Congress might respond to the frightening number of non-Ivy League graduates in the electorate by enacting Buy American or Hire American policies which might inconvenience IRA investments or make it harder to hire an au pair.
The support of affluent liberals with attitudes like these helped Barack Obama to defeat his (somewhat) more populist rivals in the Democratic primaries. In his unguarded remarks to rich Californian donors in April 2008, Obama made his "bitter" gaffe about people from "these small towns" who lose their jobs and "cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them" that Republicans undoubtedly have ready to roll out again on a feedback loop on talk radio. Obama's "bitter" remarks echoed the "status anxiety" theory of populism promoted in the 1950s and 1960s by liberal scholars that looked out (and down) at populist Americans and saw, not Lockean-Jeffersonian democratic republicans with legitimate grievances struggling to preserve their independence against corporations and plutocrats, but crypto-fascist Central Europeans who might vote an American Hitler into power. The caricature of American populists by mid-century liberal professors was the grandest misunderstanding of American political culture since Leon Trotsky, visiting the US, began a speech: "Workers and peasants of the Bronx!" And yet as the farmer-labor component of the Democratic Party has dwindled, stereotypes about working-class and rural Americans have grown even stronger among the liberal intelligentsia.
Oh, yes they have!
For a generation, the white-collar liberals who now dominate the Democratic Party have shown a remarkable ability to dress up their own economic interests in the rhetoric of globalization and anti-racism while attacking the motives and assaulting the characters of Americans who are far less wealthy and privileged. They conveniently forget to pay taxes for their illegal-immigrant maids and nannies, and then they denounce fellow citizens who can't afford servants as Nazi-like xenophobes for insisting that all immigrants, not just some, obey federal immigration laws. They use their status as alumni of elite universities to get their mediocre children admitted by means of legacy programs (class-based affirmative action), and then they blame racism when working-class and middle-class whites criticize race-based affirmative action. They benefit from a regulated national labor market that effectively restricts the number of lawyers, MBAs and teachers allowed to practice in the US, and then they altruistically offer to sacrifice the livelihoods of American factory workers to help out the Chinese poor and to put American farms out of business to help the African poor. They claim that by living in expensive doorman buildings in fashionable downtowns and using uneconomical, taxpayer-subsidized mass transit they are saving the planet from global warming, and then they criticize working-class Americans with a fraction of their incomes who can only afford to live in exurbs and shop at Sam's Club as sprawl-creating slobs. And they nod their heads in agreement when the elite editorial pages tell them on a near-daily basis that the greatest threat to America's future is not ruthlessly nationalistic Asian mercantilism or lawless hedge-fund operations, but the danger that Congress might respond to the frightening number of non-Ivy League graduates in the electorate by enacting Buy American or Hire American policies which might inconvenience IRA investments or make it harder to hire an au pair.
The support of affluent liberals with attitudes like these helped Barack Obama to defeat his (somewhat) more populist rivals in the Democratic primaries. In his unguarded remarks to rich Californian donors in April 2008, Obama made his "bitter" gaffe about people from "these small towns" who lose their jobs and "cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them" that Republicans undoubtedly have ready to roll out again on a feedback loop on talk radio. Obama's "bitter" remarks echoed the "status anxiety" theory of populism promoted in the 1950s and 1960s by liberal scholars that looked out (and down) at populist Americans and saw, not Lockean-Jeffersonian democratic republicans with legitimate grievances struggling to preserve their independence against corporations and plutocrats, but crypto-fascist Central Europeans who might vote an American Hitler into power. The caricature of American populists by mid-century liberal professors was the grandest misunderstanding of American political culture since Leon Trotsky, visiting the US, began a speech: "Workers and peasants of the Bronx!" And yet as the farmer-labor component of the Democratic Party has dwindled, stereotypes about working-class and rural Americans have grown even stronger among the liberal intelligentsia.
Oh, yes they have!
Catholic Angst
This is the 'balancing' post for my earlier "Anglican Angst" item.
An English cardinal has used canon law to prevent a Vatican official from celebrating a Tridentine-rite Mass in Westminster Cathedral and instead has asked an auxiliary bishop to celebrate it.
Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor of Westminster refused to grant permission for U.S. Archbishop Raymond L. Burke, head of the Supreme Court of the Apostolic Signature, to celebrate Mass in the extraordinary form of the Latin rite, called the Tridentine rite, in the London cathedral June 20. The cardinal used the Code of Canon Law to insist that the Mass be celebrated instead by Auxiliary Bishop John Arnold of Westminster.
The Cardinal of Westminster has two axes grinding here: one against the lay society who invited Cdl. Burke, the other against the Vatican in general.
More:
The Austrian Bishops' Conference goes into revolt-mode:
"There were problems of communication also in the recent appointment of an auxiliary bishop for the Diocese of Linz...For many, the controversy over episcopal appointments led to a painful conflict, and they have triggered splits in the church,. It is precisely in this area that sensitivity is most appropriate. ...The faithful are legitimately concerned that the process of candidate search, examination of the proposals and the final decisions should be carefully undertaken and with pastoral sensitivity are possible. This can ensure that bishops are appointed who are not 'against' but 'for' a local church. We bishops will make every possible effort to support the forthcoming episcopal appointments in the sense of monitoring these procedures in close cooperation with the relevant Vatican offices."
Only took about 2 years for the Left to go into its full-throat tizzyfits. Led by an aging '60's-hippie-kinda-Jesuit Cardinal in Milan (retired, but not at room temperature), by a German Cardinal who is still active, and by another retired perfumed-hand-forked-tongue US Cardinal (now ensconced at Georgetown), they are determined to have their way.
It's called "Gallicanism."
An English cardinal has used canon law to prevent a Vatican official from celebrating a Tridentine-rite Mass in Westminster Cathedral and instead has asked an auxiliary bishop to celebrate it.
Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor of Westminster refused to grant permission for U.S. Archbishop Raymond L. Burke, head of the Supreme Court of the Apostolic Signature, to celebrate Mass in the extraordinary form of the Latin rite, called the Tridentine rite, in the London cathedral June 20. The cardinal used the Code of Canon Law to insist that the Mass be celebrated instead by Auxiliary Bishop John Arnold of Westminster.
The Cardinal of Westminster has two axes grinding here: one against the lay society who invited Cdl. Burke, the other against the Vatican in general.
More:
The Austrian Bishops' Conference goes into revolt-mode:
"There were problems of communication also in the recent appointment of an auxiliary bishop for the Diocese of Linz...For many, the controversy over episcopal appointments led to a painful conflict, and they have triggered splits in the church,. It is precisely in this area that sensitivity is most appropriate. ...The faithful are legitimately concerned that the process of candidate search, examination of the proposals and the final decisions should be carefully undertaken and with pastoral sensitivity are possible. This can ensure that bishops are appointed who are not 'against' but 'for' a local church. We bishops will make every possible effort to support the forthcoming episcopal appointments in the sense of monitoring these procedures in close cooperation with the relevant Vatican offices."
Only took about 2 years for the Left to go into its full-throat tizzyfits. Led by an aging '60's-hippie-kinda-Jesuit Cardinal in Milan (retired, but not at room temperature), by a German Cardinal who is still active, and by another retired perfumed-hand-forked-tongue US Cardinal (now ensconced at Georgetown), they are determined to have their way.
It's called "Gallicanism."
If You Don't Spend Your Money....
Vox finds a cheery essay.
The standard response to recession is to cut interest rates.... Japan was a bit slow about cutting interest rates after the bubble burst, but it eventually cut them all the way to zero, and it still wasn't enough. Now what? The classic answer, the one that has been associated with the name of John Maynard Keynes, is that if the private sector won't spend enough to maintain full employment, the public sector must take up the slack
And in fact Japan tried...The trouble was that the programs didn't seem to get enough bang for the yen.... In short, the attempt to jump-start the economy with deficit spending has reached its limits. So now what?...
The answer is that an economy which is in a liquidity trap needs expected inflation - that is, it needs to convince people that the yen they are tempted to hoard will buy less a month or a year from now than they do today
--Paul Krugman
Wowsers, bowser. It's like a Circuit City giftcard. Your money will have an expiration date.
The standard response to recession is to cut interest rates.... Japan was a bit slow about cutting interest rates after the bubble burst, but it eventually cut them all the way to zero, and it still wasn't enough. Now what? The classic answer, the one that has been associated with the name of John Maynard Keynes, is that if the private sector won't spend enough to maintain full employment, the public sector must take up the slack
And in fact Japan tried...The trouble was that the programs didn't seem to get enough bang for the yen.... In short, the attempt to jump-start the economy with deficit spending has reached its limits. So now what?...
The answer is that an economy which is in a liquidity trap needs expected inflation - that is, it needs to convince people that the yen they are tempted to hoard will buy less a month or a year from now than they do today
--Paul Krugman
Wowsers, bowser. It's like a Circuit City giftcard. Your money will have an expiration date.
Hooked on Teleprompter. Is This Guy Stupid?
We recall that GWB was derided as the stupidest man on Earth--or perhaps in the entire universe.
But he didn't need a teleprompter to answer the (approved-in-advance) question, did he?
While people who watched Obama's first national press conference noticed Obama's use of a teleprompter to give his initial presentation as well as in answering questions, the media and late night joke writers have completely ignored it. The American Spectator notes in many events: "down to many of the questions and the answers to those questions. Teleprompter screens at the events scrolled not only his opening remarks, but also statistics and information he could use to answer questions." Apparently, Obama is looking into installing a computer screen into the podium so that according to one Obama advisor: "It would make it easier for the comms guys to pass along information without being obvious about it." Obama's aides would put together answers to a large number of possible questions so as soon as a reporter asks a particular question the computer screen would flash talking points to remind Obama how he is supposed to respond to that question
That accounts for the extended "ummmmmm...ahhhhhh....ummmmm" stuff. Another pundit has remarked that in Obamese, "ummmmm" serves as a verb, noun, adjective, adverb, participle, and clause (dependent and not.)
Our modern-day Rasputin, Rahm Emanuel, has so many toys to use. What a country!!
HT: Lott
But he didn't need a teleprompter to answer the (approved-in-advance) question, did he?
