County-Employed Jackasses

Question:

How many hundreds of thousands of enhanced-pension dollars did Dick Buschmann take when he retired from "service" at Milwaukee County?

Think he deserves them?

"It doesn't do us any good to spin our wheels and revoke people if they are still being paid in the system," she wrote in an e-mail to her then-supervisor Dick Buschmann.

She also questioned the process of referring fraud cases to the district attorney's office after finding a husband and wife stole thousands of dollars from the Wisconsin Shares program.

"We have identified $39,000 that was obtained under false pretenses that we are recouping," she wrote in a 2001 e-mail to Buschmann and another supervisor, Jackie Rice. "This case is very well documented and should be referred to the DA for review."

Buschmann repliedthat Romero was overstepping her bounds.

"The decision to recoup any overpayment is a civil not a criminal determination. It is not an automatic basis for criminal prosecution.  . . .  It is not a certifier's role to make direct referrals to the DA," Buschmann wrote.

Now and then the term "blanket party" comes to mind.

Clinton's Challenge: Cui Bono?

Over the weekend, Bill Clinton remarked that it is important 'to the Democrats' to pass ObamaCare.

That's Move One in what will be the chess-game between HRC and Obama over the 2012 Democrat nomination for President, folks.

It is manifestly clear that ObamaCare--currently HR 3200) is extremely unpopular. Large numbers of people show up to oppose it; and only small numbers show up to praise it--and those small numbers show after incessant flogging by SEIU, AFSCME, UEW, and UFCW--none of which are small-number unions.

So when Bill Clinton, who has a Ph.D. in poll-reading, throws down a gauntlet at Obama, you must ask "why?" After all, when HillaryCare began to self-detonate, Bill simply walked away and went center-right, securing his re-election.

Now he DARES Obama to push on?

Waaaaayyyyyyyyy in the background, I see Lady MacClinton rubbing her hands......

Re: Kennedy Eulogies

There's some foofafferie on the intertubes regarding the eulogies given at Kennedy's funeral.

The governing rule is here: (scroll a bit in the combox)

Order of Christian Funerals No. 170: "Following the prayer after communion, the priest goes to a place near the coffin. The assisting ministers carry the censer and holy water, if these are to be used. A member or a friend of the family may speak in remembrance of the deceased befoe the final commendation begins."

Some folks are quoting GIRM which appears to forbid eulogies altogether; in fact, that part of GIRM only prohibits the HOMILIST from giving a eulogy.

Yes, there were a lot of disappointing things about that funeral Mass, including the reading of the Democrat Party platform as "intercessory prayers." But that goes to the weakness of the Cardinal-Archbishop of Boston, folks.

The McChrystal Report and the Larger Question

The report is out, accessible here.

The Captain's Journal has a number of questions, too, beginning with McC's apparent "0/1" argument that 'killing the enemy' is not related to 'protecting the population.' Captain (and I) believe that it's both. Frankly, I have a hard time reconciling McC's position with common sense. In the end, it's likely that McC will ask for a LOT more US troops in Afghanistan.

There's plenty more hard-headed criticism which should be absorbed.

But there is The Larger Question, also raised (with inflammatory language) by Mel Laird: is Afghanistan worth it?

A lot of people don't think so, and I'm inclined to agree with them, unless one can find "Global CopShop" somewhere in the Department of Defense's charter. Clinton's forays into the Balkans and other places, and Bush's yappaflappa about "building democracy" do not hold as arguments for deploying troops to Lower Noplace.

We note that "the Taliban" is not directly an enemy of the US, for openers--and even worse, Afghanistan is barely on the edge of being a 'state' in the conventional sense. The Afghan army is not much more organized or disciplined than a gaggle of grade-school boys playing Army in the alley.

The Tali is very effective at guerilla warfare, and (last I heard) it takes about 7 regulars to defeat (or contain) 1 guerilla. That's fairly high stakes in an area where logistics are damn near impossible.....

Who are we trying to kid here?

NON-ObamaCare Solutions? Sure!!

Aside from at least three (R) healtcare plans and at least one bi-partisan plan, there are plenty of ideas for healthcare reform.

Torinus highlighted a couple drawn from the forum held near Wausau last week.

What does ObamaCare lack?

...No provision to deal with the $30 trillion unfunded liability for Medicare. The absence of a trust fund for Medicare makes it a Ponzi scheme, Stossel said

...No provision for allowing insurance to be sold across state lines. Gerald Frye, a benefits expert from Brookfield, said legislative mandates for coverage varied in add-on insurance costs from 8% to 28%. Wisconsin is at 25%, he said, so 17 points could be saved by someone purchasing a policy in a low-mandate state

...No provision for mandatory transparency on discounted prices for treatments, so people could act like intelligent consumers.

There's a lot more at the link.

HT: BeerBikeetc.

Simply Dump ALL of Congress! The CPSIA Reason

Some pollster finds that a large majority would simply dump all Congresscritters into forced retirement, immediately.

No need to wonder why; here's just the latest from the execrable buch of scumsuckers.

[Under CPSIA], Toy-makers, clothing manufacturers and other companies selling products for young children are submitting samples to independent laboratories for safety tests. But the nation’s largest toy maker, Mattel, isn’t being required to do the same. --AP

Says Agitator:

So while small companies and independent toy makers are getting socked with costly testing requirements, the big toy company whose screw-ups were responsible for the law, who then lobbied for the law, and who then hired a top Hill staffer away to help with its lobbying efforts, was then able to get itself an exemption from the part of the law that’s going to be most expensive for all of its competitors. And the regulatory agency that granted the exception kept it all quiet.

Don't let that last sentence fool you. Just like with ObamaCare, the day-to-day screwing of the public is engineered and managed by "regulators."

That's because the wormbastard crapweasels in Congress prefer to evade responsibility for their legislative emanations and deliberately assign the scutwork to "regulators."

Frankly, I think 'retirement' is far too kind for them.

(For other examples of Congressional evasion-of-responsibility-by-legislation, see Jacobson here.)

HT: Agitator

The Incredibly Incompetent Doyle Administration, Part 3549

Oh yah. You'll hear more about the Million-Dollar "Child-Care" Mama soon.

Here's an interesting tidbit that the JS's intrepid reporter, Raquel Rutledge, dug up:

...fraud investigators ordered surveillance on her house. They nailed her. Her boyfriend, Greg Wilder, was living with her and he was making $88,000 a year driving a van for another day care center, investigators learned.

$88K/year to drive a van? I drove the family's van with my children in it for about 10 years. So does the Incredibly Incompetent Doyle Administration owe me $880,000.00??

It took the Incredibly Incompetent Doyle Administration 10 years to pull the plug on the Million-Dollar Mama--

But not because they wanted to. They pulled the plug when they learned that JS was going to publish the story.

Wisconsin, North Korea, Canada, and Cuba

Jim Doyle joins Kim and Fidel......

...Canada is one of only 3 countries where citizens are forbidden, by federal law, to pay a care giving medical facility for treatment. Hence the long waitlists. The good news is that, unlike the other two - Cuba and North Korea ...

Yah, well, in BadgerCare (Dental), one cannot pay cash to obtain service, either.

Missing Data.....

There was a rally supporting ObamaCare last night in Milwaukee.

Here's the news story.

OK.

Now that you've read it, what is missing?

............

Yup. An estimate of the crowd size.

"Filled a parking lot" is as close as the reporter gets. WHICH "parking lot"? The giant one across the street from Summerfest? Or the postage-stamp one just north of the grounds?

Well, the photo gallery gives you a hint: it's the little lot just across from the main gate. But the photographer seemed unable to take a wide-angle shot.......

And the photo-gallery headline says "...draws hundreds."

HUNDREDS?

You mean to tell me that SEIU, UFCW, and AFSCME could only find "hundreds" to support ObamaCare?

The Suicide of Lodge 1947

Hmmmm.

