One west-suburban parish seems to have its signals crossed.
Instead of the USCCB's mandated bulletin-insert flyer drawing attention to the ObamaCare tax-paid abortion/no conscience-clause monstrosity, the parish handed out a bulletin-insert about "Global Warming," which (natch) didn't bother to mention the flat-line temps since 1998.
'S OK. The GloboHot document also took liberties with the translation of Gen. 9:16. (Surprised?)
Here's their "translation": "As the bow appears in the clouds I will see it and recall....that I have established between God and all living beings--all mortal creatures that are on earth......"
Umnnnnnnhhh. What does Douay say?
"...that was made between God and every living soul of all flesh which is upon the earth."
Well, Douay's kinda old. What about the RSV?
"...the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth."
You can flip through several different translations and NOT find the "translation" provided by the OSF who wrote the piece for St Anthony Messenger. The mangling is there for a purpose; to confuse people about the "brotherhood" between man and chipmunk. Oh, yah.
In that parish, abortion isn't quite as important as chipmunk-brotherhood.
Priorities, folks.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Tommy, We Read Bruce Murphy's Memo
Tommy Thompson, whose mirror likes him, thinks of running for Governor, again.
Yah, but Tommy, some of us read Murphy's stuff.
It’s been a field day for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporting on the huge payments going to fraudulent day care providers. But there’s really a far deeper institutional problem here, one started by former Gov. Tommy Thompson back in the 1990s, and aided and abetted by his successors, Govs. Scott McCallum and Jim Doyle, ...
Naturally, Tommy devised a program which spent a LOT of money. That's his specialty!!
When W-2 was created, the goal was to force all these women to get jobs. But just what jobs would be available that they could do? The answer was day care. In essence, the state would pay women to swap their children. They could run day care programs out of their homes and get paid to take care of each other’s kids, though they may have no degree and no training in how to run a day care. Incredibly enough, under the system Thompson set up, it was all perfectly legal.
It was also far more expensive. The average state payment for one child receiving day care under Wisconsin Shares is about $480 month; if two mothers with three kids swap their kids and start a day care, they would each earn $17,280 annually – or 222 percent more than they would have received under AFDC.
Let's never forget that TT expanded State Government payrolls more than ANY Governor in history.
Yah, but Tommy, some of us read Murphy's stuff.
It’s been a field day for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporting on the huge payments going to fraudulent day care providers. But there’s really a far deeper institutional problem here, one started by former Gov. Tommy Thompson back in the 1990s, and aided and abetted by his successors, Govs. Scott McCallum and Jim Doyle, ...
Naturally, Tommy devised a program which spent a LOT of money. That's his specialty!!
When W-2 was created, the goal was to force all these women to get jobs. But just what jobs would be available that they could do? The answer was day care. In essence, the state would pay women to swap their children. They could run day care programs out of their homes and get paid to take care of each other’s kids, though they may have no degree and no training in how to run a day care. Incredibly enough, under the system Thompson set up, it was all perfectly legal.
It was also far more expensive. The average state payment for one child receiving day care under Wisconsin Shares is about $480 month; if two mothers with three kids swap their kids and start a day care, they would each earn $17,280 annually – or 222 percent more than they would have received under AFDC.
Let's never forget that TT expanded State Government payrolls more than ANY Governor in history.
New Benefit? Well, Yes!! For Gummint Workers
You read that Wisconsin law now compels insurers to cover dependents through age 26, right?
What you didn't read (until today) is this:
Standing to benefit are people covered by private insurers, state government employees and employees of roughly 350 local government units in Wisconsin that offer insurance through the state.
Romell of the JS deserves credit.
Less than half of Wisconsin residents will benefit from the new mandate--and most of them are State and local employees.
But ALL Wisconsin taxpayers will PAY for the benefit.
Doyle and the Dems.
What you didn't read (until today) is this:
Standing to benefit are people covered by private insurers, state government employees and employees of roughly 350 local government units in Wisconsin that offer insurance through the state.
Romell of the JS deserves credit.
Less than half of Wisconsin residents will benefit from the new mandate--and most of them are State and local employees.
But ALL Wisconsin taxpayers will PAY for the benefit.
Doyle and the Dems.
Der Kommissar, ObamaCare
Somebody's got to do all this, right?
--Managing both the government-run health insurance program and the regulations overseeing all health insurance plans offered by private insurance companies, including those sold to individuals and those offered through employers.
--Negotiating rates to be paid to the nation's 788,000 practicing physicians and 5,708 hospitals.
--Create and then assess fines for individuals and companies that fail to comply with the new government-run health care program's multitude of regulations
That will be the Health Choices Kommissar, a creation of Nancy Pelosi.
Just in time for Hallowe'en, too. That's not a coincidence.
--Managing both the government-run health insurance program and the regulations overseeing all health insurance plans offered by private insurance companies, including those sold to individuals and those offered through employers.
--Negotiating rates to be paid to the nation's 788,000 practicing physicians and 5,708 hospitals.
--Create and then assess fines for individuals and companies that fail to comply with the new government-run health care program's multitude of regulations
That will be the Health Choices Kommissar, a creation of Nancy Pelosi.
Just in time for Hallowe'en, too. That's not a coincidence.
The Slime in Congress
Ethics problem-list:
John Murtha, D-Pa., and Democratic members Jim Moran of Virginia and Peter Visclosky of Indiana had previously surfaced in connection with the inquiry.
The document adds the names of Norm Dicks, D-Wash.; Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio; ranking subcommittee Republican C.W. Bill Young of Florida and Todd Tiahrt, R-Kan.
That list is only about 520 members short.
By the way, Murtha, a member of the Enemies of the US list since 1995, has his own video here. F*&^ you, Congressman.
John Murtha, D-Pa., and Democratic members Jim Moran of Virginia and Peter Visclosky of Indiana had previously surfaced in connection with the inquiry.
The document adds the names of Norm Dicks, D-Wash.; Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio; ranking subcommittee Republican C.W. Bill Young of Florida and Todd Tiahrt, R-Kan.
That list is only about 520 members short.
By the way, Murtha, a member of the Enemies of the US list since 1995, has his own video here. F*&^ you, Congressman.
Legislation and Personal Responsibility
Here's a pleasant forecast:
Health insurers, who would gain tens of millions of new customers under the health plan, nonetheless would be ensnared by some potentially costly new measures, including eliminating their long-standing antitrust exemption.
They voiced particular concern about Democrats' inclusion of the government-run insurance plan. Karen Ignani, the chief of the insurers' main trade group, America's Health Insurance Plans, said the so-called public option would "bankrupt hospitals, dismantle employer coverage, exacerbate cost-shifting from Medicare and Medicaid, and ultimately increase the federal deficit." She said the result would be that many people, including seniors, would lose coverage or face higher costs.
Hmmmmm....
One wonders if the legislators who vote for ObamaCare will take personal responsibility for its outcome....or whether that responsibility will be, ah, impressed upon them?
Health insurers, who would gain tens of millions of new customers under the health plan, nonetheless would be ensnared by some potentially costly new measures, including eliminating their long-standing antitrust exemption.