While people who watched Obama's first national press conference noticed Obama's use of a teleprompter to give his initial presentation as well as in answering questions, the media and late night joke writers have completely ignored it. The American Spectator notes in many events: "down to many of the questions and the answers to those questions. Teleprompter screens at the events scrolled not only his opening remarks, but also statistics and information he could use to answer questions." Apparently, Obama is looking into installing a computer screen into the podium so that according to one Obama advisor: "It would make it easier for the comms guys to pass along information without being obvious about it." Obama's aides would put together answers to a large number of possible questions so as soon as a reporter asks a particular question the computer screen would flash talking points to remind Obama how he is supposed to respond to that question
That accounts for the extended "ummmmmm...ahhhhhh....ummmmm" stuff. Another pundit has remarked that in Obamese, "ummmmm" serves as a verb, noun, adjective, adverb, participle, and clause (dependent and not.)
Our modern-day Rasputin, Rahm Emanuel, has so many toys to use. What a country!!
HT: Lott
TARP Unintended Consequences
Oh, man.
"The money is going to sit on the sidelines until [regulators] announce they’re going to do something with these [big banks]. Nobody is going to put fresh capital into the banking business when your major competitor is going to be continuously bailed out by the United States government with more and more money.”
--Rusty Cloutier, the president and CEO of MidSouth Bank
The same guy also
...called for the feds to break up the “miserable eight” largest banks that, he said, control 60 to 64 percent of the country’s assets, restoring competition to the banking industry and restoring investor confidence in the system
"Le Miz Banques"--I smell a musical here.
HT: Calculated Risk
"The money is going to sit on the sidelines until [regulators] announce they’re going to do something with these [big banks]. Nobody is going to put fresh capital into the banking business when your major competitor is going to be continuously bailed out by the United States government with more and more money.”
--Rusty Cloutier, the president and CEO of MidSouth Bank
The same guy also
...called for the feds to break up the “miserable eight” largest banks that, he said, control 60 to 64 percent of the country’s assets, restoring competition to the banking industry and restoring investor confidence in the system
"Le Miz Banques"--I smell a musical here.
HT: Calculated Risk
"Oversight" of Spending? Please!
Here's what Jimbo Doylie calls "oversight" of spending Porkulus dollars:
Under the state plan, Gov. Jim Doyle would provide spending plans to Miller and the other committee leader, Rep. Mark Pocan of Madison. All three are Democrats.
If Miller and Pocan approved them, the projects would proceed. If either objected, the 16-member Joint Finance Committee would meet within two weeks to vote on the spending plans. The matter would not go to the full Legislature.
Remember that the word 'oversight' has two disparate meanings.
Under the state plan, Gov. Jim Doyle would provide spending plans to Miller and the other committee leader, Rep. Mark Pocan of Madison. All three are Democrats.
If Miller and Pocan approved them, the projects would proceed. If either objected, the 16-member Joint Finance Committee would meet within two weeks to vote on the spending plans. The matter would not go to the full Legislature.
Remember that the word 'oversight' has two disparate meanings.
Anglican Angst
Two related snippets.
In England:
As long as a homosexual partnership is "faithful and lifelong," it presents only the same ethical questions as a natural marriage, wrote the head of the Church of England in a series of letters, dating from 2000 and 2001, that have only just been made public.
The London Times revealed this weekend that Dr. Rowan Williams, the Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury, made the statements in a series of letters to Deborah Pitt, a psychiatrist and evangelical Christian living in his former archdiocese in South Wales, while Williams was still the archbishop of Wales.
In Milwaukee:
The Episcopal Diocese of Milwaukee filed a lawsuit Monday against St. Edmund's Church, an Elm Grove congregation that split from the Episcopal Church in December and claimed control of the church buildings and real estate.
...Leaders of St. Edmund's Episcopal Church announced in December that they were breaking away from the Episcopal Church in the United States and joining the Convocation of Anglicans of North America, part of the more conservative Anglican Church of Nigeria.
These are difficult times.
In England:
As long as a homosexual partnership is "faithful and lifelong," it presents only the same ethical questions as a natural marriage, wrote the head of the Church of England in a series of letters, dating from 2000 and 2001, that have only just been made public.
The London Times revealed this weekend that Dr. Rowan Williams, the Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury, made the statements in a series of letters to Deborah Pitt, a psychiatrist and evangelical Christian living in his former archdiocese in South Wales, while Williams was still the archbishop of Wales.
In Milwaukee:
The Episcopal Diocese of Milwaukee filed a lawsuit Monday against St. Edmund's Church, an Elm Grove congregation that split from the Episcopal Church in December and claimed control of the church buildings and real estate.
...Leaders of St. Edmund's Episcopal Church announced in December that they were breaking away from the Episcopal Church in the United States and joining the Convocation of Anglicans of North America, part of the more conservative Anglican Church of Nigeria.
These are difficult times.
"Screwtape" Tix Selling Like......the Devil
I'm not surprised.
A play about devils has become a "scorching" success in Chicago, where even Christians are flocking to the theater to witness the stage adaptation of C.S. Lewis' "The Screwtape Letters."
That phrasing is curious. "Even Christians?" Well, never mind...
The play has also captured the box office. According to Mercury Theatre owner Michael Cullen, "The Screwtape Letters" has become the most financially successful show in the venue's history.
"It is doing phenomenal business," Cullen told the Tribune, "Every performance has been at or near capacity."
I heard an advertisement for the show on a Chicago radio station, and my interest was piqued. I've read the book and it is........ahhhhh.......damn good.
Lewis' comments are interesting.
Set in an eerie but luxurious office somewhere in hell, the play portrays C.S. Lewis' classic tale of a senior devil, Screwtape, instructing a novice demon, Wormwood, on how to tempt a Christian man away from God, whom Screwtape refers to as "the Enemy."
Lewis, who penned many books, including the beloved childrens' series "The Chronicles of Narnia," once admitted that "Screwtape" may have been his most difficult work to write.
"I never wrote with less enjoyment," Lewis said. "The strain produced a spiritual cramp."
"The world in which I had to project myself while I spoke through Screwtape was all dust, grit, thirst and itch," said Lewis. "Every trace of beauty, freshness and geniality had to be excluded."
If the play reflects the book accurately, it is definitely worth seeing.
A play about devils has become a "scorching" success in Chicago, where even Christians are flocking to the theater to witness the stage adaptation of C.S. Lewis' "The Screwtape Letters."
That phrasing is curious. "Even Christians?" Well, never mind...
The play has also captured the box office. According to Mercury Theatre owner Michael Cullen, "The Screwtape Letters" has become the most financially successful show in the venue's history.
"It is doing phenomenal business," Cullen told the Tribune, "Every performance has been at or near capacity."
I heard an advertisement for the show on a Chicago radio station, and my interest was piqued. I've read the book and it is........ahhhhh.......damn good.
Lewis' comments are interesting.
Set in an eerie but luxurious office somewhere in hell, the play portrays C.S. Lewis' classic tale of a senior devil, Screwtape, instructing a novice demon, Wormwood, on how to tempt a Christian man away from God, whom Screwtape refers to as "the Enemy."
Lewis, who penned many books, including the beloved childrens' series "The Chronicles of Narnia," once admitted that "Screwtape" may have been his most difficult work to write.
"I never wrote with less enjoyment," Lewis said. "The strain produced a spiritual cramp."
"The world in which I had to project myself while I spoke through Screwtape was all dust, grit, thirst and itch," said Lewis. "Every trace of beauty, freshness and geniality had to be excluded."
If the play reflects the book accurately, it is definitely worth seeing.
Congressmen and Your Health Records
OK. You read the language and figure it out.
...According to the language of the [stimulus] bill, it is the duty of the “National Coordinator for Health Information Technology” to ensure that federal health information technology programs are “meeting the objectives of the strategic plan” to, among other things, provide for “the electronic exchange and use of health information and the enterprise integration of such information” -- and the “utilization of an electronic health record for each person in the United States by 2014.”
Got that?
What do Congresscritters think that means?
House Energy and Commerce Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and House Health Subcommittee Chairman Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.) both told CNSNews.com on Friday that they do not think the law mandates that every American’s health care records must be entered into the national system.
“You mean that everyone has to be in the database?” Pallone said when CNSNews.com asked him if the provision was mandatory. “I don’t think so.”
Uh-huh.
When asked whether there was a provision in the bill that allowed Americans to keep their records out of the program, Waxman said, "Yes."
“We tried to be very careful about individual privacy and we have a lot of protections written into the bill,” said Waxman.
However, Waxman's office did not provide CNSNews.com with the provision in the bill that would allow individuals to exempt themselves from the program
And then there's John McCain.
“I have not looked at those particular provisions as much as I have on the general effectiveness [of the stimulus],” Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) told CNSNews.com on Friday. “I don’t know frankly enough about that provision to give you an informed comment.” McCain is a member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions
Oh, good.
...According to the language of the [stimulus] bill, it is the duty of the “National Coordinator for Health Information Technology” to ensure that federal health information technology programs are “meeting the objectives of the strategic plan” to, among other things, provide for “the electronic exchange and use of health information and the enterprise integration of such information” -- and the “utilization of an electronic health record for each person in the United States by 2014.”
Got that?
What do Congresscritters think that means?
House Energy and Commerce Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and House Health Subcommittee Chairman Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.) both told CNSNews.com on Friday that they do not think the law mandates that every American’s health care records must be entered into the national system.
“You mean that everyone has to be in the database?” Pallone said when CNSNews.com asked him if the provision was mandatory. “I don’t think so.”
Uh-huh.
When asked whether there was a provision in the bill that allowed Americans to keep their records out of the program, Waxman said, "Yes."
“We tried to be very careful about individual privacy and we have a lot of protections written into the bill,” said Waxman.
However, Waxman's office did not provide CNSNews.com with the provision in the bill that would allow individuals to exempt themselves from the program
And then there's John McCain.
“I have not looked at those particular provisions as much as I have on the general effectiveness [of the stimulus],” Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) told CNSNews.com on Friday. “I don’t know frankly enough about that provision to give you an informed comment.” McCain is a member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions
Oh, good.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Kansas Follows California: No Money, Honey
Aaaahhhhhnold is a RINO and spent money like a drunken sailor.
Sibelius is a (D)--and rumored to be up for a Cabinet slot.
Kansas has suspended income tax refunds and may not be able to pay employees on time, the state's budget director said Monday.