A last-minute decision Saturday to have a second vote on a labor contract at Mercury Marine Inc. was effectively killed early Sunday when the company said it would not accept the results of any ballots cast after midnight.

Late Saturday night, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Lodge 1947 announced there would be a second vote on the contract proposal that was scheduled to expire at midnight. Voting began at the union hall in Fond du Lac shortly after 10 p.m., was expected to last until midnight and continue on Sunday until 6 p.m.

But early Sunday morning, union officials said a Mercury Marine executive told them the company would not accept any ballots cast after midnight.

Thus, the polls will not be open Sunday as announced earlier, said Dan Longsine, the union’s chief negotiator.

Ballots cast Saturday night will probably be voided, Longsine said.

One suspects that Mr. Longsine and other lodge officers will not be very popular people in Fond du Lac over the next 3-5 years.....

Seeking Riefenstahl

Also noted by Planet Moron:

The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) has begun a nationwide campaign to encourage artists to create works that are supportive of the current Administration’s progressive initiatives.

Of course, Nazi comparisons are verboten.

So it's not Riefenstahl, actually. It's Eisenstein! Da, gozpodzin!

KrugSlut, Economista

Noticed by Planet Moron

...it's the biggest budget deficit in the history of the world - but it's a budget deficit that as a share of GDP is right up there.”

“It's comparable to the worst we've ever seen in this country.”

“So, we have a deficit, which is—which our political system is now unwilling to be realistic, unwilling to contemplate doing what has to be done to bring it down significantly.

--Krugslut, 2004

"As I said, deficits saved the world.”

“In fact, we would be better off if governments were willing to run even larger deficits over the next year or two.”

--Krugslut, 2009

Funny? Not Exactly: Doyle's Incompetent Gummint

Tim Hawkins does a parody of "Candyman."

TEA Party, anyone?

Hawkins' work focuses on the grand scale; this JS report by Crocker Stephenson tells us about the local corruption. It's all the same, in the end. Power corrupts, you know.

Officials responsible for reporting to the state that a Bureau of Milwaukee Child Welfare social worker had impregnated a bureau client did not report the incident until Thursday, months later than required by law and only after being contacted by the Journal Sentinel.

...Under state law, the bureau, a part of the state Department of Children and Families, was required to report Nelsen to the Department of Regulation and Licensing within 30 days of his departure.

Doyle's Government will be noted as the worst, ever, in Wisconsin history.

Y'All Remember the Clinton Expansion?

Yah--the Clinton economic expansion--the one that ran on the road paved by Reagan.

That one.

Peak growth in the last expansion? 3.6%.

Not bad. But it is Milorganite compared to what President Jesus predicts for HIS expansion.

Obama's glide path to fiscal responsibility -- where we merely run nearly a trillion dollars in deficits every single year -- relies upon the assumption we'll rocket to 3.8% growth by 2011 and then in excess of 4% growth for three years running, 2012-2014.

Ace points out that those numbers are wildly improbable. Perpetual Motion machines will exist before that level of growth occurs, folks.

But hey! TOTUS says it can happen.

Rockefeller (D) Concocts Vague Internet-Siezure Bill

Of COURSE it is vague and indecipherable. It's meant to be that way.

Internet companies and civil liberties groups were alarmed this spring when a U.S. Senate bill proposed handing the White House the power to disconnect private-sector computers from the Internet.

They're not much happier about a revised version that aides to Sen. Jay Rockefeller, a West Virginia Democrat, have spent months drafting behind closed doors. CNET News has obtained a copy of the 55-page draft of S.773 (excerpt), which still appears to permit the president to seize temporary control of private-sector networks during a so-called cybersecurity emergency

..."I think the redraft, while improved, remains troubling due to its vagueness," said Larry Clinton, president of the Internet Security Alliance, which counts representatives of Verizon, Verisign, Nortel, and Carnegie Mellon University on its board. "It is unclear what authority Sen. Rockefeller thinks is necessary over the private sector. Unless this is clarified, we cannot properly analyze, let alone support the bill."

Like, for example, what is a "cybersecurity emergency"? Would that be when some Conservative publishes something about Statism? or Fascism?

The Death of Newspapers--A Different Look

Interesting.

...when newspaper chains began cutting personnel and content, their industry was one of the most profitable yet discovered by Wall Street money. We know now - because bankruptcy has opened the books - that the Baltimore Sun was eliminating its afternoon edition and trimming nearly 100 editors and reporters in an era when the paper was achieving 37 percent profits. In the years before the Internet deluge, the men and women who might have made The Sun a more essential vehicle for news and commentary - something so strong that it might have charged for its product online - they were being ushered out the door so that Wall Street could command short-term profits in the extreme.

...In short, my industry butchered itself and we did so at the behest of Wall Street and the same unfettered, free-market logic that has proved so disastrous for so many American industries. And the original sin of American newspapering lies, indeed, in going to Wall Street in the first place.

When locally-based, family-owned newspapers like The Sun were consolidated into publicly-owned newspaper chains, an essential dynamic, an essential trust between journalism and the communities served by that journalism was betrayed...

Quoted in What I Saw

Wage/Salary Growth: Where, Exactly?

Ticker quotes the BEA report for July.

Private wage and salary disbursements increased $6.7 billion in July, in contrast to a decrease of $24.5 billion in June. Goods-producing industries' payrolls increased $1.4 billion, in contrast to a decrease of $10.0 billion; manufacturing payrolls increased $5.0 billion, in contrast to a decrease of $5.9 billion. Services-producing industries' payrolls increased $5.3 billion, in contrast to a decrease of $14.5 billion. Government wage and salary disbursements increased $2.1 billion compared with an increase of $3.5 billion.

Your Government at work!

"Reconciliation"? Not Likely, Folks

Kilkenny did some homework on the idea of "reconciliation."

Doesn't look like a real smart idea--which makes Feingold's comments even more credible.

ObamaCare down.

Tax-n-Cap next!

Fat Union Thuggery, Part 2

C.W.A. got some fat slobs to show up at a townhall--and they were stiffed by the crowd who was not buying their "Aid For Union VEBA Plans" shilling. (The NY C.W.A. fatsos look remarkably like the O.E. fatsos in Green Bay, no?)

And their overboss--some bozo from a Long Island labor HQ--was booed out of the room.

Gateway has the film.

The Kagen Fakery

Berry has an account of the astroturfed love-in for Kagen and Hansen in Green Bay.

Observations:

SOME signs are more equal than OTHERS.

SOME 'security' (goons) are ........uhhh.......very visible.

Far more revolting are the actions of the UW-GB police chief. (No surprise. The UW cop-shops are known Statist havens.)

AFSCME and OE can't get more than 400 people to an Obamacare rally......

The Rule of Law

Here's a guy who understood how the Rule of Law works.

It will be of little avail to the people, that the laws are made by men of their own choice, if the laws be so voluminous that they cannot be read, or so incoherent that they cannot be understood; if they be repealed or revised before they are promulgated, or undergo such incessant changes that no man, who knows what the law is to-day, can guess what it will be to-morrow---James Madison

In a few cases, stare decisis is fo' suckas. Roe and Plessey come to mind. But continuous changes in law (and even more in regulation) will lead to disaster.

HT: McCain

Gnashing Teeth, Remembering Ron

Folkie goes on a rant about Paul Ryan (R-WI).

In passing, he mentions that Ryan (R-WI) has been in Congress for 10 years.

I'll remind you that Ryan IS a Republican.

He's been elected from WI-1 every time--and WI-1 contains cities like Janesville, Kenosha, and Racine--every one of which has significant UNION population.

Nothing scares a LeftOWacky as much as a Republican who wins Union-members' votes.

Know why?

Reagan (R) did the very same thing.

(And if you are dumb enough to think "it's just Folkie, healthcare blahblah, Folkie's always partisan, blahblah, strictly co-incidence," then you don't understand (D) political strategy.