They voiced particular concern about Democrats' inclusion of the government-run insurance plan. Karen Ignani, the chief of the insurers' main trade group, America's Health Insurance Plans, said the so-called public option would "bankrupt hospitals, dismantle employer coverage, exacerbate cost-shifting from Medicare and Medicaid, and ultimately increase the federal deficit." She said the result would be that many people, including seniors, would lose coverage or face higher costs.
Hmmmmm....
One wonders if the legislators who vote for ObamaCare will take personal responsibility for its outcome....or whether that responsibility will be, ah, impressed upon them?
Friday, October 30, 2009
Tommy, Again? PuhhhLeeeez!
Thompson ("Stick-It-To-Em!!!") told Gousha that he may run for Governor.
His rug-color was pathetic.
Spend-it-all Tommy. Just what we need.
His rug-color was pathetic.
Spend-it-all Tommy. Just what we need.
Another Straw in the Wind
Grim found another straw in the wind, this from New Republic (!!!)
Trust in government now stands at 23 percent—the lowest level in at least twelve years. A stunning 76 percent of Americans believe that the government in Washington will do the right thing only some of the time, or never.
About time the rest of you caught up with us Conservatives........
And there's more, here.
Trust in government now stands at 23 percent—the lowest level in at least twelve years. A stunning 76 percent of Americans believe that the government in Washington will do the right thing only some of the time, or never.
About time the rest of you caught up with us Conservatives........
And there's more, here.
KISS, Bank Version
As usual, Barry Ritholtz endorses common sense.
• Federal Reserve should set monetary policy, not regulate banks.(They’ve demonstrated they are incompetent at the latter)
• Treasury should over see taxing and spending policies, executing that via IRS, Mint, etc.
• The FDIC, the entity in charge of insuring the banks deposits, should make sure these banks don’t blow themselves up
Won't happen, but hey! That's Gummint.
• Federal Reserve should set monetary policy, not regulate banks.(They’ve demonstrated they are incompetent at the latter)
• Treasury should over see taxing and spending policies, executing that via IRS, Mint, etc.
• The FDIC, the entity in charge of insuring the banks deposits, should make sure these banks don’t blow themselves up
Won't happen, but hey! That's Gummint.
"They've Never Seen Things Go Dark"
Noonan seems to have recovered from her Obamafascination.
When I see those in government, both locally and in Washington, spend and tax and come up each day with new ways to spend and tax—health care, cap and trade, etc.—I think: Why aren't they worried about the impact of what they're doing? Why do they think America is so strong it can take endless abuse?
I think I know part of the answer. It is that they've never seen things go dark. They came of age during the great abundance, circa 1980-2008 (or 1950-2008, take your pick), and they don't have the habit of worry. They talk about their "concerns"—they're big on that word. But they're not really concerned. They think America is the goose that lays the golden egg. Why not? She laid it in their laps. She laid it in grandpa's lap.
They don't feel anxious, because they never had anything to be anxious about. They grew up in an America surrounded by phrases—"strongest nation in the world," "indispensable nation," "unipolar power," "highest standard of living"—and are not bright enough, or serious enough, to imagine that they can damage that, hurt it, even fatally.
We are governed at all levels by America's luckiest children, sons and daughters of the abundance, and they call themselves optimists but they're not optimists—they're unimaginative. They don't have faith, they've just never been foreclosed on. They are stupid and they are callous, and they don't mind it when people become disheartened.
They don't even notice.
That callous stupidity is echoed, in spades, by the Democrat Oligarchy in Wisconsin (and, frankly, by its Republican antecedent--Spend It All!! Tommy).
HT: Grim, who also mentions Cramer's 'revolution' and the Detroit "ObamaStash" lady...
When I see those in government, both locally and in Washington, spend and tax and come up each day with new ways to spend and tax—health care, cap and trade, etc.—I think: Why aren't they worried about the impact of what they're doing? Why do they think America is so strong it can take endless abuse?
I think I know part of the answer. It is that they've never seen things go dark. They came of age during the great abundance, circa 1980-2008 (or 1950-2008, take your pick), and they don't have the habit of worry. They talk about their "concerns"—they're big on that word. But they're not really concerned. They think America is the goose that lays the golden egg. Why not? She laid it in their laps. She laid it in grandpa's lap.
They don't feel anxious, because they never had anything to be anxious about. They grew up in an America surrounded by phrases—"strongest nation in the world," "indispensable nation," "unipolar power," "highest standard of living"—and are not bright enough, or serious enough, to imagine that they can damage that, hurt it, even fatally.
We are governed at all levels by America's luckiest children, sons and daughters of the abundance, and they call themselves optimists but they're not optimists—they're unimaginative. They don't have faith, they've just never been foreclosed on. They are stupid and they are callous, and they don't mind it when people become disheartened.
They don't even notice.
That callous stupidity is echoed, in spades, by the Democrat Oligarchy in Wisconsin (and, frankly, by its Republican antecedent--Spend It All!! Tommy).
HT: Grim, who also mentions Cramer's 'revolution' and the Detroit "ObamaStash" lady...
Arrogant. Blind and Stupid, Too!!
Not that Obama & Co. are the only players here. Clinton and Bush helped.
But here's the Obama part.
Last year, federal Judge Royce Lambert ruled that the Executive Office of the President (EOP) is covered under the Privacy Act. In that decision, Lambert tartly added that “...this court holds that under the Privacy Act, the word ‘agency’ includes the Executive Office of the President, just as the Privacy Act says.”
So this year, the Obama White House comes back in the same case and asks Lambert to grant a motion for summary dismissal, arguing that “the White House is not an agency under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), and it necessarily follows that it is not an agency subject to the Privacy Act.”
This all started when HRC obtained 400 FBI files on various people (like Henry Hyde).
But here's the Obama part.
Last year, federal Judge Royce Lambert ruled that the Executive Office of the President (EOP) is covered under the Privacy Act. In that decision, Lambert tartly added that “...this court holds that under the Privacy Act, the word ‘agency’ includes the Executive Office of the President, just as the Privacy Act says.”
So this year, the Obama White House comes back in the same case and asks Lambert to grant a motion for summary dismissal, arguing that “the White House is not an agency under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), and it necessarily follows that it is not an agency subject to the Privacy Act.”
This all started when HRC obtained 400 FBI files on various people (like Henry Hyde).
ObamaCare: Lotsa New Taxes!
Besides demolishing family health insurance, ObamaCare has a few other nasty little taxes. Highlights:
Non-prescription medications would no longer be able to be purchased from health savings accounts (HSAs), flexible spending accounts (FSAs), or health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs).
Imposes a new excise tax on medical device manufacturers equal to 2.5 percent of the wholesale price.
The next one is a huge new regulatory/paperwork burden, but not a tax:
Requires that 1099-MISC forms be issued to corporations as well as persons for trade or business payments. Current law limits to just persons for small business compliance complexity reasons. Also expands reporting to exchanges of property
That's stark-raving nuts. It means that a small business will be required to issue 1099s to (e.g.) OfficeMax for all its purchases of paper, ink, (etc.) throughout a given year, and to the electric and phone companies, etc., etc. That's about 8 hours' worth of toting, typing, and mailing...