The state doesn't have enough money in its main bank account to pay its bills, prompting Democratic Gov. Kathleen Sebelius to suggest transferring $225 million from other accounts throughout state government. But the move required approval from legislative leaders, and the GOP refused Monday
More to follow.
Any bets on Wisconsin--like before/after date of, say, March 15th?
Sibelius is a (D)--and rumored to be up for a Cabinet slot.
Kansas has suspended income tax refunds and may not be able to pay employees on time, the state's budget director said Monday.
The state doesn't have enough money in its main bank account to pay its bills, prompting Democratic Gov. Kathleen Sebelius to suggest transferring $225 million from other accounts throughout state government. But the move required approval from legislative leaders, and the GOP refused Monday
More to follow.
Any bets on Wisconsin--like before/after date of, say, March 15th?
Trend Forecaster Forecasts Troubles
Dreher found this guy and is a bit skeptical. But there is this little observation:
...Celente predicts a second American revolution that will begin with a tax revolt. He points out that New York State is trying to meet its spending needs by jacking up taxes on remaining businesses, and taxpayers who still have jobs, but who are pressed hard to keep from defaulting. Celente says people won't be able to pay taxes, and will at some point revolt -- even violently
Not unprecedented. And although New York (and California) residents are very unhappy campers, many other States seem to think that squeezing more juice from a drying lemon is a good idea.
Oh, well.
...Celente predicts a second American revolution that will begin with a tax revolt. He points out that New York State is trying to meet its spending needs by jacking up taxes on remaining businesses, and taxpayers who still have jobs, but who are pressed hard to keep from defaulting. Celente says people won't be able to pay taxes, and will at some point revolt -- even violently
Not unprecedented. And although New York (and California) residents are very unhappy campers, many other States seem to think that squeezing more juice from a drying lemon is a good idea.
Oh, well.
Ed Flynn's Rose-Colored Glasses
Hooboy.
Milwaukee's Top Cop goes to Washington to listen to Joe Biden. Quoth Flynn:
“The ‘money quote’ (from Biden) was, ‘The federal government has a role to play’ in local law enforcement, that ‘now we’re back in the game.’ That was music to our ears,” said Flynn
I suppose that Federalism means something different on 7th and State.
Milwaukee's Top Cop goes to Washington to listen to Joe Biden. Quoth Flynn:
“The ‘money quote’ (from Biden) was, ‘The federal government has a role to play’ in local law enforcement, that ‘now we’re back in the game.’ That was music to our ears,” said Flynn
I suppose that Federalism means something different on 7th and State.
Does Flyover Country Matter?
Not really.
... to quote the Outlaw Josey Wales: "Don't piss down my back and tell me it's raining." Which is to say, the Ordinary American understands that the elite view him as immeasurably beneath them. The Ordinary American also knows that the elite exercise far greater influence than he does, so that when he gets screwed over by the government, he naturally suspects that this somehow benefits the elite, and that indeed they have arranged this screw-over. There is, then, a special rage that fills the heart of the Ordinary American when the elite tell him that he is being screwed over for his own good.
...Mr. Jones's disdain for the Bush-era GOP is perfectly understandable -- when did anybody at the Bush White House ever listen to the likes of him? If the Republican coalition is falling apart, it's not his fault, it's theirs. Ken "Cakewalk" Adelman, Henry Paulson and Michael Chertoff never gave a damn about the Ron Joneses of the world, and never will. It is this extreme disconnect between the party elite and its (potential) grassroots constituency that has sapped the vitality from the GOP.
The disconnect expresses itself as ideological, but in reality it is a question of class interest. The influential elite benefit, as a class, by the centralization of authority, since centralization puts power where the elite are best positioned to influence it, and where the Ron Joneses of the world can't touch it. Their access to centralized power assures the elite that, however power is wielded or by whom it is wielded, it can never be wielded much to their detriment.
And if you doubt that thesis, think for only.....oh.....3/10ths of a second about the IRS Code.
Let's hope that Mike Steele and Reince Priebus read the essay.
The Other McCain, of course.
... to quote the Outlaw Josey Wales: "Don't piss down my back and tell me it's raining." Which is to say, the Ordinary American understands that the elite view him as immeasurably beneath them. The Ordinary American also knows that the elite exercise far greater influence than he does, so that when he gets screwed over by the government, he naturally suspects that this somehow benefits the elite, and that indeed they have arranged this screw-over. There is, then, a special rage that fills the heart of the Ordinary American when the elite tell him that he is being screwed over for his own good.
...Mr. Jones's disdain for the Bush-era GOP is perfectly understandable -- when did anybody at the Bush White House ever listen to the likes of him? If the Republican coalition is falling apart, it's not his fault, it's theirs. Ken "Cakewalk" Adelman, Henry Paulson and Michael Chertoff never gave a damn about the Ron Joneses of the world, and never will. It is this extreme disconnect between the party elite and its (potential) grassroots constituency that has sapped the vitality from the GOP.
The disconnect expresses itself as ideological, but in reality it is a question of class interest. The influential elite benefit, as a class, by the centralization of authority, since centralization puts power where the elite are best positioned to influence it, and where the Ron Joneses of the world can't touch it. Their access to centralized power assures the elite that, however power is wielded or by whom it is wielded, it can never be wielded much to their detriment.
And if you doubt that thesis, think for only.....oh.....3/10ths of a second about the IRS Code.
Let's hope that Mike Steele and Reince Priebus read the essay.
The Other McCain, of course.
Yes, the "Fairness Doctrine" Will NOT Return
There is no "Fairness Doctrine" in sight.
What we will get is much worse.
“This isn’t just about Limbaugh or a local radio host most of us haven’t heard about,” says Democrat committee member. “The FCC and state and local governments also have oversight over the Internet lines and the cable and telecom companies that operate them. We want to get alternative views on radio and TV, but we also want to makes sure those alternative views are read, heard and seen online, which is becoming increasingly video and audio driven. Thanks to the stimulus package, we’ve established that broadband networks — the Internet — are critical, national infrastructure. We think that gives us an opening to look at what runs over that critical infrastructure.” --Washington Prowler
(Perhaps the most intriguing nugget is that reference to 'the Internet' as a 'critical national infrastructure.')
As to radio stations:
...Congress will restrict how many stations a company can own in a market. They’ll also require advisory boards for each station and make it easier to address consumer complaints against stations.
One of the requirements will be diversity of ideas on the air, so if a company is just broadcasting Rush Limbaugh on all stations in a state, consumers can file complaints. Likewise, the advisory boards’ demands will have to be adhered to by the stations.
If the stations’ advisory boards are filled with liberals who demand Rush Limbaugh be taken off the air, the station will have to comply in order to keep its license.
All very neatly packaged. Clear Channel is certainly in the 10-ring, given the number of stations it owns. And Journal Communications can't be far down the list.
HT: RedState
What we will get is much worse.
“This isn’t just about Limbaugh or a local radio host most of us haven’t heard about,” says Democrat committee member. “The FCC and state and local governments also have oversight over the Internet lines and the cable and telecom companies that operate them. We want to get alternative views on radio and TV, but we also want to makes sure those alternative views are read, heard and seen online, which is becoming increasingly video and audio driven. Thanks to the stimulus package, we’ve established that broadband networks — the Internet — are critical, national infrastructure. We think that gives us an opening to look at what runs over that critical infrastructure.” --Washington Prowler
(Perhaps the most intriguing nugget is that reference to 'the Internet' as a 'critical national infrastructure.')
As to radio stations:
...Congress will restrict how many stations a company can own in a market. They’ll also require advisory boards for each station and make it easier to address consumer complaints against stations.
One of the requirements will be diversity of ideas on the air, so if a company is just broadcasting Rush Limbaugh on all stations in a state, consumers can file complaints. Likewise, the advisory boards’ demands will have to be adhered to by the stations.
If the stations’ advisory boards are filled with liberals who demand Rush Limbaugh be taken off the air, the station will have to comply in order to keep its license.
All very neatly packaged. Clear Channel is certainly in the 10-ring, given the number of stations it owns. And Journal Communications can't be far down the list.
HT: RedState
Like Violent Crime? Move to a "Safe-Gun" State!
The Brady Campaign continues to be wrong.
Further evidence of the pro-criminal bias appears when comparing Brady scores to FBI violent crime rates. Including the District of Columbia, nine of Brady’s “Top 10” states restricted concealed carry for law-abiding citizens. Brady’s “Top 10” averaged a violent crime rate of 505.1 (incidents per 100,000 population) and a Brady score of 55.5. Brady’s “Bottom 10,” all right-to-carry [RTC] states, averaged a violent crime rate of 380.3––38.2% lower than Brady’s “Top 10”––and a Brady score of 4.1. More interesting is that Brady’s “Top 10” had an average murder rate of 7.0, while the “Bottom 10” averaged 5.5.
Facts are such troublesome things.
HT: Of Arms and the Law
Further evidence of the pro-criminal bias appears when comparing Brady scores to FBI violent crime rates. Including the District of Columbia, nine of Brady’s “Top 10” states restricted concealed carry for law-abiding citizens. Brady’s “Top 10” averaged a violent crime rate of 505.1 (incidents per 100,000 population) and a Brady score of 55.5. Brady’s “Bottom 10,” all right-to-carry [RTC] states, averaged a violent crime rate of 380.3––38.2% lower than Brady’s “Top 10”––and a Brady score of 4.1. More interesting is that Brady’s “Top 10” had an average murder rate of 7.0, while the “Bottom 10” averaged 5.5.
Facts are such troublesome things.
HT: Of Arms and the Law
More (D) Tricks From 7th-Grade "Minds"
Some people never left middle-school maturity levels.
Democratic staffers released the final version of the stimulus bill at about 11 p.m. [Thursday] night after delaying the release for hours to put it into a format which people cannot "search" on their home computers.
Instead of publishing the bill as a regular internet document -- which people can search by "key words" and otherwise, the Dems took hours to convert the final bill from the regular searchable format into "pdf" files, which can be read but not searched.
Three of the four .pdf files had no text embedded, just images of the text, which did not permit text searches of the bill.
Jimbo Doylie's campaign staff pulled the same stunt, submitting their campaign docs in a non-standard format, too.
HT: Moonbattery
Democratic staffers released the final version of the stimulus bill at about 11 p.m. [Thursday] night after delaying the release for hours to put it into a format which people cannot "search" on their home computers.