Matt Flynn is no dummy. He's wrong most of the time, but he's no dummy.

"You'll Keep Your Insurance, Except When You Won't"

Games.

Two weeks ago, White House Senior Adviser David Axelrod said in a now legendary "viral" email that, "It's a myth that health insurance reform would be financed by cutting Medicare benefits." This was sent out the day before Mr. Obama told a Montana town hall that he'd pay for health-care reform by "eliminating . . . about $177 billion over 10 years" for "what's called Medicare Advantage."

...an estimated 10.2 million seniors—one out of five in America—have enrolled in Medicare Advantage. Mr. Obama is proposing to cut the program by nearly 20% and thus reduce the amount of money each will have to buy insurance. This will likely force most of them to lose the insurance they have now. Yet Mr. Obama promised in late July in New Hampshire that, "if you like your health-care plan, you can keep your health-care plan."

Well, yah, sure, except when you're over 65 or so, what do you CARE what insurance you have? You're on the short-timers' list anyway. And if you're not there, we'll PUT you there. See "Dr." Jeckyl Emanuel.

So shut up already.

HT: Ace

Bishop v. Bishop--Weakland in the Crosshairs

Gracious. THIS doesn't happen often.

It strikes me that critics of Archbishop Weakland should be at least a little restrained in their umbrage, for after all there are many redeeming qualities of the Archbishop’s life and ministry. He responded willingly to the Lord’s call to the consecrated life; he has served the Church generously in a variety of difficult leadership positions; he has shown a determined commitment to the progress of the Church and the implementation of the Second Vatican Council; and he has consistently reached-out to the poor, the weak and the disenfranchised members of the Church and society. If his service has been marred by human imperfections, so be it. So is mine, and so is yours.

OK. Points well-taken.

On the other hand, supporters of Archbishop Weakland should also be able to recognize the self-serving inconsistencies and contradictions contained in his story.

For example, although the Archbishop always took pride in his liberal theological tendencies and his public pronouncements on controversial issues, he seemed to be genuinely puzzled, even hurt, when others labeled him a dissident.

He passionately promoted the dignity of the laity and their role in the governance and ministry of the Church, but had little hesitation about quietly using their money to cover-up his egregious sexual offense.

[AND the sexual offenses of other priests of the Archdiocese...]

He disparaged the secrecy of the Holy See but for twenty years hid his own indiscretions behind the walls of the chancery, indiscretions that were not just a matter of personal behavior but also profoundly affected the reputation and welfare of the Church.

He railed against what he considered the authoritarian pontificate of Pope John Paul II, but clearly used his own persona and authority to impose his vision of the Church upon his own fiefdom in Milwaukee, easily dismissing those who opposed him as conservative, right-wing nuts.

[And he was inclined to use his power not just to 'dismiss' opponents, but to crush them, by the way.]

In short, like many dissidents in the Church, throughout his life Archbishop Weakland benefited generously from the support of the institutional Church, but never hesitated to criticize the Church whenever it served his own purposes to do so.

As mentioned at Insight, the "d" word is almost NEVER used when one Bishop describes another Bishop. Draw your own conclusions.

Catholic Funeral for Ted?

Here's the authoritative take.

Now, any man with a 100% rating from NARAL (to highlight just the tip of the iceberg of Teddy's decades-long campaign against natural rights) has, to put it mildly, the burden of proof in seeking a Catholic funeral (okay, technically, his executors have the burden of proof, but you see the point) in that notorious pro-aborts seem to be "manifest sinners who cannot be granted ecclesiastical funerals without public scandal of the faithful.

"Unless, that is, "they gave some sign of repentance before death." And there is at least some evidence that Ted Kennedy did just that.

...among things, "The Rev. Mark Hession, the priest at the Kennedys' parish on the Cape, made regular visits to the Kennedy home this summer and held a private family Mass in the living room every Sunday. Even in his final days, Mr. Kennedy led the family in prayer after the death of his sister Eunice . . . [and when] the senator's condition took a turn Tuesday night a priest, the Rev. Patrick Tarrant of Our Lady of Victory Church in Centerville, was called to his bedside."

Folks, my reading of the canonical tradition behind Canon 1184** says that those actions suffice as "some signs of repentance", making Ted Kennedy eligible for a Catholic funeral. Of course I wish that Teddy's repentance, if that is what it was, had been more explicit, for the scandal the man left was enormous and demanded great atonement in this life (or more dreadfully in the next). But on the narrow question as to whether Edward Kennedy is eligible for a Catholic funeral, the information before me suggests that he is, and that a bishop who permits such rites can find support in the Code of Canon Law for his decision

OK.

You Got Change, Maybe No Hope

The President of the Atlanta Fed:

The real US unemployment rate is 16 percent if persons who have dropped out of the labor pool and those working less than they would like are counted, a Federal Reserve official said Wednesday.

"If one considers the people who would like a job but have stopped looking -- so-called discouraged workers -- and those who are working fewer hours than they want, the unemployment rate would move from the official 9.4 percent to 16 percent, said Atlanta Fed chief Dennis Lockhart.

Stimulated yet?

HT: Ace

Doyle Knifes Walker, Again (And Holloway, Too!)

It's not real hard to despise Doyle for his thievery and fraud--stealing $1Bn++ from the Highway funds comes to mind immediately--and stealing from the State's doctors' patients compensation fund is a close second.

But he continues to do his best to have everyone--absolutely everyone--conclude that he is the quintessential virus.

The state has rejected a bid by Milwaukee County to use a county building to continue to house food, medical and health assistance programs.

The decision could cost the county up to $1.2 million next year, unless the county is able to rent the space to outside vendors, Lisa Jo Marks, interim director of the county's Department of Health and Human Services, said Wednesday...

Not only Walker, whose County will have a shortfall in income---but Holloway, who slapped Doyle on the KRM deal.

Evidently Doyle wants to retire out-of-state, where the taxes will be lower.

Did Doyle Think About THIS?

I know--using "Doyle" and "think" in the same sentence when dealing with budget matters....

Oh, well.

Yesterday the Congressional Budget Office released their “summer update” publication, in which they update their baseline budget and economic projections for changes in the economy and legislation enacted so far this year

...Based on CBO’s forecast for the average unemployment rate in calendar year 2010, 2.3 million fewer people will be employed on average next year than they projected in January.

No doubt the Wisconsin Budget contains a reserve against the possibility of a bit tax shortfall.

No DOUBT.

HT: Hennessey

Detainee Abuse!!

Jacobson has the list.

After you read his post, remember that Obama is a Chicago-style politician.

When Your Employer Suspended 401(k) Contributions...

Yes, that's happened to a lot of folks--the 401(k) matches have been suspended. Thankfully, some have been re-instated.

But in the meantime the P-I-Gs have not been bothered with such things as 'hardships.'

A month after they voted to punish some corporate executives for taking hefty bonus payouts, members of the House of Representatives quietly gave their own staffers a new potential bonus by making even their top-earning aides eligible for taxpayer dollars to repay their student loans.

Wait until you read the f'n excuse the Bozotwits gave for that move, folks.

Find it here.

HT: Ace/Laura

That Deficit? Even Worse!

It's the SPENDING, STUPID!!!!

With today’s release of new budget projections from the Obama administration showing deficits totaling more than $9 trillion over the next 10 years, The Concord Coalition said that cost control must be the primary focus of health care reform and called for a bipartisan deficit reduction plan. Furthermore, the administration’s numbers are optimistic when compared to what would occur if we simply extended current policy. The Concord Coalition Plausible Baseline, created using the Congressional Budget Office’s (CBO) updated projections, shows that current policy would lead to $14.4 trillion in deficits over the next 10 years.

Quoted (and lots more here) by Ace

The Effects of Grand-Larceny-Doyle

Obviously, Jimbo's grand larceny of DOT funds will have effects.