Empowers the IRS to disallow a perfectly legal tax deduction or other tax relief merely because the IRS deems that the motive of the taxpayer was not primarily business-related
(Ask the City of Milwaukee about revenooer-deeming. They just love it!!)
Non-prescription medications would no longer be able to be purchased from health savings accounts (HSAs), flexible spending accounts (FSAs), or health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs).
Imposes a new excise tax on medical device manufacturers equal to 2.5 percent of the wholesale price.
The next one is a huge new regulatory/paperwork burden, but not a tax:
Requires that 1099-MISC forms be issued to corporations as well as persons for trade or business payments. Current law limits to just persons for small business compliance complexity reasons. Also expands reporting to exchanges of property
That's stark-raving nuts. It means that a small business will be required to issue 1099s to (e.g.) OfficeMax for all its purchases of paper, ink, (etc.) throughout a given year, and to the electric and phone companies, etc., etc. That's about 8 hours' worth of toting, typing, and mailing...
Empowers the IRS to disallow a perfectly legal tax deduction or other tax relief merely because the IRS deems that the motive of the taxpayer was not primarily business-related
(Ask the City of Milwaukee about revenooer-deeming. They just love it!!)
The End of Private-Sector Family Health Coverage: ObamaCare
The plan will end family-coverage for most people in SE Wisconsin over the next few years.
Employer Mandate Excise Tax (Page 275): If an employer does not pay 72.5 percent of a single employee’s health premium (65 percent of a family employee), the employer must pay an excise tax equal to 8 percent of average wages.
That provision is the one which dooms existing health-insurance companies. Since our Lefty pals can't figure this out, we'll type real slow. Maybe they'll get it. Most likely they won't.
In SE Wisconsin, the average private-sector wage is around $20.00/hour, or about $42K/year. The typical family health premium is around $12K/year. That's about 28% of wages. If the employer is only kicking in 75% of the premium ($9K), that contribution is 21% of wages.
Under ObamaCare (above), an employer must pay a tax of 8% of wages if the employer does not pay 21% of wages in insurance premiums.
Even high-school English teachers should understand that 21%>8%, right?
So. The employer simply drops insurance coverage which costs him 21% (or more) of average wage, and pays the excise tax of 8% of wage instead.
BadaBingBadaBangBadaBoom!!: a reduction in cost-of-employment. And Gummint Health for you, turkey!
The (long) line forms to the Left.
Employer Mandate Excise Tax (Page 275): If an employer does not pay 72.5 percent of a single employee’s health premium (65 percent of a family employee), the employer must pay an excise tax equal to 8 percent of average wages.
That provision is the one which dooms existing health-insurance companies. Since our Lefty pals can't figure this out, we'll type real slow. Maybe they'll get it. Most likely they won't.
In SE Wisconsin, the average private-sector wage is around $20.00/hour, or about $42K/year. The typical family health premium is around $12K/year. That's about 28% of wages. If the employer is only kicking in 75% of the premium ($9K), that contribution is 21% of wages.
Under ObamaCare (above), an employer must pay a tax of 8% of wages if the employer does not pay 21% of wages in insurance premiums.
Even high-school English teachers should understand that 21%>8%, right?
So. The employer simply drops insurance coverage which costs him 21% (or more) of average wage, and pays the excise tax of 8% of wage instead.
BadaBingBadaBangBadaBoom!!: a reduction in cost-of-employment. And Gummint Health for you, turkey!
The (long) line forms to the Left.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Politico's Crap-Spewing
It started out with a bang. Now it's just shoveling the usual stuff.
A conservative Iowa group’s effort to lure Sarah Palin to its banquet next month has had an unintended effect: Rather than exciting conservatives about the prospect of a visit from the former Alaska governor, the group’s plan to raise a six-figure sum to bring her to the state has GOP activists recoiling at the thought of paying to land a politician's speaking appearance.
That sort of stuff continues for TWENTY THREE GRAFS. Then you see this:
There is no indication that the former governor has requested a fee or that her decision whether to attend is being influenced by whether she’ll be paid.
Uh huh.
HT: AOSHQ
A conservative Iowa group’s effort to lure Sarah Palin to its banquet next month has had an unintended effect: Rather than exciting conservatives about the prospect of a visit from the former Alaska governor, the group’s plan to raise a six-figure sum to bring her to the state has GOP activists recoiling at the thought of paying to land a politician's speaking appearance.
That sort of stuff continues for TWENTY THREE GRAFS. Then you see this:
There is no indication that the former governor has requested a fee or that her decision whether to attend is being influenced by whether she’ll be paid.
Uh huh.
HT: AOSHQ
The Left Has Questions, Too
Dreher found an interesting essay from Bob Herbert (!!).
...Voters are being told that the recession is over, but what they see in their daily lives are continuing job losses, an epidemic of foreclosures, families going bankrupt, homelessness rising and so on.
The disenchantment among people who wholeheartedly supported Obama is palpable and growing. These are issues tailor-made for the Democrats. But the president and his party, rather than making the bread-and-butter issues of the American family their top domestic priority, have focused on reforming the health care system. As important as health care is (and our system is a disgrace), it was not the issue at the top of the agenda for most Americans when Barack Obama was elected president....
Herbert frets that the (D) oligarchs are blowing away their future.
He's right.
...Voters are being told that the recession is over, but what they see in their daily lives are continuing job losses, an epidemic of foreclosures, families going bankrupt, homelessness rising and so on.
The disenchantment among people who wholeheartedly supported Obama is palpable and growing. These are issues tailor-made for the Democrats. But the president and his party, rather than making the bread-and-butter issues of the American family their top domestic priority, have focused on reforming the health care system. As important as health care is (and our system is a disgrace), it was not the issue at the top of the agenda for most Americans when Barack Obama was elected president....
Herbert frets that the (D) oligarchs are blowing away their future.
He's right.
USCCB Declares War on ObamaCare
Well, well. From the USCCB in Washington, this went out today to EVERY Diocese/Archdiocese in the US.
...Attached, please find an Urgent Memorandum highlighting USCCB plans and requests for diocesan and parish based activation on health care reform.The President of the Conference and the Chairmen of the three major USCCB committees engaged in health care reform have written all the bishops and asked that the attached USCCB Nationwide Bulletin Insert on health care reform be printed or hand-stuffed in every parish bulletin and/or distributed in pews or at church entrances as soon as possible.
Congressional votes may take place as soon as early November. If your Arch/bishop is not in agreement with disseminating the bulletin insert, you will be hearing from his office immediately.
So what does the flyer say?
Here's the operative language:
The U.S. bishops’ conference has concluded that all committee approved bills are seriously deficient on the issues of abortion and conscience, and do not provide adequate access to health care for immigrants and the poor. The bills will have to change or the bishops have pledged to oppose them...
HooRah!
HT: Papist
...Attached, please find an Urgent Memorandum highlighting USCCB plans and requests for diocesan and parish based activation on health care reform.The President of the Conference and the Chairmen of the three major USCCB committees engaged in health care reform have written all the bishops and asked that the attached USCCB Nationwide Bulletin Insert on health care reform be printed or hand-stuffed in every parish bulletin and/or distributed in pews or at church entrances as soon as possible.
Congressional votes may take place as soon as early November. If your Arch/bishop is not in agreement with disseminating the bulletin insert, you will be hearing from his office immediately.