Instead of publishing the bill as a regular internet document -- which people can search by "key words" and otherwise, the Dems took hours to convert the final bill from the regular searchable format into "pdf" files, which can be read but not searched.
Three of the four .pdf files had no text embedded, just images of the text, which did not permit text searches of the bill.
Jimbo Doylie's campaign staff pulled the same stunt, submitting their campaign docs in a non-standard format, too.
HT: Moonbattery
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Has the UAW Lost Its Mind? Maybe.
This was reported, and I ignored it at the time.
"The UAW stopped negotiations with GM last night, a person familiar with the talks said. A delay in the talks could risk the automakers missing a Feb. 17 deadline to show progress in a government-ordered plan to cut labor and debt costs. It’s not clear what that would mean."
Ticker didn't ignore it, and ruminates a bit.
--If the company and thus its pension fund "booms", the PBGC will be forced to step in and take it over. The PBGC has maximum benefits that it pays out to retirees. If you were getting more than that previously, too bad. Have a banana.
--The guarantees are much more limited than your Pension was, especially if you're not already retired. The cap is based on the law, not your contributions to date, and is invoked at the time the plan goes "boom". If you're under 45 you will get exactly nothing, with the MAXIMUM amount set by law, disregarding (for the most part) your contributions to the system
Ticker thinks that GM will not get an extension of its Gummint loan, NOR an enhancement. He thinks they're going Chapter XI, which is what will trigger PBGC participation. Yes, the Gummint will assume D-I-P (Debtor-in-Possession) financing during the bankruptcy.
But that, my friends, is where Ticker's train comes to a fork in the tracks.
If Obama & Co. assume the DIP role, there's no reason whatsoever that the Gummint will not move to become the owners/operators of GM. That doesn't mean that excess HUD or Education bureaucrats will suddenly become Plant Managers (a prospect laden with humorous implications, indeed...)--but rather that some Socialist Eminentoes will become the Board of Directors and appoint a few of their pals to key positions at the Company.
Ticker:
I am well-aware that President Obama is a strong friend of organized labor, and so are some Americans. But very few are friends of the UAW outside of its membership, and that's a problem - never mind the hubris of the last round of negotiations that got far too much press to remain buried.
He should also be well aware that the UAW has other weapons at its disposal, Cat, Deere, and Case among them, and that Pelosi/Reid/Obama have unlimited hubris.
Wouldn't you enjoy watching the first several months' effort of some dweeb-paper-pusher from HHS acting as a plant manager at (say) Chevy/Detroit? It would partially make up for the $Zillion-dollar loss to the taxpayers, I suppose.
In the very, very short run.
"The UAW stopped negotiations with GM last night, a person familiar with the talks said. A delay in the talks could risk the automakers missing a Feb. 17 deadline to show progress in a government-ordered plan to cut labor and debt costs. It’s not clear what that would mean."
Ticker didn't ignore it, and ruminates a bit.
--If the company and thus its pension fund "booms", the PBGC will be forced to step in and take it over. The PBGC has maximum benefits that it pays out to retirees. If you were getting more than that previously, too bad. Have a banana.
--The guarantees are much more limited than your Pension was, especially if you're not already retired. The cap is based on the law, not your contributions to date, and is invoked at the time the plan goes "boom". If you're under 45 you will get exactly nothing, with the MAXIMUM amount set by law, disregarding (for the most part) your contributions to the system
Ticker thinks that GM will not get an extension of its Gummint loan, NOR an enhancement. He thinks they're going Chapter XI, which is what will trigger PBGC participation. Yes, the Gummint will assume D-I-P (Debtor-in-Possession) financing during the bankruptcy.
But that, my friends, is where Ticker's train comes to a fork in the tracks.
If Obama & Co. assume the DIP role, there's no reason whatsoever that the Gummint will not move to become the owners/operators of GM. That doesn't mean that excess HUD or Education bureaucrats will suddenly become Plant Managers (a prospect laden with humorous implications, indeed...)--but rather that some Socialist Eminentoes will become the Board of Directors and appoint a few of their pals to key positions at the Company.
Ticker:
I am well-aware that President Obama is a strong friend of organized labor, and so are some Americans. But very few are friends of the UAW outside of its membership, and that's a problem - never mind the hubris of the last round of negotiations that got far too much press to remain buried.
He should also be well aware that the UAW has other weapons at its disposal, Cat, Deere, and Case among them, and that Pelosi/Reid/Obama have unlimited hubris.
Wouldn't you enjoy watching the first several months' effort of some dweeb-paper-pusher from HHS acting as a plant manager at (say) Chevy/Detroit? It would partially make up for the $Zillion-dollar loss to the taxpayers, I suppose.
In the very, very short run.
The Rubber and the Road--Up Next
The Winning McCain quotes Rubin:
The president and his spinners declared this all to be a "long term" problem that had to take a back seat to the short term "solution" for the recession. But little they have done in the short term will improve the economy, which by their own calculations would have begun to bounce back on its own by the end of 2009.The "long term" problem is now. The first act comes with the next major auction of Treasury debt. Are we going to start printing dollars ourselves to buy up Treasury paper? Raise the interest rate on bonds to keep Chinese and other investors in the game?
A question simply ignored by the "thinkers" of the Left (see combox here). Their one-track minds see "spend now" as the solution, regardless of consequence.
Bread. Circus.
The president and his spinners declared this all to be a "long term" problem that had to take a back seat to the short term "solution" for the recession. But little they have done in the short term will improve the economy, which by their own calculations would have begun to bounce back on its own by the end of 2009.The "long term" problem is now. The first act comes with the next major auction of Treasury debt. Are we going to start printing dollars ourselves to buy up Treasury paper? Raise the interest rate on bonds to keep Chinese and other investors in the game?
A question simply ignored by the "thinkers" of the Left (see combox here). Their one-track minds see "spend now" as the solution, regardless of consequence.
Bread. Circus.
Fascism? Yes. Another Opinion or Two
We had mentioned the "F-term" just Friday. Turns out that Ledeen had written on just that topic (bright guy, he.)
Ledeen:
...the state is getting more and more deeply involved in business, even taking controlling interests in some private companies. And the state is even trying to “make policy” for private companies they do not control, but merely “help” with “infusions of capital,” as in the recent call for salary caps for certain CEOs. So state power is growing at the expense of corporations.
But that’s not socialism. Socialism rests on a firm theoretical bedrock: the abolition of private property. I haven’t heard anyone this side of Barney Frank calling for any such thing. What is happening now–and Newsweek is honest enough to say so down in the body of the article–is an expansion of the state’s role, an increase in public/private joint ventures and partnerships, and much more state regulation of business. Yes, it’s very “European,” and some of the Europeans even call it “social democracy,” but it isn’t.
It’s fascism.
Well, that depends on how you define the term. One definition that I'd heard (and not used by Wikipedia) is that fascism entails common alignment, actions (and motivations) of the State and Corporations.
[Mussolini's fascism] was hailed as a “third way” between two failed systems (communism and capitalism), retaining the best of each. Private property was preserved, as the role of the state was expanded. This was necessary because the Great Depression was defined as a crisis “of the system,” not just a glitch “in the system.” And so Mussolini created the “Corporate State,” in which, in theory at least, the big national enterprises were entrusted to state ownership (or substantial state ownership) and of course state management
Banks, anyone?
...As an economic fix, the Corporate State was not a great success, either in America or in Italy. Roosevelt’s New Deal didn’t cure America’s economic ills any more than Mussolini’s Third Way did. In both countries, however, its most durable consequence was the expansion of the ability of the state to give orders to more and more citizens, in more and more corners of their lives. In the first half of the twentieth century, that was hardly unique to the “fascist” states; tyranny was the order of the day in the “socialist” or “communist” countries as well (not for nothing were so many learned books written about “totalitarianism,” which embraced both “systems”). Paul Johnson writes of a “new species” of “despotic utopias,” and Richard Pipes went so far as to call both Soviet Bolshevism and Italian fascism “heresies of socialism.”
Because socialism, properly, ends "private property."
Vox Day has a bit more.
In the proper ideological sense, Ledeen is right, as much of what both Bush and Obama have been proposing - and what the Congress has been legislating - is not socialism proper but rather something more akin to an internationalist spin on Italian-style fascism
... I still suspect that where Bush is a fascist at heart, Obama is a socialist by inclination. Obama may settle for what HG Wells approvingly called liberal fascism because it's achievable at the moment, but it's fairly obvious that he's a run-of-the-mill international socialist of the sort so common in Europe
And, yes, Bush was a fascist, albeit benign. There is no other way to explain TARP and the straining of the Unitary Presidency doctrines. The trouble with Bush was that he opened the door.
It's not likely that Obama will be able to capitalize on it--that's really the goal of people such as Obey, Pelosi, and Obama's Rasputin, Emanuel.
Ledeen:
...the state is getting more and more deeply involved in business, even taking controlling interests in some private companies. And the state is even trying to “make policy” for private companies they do not control, but merely “help” with “infusions of capital,” as in the recent call for salary caps for certain CEOs. So state power is growing at the expense of corporations.
But that’s not socialism. Socialism rests on a firm theoretical bedrock: the abolition of private property. I haven’t heard anyone this side of Barney Frank calling for any such thing. What is happening now–and Newsweek is honest enough to say so down in the body of the article–is an expansion of the state’s role, an increase in public/private joint ventures and partnerships, and much more state regulation of business. Yes, it’s very “European,” and some of the Europeans even call it “social democracy,” but it isn’t.
It’s fascism.
Well, that depends on how you define the term. One definition that I'd heard (and not used by Wikipedia) is that fascism entails common alignment, actions (and motivations) of the State and Corporations.
[Mussolini's fascism] was hailed as a “third way” between two failed systems (communism and capitalism), retaining the best of each. Private property was preserved, as the role of the state was expanded. This was necessary because the Great Depression was defined as a crisis “of the system,” not just a glitch “in the system.” And so Mussolini created the “Corporate State,” in which, in theory at least, the big national enterprises were entrusted to state ownership (or substantial state ownership) and of course state management
Banks, anyone?