Besides the danger of falling-down-ramps and bridges at 894/94/45 intersection, there's this:

Wisconsin’s transportation budget faces the latest in a long line of blows — a $49.1 million budget shortfall for 2009.

The state’s Joint Committee on Finance on Thursday will discuss a Wisconsin Department of Transportation plan to help cope with the shortfall: lapsing $33.3 million in major highway development and state highway rehabilitation money for the next year.

[Montgomery (R) Green Bay]: "This lapse is just the latest on top of $1.2 billion that’s been moved out of the transportation fund for other purposes.”

"Other" is payback to WEAC, the Casinos, and Trial Lawyers.

HT: FoxPolitics

Stimulus Comes to Door County

"Stimulus" in action:

Bay Shipbuilding Co. filed a notice with the state Tuesday that it anticipates laying off as many as 405 people this fall due in large part to the economy.

State of Wisconsin (and Door County) employees will remain on their payrolls.

HT: FoxPolitics

Panetta Quits?

Rumors, but certainly not without credible foundation.

The SPLC's Latest Manifestation of Paranoia

Seeking Federal grants, SPLC has issued a new "report."

"This next generation of hate incorporates elements of the militias, gun advocates, “nativists” opposed to immigration, tax protesters, and “birthers,” who have questioned the place of birth and citizenship of President Obama.

"The alignment of these groups could provide a dangerous mix that is susceptible to violence given the right combination of encouragement and firearms.

"Gun shows are attracting hordes of militia types, with firearm manufacturers and the National Rifle Association (NRA) feeding the demand for guns among right-wing zealots.

"Meanwhile, the voices on the right are growing angrier and more pointed by the day, as has been seen in the town hall meetings Members of Congress have hosted to discuss health care reform."

Honestly, I did NOT read Arms/Law's entire post before I wrote the header for this post--but great minds, (etc.,)...

"Nil Nisi...."

So, for Ted, I choose "nil."

How Big Is Really, Really, Really Big?

Jed posts a start to the answer here.

Atheists will tell you that it just sorta magically appeared.

Yah, sure.

It's Bozo Season in Madison

Not just Bozos.

Twit-Bozos.

Bartenders would have to maintain absolute sobriety under a proposal debated by a state Assembly panel Tuesday

Being under the influence of alcohol or partying with customers is problematic for servers, bill author Rep. Josh Zepnick (D-Milwaukee) told the Assembly’s Committee

Zepnick is nuts. I know plenty of barkeeps who have a pop or two with their customers, usually just before the joint closes up for the night.

Bury his "bright idea."

Why the Unions Support ObamaCare

Union support for ObamaCare is obvious: they provide thugs, placards, "volunteers", busses to transport members all over the countryside to agitate, phone-banks, emails--you name it.

There's good reason for that, too.

Union bosses who have mismanaged benefits for their own members are poised to receive a $10 billion bailout from U.S. taxpayers in the form of a “reinsurance program” that has been folded into the healthcare bill, according to the Workforce Fairness Institute (WFI).

...Section 164 of the Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009 provides that the government pay 80 cents on the dollar to corporate and union insurance plans for claims between $15,000 and $90,000 for retirees age 55 to 64. Union health insurance funds only have about 30 cents available to cover each dollar of anticipated claims, according to the Lewin Group and other research outfits

See, when union members find out that their 'leaders' have screwed up their health-trust-funds, union members might become PO'd. A LOT of PO'd. And since unions are good at thuggery, those "leaders" are justifiably concerned about their longevity in office.

Much easier to have the taxpayers bail them out, no?

Speaking of Leviathan's Self-Interests

A $Zillion in deficits, but some things are simply sacred.

For last August's BIG conference, the Department of Justice alone spent $288,000 to send 162 employees, according to agency information compiled by Republicans on the Senate Federal Financial Management Subcommittee. (DOJ was frugal -- in 2006, the State Department had spent $280,000 to send just 65 employees to BIG's conference.)

The 2008 event took place in New Orleans, and the keynote speaker was the recently indicted (and since convicted) Rep. William Jefferson, D-La. Some of the 2008 workshops taught bureaucrats to navigate the bureaucracy, and are at least sort of related to training for government work -- for example, "How to Win" when suing the government through an Equal Employment Opportunity complaint, or "How to Succeed (get Promoted) in Government." Many were self-help workshops on personal finance, maintaining one's credit rating, and "Starting Your Own Business Using Government Money/Buying Investment Properties."

The BIG Conference is certified as a "training" event. Federal employees may attend on PAID TIME OFF, plus expenses, plus registration fees, paid by the taxpayer.

But that's merely a pimple on the ass of the elephant.

The Justice Department spent $311 million on conferences between 2000 and 2006. A group of 18 major federal agencies that includes Justice spent a combined $2 billion on conferences during the same period. Department of Defense was the biggest spender at $515 million, but others in the group include the Agriculture Department ($91 million), the Environmental Protection Agency ($104 million), the State Department ($164 million), and the Department of Health and Human Services (at least $349 million)

That would be under the aegis of the Bush Administration.

The Party-In-Government (PIG Party) rolls on.

Don't Trust Government? You're Right! TEA Party Time!

TEA Parties aren't 'just about taxes.'

They are far more than that: they are about reclaiming control over a Leviathan Governmental machine created by and for the benefit of itself. That's why the Gadsden flag; the TEA Parties are not protests against ObamaCare, or Clunkers, or the parabolic increases in regulation/controls--nor even about Obama. He's merely a catalyst.

The TEA Parties are about this:

...Many of the current budget assumptions are laughably implausible. Both the White House and CBO predict that Congress will hold federal spending at the rate of inflation over the next decade. This is the same Democratic Congress that awarded a 47% increase in domestic discretionary spending in 2009 when counting stimulus funds. And the appropriations bills now speeding through Congress for 2010 serve up an 8% increase in domestic spending after inflation.

Another doozy is that Nancy Pelosi and friends are going to allow a one-third or more reduction in liberal priorities like Head Start, food stamps and child nutrition after 2011 when the stimulus expires. CBO actually has overall spending falling between 2009 and 2012...

And this:

The real fiscal crisis in Washington is that neither Congress nor the White House are offering any escape from these trillion-dollar deficits. Mr. Obama has not called for automatic and immediate spending cuts. He has not proposed eliminating hundreds of wasteful programs. To the contrary, the White House still hasn't ruled out another fiscal stimulus, as if a $1.6 trillion deficit isn't Keynesian stimulus enough. The Administration's celebrated scrub through the budget this summer identified $17 billion in agency savings. That's what Uncle Sam is borrowing every three days

More from Heritage, (HT Sykes):

While the costs of the financial bailouts and economic stimulus bills are staggering, they are only a fraction of the coming costs from Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Over the next decade, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projects that each year Medicaid will expand by 7 percent, Medicare by 6 percent, and Social Security by 5 percent. These programs face a 75-year shortfall of $43 trillion--60 times greater than the gross cost of the $700 billion TARP financial bailout.

Heritage also mentions the Big Lie from O'ma about the Iraq War "savings." But there's more:

Federal spending per household (adjusted for inflation) remained constant at $21,000 throughout the 1980s and 1990s, before President Bush hiked it to $25,000. In 2009, Washington will spend $30,958 per household--the highest level in American history--and under President Obama's budget, the figure will rise above $33,000 by 2019.

As the budget deficit increases over the next decade, so will net interest spending, from $173 billion (1.2 percent of GDP) in 2009 to a record-level of $774 billion (3.4 percent of GDP) by 2019. In fact, net interest costs will account for 84 percent of the 2019 budget deficit. *President Obama's budget includes $1.4 trillion in tax increases, all of which would go toward new spending rather than deficit reduction.

"Deficits don't matter" in the alleged minds of those who will not pay the interest...

Of course, that's mirrored in Doyle-land, where Gummint workers "sacrifice" by taking 8 days without pay, and private-sector workers take several MONTHS without pay in exchange.