So what does the flyer say?
Here's the operative language:
The U.S. bishops’ conference has concluded that all committee approved bills are seriously deficient on the issues of abortion and conscience, and do not provide adequate access to health care for immigrants and the poor. The bills will have to change or the bishops have pledged to oppose them...
HooRah!
HT: Papist
Several Thousand Dead Trees Later.....
The Queen brought forth ObamaCare: 1990 pages.
Doesn't count the regulations to follow, which will be several million dead trees.
They'll make global warming happen one way or the other....
Doesn't count the regulations to follow, which will be several million dead trees.
They'll make global warming happen one way or the other....
GDP Up, But Commercial Lending Down
That chart shows % growth (or decrease) in commercial lending. Note that the contraction of this year (10%) is the worst since the late 1940's. That lending, my friends, is critical to the growth of the economy over the next several quarters.
The rest of this post is not too encouraging, either.
The Gummint Securities holdings, in contrast, are going up rapidly. This is really a "carry trade;" the Fed lends banks money at 0% and the banks buy Gummint bonds to earn 1-3% or so.
Helluva deal for SOME people.
ADDITIONALLY: The picture is even starker in America where M3 has shrunk at an annual rate of 6.5pc over the last three months, a pace of contraction not seen since the 1930s. US bank loans have plummeted since May.
Actually, that's the other side of the same coin.
Wiggy on Lawton
Wiggy makes a few good points while discussing E. Gunn's lecture on WisPolitics.
The central issue is Jerry Bader’s credibility, not the credibility of talk radio or the blogs. Bader insisted in the podcast he was being factual and not speculating. He also said there was physical evidence. Bader’s radio station is not exactly a ham radio outfit, so it wasn’t as if Bader’s statement didn’t carry some semblance of a media outlet’s credibility. He also has “mainstream” media credentials given his experience as a news director of WHBL for 16 years. Milwaukee Magazine (where Gunn normally writes the Pressroom column) thought Dan Shelley’s eleven years as a news director was credible enough when Shelley dished dirt on Charlie Sykes
After he runs Gunn's quotation of an editor, he then asks:
Bader specifically said there was physical evidence to back up the statements in his podcast. Given that, how does Smalley’s quote apply to anything? It would have served Gunn better if he asked Smalley what if a reporter had “sources” who had evidence of an affair and possible blackmail? How many sources would he need? Would he need ne of them on the record? What kind of evidence would Smalley need to see personally?
In a related post, Bader's on-the-job tutor first vouches for Bader's ability and his work-product, then gets sorta sanctimonious about what woulda/coulda/shoulda happened.
Well, if Bader was that well-trained, and if Bader had done 20++ years of excellent journalism, what changed?
Further, the tutor states that 'Bader was burned by Republican operatives.'
Really? How does he KNOW that?
Ms. Lawton deserves apologies. But there are still a lot of questions which should be answered.
The central issue is Jerry Bader’s credibility, not the credibility of talk radio or the blogs. Bader insisted in the podcast he was being factual and not speculating. He also said there was physical evidence. Bader’s radio station is not exactly a ham radio outfit, so it wasn’t as if Bader’s statement didn’t carry some semblance of a media outlet’s credibility. He also has “mainstream” media credentials given his experience as a news director of WHBL for 16 years. Milwaukee Magazine (where Gunn normally writes the Pressroom column) thought Dan Shelley’s eleven years as a news director was credible enough when Shelley dished dirt on Charlie Sykes
After he runs Gunn's quotation of an editor, he then asks:
Bader specifically said there was physical evidence to back up the statements in his podcast. Given that, how does Smalley’s quote apply to anything? It would have served Gunn better if he asked Smalley what if a reporter had “sources” who had evidence of an affair and possible blackmail? How many sources would he need? Would he need ne of them on the record? What kind of evidence would Smalley need to see personally?
In a related post, Bader's on-the-job tutor first vouches for Bader's ability and his work-product, then gets sorta sanctimonious about what woulda/coulda/shoulda happened.
Well, if Bader was that well-trained, and if Bader had done 20++ years of excellent journalism, what changed?
Further, the tutor states that 'Bader was burned by Republican operatives.'
Really? How does he KNOW that?
Ms. Lawton deserves apologies. But there are still a lot of questions which should be answered.
Stimulating Crooks and Liars
Ah, stimulus! Jobs for fraudsters, crooks, liars-----all the usual friends of Congress.
...So far, 33 federal departments and agencies have awarded more than $1.2 billion in stimulus contracts to at least 30 companies that are ranked by one watchdog group as among the most egregious offenders of state and federal laws.
Government records show that as a group, these contractors have sold defective products, manufactured safety tests, submitted false travel claims and padded contracts with fraudulent fees....
Move along. Nothing to see here.
HT: Lott
...So far, 33 federal departments and agencies have awarded more than $1.2 billion in stimulus contracts to at least 30 companies that are ranked by one watchdog group as among the most egregious offenders of state and federal laws.
Government records show that as a group, these contractors have sold defective products, manufactured safety tests, submitted false travel claims and padded contracts with fraudulent fees....
Move along. Nothing to see here.
HT: Lott
Straws in the Wind?
Cramer:
I had a conversation last night with a bunch of adults in their 30s--and I was startled to hear remarks to the effect that the only real hope for fixing this country is revolution. I've been hearing remarks like this for the last few months; it isn't serious discussion, of course. (If they were seriously enough concerned, and there was more than just a few, we wouldn't have this idiot Congress and President.) But it does capture some of the frustration that a lot of Americans are beginning to have with how corrupt our system has become.
By corrupt, I don't mean, "supporting left-wing policies." I mean the way in which business interests have so completely captured control of Congress--including nearly all Democrats and many Republicans--that the concerns of ordinary Americans no longer matter.
Another reason for the Pubbies to look seriously at "Pro-Market" rather than "Pro-Business" principles, folks.
I had a conversation last night with a bunch of adults in their 30s--and I was startled to hear remarks to the effect that the only real hope for fixing this country is revolution. I've been hearing remarks like this for the last few months; it isn't serious discussion, of course. (If they were seriously enough concerned, and there was more than just a few, we wouldn't have this idiot Congress and President.) But it does capture some of the frustration that a lot of Americans are beginning to have with how corrupt our system has become.
By corrupt, I don't mean, "supporting left-wing policies." I mean the way in which business interests have so completely captured control of Congress--including nearly all Democrats and many Republicans--that the concerns of ordinary Americans no longer matter.
Another reason for the Pubbies to look seriously at "Pro-Market" rather than "Pro-Business" principles, folks.
Wis. DOR: "It's What WE SAY It Is. Gimme Money!"
The City of Milwaukee finds out that the Wisconsin Department of Revenue makes the rules.
When city workers cut down overgrown weeds and bill property owners for their work, they're not just controlling nuisance vegetation.
They're providing "landscaping service," says the state Department of Revenue. And they're supposed to be adding sales taxes to their bills, state auditors have told Milwaukee city officials.
Now the state has hit the city with a $208,095 bill for four years of back taxes and interest, including about $40,000 for weed removal...
Heh.
...officials in the Department of Public Works believed weed removal was considered nuisance abatement, only to be told by state Revenue Department auditors that it was landscaping...