...As an economic fix, the Corporate State was not a great success, either in America or in Italy. Roosevelt’s New Deal didn’t cure America’s economic ills any more than Mussolini’s Third Way did. In both countries, however, its most durable consequence was the expansion of the ability of the state to give orders to more and more citizens, in more and more corners of their lives. In the first half of the twentieth century, that was hardly unique to the “fascist” states; tyranny was the order of the day in the “socialist” or “communist” countries as well (not for nothing were so many learned books written about “totalitarianism,” which embraced both “systems”). Paul Johnson writes of a “new species” of “despotic utopias,” and Richard Pipes went so far as to call both Soviet Bolshevism and Italian fascism “heresies of socialism.”
Because socialism, properly, ends "private property."
Vox Day has a bit more.
In the proper ideological sense, Ledeen is right, as much of what both Bush and Obama have been proposing - and what the Congress has been legislating - is not socialism proper but rather something more akin to an internationalist spin on Italian-style fascism
... I still suspect that where Bush is a fascist at heart, Obama is a socialist by inclination. Obama may settle for what HG Wells approvingly called liberal fascism because it's achievable at the moment, but it's fairly obvious that he's a run-of-the-mill international socialist of the sort so common in Europe
And, yes, Bush was a fascist, albeit benign. There is no other way to explain TARP and the straining of the Unitary Presidency doctrines. The trouble with Bush was that he opened the door.
It's not likely that Obama will be able to capitalize on it--that's really the goal of people such as Obey, Pelosi, and Obama's Rasputin, Emanuel.
Empirical Evidence v. GWT
Well, the evidence is in.
"We now have data showing that from 2000 to 2007, greenhouse gas emissions increased far more rapidly than we expected, primarily because developing countries, like China and India, saw a huge surge in electric power generation, almost all of it based on coal," Field said --Reuters
Despite which, global temps have been cooling since 1998.
HT: PowerLine
"We now have data showing that from 2000 to 2007, greenhouse gas emissions increased far more rapidly than we expected, primarily because developing countries, like China and India, saw a huge surge in electric power generation, almost all of it based on coal," Field said --Reuters
Despite which, global temps have been cooling since 1998.
HT: PowerLine
Sen. Burris (D-Perjury)
Oh, yah.
Sen. Roland W. Burris (D-Ill.), appointed to fill President Obama's former seat in the U.S. Senate, has informed Illinois lawmakers that he did not tell them the complete story about his contacts with close associates of former governor Rod Blagojevich (D) before he got the job.
...The affidavit was Burris's third attempt to describe his contacts with the Blagojevich team during the months before his surprise appointment. It differed on several key points from the testimony he gave under oath to an Illinois House of Representatives impeachment committee.
--WaPo
You wonder why they're called F.I.B.'s here in Wisconsin?
Sen. Roland W. Burris (D-Ill.), appointed to fill President Obama's former seat in the U.S. Senate, has informed Illinois lawmakers that he did not tell them the complete story about his contacts with close associates of former governor Rod Blagojevich (D) before he got the job.
...The affidavit was Burris's third attempt to describe his contacts with the Blagojevich team during the months before his surprise appointment. It differed on several key points from the testimony he gave under oath to an Illinois House of Representatives impeachment committee.
--WaPo
You wonder why they're called F.I.B.'s here in Wisconsin?
Sub-Prime: How Low Can You Go?
Noticed by Clay Cramer:
Despite making only $14,000 a year, strawberry picker Alberto Ramirez managed to buy his own slice of the American Dream. But his Hollister home came with a hefty price tag - $720,000.
A year and a half later, Ramirez has defaulted on his loan, and he's hoping to sell the house before it's repossessed. And according to many housing advocates and civil rights groups, Ramirez is not alone. As mortgage foreclosures rise, many minorities are suffering.
...Rafael Cebrero, whose company Rancho Grande Real Estate sold Ramirez his home and arranged his mortgage, said subprime loans are getting a bad rap. Those loans, he said, have made it easier for many people, including Latinos, to purchase a home.
We note that Rafael Cebrero is ALSO a minority, at least judging by the name.
...However, the Ramirezes said Rancho Grande real estate agent Maria Avila promised they could refinance their home in three to six months to an affordable rate; until then, Rosa Ramirez said, Avila said she would pay for whatever they couldn't afford.
Avila did supplement the mortgage payments on the Hollister home, paying about $2,200 per month for nine months.
But the refinance never happened,...
Draw your own conclusions.
Despite making only $14,000 a year, strawberry picker Alberto Ramirez managed to buy his own slice of the American Dream. But his Hollister home came with a hefty price tag - $720,000.
A year and a half later, Ramirez has defaulted on his loan, and he's hoping to sell the house before it's repossessed. And according to many housing advocates and civil rights groups, Ramirez is not alone. As mortgage foreclosures rise, many minorities are suffering.
...Rafael Cebrero, whose company Rancho Grande Real Estate sold Ramirez his home and arranged his mortgage, said subprime loans are getting a bad rap. Those loans, he said, have made it easier for many people, including Latinos, to purchase a home.
We note that Rafael Cebrero is ALSO a minority, at least judging by the name.
...However, the Ramirezes said Rancho Grande real estate agent Maria Avila promised they could refinance their home in three to six months to an affordable rate; until then, Rosa Ramirez said, Avila said she would pay for whatever they couldn't afford.
Avila did supplement the mortgage payments on the Hollister home, paying about $2,200 per month for nine months.
But the refinance never happened,...
Draw your own conclusions.
The Trouble With Bradley Tech
The trouble is not that there are riots at Bradley Tech on a near-regular basis.
The trouble is that there are at least a couple of dozen Bradley Tech students who are working hard to succeed at something.
With the headlines and videos still replaying in my mind, I watched a number of B.T. students recieve competitively-earned awards for their public-speaking abilities.
It's tempting to refer to those kids as "survivors" because in fact, they are.
More power to them and to their mentors!
The trouble is that there are at least a couple of dozen Bradley Tech students who are working hard to succeed at something.
With the headlines and videos still replaying in my mind, I watched a number of B.T. students recieve competitively-earned awards for their public-speaking abilities.
It's tempting to refer to those kids as "survivors" because in fact, they are.
More power to them and to their mentors!
Stupid Fundraiser Tricks
From the email:
I don’t support the stimulus bill that was passed by the U.S. Senate this week and am extremely disappointed in U.S. Senator Arlen Specter for voting for it. Furthermore, I am outraged that Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Senator Harry Reid and their liberal foot soldiers restored the earmark for ACORN in the stimulus bill at the last minute...
Blah, blah, blah.
Then the "send money" beg.
The signatory?
None other than the Chairman of the Pubbie Party of PENNSYLVANIA, Robert Gleason, Jr.
Some people have a lot of nerve.
I don’t support the stimulus bill that was passed by the U.S. Senate this week and am extremely disappointed in U.S. Senator Arlen Specter for voting for it. Furthermore, I am outraged that Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Senator Harry Reid and their liberal foot soldiers restored the earmark for ACORN in the stimulus bill at the last minute...
Blah, blah, blah.
Then the "send money" beg.
The signatory?
None other than the Chairman of the Pubbie Party of PENNSYLVANIA, Robert Gleason, Jr.
Some people have a lot of nerve.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
I'd Like THIS Deal
Maybe Ted Kanavas thinks this is a good thing.
So do I--if this were the deal I got:
When the "Public Enemies" production blew out of town last year, state taxpayers gave the movie company back almost every penny it had invested in Wisconsin, according to the state Department of Commerce.
NBC Universal received $4.6 million in incentives from state taxpayers for the Johnny Depp film about 1930s gangster John Dillinger. That eats up almost all of the estimated $5 million the film company spent in Wisconsin, according to Zach Brandon, the No. 3 official at the Commerce Department.
"It's a wash," he said.
My family spends a lot of money in Wisconsin. Where's MY incentive-rebate?
So do I--if this were the deal I got:
When the "Public Enemies" production blew out of town last year, state taxpayers gave the movie company back almost every penny it had invested in Wisconsin, according to the state Department of Commerce.
NBC Universal received $4.6 million in incentives from state taxpayers for the Johnny Depp film about 1930s gangster John Dillinger. That eats up almost all of the estimated $5 million the film company spent in Wisconsin, according to Zach Brandon, the No. 3 official at the Commerce Department.
"It's a wash," he said.
My family spends a lot of money in Wisconsin. Where's MY incentive-rebate?
Friday, February 13, 2009
The Poison of Big Business
The concept of Corporate/State collusion is one which has not yet been "defined" (as was, for example, Fascism.) But you're seeing it take shape in the ARRA.
ARRA, (pronounced error??) is HR1, being 'debated' in the Senate as we speak. It is a monumental waste, a generational-theft, and it contains the groundwork for a "Final Solution" in its healthcare provisions. It also encourages the welfare state, both in the classic definition of "welfare" and in its extension and enhancement of unemployment compensation.
But that's not the reason for this post.
McIlheran noticed something very interesting:
..the business lobbies held firm in their support of today’s bill. Remarkably, the National Association of Manufacturers not only endorsed the final agreement, but informed Members of Congress that it would be “key voting” the vote on final passage..
Not only NAM, but the Chamber of Commerce:
The president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, in a speech in Detroit Thursday, tried to put a brave face on the tough year ahead. Thomas Donohue acknowledged that big business didn't get in the stimulus bill some of the tax-relief measures it most wanted, but promised the Chamber's support.
"The bottom line is that at the end of the day, we're going to support the legislation --McClatchy News
Clearly, Big Business' interests are aligned with those of the Big Government. This has always been more-or-less a truism; after all, business interests have influenced legislation and policy for years. Abe Lincoln rewarded his railroader-friends very handsomely, and those tax breaks enjoyed by GE for the last several years were written into the Bush tax-cut legislation by GE lobbyists. Patents, copyrights, "ex-im" finance--all are boons to big business.
And, of course, international business needs the protection afforded by a helluva good military.
But that raises some problems. When Big Business agitates for more taxes (as they are doing in Wisconsin), or for more construction projects, or ethanol, or whatever--is that good for the man on the street?
Well, you're about to find out. I'm a skeptic.
ARRA, (pronounced error??) is HR1, being 'debated' in the Senate as we speak. It is a monumental waste, a generational-theft, and it contains the groundwork for a "Final Solution" in its healthcare provisions. It also encourages the welfare state, both in the classic definition of "welfare" and in its extension and enhancement of unemployment compensation.