Helluva trade, eh?

The outright lies and distortions told by Obama (and Doyle), with Governments circling their own wagons at the expense of the remaining taxpayers, and the callous disregard for the next two or five generations of US and Wisconsin citizens, must come to a stop. Frankly, I think Doyle quit for a good reason: there was no way to keep all the balls in the air anymore, and his massive theft-and-fraud scheme is about to crash.

Let's hope for his sake that he retires in a distant place.

One way or the other, it WILL stop. TEA Parties may well morph into something a bit more serious in order to make that happen if Obama, the Congress, and the State don't make changes.

"Incivility"? Maybe. There are times when "civility" fails. This could be one of them.

John McCain: Kinda Stupid AND Old

I've never had much use for John McCain; aside from his sterling military record, the guy's been a self-promoting opportunist.

Now he's an old self-promoting opportunist, and getting stupider by the day.

One suspects that he'll see primary opposition next go-round...

Feingold: Likely NO ObamaCare

Three interesting out-takes from this report:

Nobody is going to bring a bill before Christmas, and maybe not even then, if this ever happens," Feingold said. "The divisions are so deep. I never seen anything like that."

Feingold reiterated his appraisal a bit later.

"We're headed in the direction of doing absolutely nothing, and I think that's unfortunate,"

Hmmmm.

Later:

Feingold said he supported the stimulus package earlier this year because of the recession, but he said he would not guarantee his vote for a second stimulus if one was proposed.

"This was an emergency situation to get the economy going," Feingold said. "And I have told the administration not to count on me for another stimulus package. You can't just keep doing this because it creates hyperinflation."

Feingold also said he has not been a supporter of so-called cap-and-trade proposals, and he compared the issue to global warming, at least with respect to gaining cooperation from other nations.

Thanks, Senator!

However, you are wrong about whether HR3200 covers abortion with taxpayer dollars; it does, albeit it's a real smoke-and-mirrors deal--that is, the bill's authors did their very best to hide it. No wonder you couldn't find it in there.

Obama: Cynic, or Ignoramus?

For me, the term "cynic" hardly covers the Obama territory, but the Bishop was trying to be nice.

"Common ground" is a phrase the President Obama and some of his supporters have been using to describe their efforts to work for health care reform. But Archbishop Charles Chaput of Denver is taking them to task for abusing the Catholic concept, calling any labeling of the current reform proposals as common ground "a lie."

...No system that allows or helps fund – no matter how subtly or indirectly -- the killing of unborn children, or discrimination against the elderly and persons with special needs, can bill itself as 'common ground,' Archbishop Chaput insists, adding that, "Doing so is a lie."

...the growing misuse of Catholic 'common ground' and 'common good' language in the current health-care debate can only stem from one of two sources: ignorance or cynicism."

ObamaCare--Lies or Cynicism? would be a better blog-post title...

HT: ProEcclesia

A Convenient List of The Usual Suspects

This is a handy reference guide!

Chris Frates reported that the "grassroots" organizations including Organizing for America (Obama's campaign website) and the liberal comglomerate Health Care For America are organizing rallies in support of Obamacare in the coming weeks.Here's a few of the "grassroots" members of HCFA:

Abundant Children and Family Services
ACORN*
Adventists Community Services
AFL-CIO*
AFT*
AIDS in Action
Alliance for Retired Americans
American Academy of Family Physicians
American Academy of Nursing
American Academy of Pediatrics
American Family Voices
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees*
American Federation of Television and Radio Artists
American Medical Student Association
American Nurses Association
Americans for Democratic Action (ADA)
Americans United for Change*
AskSlim.org
Asian and Pacific Islander American Health Forum
Association for Better Insulation
Black Women’s Health Imperative
Brave New Films
Bus Federation
Cafemom.com
Campaign for America’s Future*
Campus Progress Action
CareTALK
Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good
Center for American Progress Action Fund*
Campaign for Community Change*
Center for Rural Affairs
Center for Science in the Public Interest
Center for Social and Economic Justice
Child Advocate Network
Children’s Defense Fund Action Council
Committee of Interns and Residents/SEIU Healthcare
Commonweal Institute
Communications Workers of America (CWA)*
Community Action Partnership
Community Service Society
Clergy Strategic Alliances, LLCCREDO Mobile
Democracia Ahora
Democracy for America
Direct Care Alliance
Eagle Medical Services
Future Majority
Gamaliel
Generational Alliance
Health Care for the 21st Century Consulting
Healthcare United
HIV Medicine Association
Holman Healthcare Consulting
Hope for Hepatitis C
Human Rights Campaign
International Federation of Black Prides, Inc.
International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace & Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW)*
Jobs With Justice
Latinos for National Health Insurance
Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR)
League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC)
MDI Imported Car Service, Inc
Moms for Universal Health Care on cafemom.com
MoveOn.org*
Muscular Dystrophy Foundation for Independent Living
My Rural America (Action Fund)
NAACP*
National Abortion Federation
National Alliance on Mental Illness
National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors
National Asian American Pacific Islander Mental Health Association
National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum
National Alliance of Professional Psychology Providers
National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance
National Association of Certified Professional Midwives
National Association of School-Based Health Care
National Association for State Community Services Programs
National Association of Hepatitis Task Forces
National Association of Social Workers (NASW)
National Beauty Culturists’ League, Inc.
National Cervical Cancer Coalition
National Coalition for LGBT Health
National Community Action Foundation
National Consumers League
National Council of Urban Indian Health
National Council of Jewish Women
National Council of La Raza*
National Congress of American Indians (NCAI)
National Education Association*
National Foundation for Celiac Awareness
National Institute for Reproductive Health
National Korean American Service & Education Consortium
National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health
National Minority Quality Forum National Partnership for Women and Families
National Physicians Alliance
National Women’s Health Network
National Women’s Law Center*
Northwest Federation of Community Organizations
Out with Cancer, Inc
Paint Lick Family Clinic, Inc
PHI/Health Care for Health Care Workers
Physicians for Reproductive Choice and Health
Planned Parenthood Federation of America

Courtesy Gateway

Quid/Quo for Hospitals Pushing ObamaCare

The hospitals agreed to "reduce" costs by $155Bn or so and are pushing ObamaCare.

Why?

Simple.

They will also GET $171Bn or so from ObamaCare.

There's more here, HT: HotAir

Bomber, Democrat Strategist--All the Same

Uh huh.

A federal search warrant obtained by the Post-Dispatch connects a former Democratic campaign strategist to a Clayton bombing last year that seriously injured an attorney.

About two months after the October bombing, federal law enforcement officials searched the downtown loft of Milton H. "Skip" Ohlsen III, seeking "evidence related to the planning, execution, and/or cover-up of the bombing in Clayton, Missouri, on October 16, 2008." Ohlsen in recent weeks has been at the center of a swirling political scandal that is threatening the political careers of at least two Missouri Democratic legislators.

Quoted in Gateway.

It's Nanny Day in the State Capitol

Legislators need a real life.

Children could no longer drink in Wisconsin bars and restaurants under a bill scheduled to be heard Tuesday by a state Assembly committee

...Under the bill, only those 18 or older could drink with their parents' consent in a bar. The legal drinking age is 21 --AP

Other than the Nannies, who really gives a rotten damn? We're not seeing reports of falling-down-drunk kiddies injured on their tricycles, are we?

Bozos.

DPI's Idiotic Rules

Think bureaucracy is stupid?

You're right.

...some high schools that had been holding freshman-only days the first day of school have had to alter plans after being notified that such days did not count as an instructional day because not all students were in school.

You get the freshmen into the joint. You put them in classrooms with teachers who teach stuff. You run them on the typical school-day schedule. You send them home with homework.

And it is NOT an "instructional day."

*Sigh*

Next up: Bureaucrats improving HealthCare!