It's the Rule of Law. DofR makes the law. You just pay more.
When city workers cut down overgrown weeds and bill property owners for their work, they're not just controlling nuisance vegetation.
They're providing "landscaping service," says the state Department of Revenue. And they're supposed to be adding sales taxes to their bills, state auditors have told Milwaukee city officials.
Now the state has hit the city with a $208,095 bill for four years of back taxes and interest, including about $40,000 for weed removal...
Heh.
...officials in the Department of Public Works believed weed removal was considered nuisance abatement, only to be told by state Revenue Department auditors that it was landscaping...
It's the Rule of Law. DofR makes the law. You just pay more.
Hide the Weenie, Cap-n-Tax Version
Nope. You can't see it.
...Congressional Quarterly reported that Boxer and Kerry had given the EPA a copy of the "semi-final draft" of their bill and asked the agency to conduct an econometric analysis. That elicited a request from Heritage for a copy of the bill so that CDA could do its own econometric study of its likely impact on jobs and the economy, as it had done on Obama-Waxman-Markey.
The Heritage request to Boxer and Kerry was instantly rejected by their staffs, so Heritage wrote to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson asking for a copy of the legislation submitted to her agency for cost analysis. To date, Jackson has yet to respond to the Heritage request.
Just BOHICA, folks.
...Congressional Quarterly reported that Boxer and Kerry had given the EPA a copy of the "semi-final draft" of their bill and asked the agency to conduct an econometric analysis. That elicited a request from Heritage for a copy of the bill so that CDA could do its own econometric study of its likely impact on jobs and the economy, as it had done on Obama-Waxman-Markey.
The Heritage request to Boxer and Kerry was instantly rejected by their staffs, so Heritage wrote to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson asking for a copy of the legislation submitted to her agency for cost analysis. To date, Jackson has yet to respond to the Heritage request.
Just BOHICA, folks.
What Real Reporters Do
The AP must have hired some real reporters recently.
Obama administration claims to have created at least 30,000 jobs as a result of the $787 billion economic stimulus program were over-stated by about 5,000 jobs, according to an analysis by the Associated Press.
Egads. Next thing you know, the AP will discover that the "public option" is a Trojan horse inevitably leading to Gummint Health Insurance.
Or not.
Obama administration claims to have created at least 30,000 jobs as a result of the $787 billion economic stimulus program were over-stated by about 5,000 jobs, according to an analysis by the Associated Press.
Egads. Next thing you know, the AP will discover that the "public option" is a Trojan horse inevitably leading to Gummint Health Insurance.
Or not.
DNR: "Can't Do It? Then Do It in 10 Years!"
Ah, our friendly Damn Near Russia.
This article has to do with a retention pond in Kimberly and Combined Locks. The cities cannot afford the "DNR Way." Wonder why? Read this graf slowly.
DNR officials, recognizing that many Wisconsin municipalities cannot satisfy the rule, are proposing to loosen the regulations and not penalize local governments, Baker said. It is common, he said, that the state’s clean water act requires the department set standards that exceed practical technological or financial limitations.
IOW, they are Moonbat standards which cannot be met.
What to do?
...Baker said the DNR in November will propose to the Wisconsin Natural Resources Board a revision to the state sediment rules. The revision would let communities extend their deadline by up to 10 years beyond the 2013 deadline if the municipalities are trying to satisfy the 40 percent rule, he said.
The reduction standard is there so all communities are regulated in the same way, Baker said. The flexibility is there to recognize that not all communities have the same resources, he said.
So here's the deal. Either:
1) tell DNR to stick it up their a$$ when they come by with their rules 'which exceed practical technology or financial limits' (read: utterly inane) rules, and the DNR will give you 10 more years to abide by rules 'which exceed practical technology or financial limits,' OR
2) the Legislature should tell DNR to write regs which actually DO RECOGNIZE 'practical technology or financial limits.'
We see that #1 above works. #2? Never happen in Wisconsin.
This article has to do with a retention pond in Kimberly and Combined Locks. The cities cannot afford the "DNR Way." Wonder why? Read this graf slowly.
DNR officials, recognizing that many Wisconsin municipalities cannot satisfy the rule, are proposing to loosen the regulations and not penalize local governments, Baker said. It is common, he said, that the state’s clean water act requires the department set standards that exceed practical technological or financial limitations.
IOW, they are Moonbat standards which cannot be met.
What to do?
...Baker said the DNR in November will propose to the Wisconsin Natural Resources Board a revision to the state sediment rules. The revision would let communities extend their deadline by up to 10 years beyond the 2013 deadline if the municipalities are trying to satisfy the 40 percent rule, he said.
The reduction standard is there so all communities are regulated in the same way, Baker said. The flexibility is there to recognize that not all communities have the same resources, he said.
So here's the deal. Either:
1) tell DNR to stick it up their a$$ when they come by with their rules 'which exceed practical technology or financial limits' (read: utterly inane) rules, and the DNR will give you 10 more years to abide by rules 'which exceed practical technology or financial limits,' OR
2) the Legislature should tell DNR to write regs which actually DO RECOGNIZE 'practical technology or financial limits.'
We see that #1 above works. #2? Never happen in Wisconsin.
Stupak Retreating on ObamaCare Abortion?
Stupak (D-MI) may be double-talking on the abortion question in ObamaCare.
A video released by the Heritage Foundation blog appears to show Democratic Rep. Bart Stupak, whose efforts against the health care bill's abortion expansion had emerged as the pro-life community's primary strategy in the House, admitting that he would ultimately vote for the health bill even with government-funded abortion if it otherwise met his standards.
One can never be too cynical when observing elected officials.
A video released by the Heritage Foundation blog appears to show Democratic Rep. Bart Stupak, whose efforts against the health care bill's abortion expansion had emerged as the pro-life community's primary strategy in the House, admitting that he would ultimately vote for the health bill even with government-funded abortion if it otherwise met his standards.
One can never be too cynical when observing elected officials.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Wisconsin Tax Problem SOLVED!!
Geez.
What's the cost of not showing up to court? For PepsiCo Inc., it's a $1.26 billion default judgment. A Wisconsin state court socked the company with the monster award in a case alleging that PepsiCo stole the idea to bottle and sell purified water from two Wisconsin men.
Lemmeeesee, heah, Gomer. $1.26Bn times 7% plus the "rich man's tax".........
It'll go a ways toward filling the DoyleHoleBudget.
By the way, Pepsi lost because they did not show up in court!!
What's the cost of not showing up to court? For PepsiCo Inc., it's a $1.26 billion default judgment. A Wisconsin state court socked the company with the monster award in a case alleging that PepsiCo stole the idea to bottle and sell purified water from two Wisconsin men.
Lemmeeesee, heah, Gomer. $1.26Bn times 7% plus the "rich man's tax".........
It'll go a ways toward filling the DoyleHoleBudget.
By the way, Pepsi lost because they did not show up in court!!
Uncle Jimbo's Not-So-Love Letter
AOSHQ contributor Uncle Jimbo has a message for the Euroweenie crapweasel who hypothesizes that Predator strikes on terrorists in Afghanistan may constitute death-penalty-without-trial.