But that's not the reason for this post.
McIlheran noticed something very interesting:
..the business lobbies held firm in their support of today’s bill. Remarkably, the National Association of Manufacturers not only endorsed the final agreement, but informed Members of Congress that it would be “key voting” the vote on final passage..
Not only NAM, but the Chamber of Commerce:
The president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, in a speech in Detroit Thursday, tried to put a brave face on the tough year ahead. Thomas Donohue acknowledged that big business didn't get in the stimulus bill some of the tax-relief measures it most wanted, but promised the Chamber's support.
"The bottom line is that at the end of the day, we're going to support the legislation --McClatchy News
Clearly, Big Business' interests are aligned with those of the Big Government. This has always been more-or-less a truism; after all, business interests have influenced legislation and policy for years. Abe Lincoln rewarded his railroader-friends very handsomely, and those tax breaks enjoyed by GE for the last several years were written into the Bush tax-cut legislation by GE lobbyists. Patents, copyrights, "ex-im" finance--all are boons to big business.
And, of course, international business needs the protection afforded by a helluva good military.
But that raises some problems. When Big Business agitates for more taxes (as they are doing in Wisconsin), or for more construction projects, or ethanol, or whatever--is that good for the man on the street?
Well, you're about to find out. I'm a skeptic.
Perceptive Analysis: "It's the DATA, Stupid!"
Here's something you haven't read.
As an analyst, one of the things that fascinates me about the latest Obama cabinet snafu is that it centers around data ownership. GOP Senator Judd Gregg had been nominated to head the Commerce Department, but withdrew his nomination yesterday over “irresolvable conflicts“, large among which was disagreement over management of the US Census. Although the Census has traditionally been run by the Commerce Department, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel had indicated after Gregg’s nomination that the Census Bureau would be moved to report directly to senior White House officials.
Effectively, this would have created for Emanuel the largest political polling organization in the world — funded at government expense. Having influence into census methodologies, questions asked, and the priorities of census data analysts would not only give political operatives in the White House an incredible data edge of their opponents, it would also give them an inside edge on redrawing congressional districts as the result of the 2010 census.
Hmmmmmmm!
Combine that with the "Final Solution" language which ALSO authorizes medical data-commonality/portability, and FBI files (like the 900+ which disappeared into HRC's White House bedroom)--not to mention all that can be gleaned from IRS... not to mention Homeland Security air-travel data...
HT: Darwin
As an analyst, one of the things that fascinates me about the latest Obama cabinet snafu is that it centers around data ownership. GOP Senator Judd Gregg had been nominated to head the Commerce Department, but withdrew his nomination yesterday over “irresolvable conflicts“, large among which was disagreement over management of the US Census. Although the Census has traditionally been run by the Commerce Department, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel had indicated after Gregg’s nomination that the Census Bureau would be moved to report directly to senior White House officials.
Effectively, this would have created for Emanuel the largest political polling organization in the world — funded at government expense. Having influence into census methodologies, questions asked, and the priorities of census data analysts would not only give political operatives in the White House an incredible data edge of their opponents, it would also give them an inside edge on redrawing congressional districts as the result of the 2010 census.
Hmmmmmmm!
Combine that with the "Final Solution" language which ALSO authorizes medical data-commonality/portability, and FBI files (like the 900+ which disappeared into HRC's White House bedroom)--not to mention all that can be gleaned from IRS... not to mention Homeland Security air-travel data...
HT: Darwin
More Rumor: Abp Dolan to NYC
It came up again this morning--the rumor that Milwaukee Abp Dolan is headed for New Yawk.
One Roman writer comments on the Abp's persona:
Dolan, 59, a Missouri native, has been in Milwaukee since 2002. Part of the American episcopate would've preferred a prelate of greater impact, to counter the new team in the White House, seen by many as unfavorable to Catholics. But the Vatican has preferred to maintain the type adopted previously in other similar cases: a bishop of a very pastoral profile with a soft touch.
An interesting way to phrase things, no?
HT: Rocco
One Roman writer comments on the Abp's persona:
Dolan, 59, a Missouri native, has been in Milwaukee since 2002. Part of the American episcopate would've preferred a prelate of greater impact, to counter the new team in the White House, seen by many as unfavorable to Catholics. But the Vatican has preferred to maintain the type adopted previously in other similar cases: a bishop of a very pastoral profile with a soft touch.
An interesting way to phrase things, no?
HT: Rocco
Rahm Emanuel: Liar
Gee--I'll bet that headline did not surprise anyone who lives in the real world...
Roeser did his due diligence, and his story flatly contradicts the one Emanuel is retailing to the usual MSM idiots.
Emanuel is saying that Gregg 'asked for' the Commerce slot.
Not really.
...Rahm Emanuel heard via the underground that Gregg would probably not run for reelection in 2010. Emanuel used some emissaries to feel out Gregg including Ray LaHood, the veteran Republican congressman who had agreed to serve as Obama’s secretary of transportation. LaHood returned to Emanuel and said that Gregg was interested in listening and had suggested Commerce might be attractive...
IOW, it was Emanuel who went after Gregg.
Roeser did his due diligence, and his story flatly contradicts the one Emanuel is retailing to the usual MSM idiots.
Emanuel is saying that Gregg 'asked for' the Commerce slot.
Not really.
...Rahm Emanuel heard via the underground that Gregg would probably not run for reelection in 2010. Emanuel used some emissaries to feel out Gregg including Ray LaHood, the veteran Republican congressman who had agreed to serve as Obama’s secretary of transportation. LaHood returned to Emanuel and said that Gregg was interested in listening and had suggested Commerce might be attractive...
IOW, it was Emanuel who went after Gregg.
Specter Dislikes "Final Solution" Language, "Didn't Know" It Was There
Below we noted that Arlen Specter's price for his services has been met.
So what do you expect from Specter regarding the "Final Solution" which met the Kohl/Feingold/Feinstein/Schumer test?
Hmmmmm.
When confronted by this provision by Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly, cancer survivor Arlen Spector professed surprise at hearing about the inclusion of such a program. He then promised to vote against any bill that included such a provision
Surprise, Senator?
Of the 1434 pages [in the summary], pages 806-1251 are dedicated to the expansion of the federal health care bureaucracy. (That is, not including the COBRA, Medicaid, etc. expansion that begins on page 1278.)
Perhaps Specter was blinded by the shiny gelt.
So what do you expect from Specter regarding the "Final Solution" which met the Kohl/Feingold/Feinstein/Schumer test?
Hmmmmm.
When confronted by this provision by Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly, cancer survivor Arlen Spector professed surprise at hearing about the inclusion of such a program. He then promised to vote against any bill that included such a provision
Surprise, Senator?
Of the 1434 pages [in the summary], pages 806-1251 are dedicated to the expansion of the federal health care bureaucracy. (That is, not including the COBRA, Medicaid, etc. expansion that begins on page 1278.)
Perhaps Specter was blinded by the shiny gelt.
Specter, A Whore With a Price
We now know how much it takes for Arlen Specter to put out--about $6.5Bn.
Senate Intel: Now It's PUBLIC Intel
Feinstein (another Senator for the Final Solution), shows that being on the Senate Intel committee does not imply having an intelligence quotient exceeding the square of 2.
At a hearing, Feinstein expressed surprise over Pakistani opposition to the campaign of Predator-launched CIA missile strikes against Islamic extremist targets along Pakistan's northwestern border.
"As I understand it, these are flown out of a Pakistani base," she said.
Gee, thanks, you dumb babe!
At a hearing, Feinstein expressed surprise over Pakistani opposition to the campaign of Predator-launched CIA missile strikes against Islamic extremist targets along Pakistan's northwestern border.
"As I understand it, these are flown out of a Pakistani base," she said.
Gee, thanks, you dumb babe!
Can the O Administration Get Worse? Yup!!
We've already remarked on the abysmal walking-drool-puddle, Mr. Holdren.
He prophesies a lot, too--so we learn that during his nomination hearings,
Vitter got Holdren to admit (three times) that he thinks 1 billion people will die from Global Warming by 2020
Well, then. Given the O-and-Savior's (and Holdren's) concerns about "overpopulation", it seems that the responsible thing to do is to do nothing whatsoever about "global warming."
HT: SpecBlog
He prophesies a lot, too--so we learn that during his nomination hearings,
Vitter got Holdren to admit (three times) that he thinks 1 billion people will die from Global Warming by 2020
Well, then. Given the O-and-Savior's (and Holdren's) concerns about "overpopulation", it seems that the responsible thing to do is to do nothing whatsoever about "global warming."
HT: SpecBlog
Thursday, February 12, 2009
You Won't Believe This. Or Maybe You Will...
Congresscritter Maxine Waters (D-Utterly Clueless) questions bankers.
Even her preamble is almost incoherent...
HT: McCain
Even her preamble is almost incoherent...
HT: McCain
The REAL Cost?
Three ++ trillion dollars.
All of the major news outlets are reporting that the stimulus bill voted out of conference committee last night has a meager $789 billion price tag. This number is pure fantasy. No one believes that the increased funding for programs the left loves like Head Start, Medicaid, COBRA, and the Earned Income Tax Credit is in anyway temporary. No Congress under control of the left will ever cut funding for these programs.
--Heritage Foundation report
We know it's not about the money. It's about control of the electorate.
Even so, that's a lot of my children's (and THEIR children's) money, ain'a?
HT: RedState
Augustine and Calvin v. Classical Liberals
Brief excerpt from Deneen's musings on Lincoln.
...Nevertheless, there is also profound tension and even outright disagreement between the liberalism of Locke and Madison, on the one hand, and Augustinianism in its various forms, on the other. Liberals begin by assuming that government, and politics generally, is an unnatural condition; Calvin, by contrast, does not. Liberals advance the ideal of our equal natural liberty; Augustinians and Calvinists instead stress our equal subordination, our status as brothers and sisters under a common Father. Liberals posit that self-interest can be channeled productively for the greater good of society and thus need not be restrained; Augustinians seek not only to “abridge” self-interest and reprimand the inclination to concentrate upon the “self” in general, but reject individualism and individual autonomy as an ideal of human life. Liberals regard justice as the highest and an achievable political ideal; Augustinians regard love – caritas, or “charity” – as the highest yet likely unachievable ideal, and justice as an imperfect and second-best approximation of love. Liberals believe that religion is a source of strife and division and is therefore best left to the individual conscience in the private sphere; Augustinians regard both the public and private spheres as ultimately subordinate to divine law, and therefore eschew a simple division between religion and State, although, at the same time, resist the notion that theocracy or a full mixing of the sacred and profane would be in any way desirable (mostly because this would draw religion too fully within the sphere of the political and too deeply immerse it in inessential considerations that are best left to temporal powers). If, according to one approach, Lincoln begins his career as a secular liberal but ends on a note of somber Augustinianism, might we conclude that there is a fundamental break in his thought and a contradiction between his early and late articulations?