Doyle's Rationing Foreshadows ObamaCare Rationing

Oh, yah, Jimbo--THAT was a good idea.

When Greg Cicione called his regular dental office recently, he was told he no longer could make an appointment for his 14-year-old son to get a checkup.

The reason: Cicione's son is now a BadgerCare recipient...

...Cicione decided not to make a big stink. He simply offered to pay cash, just as he always had done in the past when he didn't have dental insurance, for the desired services.

But then staff told him the office couldn't accept his cash either because they knew the boy was on BadgerCare

This is the result of rationing. Doyle's program reimburses dentists at about 40% of typical rates, and of course, the dentist will go to jail if he takes cash instead.

Timberlake, however, said the state can't afford to raise reimbursement rates at a time of historically high budget deficits, so she appealed to dentists to do all they can to alleviate the dental access crisis for low-income residents.

Doyle's priorities are WEAC, the Trial Lawyers, and casinos. Screw the poor.....

Oh, yes, there will be rationing.

The Left's Achilles Heel: Delivery

In a word, the Left is enraptured with its own mythology.

...the push for health care "reform" is in one important way, as your title states, a recklessness borne of arrogance -- or if not arrogance exactly, then of the echo-chamber quality of a liberalism that can no longer hear the outside world or, increasingly, itself. This is again related to the way Obama campaigned and has governed. The fact that big majorities are satisfied with the health care system in general and their care in particular just does not register with him. What registers are the Queen for a Day stories -- the cancer-stricken granny whose insurance company cuts her off three days before chemotherapy was to have begun, etc.

Putting a single human face on policy choices that will affect 300,000,000 people paints a powerful picture. But in short order it succumbs to the defects of its "virtues." The public is not yet so dumbed-down that it's going to cashier a system it knows and likes in favor of the Government Sponsored Unknown, and still less is it going to do such a thing on the basis of a handful of anecdotal horror stories -- stories that it senses are deeply dishonest for attempting to convey as routine something people know is anything but.

Shark has repeatedly mentioned the fact that 85% of the population is satisfied with the healthcare system in the US. His interlocutors keep yapping about the 15% who (evidently) are NOT satisfied.

But that is 'at the margins' dissatisfaction. What ObamaCare proposes--and cannot possibly deliver--is 100% happy-ness with healthcare.

Worse, for the Left, is the existence of two massive and highly-publicized "FAILS": 'Clunkers' and 'Stimulus.' In the background hovers the real possibility that TARP is also a fail, and even deeper background is the Fail of the "War on Poverty."

And in the foreground is another Massive Fail: 'Cap-N-Tax', whereby the Left claims that it will calm the seas and Save the Earth.

Nobody but the Left actually believes that stuff. Nobody else is looking into Narcissus' mirror.

HT: PowerLine

Cap-N-Tax: Crippling Wisconsin

You don't really need money for food, right?

Good.

You'll be paying the tax for your electricity instead.

Alliant projects that it could be saddled with higher costs in the hundreds of millions of dollars beginning in 2012. Wisconsin Energy puts the tab for its customers at $70 million to $90 million in year one, 2012, with the costs increasing each year.

Your employer, your school district, and your governments will ALSO pay that tax, courtesy of two Congresscritters--one from the East Coast, one from the Left Coast.

How long will we be able to afford that?

One more thing: supposedly this will reduce "global warming."

It won't do that, but that's only the cover story anyway. The real purpose is to enrich Goldman, Sachs and a few others--yes, AlGore--and the Federal Government.

HT: Glenn

HOO-RAH!

Wow! Patrick found a Marine doing what they do best: demolishing.

The victim was some LeftOWacky Congresscritter.

WOLVERINES!

JS' "Scary BPA" Doesn't Mention Fenton Communications

Gee.

You'd think that in an article as lengthy as this one, the JS would have the room to mention Fenton Communications and its pals, the personal-injury lawyers.

Like we did here, for example.

You know, just to sorta let readers know that "public relations campaigns" are run by BOTH sides in a scientific matter. And that there might be really big money--a large payoff--for someone.

Nah. You don't need to know that, do you?

The Reform of the Reform Is Underway

Noted by Rorate:

The document was delivered to the hands of Benedict XVI in the morning of last April 4 by Spanish Cardinal Antonio Cañizares Llovera, Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship. It is the result of a reserved vote, which took place on March 12, in the course of a "plenary" session of the dicastery responsible for the liturgy, and it represents the first concrete step towards that "reform of the reform" often desired by Pope Ratzinger. The Cardinals and Bishops members of the Congregation voted almost unanimously in favor of a greater sacrality of the rite, of the recovery of the sense of eucharistic worship, of the recovery of the Latin language in the celebration, and of the remaking of the introductory parts of the Missal in order to put a stop to abuses, wild experimentations, and inappropriate creativity. They have also declared themselves favorable to reaffirm that the usual way of receiving Communion according to the norms is not on the hand, but in the mouth.

For the remaining (and aging) LeftyLitWonks, both clerical and lay, this will occasion exploding heads.

For anyone with a lick of common sense, it's long overdue.

ObamaLies

Pretty soon the poor bastard will be reduced to mere babbling and drooling, one hopes.

Obama said illegal immigrants would not be part of the health care overhaul, taxpayers would not be mandated to fund abortions and he does not intend a government takeover of health care — all claims that critics have made at contentious town hall-style meetings with members of Congress. --AP

Full of crap on all three counts. Never thought I'd say it, but thank God for Clinton, who taught all of us how to parse, parse, parse.

Resume Enhancement for AEP's CEO--on Your Dime

What a jerk this CEO really is.

Utility giant AEP has applied for $334 million in stimulus money to construct the first commercial scale CO2 capture and storage project at a West Virginia coal-fired power plant. That’s about half the money needed for the project. The project goal is to capture 1.5 million metric tons of CO2 per year and then to store it 1.5 miles below the surface.

Following a bunch of mathematical stuff, we get here:

That works out to a rate of between $7.3 trillion to $24.3 trillion spent per hypothetical 1 °C rise in global temperature avoided. Remember, this is only a hypothetical temperture difference; it’s not at all certain that any temperature difference would actually occur!

All to make AEP's CEO's resume look oh, so green!

Not even Dick Abdoo had that gall.

Clunk

By the way, Rahm-a-Jamma, Obama, and Axelrod don't respect you, either--morning, noon, or night.

HT: OlFreezingBroad

"Reducing Costs of Health Care" My Foot!

In the name of "cost reduction," ObamaCare includes a few new highly-efficient/SixSigma/Lean hydra-headed G-15-laden paperpushing nincompoop havens for Public Servants.

Jacobson mentions them (it's not an exhaustive list) here.

The Incredibly Incompetent Doyle Administration

What a brilliant executive this Doyle is!! And how well he picks administrators!!

The overwhelming demand for BadgerCare Plus Core, the new Medicaid-funded insurance program for low-income childless adults, has the state struggling to process the large number of applications filed in the program’s first two months.

The lag is frustrating applicants, community health workers and health officials alike.

...From June 15 to Aug. 7, the state Department of Health Services received 37,211 applications for the Core program, of which only 5,000 were processed.

“Two months in, we’re continuing to strive to improve the efficiency and speed with which we process applications,” said Karen Timberlake, secretary of the department.

Bozos.

HT: Kilkenny

ObamaDeficit: Approaching Revolutionary Territory

Oh, yah.

We're reminded of something here:

It was only six months ago to the day, on Feb. 22, when Barack Obama proclaimed that he was going to cut the deficit in half by the end of his first term. And let’s be sure to recall that this was after TARP was already in play and Porkulous was under construction like a fully operational Death Star. The economy had begun to collapse the previous fall, so nobody could say it was coming as a surprise.

HopeyChangey BS, folks.

The Obama administration will raise its 10-year budget deficit projection to approximately $9 trillion from $7.108 trillion in a report next week, a senior administration official told Reuters on Friday.