Dear Eurocrat weasel,
If there are international humanitarian or human rights laws that you think impact our right to kill terrorist ass clowns anywhere we find them on Earth, then I suggest you print out a copy, roll it up real tight and poke yourself in the eye with it. We do not recognize your right to castrate us, and even though it makes you cry yourself to sleep at night, we will continue to manufacture dead tangos as quickly as we are able. We will fly drones that rain down literal Hellfire and make them explode into their component molecules. We will drop big-ass laser-guided bombs that may even take them down to the sub-atomic level. We will shoot them with sniper rifles ventilating them with .50 cal holes. We will even occasionally scarf one up and render him to certain friends of ours who will be extremely cruel to him, and maybe even waterboard him since we no longer have the stones to do that ourselves
There's nothing to add, really.
Dear Eurocrat weasel,
If there are international humanitarian or human rights laws that you think impact our right to kill terrorist ass clowns anywhere we find them on Earth, then I suggest you print out a copy, roll it up real tight and poke yourself in the eye with it. We do not recognize your right to castrate us, and even though it makes you cry yourself to sleep at night, we will continue to manufacture dead tangos as quickly as we are able. We will fly drones that rain down literal Hellfire and make them explode into their component molecules. We will drop big-ass laser-guided bombs that may even take them down to the sub-atomic level. We will shoot them with sniper rifles ventilating them with .50 cal holes. We will even occasionally scarf one up and render him to certain friends of ours who will be extremely cruel to him, and maybe even waterboard him since we no longer have the stones to do that ourselves
There's nothing to add, really.
Pro-Business? or Pro-Market?
There IS a difference, of course.
...as America struggles to emerge from a financial crisis, any renewal of the right will require Republicans to rethink their approach to the economy. An agenda focused chiefly on tax cuts, as the Republicans' has been since Ronald Reagan's presidency, is no longer enough.
Agreed. It's the SPENDING, Stupid!!....but that's not the topic of the article.
...Reagan's platform lost its appeal because the Republican Party frequently betrayed it. The size of government increased by 33% during W's first term, the largest increase in federal spending since Lyndon Johnson. Bush's last Treasury secretary, Hank Paulson, orchestrated the most massive state intervention in a Western economy since Francois Mitterrand's nationalization of French banks.
Did we mention the SPENDING, Stupid??
The Republican Party has to move from a pro-business strategy that defends the interests of existing companies to a pro- market strategy that fosters open competition and freedom of entry.
Read the rest. Seriously. It's not long, but it's well-thought out.
HT: AmSpec
...as America struggles to emerge from a financial crisis, any renewal of the right will require Republicans to rethink their approach to the economy. An agenda focused chiefly on tax cuts, as the Republicans' has been since Ronald Reagan's presidency, is no longer enough.
Agreed. It's the SPENDING, Stupid!!....but that's not the topic of the article.
...Reagan's platform lost its appeal because the Republican Party frequently betrayed it. The size of government increased by 33% during W's first term, the largest increase in federal spending since Lyndon Johnson. Bush's last Treasury secretary, Hank Paulson, orchestrated the most massive state intervention in a Western economy since Francois Mitterrand's nationalization of French banks.
Did we mention the SPENDING, Stupid??
The Republican Party has to move from a pro-business strategy that defends the interests of existing companies to a pro- market strategy that fosters open competition and freedom of entry.
Read the rest. Seriously. It's not long, but it's well-thought out.
HT: AmSpec
Behavioral ObamaCare: AIDS Good, Smoking Bad
You knew this was coming.
Under the Senate Finance Committee version of the health-care bill, health insurance companies would be allowed to charge tobacco users premiums up to 50 percent higher than those of non-users, while marijuana and crack cocaine smokers could not be penalized with higher premiums
Not limited to tobacco use, however:
According to provisions spelled out in the Senate Finance Committee’s summary of the bill–the so-called “chairman’s mark”–insurance issuers selling policies to individuals could only vary premiums based on three characteristics: tobacco use, age and family composition.
Specifically, it says premiums could vary “by no more than the ratio specified” for each characteristic:
– Tobacco use: 1.5 to 1– Age: 4 to 1
Behavior leading to the onset of AIDS will not be penalized, either!
HT: Secondhand
Under the Senate Finance Committee version of the health-care bill, health insurance companies would be allowed to charge tobacco users premiums up to 50 percent higher than those of non-users, while marijuana and crack cocaine smokers could not be penalized with higher premiums
Not limited to tobacco use, however:
According to provisions spelled out in the Senate Finance Committee’s summary of the bill–the so-called “chairman’s mark”–insurance issuers selling policies to individuals could only vary premiums based on three characteristics: tobacco use, age and family composition.
Specifically, it says premiums could vary “by no more than the ratio specified” for each characteristic:
– Tobacco use: 1.5 to 1– Age: 4 to 1
Behavior leading to the onset of AIDS will not be penalized, either!
HT: Secondhand
Public Option: Desirable, Really?
Really, no.
RCP does a good job of presenting the numbers that Folkie touts this morning.
Then he does a good job of dismantling them.
Quoting Kellyanne Conway:
Asking an under-informed public in a poll about "public option" is incomplete. It calls for a response to feel-good phraseology rather than a probing of underlying ideology. "Public option" in health care is not so different from "campaign finance reform," "Violence Against Women's Act," "revenue enhancements" or for that matter, "world peace' and "no rain this Saturday."
Check out the response to a less-pixie-dust question from Gallup in the body of the article.
Like ABC News/WaPo, Gallup uses the Democratic buzzword "compete." However, Gallup also uses a Republican buzzword: "government-run." This is opposed to the weaker formulation - "government administered" - offered by CBS News/New York Times and CNN. With this more balanced choice of words, Gallup finds a roughly even split [50 Yes, 46 No]
And there's the Rasmussen phraseology:
Suppose that the creation of a government-sponsored non-profit health insurance option encouraged companies to drop private health insurance coverage for their workers. Workers would then be covered by the government option. Would you favor or oppose the creation of a government-sponsored non-profit health insurance option if it encouraged companies to drop private health insurance coverage for their workers?
Which drew a "NO" of near 60%.
RCP does a good job of presenting the numbers that Folkie touts this morning.
Then he does a good job of dismantling them.
Quoting Kellyanne Conway:
Asking an under-informed public in a poll about "public option" is incomplete. It calls for a response to feel-good phraseology rather than a probing of underlying ideology. "Public option" in health care is not so different from "campaign finance reform," "Violence Against Women's Act," "revenue enhancements" or for that matter, "world peace' and "no rain this Saturday."
Check out the response to a less-pixie-dust question from Gallup in the body of the article.
Like ABC News/WaPo, Gallup uses the Democratic buzzword "compete." However, Gallup also uses a Republican buzzword: "government-run." This is opposed to the weaker formulation - "government administered" - offered by CBS News/New York Times and CNN. With this more balanced choice of words, Gallup finds a roughly even split [50 Yes, 46 No]
And there's the Rasmussen phraseology:
Suppose that the creation of a government-sponsored non-profit health insurance option encouraged companies to drop private health insurance coverage for their workers. Workers would then be covered by the government option. Would you favor or oppose the creation of a government-sponsored non-profit health insurance option if it encouraged companies to drop private health insurance coverage for their workers?