For the answer, read the essay yourself...
...Nevertheless, there is also profound tension and even outright disagreement between the liberalism of Locke and Madison, on the one hand, and Augustinianism in its various forms, on the other. Liberals begin by assuming that government, and politics generally, is an unnatural condition; Calvin, by contrast, does not. Liberals advance the ideal of our equal natural liberty; Augustinians and Calvinists instead stress our equal subordination, our status as brothers and sisters under a common Father. Liberals posit that self-interest can be channeled productively for the greater good of society and thus need not be restrained; Augustinians seek not only to “abridge” self-interest and reprimand the inclination to concentrate upon the “self” in general, but reject individualism and individual autonomy as an ideal of human life. Liberals regard justice as the highest and an achievable political ideal; Augustinians regard love – caritas, or “charity” – as the highest yet likely unachievable ideal, and justice as an imperfect and second-best approximation of love. Liberals believe that religion is a source of strife and division and is therefore best left to the individual conscience in the private sphere; Augustinians regard both the public and private spheres as ultimately subordinate to divine law, and therefore eschew a simple division between religion and State, although, at the same time, resist the notion that theocracy or a full mixing of the sacred and profane would be in any way desirable (mostly because this would draw religion too fully within the sphere of the political and too deeply immerse it in inessential considerations that are best left to temporal powers). If, according to one approach, Lincoln begins his career as a secular liberal but ends on a note of somber Augustinianism, might we conclude that there is a fundamental break in his thought and a contradiction between his early and late articulations?
For the answer, read the essay yourself...
Obama's Econ Recovery Board: More Trouble
Volcker finally has his 'economic advisory board.'
The 16-member Economic Recovery Advisory Board, which President Barack Obama announced late last week, was selected almost exclusively by Obama White House advisers, and features only two members that the board’s chairman, former Fed chief Paul Volcker, was allowed to pick.
More troubling: one of Obama’s personal selections has raised a red flag at the Department of Justice. Robert Wolf is chairman and chief executive of UBS Group Americas, an entity that, according to a DOJ source, is part of an ongoing federal criminal investigation.
By the way, the American Spectator also reports a rumor that TWO MORE of Obama's potential nominees are tax cheats; they are working feverishly to cover their tracks as this is typed.
HT: RedState
The 16-member Economic Recovery Advisory Board, which President Barack Obama announced late last week, was selected almost exclusively by Obama White House advisers, and features only two members that the board’s chairman, former Fed chief Paul Volcker, was allowed to pick.
More troubling: one of Obama’s personal selections has raised a red flag at the Department of Justice. Robert Wolf is chairman and chief executive of UBS Group Americas, an entity that, according to a DOJ source, is part of an ongoing federal criminal investigation.
By the way, the American Spectator also reports a rumor that TWO MORE of Obama's potential nominees are tax cheats; they are working feverishly to cover their tracks as this is typed.
HT: RedState
Taking My Advice
Now and then I post the imperative "Buy More Ammo."
Evidently some people agree.
Selling bullets may be the most secure job in Florida as long as supplies last.
After months of heavy buying, gun dealers across the state are experiencing shortages.
...Demand for bullets is so strong that suppliers are restricting deliveries."Where we used to get 20 to 30 cases [in a shipment], we may get two to three cases now," said Vic Grechniw of Florida Ammo Traders in Tampa. "The supply just isn't there. . . . Everybody is pretty much rushing out to get their hands on whatever they can."
Most in demand is handgun ammunition, including 9 mm and .45-caliber for semiautomatic pistols and .38-caliber for revolvers.
No rifles in Florida?
HT: Cramer
Evidently some people agree.
Selling bullets may be the most secure job in Florida as long as supplies last.
After months of heavy buying, gun dealers across the state are experiencing shortages.
...Demand for bullets is so strong that suppliers are restricting deliveries."Where we used to get 20 to 30 cases [in a shipment], we may get two to three cases now," said Vic Grechniw of Florida Ammo Traders in Tampa. "The supply just isn't there. . . . Everybody is pretty much rushing out to get their hands on whatever they can."
Most in demand is handgun ammunition, including 9 mm and .45-caliber for semiautomatic pistols and .38-caliber for revolvers.
No rifles in Florida?
HT: Cramer
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Obey Wrote the "Final Solution" Language
Herb Kohl, Rusty Feingold, and Dave Obey all voted for the "Final Solution" language.
But apparently Obey wrote it. Phil Klein, of the AmSpec blog:
...as part of the stimulus bill, Rep. David Obey, the House appropriations chairman, added a provision, to create a "Federal Coordinating Council for Comparative Effectiveness Research."
Klein quotes John Shadegg:
"Those items, procedures, and interventions… that are found to be less effective and in some cases, more expensive, will no longer be prescribed." In reaction, 63 patient advocacy groups including the AIDS Institute, the Alzheimer's Foundation of America, and the American Association for Cancer Research, have written a letter to Congress, expressing their concerns. They explained that this provision could lead to "restrictions on patients' access to treatments and physicians' and other providers' ability to deliver care that best meets the needs of the individual patient."
Well, yah. Matter of fact, that is the POINT of the Final Solution.
The mechanics are relatively simple.
President Obama's campaign health-care plan calls for subsidies to be given to Americans to purchase health-care from a government run exchange, choosing between a Medicare-like government plan and among private options. The government could mandate that any insurer participating in the government-run exchange must adopt the effectiveness recommendations of the Federal Coordinating Council, and the government could use its increased leverage in the health insurance market to pressure other insurers to go along. Congress could even go further, and pass a law saying that in order for an insurance policy to be eligible for the employer tax deduction, it must follow the same set of recommendations.
Not even any gas chambers.
But apparently Obey wrote it. Phil Klein, of the AmSpec blog:
...as part of the stimulus bill, Rep. David Obey, the House appropriations chairman, added a provision, to create a "Federal Coordinating Council for Comparative Effectiveness Research."
Klein quotes John Shadegg:
"Those items, procedures, and interventions… that are found to be less effective and in some cases, more expensive, will no longer be prescribed." In reaction, 63 patient advocacy groups including the AIDS Institute, the Alzheimer's Foundation of America, and the American Association for Cancer Research, have written a letter to Congress, expressing their concerns. They explained that this provision could lead to "restrictions on patients' access to treatments and physicians' and other providers' ability to deliver care that best meets the needs of the individual patient."
Well, yah. Matter of fact, that is the POINT of the Final Solution.
The mechanics are relatively simple.
President Obama's campaign health-care plan calls for subsidies to be given to Americans to purchase health-care from a government run exchange, choosing between a Medicare-like government plan and among private options. The government could mandate that any insurer participating in the government-run exchange must adopt the effectiveness recommendations of the Federal Coordinating Council, and the government could use its increased leverage in the health insurance market to pressure other insurers to go along. Congress could even go further, and pass a law saying that in order for an insurance policy to be eligible for the employer tax deduction, it must follow the same set of recommendations.
Not even any gas chambers.
The Nuts Are Loose in Elmbrook
Only the demented would file this lawsuit.
A national organization that advocates separation of church and state is threatening to sue three Waukesha County school districts and a technical college if they do not stop using Elmbrook Church for their graduation ceremonies.
Americans United for Separation of Church and State sent letters to the Elmbrook, Mukwonago and New Berlin school district as well as Waukesha County Technical College, asking them to move graduation ceremonies to secular locations this year.
If the schools refuse, the organization said, it could go to court and ask for an injunction ...
Given that Elmbrook just realized a multi-million dollar savings on interest rates for its bond issue, I think using that money to put AUS' gonads into their throat would be fine and dandy.
A national organization that advocates separation of church and state is threatening to sue three Waukesha County school districts and a technical college if they do not stop using Elmbrook Church for their graduation ceremonies.
Americans United for Separation of Church and State sent letters to the Elmbrook, Mukwonago and New Berlin school district as well as Waukesha County Technical College, asking them to move graduation ceremonies to secular locations this year.
If the schools refuse, the organization said, it could go to court and ask for an injunction ...
Given that Elmbrook just realized a multi-million dollar savings on interest rates for its bond issue, I think using that money to put AUS' gonads into their throat would be fine and dandy.
"Catholics" for "Common Good": Study Was Wrong
Gee.
...a Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good study of abortion data claimed that increased spending on welfare programs results in substantial reductions in state abortion rates but many pro-life laws do not. However, the study’s results have been revised following the discovery that incorrect abortion data was used and after criticism from a professor that the group’s conclusions did not follow from the data
...“The study of all U.S. states from 1982-2000 finds that benefits for pregnant women and mothers, employment, economic assistance to low-income families, quality child care for working mothers and removal of state caps on the number of children eligible for economic assistance in low-income families has reduced abortions,” the group reported
Not really. Whoops!!
Turns out they used the wrong data, so there's a substantial revision now online.
“The new version provides evidence that welfare policy has no more than a marginal effect on the incidence of abortion,” he argued. “In fact, the new regression results indicate that none of the three welfare policies which the authors previously argued were effective tools for reducing the incidence of abortion have a substantial abortion reducing effect.”
The main critic of the first study, who was acknowledged as the principal reason for changing the results, also thinks that the "Common Good" study had impacted the election.
DOH!!
HT: ProEcclesia
...a Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good study of abortion data claimed that increased spending on welfare programs results in substantial reductions in state abortion rates but many pro-life laws do not. However, the study’s results have been revised following the discovery that incorrect abortion data was used and after criticism from a professor that the group’s conclusions did not follow from the data
...“The study of all U.S. states from 1982-2000 finds that benefits for pregnant women and mothers, employment, economic assistance to low-income families, quality child care for working mothers and removal of state caps on the number of children eligible for economic assistance in low-income families has reduced abortions,” the group reported
Not really. Whoops!!