$9Tn here, another $1Tn spend on ObamaCare, then collapse the entire Upper Midwestern economy with Cap-n-Tax, run out of Medicare dollars..........

That's not just 'deficit.' That's the trigger for revolutions. And I'm not the only one who is concerned:

"There's a real question at stake now. Is President Obama creating a civil war in our own country?" --John Voight in the WashTimes

A very good question. Same asked by the Gay Patriot:

"Is the US in a low-grade Civil War?"

And VDH, in less direct language:

Because of his inexperience and unfamiliarity with political hostility, I think Obama will press ahead on the present course, heightening partisan tensions, dividing the country, and ultimately diminishing his presidency further still. Again, the voters wanted youth, charisma, competence, fiscal sobriety, non-partisanship, and are getting radicalism with an increasing edge to it.

HT: HotAir, McCain, BeerBiker

VERY Expensive Clunkers and Zombies, Too!!

You thought handing out $4K/car was a bit......ahhhh.......imprudent?

Wait until you get the REST of the bill.

A relative of mine is a GS-15 in one of the agencies in the Department of Transportation. He called his wife, who is visiting us, to say that he was going to answer an urgent request made by DoT for people to come in this weekend to help handle the backlog of paperwork for the Cash for Clunkers program. He said that he would earn time-and-a-half in his pay grade for the hours he works.

For a GS-15, that would be about $90 an hour. Apparently, the call only went out to current employees in the agencies under the DoT's umbrella. So GS-15 in Washington, D.C., all of whom make over $100,000 and get superb benefits (including early retirement and better health care than the rest of us) might be able to pick a couple grand over the weekend for reviewing applications. --quoted in PowerLine

Frankly, that pay arrangement is ridiculous. In the Real World, if you're knocking down $70K or so as a salary, "time-and-a-half" is almost unheard of.

And Citigroup evidently found work for 300 of its people as temps for DoT. It was a Zombie-to-Zombie deal........

Whole Foods' HR Policies

The CEO of Whole Foods doesn't think national-socialist ObamaCare is a good idea. So he's been raked over the coals by the usual suspects, including the UFCW.

Maybe UFCW has its own motives. Check out this (partial) list of HR policies for Whole Foods:

*Employees have full say in who they work with - a new employee must receive a 2/3 vote in order to make it past probation.

* Employees also vote on all company-wide initiatives

* There’s a salary book in every store - “no secrets” management believes everyone should know how much everyone else is making

* Executive salaries are capped at 14 times the lowest workers salary - If they want more money, everyone else has to get more money first

* Non-executive employees hold 94% of company stock options

* Pay is linked to team performance - profit sharing

* At least 5% of annual profits go to local charities

* Full-timers get 100% of their health care costs paid for - under plans the employees have selected

Not exactly the standard-fare HR policy playbook. So gee, whiz: maybe UFCW has a hard time sinking their dull-witted hooks into the chain?

VanHollen's Right, As Usual

He cannot defend the indefensible.

Defending the [domestic partner] law would require him to ignore the voters' approval of the marriage amendment in 2006 because he believes the budget provision recognizes a legal status that is substantially similar to the legal status of marriage, Van Hollen said in a statement.

"My duty to is to the people of the state of Wisconsin and the highest expression of their will - the constitution of the state of Wisconsin," Van Hollen said. "When the people have spoken by amending our constitution, I will abide by their command. When policy-makers have ignored their words, I will not."

Undies became bundled forthwith.

"The attorney general's job is to represent the state and defend state law when there is a good-faith defense to be made," Doyle said in a statement. "His representation should not be based on whether he likes the state law."

Really, Jimbo?

During his 12 years as attorney general, Doyle declined to represent then-Gov. Tommy Thompson in a handful of lawsuits the state ultimately lost.

You signed a law which was blatantly un-Constitutional, jackass.

Maybe you should hire a bar-admitted in-house counsel for advice next time.

Speaking of Moral Problems: Jim Doyle Surfaces!

Oh, yah. Doyle, who claims to be Catholic, may wind up defending a lawsuit.

As Gov. Jim Doyle was telling Wisconsinites on Aug. 17 that he would not seek a third term as governor, the Catholic bishops of Wisconsin were letting the faithful know of their "deep concern" about the recently approved state budget that requires them to provide contraceptive services to those for whom they provide health insurance. "This mandate will compel Catholic dioceses, parishes, and other agencies that buy health insurance to pay for a medical service that Catholic teaching holds to be gravely immoral," the bishops wrote.... "This mandate violates not just our religious values, but also our constitutional rights. The right of conscience established in the Wisconsin Constitution protects the minority from the majority..." the bishops wrote.

There is the usual shilly-shallying for publication:

The bishops wrote that while they are assessing "our options to contest this policy," they will continue to provide health insurance for church workers. Asked if the bishops might challenge the mandate in court, Huebscher said, "It would be premature to say it would lead to litigation."

One suspects that (barring some sort of walk-back from the Capitol) the only question is whether Federal or State court.

HT: Jester

ObamaFiction, Part 2: "Costs"

Hennessey observes that Obama is either seriously mis-informed about the costs of ObamaCare, or he's seriously mis-leading YOU about them. (Your choice, folks.)

Obama uses "$80-$100Bn/year to cover everybody" under ObamaCare. That's an "average" figure--and he uses that for a reason. The actual figures are hair-on-fire scary.

CBO estimates the “effects on the deficit of insurance coverage provisions” in the House bill, H.R. 3200, to be $1,042 billion over a ten year period. (See page 2 of the estimate.) The $800B – $900B figure cited by the President may be his expectation of the still-private Baucus bill.

But the program is in effect for only about five of these ten years. In the House bill, the new coverage provision begins in year 4 (2013) and phase up to full effect only in year 6 (2015). To calculate the per-year cost, therefore, you should divide by roughly six, rather than by 10.

In addition, the new spending grows really fast, so the spending in year 10 (2019) is much bigger than in year six. CBO estimates the new coverage provisions would cost $202 B in 2019, rather than the President’s $80 B (last Saturday) or $100 B (last Thursday) annual cost figures

Obama has been pretty careful to avoid telling you a few factoids. First off, the tax increases to support HR3200 go into effect 2 years before the program does--meaning that for a very short time, there will be an "ObamaCare surplus." He NEVER mentions the cost picture beginning Year 11 and forward, preferring the cute little numbers that he "averages" in the first 10 years.

And he doesn't mention what Hennessey points out: that lying with averages is STILL lying.

The Limits of Pragmatism

Neatly summed up by Rahm-a-Jamma's brother, Zeke the MD:

“[S]ervices provided to individuals who are irreversibly prevented from being or becoming participating citizens [in the body politic] are not basic and should not be guaranteed. An obvious example is not guaranteeing health services to patients with dementia.” --quoted in RedState

In other words,

"We will spend money we don’t have to pay for health care, or we will prioritize who gets treatment. It is an inevitable fact of life that the more the government outlays to keep you alive, the more your life becomes subject to a cost/benefit analysis."

Kinda sounds like the Capitalist Mantra, eh?

Except I don't know any capitalists who apply c-b-analysis to their mother's life.

Mencken's Timeless Truths

Spotted by Arms/Law.

In discussing the (mostly) execrable Oliver Wendell Holmes, Mencken made a side-observation about the other pack of hyenas:

"There is, in fact, no reason for confusing the people and the legislature: the two, in these later years, are quite distinct. The legislature, like the executive, has ceased, save indirectly, to be even the creature of the people: it is the creature, in the main, of pressure groups, and most of them, it must be manifest, are of dubious wisdom and even more dubious honesty. Laws are no longer made by a rational process of public discussion; they are made by a process of blackmail and intimidation, and they are executed in the same manner. The typical lawmaker of today is a man wholly devoid of principle- a mere counter in a grotesque and knavish game. If the right pressure could be applied to him he would be cheerfully in favor of polygamy, astrology or cannibalism."