Which drew a "NO" of near 60%.
Re-Institute Glass-Steagall
For the fanatics who think that ANY regulation is bad, well......tough.
Not only has Paul Volcker emphatically said that separating investment-banking from commercial-banking is in the national interests; we find it echoed:
As another older banker and one who has experienced both the pre- and post-Glass-Steagall world, I would agree with Paul A. Volcker (and also Mervyn King, governor of the Bank of England) that some kind of separation between institutions that deal primarily in the capital markets and those involved in more traditional deposit-taking and working-capital finance makes sense. --NYT Letters/Editor
The signatory is an ex-Chairman of Citibank, John Reed.
It was a mistake to repeal Glass-Steagall. Fix it!
HT: Ritholtz
Not only has Paul Volcker emphatically said that separating investment-banking from commercial-banking is in the national interests; we find it echoed:
As another older banker and one who has experienced both the pre- and post-Glass-Steagall world, I would agree with Paul A. Volcker (and also Mervyn King, governor of the Bank of England) that some kind of separation between institutions that deal primarily in the capital markets and those involved in more traditional deposit-taking and working-capital finance makes sense. --NYT Letters/Editor
The signatory is an ex-Chairman of Citibank, John Reed.
It was a mistake to repeal Glass-Steagall. Fix it!
HT: Ritholtz
USCC Not a Part of "Hush Rush" Bunch
Abp. Chaput and USCC staffers have denied being part of the church-bunch which is interested in stifling "hate speech."
The Department of Communications of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has said it did not join a petition to the FCC which called for discussion over “hate speech” and its alleged role in violence. Some critics of the petition have cast it as an effort to shut down radio show hosts like Rush Limbaugh.
The Department of Communications told CNA on Monday that they had sent their own letter noting the “serious constitutional and regulatory problems” associated with regulating alleged hate speech.
However, the USCC is a member of the 'So We Might See' coalition.
The Department of Communications of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has said it did not join a petition to the FCC which called for discussion over “hate speech” and its alleged role in violence. Some critics of the petition have cast it as an effort to shut down radio show hosts like Rush Limbaugh.
The Department of Communications told CNA on Monday that they had sent their own letter noting the “serious constitutional and regulatory problems” associated with regulating alleged hate speech.
However, the USCC is a member of the 'So We Might See' coalition.
Just Close Milwaukee and Turn Off the Lights
About 10 or 15 years ago, Chrysler Corp discovered that SE Wisconsin's health-insurance rates were high; we all knew that, but Chrysler affirmed it.
Apparently they are not high enough for Obama.
In all of the 14 states WellPoint scrutinized, ObamaCare would drive up premiums for the small businesses and individuals who are most of WellPoint's customers
... For the average small employer in high-cost New York, for instance, premiums would only rise by 6%. But they'd shoot up by 94% for the same employer in Indianapolis, 91% in St. Louis and 53% in Milwaukee. --WSJ
Paul Ryan has additional comments on ObamaCare which should be devastating to the legislation.
And that's BEFORE Cap-n-Tax hits the coal-fired electricity up here.
HT: Sykes
Apparently they are not high enough for Obama.
In all of the 14 states WellPoint scrutinized, ObamaCare would drive up premiums for the small businesses and individuals who are most of WellPoint's customers
... For the average small employer in high-cost New York, for instance, premiums would only rise by 6%. But they'd shoot up by 94% for the same employer in Indianapolis, 91% in St. Louis and 53% in Milwaukee. --WSJ
Paul Ryan has additional comments on ObamaCare which should be devastating to the legislation.
And that's BEFORE Cap-n-Tax hits the coal-fired electricity up here.
HT: Sykes
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
As the Administration Turns....
Roeser has some VERY interesting observations, as usual.
One of particular note, supported by remarks earlier in the essay:
...Hillary Clinton is distinctive because it's clear that in contradistinction to the president, Emanuel and Axelrod, she is an American patriot. ... It would be wise of her to resign her post and return to New York and prepare to run for the governorship. The salivating heir apparent-wannabe to the highly incompetent David Paterson who said originally that he had never wished to be governor is Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, the lean and hungry Cassius. Hillary Clinton could likely take the nomination from Cuomo. If elected governor, she would be in a much better situation from which to be a valuable independent critic of the hugely incompetent Obama. Age 62 now, she could make a run for the presidential nomination in 2012 against Obama when she would be 65. Or if she chose to be decorously loyal, she could run against a likely Republican president in 2016 when she would be 69-just under the age Ronald Reagan was when he took the oath the first time: 70.
Indeed.
One of particular note, supported by remarks earlier in the essay:
...Hillary Clinton is distinctive because it's clear that in contradistinction to the president, Emanuel and Axelrod, she is an American patriot. ... It would be wise of her to resign her post and return to New York and prepare to run for the governorship. The salivating heir apparent-wannabe to the highly incompetent David Paterson who said originally that he had never wished to be governor is Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, the lean and hungry Cassius. Hillary Clinton could likely take the nomination from Cuomo. If elected governor, she would be in a much better situation from which to be a valuable independent critic of the hugely incompetent Obama. Age 62 now, she could make a run for the presidential nomination in 2012 against Obama when she would be 65. Or if she chose to be decorously loyal, she could run against a likely Republican president in 2016 when she would be 69-just under the age Ronald Reagan was when he took the oath the first time: 70.
Indeed.
Wisconsin Revenue Blues
Oh, yah.
Q1 2009 State tax revenues took a (predictable) dive.
Individual income tax off 8.1% from 2008
General Sales/Use tax off 8.7%
Excise taxes off 5.9%
Net/net total off 7.9%.
But it's even more interesting. Remember, "Cash for Clunkers" sales-tax revenues fell into that reporting period (July-Sept.)
Nationally, 690,000 cars were sold under C4C. 1/50th of that would be 13,800 cars in Wisconsin. Let's assume that the average sales price was $25K.
That means that $17.25 million of the $680 million sales-tax revs was C4C.
Q1 2009 State tax revenues took a (predictable) dive.
Individual income tax off 8.1% from 2008
General Sales/Use tax off 8.7%
Excise taxes off 5.9%
Net/net total off 7.9%.
But it's even more interesting. Remember, "Cash for Clunkers" sales-tax revenues fell into that reporting period (July-Sept.)
Nationally, 690,000 cars were sold under C4C. 1/50th of that would be 13,800 cars in Wisconsin. Let's assume that the average sales price was $25K.
That means that $17.25 million of the $680 million sales-tax revs was C4C.
James T's Compelling Read
James T Harris hits the grand slam.
Liberals often try to dodge the implications of this bleak reality but this is largely a low-income--and disproportionately black--phenomenon. Unfortunately, John Edwards was right, well sort of... America is now a two-family nation, separate and unequal--one intact and thriving, and the other struggling, fragmented, and far too often, Black.
And there's a LOT of startling copy in that post, folks......
Liberals often try to dodge the implications of this bleak reality but this is largely a low-income--and disproportionately black--phenomenon. Unfortunately, John Edwards was right, well sort of... America is now a two-family nation, separate and unequal--one intact and thriving, and the other struggling, fragmented, and far too often, Black.