Turns out they used the wrong data, so there's a substantial revision now online.
“The new version provides evidence that welfare policy has no more than a marginal effect on the incidence of abortion,” he argued. “In fact, the new regression results indicate that none of the three welfare policies which the authors previously argued were effective tools for reducing the incidence of abortion have a substantial abortion reducing effect.”
The main critic of the first study, who was acknowledged as the principal reason for changing the results, also thinks that the "Common Good" study had impacted the election.
DOH!!
HT: ProEcclesia
My Husband Stole $50 Bn., and...
...all I got was $15 Million
What a T-shirt, eh?
AP reports:
A Massachusetts state official says the wife of disgraced money manager Bernard Madoff withdrew $15 million from a firm co-owned by her husband - including $10 million on the day before his arrest.
Secretary of State William Galvin says Ruth Madoff withdrew the money in two steps from Cohmad Securities Corp., which is co-owned by Madoff.
For $15million, it could be a pure angora T-shirt, I suppose, with gold pinstripes.
What a T-shirt, eh?
AP reports:
A Massachusetts state official says the wife of disgraced money manager Bernard Madoff withdrew $15 million from a firm co-owned by her husband - including $10 million on the day before his arrest.
Secretary of State William Galvin says Ruth Madoff withdrew the money in two steps from Cohmad Securities Corp., which is co-owned by Madoff.
For $15million, it could be a pure angora T-shirt, I suppose, with gold pinstripes.
Debt Is NOT A Solution
Oh, yah. Surprise! Debt is NOT going to stimulate--and it's possible that it will DE-stimulate (read destroy) the US economy.
HT: MarketTicker
Obama Presser, Condensed Version
Planet Moron covered it for us. Excerpt (you really should read it all):
I was in Elkhart today where things are terrible. Really terrible. In fact, it’s terrible all across America.
And while no one denies that things are terrible, I’m going to accuse my opponents of that anyway.
And also of just wanting to give tax cuts to the rich, even though no one is suggesting that either.
None of you will think to ask me about that, I’m sure.
My stimulus plan gives away billions of dollars we don’t have.
Everyone who is in line to get some of those billions supports the plan, whether it’s big business, unions, other big businesses, or other unions.
By the way, I inherited all this, so none of it’s my fault.
Now I’ll take your softball questions.
I was in Elkhart today where things are terrible. Really terrible. In fact, it’s terrible all across America.
And while no one denies that things are terrible, I’m going to accuse my opponents of that anyway.
And also of just wanting to give tax cuts to the rich, even though no one is suggesting that either.
None of you will think to ask me about that, I’m sure.
My stimulus plan gives away billions of dollars we don’t have.
Everyone who is in line to get some of those billions supports the plan, whether it’s big business, unions, other big businesses, or other unions.
By the way, I inherited all this, so none of it’s my fault.
Now I’ll take your softball questions.
White House Slimeslinger Appointed
Oh, yah, The Savior has one of those, too.
We will pass on taking shots about exactly which office this slimeslinger is part of--it's too easy.
...President Obama invented a new position into which he slipped one Shauna Daly. Daly has been what is called an "opposition researcher" for the Obama campaign for some time. It was her job to find an opponent's worst dirt, his most troublesome secrets, so that strategy on how best to destroy him can be planned.
And now, Obama has invented a new job to reward dirty tricks squad member, Daly. The position of "White House counsel research director," one that never existed before, is now attached to White House counsel Greg Craig's office and this has caused some raised eyebrows in the legal community.
You see, unlike staffers of the White House counsel's office appointed by other presidents, Miss Daly has no legal training. No schooling, no past work at law, no law degree. Her sole past work has been that of a political nature.
She is just a dirt digger. Nothing more.
This means, of course, that Obama has just politicized the White House counsel's office. It is no longer one that chiefly concerns itself with the defining legal reasoning upholding presidential decisions, but one that will actively participate in political machinations. It has gone form advisory to participating in campaigns
Tell me you're surprised...
HT: NewsBusters
We will pass on taking shots about exactly which office this slimeslinger is part of--it's too easy.
...President Obama invented a new position into which he slipped one Shauna Daly. Daly has been what is called an "opposition researcher" for the Obama campaign for some time. It was her job to find an opponent's worst dirt, his most troublesome secrets, so that strategy on how best to destroy him can be planned.
And now, Obama has invented a new job to reward dirty tricks squad member, Daly. The position of "White House counsel research director," one that never existed before, is now attached to White House counsel Greg Craig's office and this has caused some raised eyebrows in the legal community.
You see, unlike staffers of the White House counsel's office appointed by other presidents, Miss Daly has no legal training. No schooling, no past work at law, no law degree. Her sole past work has been that of a political nature.
She is just a dirt digger. Nothing more.
This means, of course, that Obama has just politicized the White House counsel's office. It is no longer one that chiefly concerns itself with the defining legal reasoning upholding presidential decisions, but one that will actively participate in political machinations. It has gone form advisory to participating in campaigns
Tell me you're surprised...
HT: NewsBusters
Shock!! David Obey (D-Fascism) LIES!!
David Obey has a son, and BINGO!!! is his name-o.
Conveniently, David Obey is the House Appropriations chairman.
David Obey's son lobbies for money on behalf of the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA). Somehow, the national parks landed a $2Billion appropriation in the Porkulus Bill.
David Obey has told everyone that his son does NOT lobby David.
The earmark for the National Parks Service, included by the House Appropriations Committee in H.R. 1, is more than twice the amount proposed by the U.S. Senate and would effectively double the budget for the National Parks Service without explaining how such a funding increase will be absorbed without creating abuse, waste, and misuse of funds.
The staff report points to lobbying disclosure documents indicating that Craig Obey does lobby on Appropriations as well as the National Park Conversation Association’s stimulus proposal for the Appropriations Committee which identifies Craig Obey as the primary point of contact.
David Obey is a lying scumbag.
Conveniently, David Obey is the House Appropriations chairman.
David Obey's son lobbies for money on behalf of the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA). Somehow, the national parks landed a $2Billion appropriation in the Porkulus Bill.
David Obey has told everyone that his son does NOT lobby David.
The earmark for the National Parks Service, included by the House Appropriations Committee in H.R. 1, is more than twice the amount proposed by the U.S. Senate and would effectively double the budget for the National Parks Service without explaining how such a funding increase will be absorbed without creating abuse, waste, and misuse of funds.
The staff report points to lobbying disclosure documents indicating that Craig Obey does lobby on Appropriations as well as the National Park Conversation Association’s stimulus proposal for the Appropriations Committee which identifies Craig Obey as the primary point of contact.
David Obey is a lying scumbag.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Salazar Stimulates Anger
Salazar is a Known Wacko, so his "slight delay" in Outer Continental Shelf exploration is pure BS.
As to "stimulus":
Secretary Salazar’s announcement means that development of our offshore resources could be stalled indefinitely. That would delay Americans’ access to nearly 160,000 new, well-paying jobs, $1.7 trillion in revenues to federal, state and local governments and greater energy security
--Jack Gerard, American Petroleum Institute
"We don't need no steeenkin' JOBS, or security either!!" --Salazar the Punk
HT: Kilkenny
As to "stimulus":
Secretary Salazar’s announcement means that development of our offshore resources could be stalled indefinitely. That would delay Americans’ access to nearly 160,000 new, well-paying jobs, $1.7 trillion in revenues to federal, state and local governments and greater energy security
--Jack Gerard, American Petroleum Institute
"We don't need no steeenkin' JOBS, or security either!!" --Salazar the Punk
HT: Kilkenny
If You Think Geithner's "Solution" Was Bad...
Yah. Just you wait!
For folks unfazed by the slow clapping which greeted today's news, maybe the mortgage relief program to be announced next week will induce panic. And why might it do that? I have no idea what form the relief will take, but if the perception takes hold among the great unwashed that folks who actually make their monthly mortgage payments are suckers and that those who default on their obligations will get government assistance and a shoulder ride from Nancy Pelosi and other Dems seeking "victims" of the evil predatory lenders, well... it shouldn't take but a month or two to crash the whole system.
Just One Minute
For folks unfazed by the slow clapping which greeted today's news, maybe the mortgage relief program to be announced next week will induce panic. And why might it do that? I have no idea what form the relief will take, but if the perception takes hold among the great unwashed that folks who actually make their monthly mortgage payments are suckers and that those who default on their obligations will get government assistance and a shoulder ride from Nancy Pelosi and other Dems seeking "victims" of the evil predatory lenders, well... it shouldn't take but a month or two to crash the whole system.
Just One Minute
NYTimes Contradicts Obama
Another in a series of errors? lies? by Obama.
I think that what I've said is what other economists have said across the political spectrum, which is that if you delay acting on an economy of this severity, then you potentially create a negative spiral that becomes much more difficult for us to get out of. We saw this happen in Japan in the 1990s, where they did not act boldly and swiftly enough, and as a consequence they suffered what was called the "lost decade" where essentially for the entire '90s they did not see any significant economic growth. ---The Savior, 2/9/09
In total, Japan spent $6.3 trillion on construction-related public investment between 1991 and September of last year, according to the Cabinet Office. The spending peaked in 1995 and remained high until the early 2000s, when it was cut amid growing concerns about ballooning budget deficits....
In the end, say economists, it was not public works but an expensive cleanup of the debt-ridden banking system, combined with growing exports to China and the United States, that brought a close t
I think that what I've said is what other economists have said across the political spectrum, which is that if you delay acting on an economy of this severity, then you potentially create a negative spiral that becomes much more difficult for us to get out of. We saw this happen in Japan in the 1990s, where they did not act boldly and swiftly enough, and as a consequence they suffered what was called the "lost decade" where essentially for the entire '90s they did not see any significant economic growth. ---The Savior, 2/9/09
In total, Japan spent $6.3 trillion on construction-related public investment between 1991 and September of last year, according to the Cabinet Office. The spending peaked in 1995 and remained high until the early 2000s, when it was cut amid growing concerns about ballooning budget deficits....
In the end, say economists, it was not public works but an expensive cleanup of the debt-ridden banking system, combined with growing exports to China and the United States, that brought a close t