Well, H. L., some lawmakers ARE in favor of polygamy; they just don't bother with the second (or third) formal ceremony. See, e.g., Ted Kennedy, Chris Dodd, John Edwards (etc.)

Back to Holmes--with a far more devastating indictment.

In three Espionage Act cases, including the Debs case, one finds a clear statement of the doctrine that, in war time, the rights guaranteed by the First Amendment cease to have any substance, and may be set aside by any jury that has been sufficiently alarmed by a district attorney itching for higher office. In Fox v. the State of Washington, we learn that any conduct "which shall tend to encourage or advocate disrespect for the law" may be made a crime, and that the protest of a man who believes that he has been jailed unjustly, and threatens to boycott his persecutors, may be treated as such a crime. In Moyer v. Peabody, it appears that the Governor of a state, "without sufficient reason but in good faith," may call out the militia, declare martial law, and jail anyone he happens to suspect or dislike, without laying himself open "to an action after he is out of office on the ground that he had no reasonable ground for his belief." And, in Weaver v. Palmer Bros. Co. there is the plain inference that in order to punish a theoretical man, A, who is suspected of wrong-doing, a State Legislature may lay heavy and intolerable burdens upon a real man, B, who has admittedly done no wrong at all."

"Over and over again, in these opinions, he advocated giving the legislature full head-room, and over and over again he protested against using the Fourteenth Amendment to upset novel and oppressive laws, aimed frankly at helpless minorities. If what he said in some of those opinions were accepted literally, there would be scarcely any brake at all upon lawmaking, and the Bill of Rights would have no more significance than the Code of Manu."

It strikes me that Holmes will be oft-cited by AG Holder in the future. After all, it worked for Roosevelt and the Progressive Fascist Icon Wilson (may a camel s^%$ on his grave.)

And that reminds me:

BUY MORE AMMO!!! Remember that the 2A is what actually protects the rest of the Bill of Rights.

Why Clinton Missed Bin-Laden

Hmmmmmmm.

A St. Martin’s Press book set for fall release by Bin Laden’s son Omar and first wife Najwa, “Growing Up Bin Laden,” appears to credibly answer the question of how the Saudi terror kingpin narrowly dodged - by two hours - the Clinton administration’s biggest attempt to assassinate him.

...After a few days at Al Farouk, Osama Bin Laden “received a highly secretive communication” on Aug. 20, Omar writes. The family immediately left Khowst for Kabul - only two hours before the camp was obliterated by 75 cruise missiles.

Wasn't TOO difficult for a Paki to figure out, as we had parked a bunch of the fleet off the coast.

HT: CounterTerrorism

ObamaCare Modeled After (D) Voting Games

Sometimes politicians lie outright. Sometimes they make you figure out how they're lying.

Here's a "figure it out" lie--or How ObamaCare Covers Illegals.

Title II, Subtitle C, Section 246 of the House health care bill (H.R. 3200) stipulates “no federal payment for undocumented aliens.” The Senate bill states that beneficiaries of federal health care programs must be a citizen or national or an alien lawfully admitted to the United States. But neither bill has a provision for verifying citizenship status, according to these experts.

Rector said people signing up for government-run health care programs would not have to substantiate that they are in this country legally. “The health care reform legislation turns that on its back and tramples it into the dust,” Rector said. “It basically says, ‘We will not verify, we will not check, we have a complete open door for every illegal immigrant, current and in the future, to simply enroll and receive benefits under this program.

So, Mr. Rector, what's the problem?

After all, this is just like Democrat Party vote-schemes, is it not?

ObamaFiction: "No Abortion Coverage"

It appears that the US Bishops are not playing softball any more.

The nation’s Catholic bishops have told Congress that they oppose H.R. 3200, America’s Affordable Health Choices Act, as it currently stands, because the health-care reform bill would mandate funding and insurance coverage for abortion.

But, but, but, ......Obama says that's not true!

Well, that's ObamaFiction, to be polite.

...Rigali, the archbishop of Philadelphia, Pa., pointed out in the letter that the legislation would give the secretary of health and human services the power to make unlimited abortion “a mandated benefit” in the “public health insurance plan” the government will manage nationwide."

In other words, Obama is playing games. Gee! Golly! I'm shocked!!

Because some federal funds would be authorized and appropriated without passing through the Labor/HHS appropriations bill, Rigali pointed out they “would not be subject to the Hyde Amendment or other federal provisions that prevented federal funding of abortion and of health-benefits packages that include abortion.”

It's time to scrap HR 3200 and start over.

The Ups....The Downs....His .......Frowns...

Are second nature to me now,
Like breathing out and breathing in,
It's so easy to remember when He Won the E-lec-tion,
Now it's only mem'ry--'cause his numbers: de-fla-tion,
I've grown accustomed to his voice,
Accustomed to his face,
Accustomed to the Polls.

President Barack Obama's popularity has plummeted to a record low, with just 45 percent of voters now approving of his performance as commander in chief, according to the latest Zogby International poll.

Asked whether they approve or disapprove of the president's job performance, just 45.3 percent of likely voters say they approve. That compares with 50.5 percent who disapprove of the job Obama is doing.

And he's doing a helluvalot better than Congress, folks.

HT: Ace

ObamaBot HQ's New Fear-Mongering

You'll note the new FearMongering which has recently entered the Secret Decoder-Ring Circle and Intertube-Communications Device from ObamaCare HQ.

It's at Jay's place.

"The Under-Insured" (which will soon be a film noire starring Nurse Rached and perhaps the Joker) have made an appearance.

In addition, we have "Those in Fear of Losing Their Insurance"! (Maybe it will be a double-bill. "Those in Fear" will be played by a cast of millions. Or hundreds of millions. Who knows?)

"Let Me Be Clear," Said Obama...

AOSHQ pretty much nails it:

Let Me Be Clear, As I Have Always Said, Abortion Funding is Not in My Health Care Plan, and, As I Have Also Always Said, Abortion Funding is "At the Center and Heart of" My Health Care Plan: In a question specifically about abortion funding, at Planned Parenthood, he says "reproductive care" which will provide "all essential services" is "at the center and heart" of his plan.

Now who do you believe? Obama, your lyin' eyes, or the lyin' Obama?

Kohl and Feingold Won't Answer This Question, Either

Heh.

In an extended discussion of Planned Parenthood's attack on the US Bishops (and most of the Catholics they shepherd), Dick Doerflinger makes this point:

Doerflinger said the bishops’ materials about health care reform have been centered on supporting universal coverage, but opposing mandated abortion coverage.

“She [the PP harpy] keeps talking about how we’re trying to diminish a right,” he said of Richards. “A mandate is not consistent with a personal choice. If what she’s talking about is people’s personal ability to choose whether or not to buy abortion coverage, we’re not going to oppose legislation that allows that.

“We’re talking about the government mandating that people purchase abortion coverage against their will. Why would she be against that if she favors ‘choice’?

Both of Wisconsin's US Senators are openly pro-abortion. And neither of them has bothered to respond to precisely that question from Yours Truly.

Nor will they, unless they are forced to in a public forum--say a 'Town Hall' on the topic of Aborto-Facilitating "health" care.

HT: Fr.Z

Rumor: You're Going to Pay to Read JSOnline

It's been a long, long time since I've paid for a newspaper subscription, for good reason: I can read the damn thing FREE on the Intertubulars.

Yah, there are some cheesy pop-down Milwaukee Brewer ads, and the site-design resembles a junkyard with neatly-painted trash.

Regardless, it is free-to-read.

And I have repeatedly told a JS staffer that their "free-stuff" policy is absolutely stupid.

An acquaintance of mine who is knowledgeable told me recently that "free-to-read" is likely to stop, very soon, at the Milwaukee JS.

Dammit.