And there's a LOT of startling copy in that post, folks......
ObamaCare: Create Unemployment Among the Poor!
Friggin' brilliant.
Employers with more than 50 workers wouldn't be required to provide health insurance, but they would face fines of up to $750 per employee if even part of their work force received a government subsidy to buy health insurance, this person said. A bill passed by the Senate Finance Committee had a lower fine of up to $400 per employee. --WSJ
So?
If you make it more costly for businesses to higher lower-income workers, they won't hire as many. --Klein, AmSpec
Some believe that is the intention, not an accident.
HT: Yankee
Employers with more than 50 workers wouldn't be required to provide health insurance, but they would face fines of up to $750 per employee if even part of their work force received a government subsidy to buy health insurance, this person said. A bill passed by the Senate Finance Committee had a lower fine of up to $400 per employee. --WSJ
So?
If you make it more costly for businesses to higher lower-income workers, they won't hire as many. --Klein, AmSpec
Some believe that is the intention, not an accident.
HT: Yankee
Whitewashing John Marshall's Legacy
Interesting.
In 1799, the Federalist minority of the Virginia House of Delegates produced an extended defense of the Alien and Sedition Acts. This Minority Report responded to Madison's famous Virginia Resolutions and efforts by Virginia Republicans to tar the Adams Administration with having exceeded its powers under the federal Constitution. Originally attributed to John Marshall by biographer Albert Beveridge, recent biographies of Marshall have omitted the episode or rejected Beveridge's claim. The current editors of the Papers of John Marshall omitted the Minority Report from their multi-volume collection of Marshall's work and have successfully lobbied editors of similar collections to remove Marshall's name from the Report. What was once an assumed (if controversial) episode in Marshall's career has disappeared from otherwise exhaustive accounts of his life and work. As in Philip K. Dick's story, Minority Report, an alternate view of events has been unceremoniously erased from the official record.
Long story short, Marshall wrote in favor of the Sedition Act. In the opinion of Arms/Law, Marshall was a hack--wholly compatible with support of that Act.
In 1799, the Federalist minority of the Virginia House of Delegates produced an extended defense of the Alien and Sedition Acts. This Minority Report responded to Madison's famous Virginia Resolutions and efforts by Virginia Republicans to tar the Adams Administration with having exceeded its powers under the federal Constitution. Originally attributed to John Marshall by biographer Albert Beveridge, recent biographies of Marshall have omitted the episode or rejected Beveridge's claim. The current editors of the Papers of John Marshall omitted the Minority Report from their multi-volume collection of Marshall's work and have successfully lobbied editors of similar collections to remove Marshall's name from the Report. What was once an assumed (if controversial) episode in Marshall's career has disappeared from otherwise exhaustive accounts of his life and work. As in Philip K. Dick's story, Minority Report, an alternate view of events has been unceremoniously erased from the official record.
Long story short, Marshall wrote in favor of the Sedition Act. In the opinion of Arms/Law, Marshall was a hack--wholly compatible with support of that Act.
"Senator" Franken?
Gee. Who could have known?
Item Number One: An audit of voting records in Minnesota has found 261,000 duplicate registrations; 29,000 registrations to addresses listed as vacant; and 62,822 registrations to addresses listed as non-deliverable by the United States Postal Service. Those are pretty significant numbers in a state Stuart Smalley "won" by 200 votes.
The SecState/Minnesota is an ACORN potted plant, by the way.
HT: Moonbattery
Item Number One: An audit of voting records in Minnesota has found 261,000 duplicate registrations; 29,000 registrations to addresses listed as vacant; and 62,822 registrations to addresses listed as non-deliverable by the United States Postal Service. Those are pretty significant numbers in a state Stuart Smalley "won" by 200 votes.
The SecState/Minnesota is an ACORN potted plant, by the way.
HT: Moonbattery
Spinning Harry's "Public Option"
This struck me as curious.
But there were a few problems with the leader's solo move [to endorse Public Option]. He shifted the public pressure from himself to half a dozen moderates in his caucus. And he defied the Obama White House, which had hoped to keep a bipartisan patina on health-care reform...
One suspects that the 'defying the WH' line is spin. Obama WANTS Gummint HealthCare, period. If he thinks he can get it, he'll go for it.
This is power-politics, not rational policy (which would be ANY of the (R) plans....)
HT: JustOneMinute
But there were a few problems with the leader's solo move [to endorse Public Option]. He shifted the public pressure from himself to half a dozen moderates in his caucus. And he defied the Obama White House, which had hoped to keep a bipartisan patina on health-care reform...
One suspects that the 'defying the WH' line is spin. Obama WANTS Gummint HealthCare, period. If he thinks he can get it, he'll go for it.
This is power-politics, not rational policy (which would be ANY of the (R) plans....)
HT: JustOneMinute
JS' "Reporting" on Lawton Is Woeful UPDATED
Big story, right?
Lt. Gov. Barbara Lawton's surprise decision Monday not to run for governor leaves Democrats with no major announced candidate for the state's highest office and shines the spotlight even more brightly on the biggest of the unannounced candidates, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett.
THREE JSOnline reporters all over it, right?
They even got some hints!!
"My deep commitment to our state is second only to my commitment to my family," the e-mail said without giving specifics on why she wasn't running.
And:
Jim Sullivan (D-Wauwatosa) traveled Saturday to La Crosse to campaign for Lawton. He said she gave no indication at the time that she might not run but called him Monday to say she was stepping aside because of what he called "family challenges." He declined to elaborate on what those were
"Family committment." "Family challenges." Hmmmmmmmmmm.
Gee, guys. The Lawton mystery was .....ummmm........de-mystified yesterday afternoon, and the link was posted by NoRunnyEggs in the evening on a tip from Kevin Binversie, another blogger.
UPDATE: Bader pulled his story today 11:23 AM. The links to Binversie and NoRunnyEggs have been pulled from this site. My apologies to Ms. Lawton and her family for having run the links.
Keep up with the news, fellas!!
Lt. Gov. Barbara Lawton's surprise decision Monday not to run for governor leaves Democrats with no major announced candidate for the state's highest office and shines the spotlight even more brightly on the biggest of the unannounced candidates, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett.
THREE JSOnline reporters all over it, right?
They even got some hints!!
"My deep commitment to our state is second only to my commitment to my family," the e-mail said without giving specifics on why she wasn't running.
And:
Jim Sullivan (D-Wauwatosa) traveled Saturday to La Crosse to campaign for Lawton. He said she gave no indication at the time that she might not run but called him Monday to say she was stepping aside because of what he called "family challenges." He declined to elaborate on what those were
"Family committment." "Family challenges." Hmmmmmmmmmm.
Gee, guys. The Lawton mystery was .....ummmm........de-mystified yesterday afternoon, and the link was posted by NoRunnyEggs in the evening on a tip from Kevin Binversie, another blogger.
UPDATE: Bader pulled his story today 11:23 AM. The links to Binversie and NoRunnyEggs have been pulled from this site. My apologies to Ms. Lawton and her family for having run the links.
Keep up with the news, fellas!!
Guess the Archbishop
Nice to see that the JS is catching up with news this blog reported on FRIDAY 10/23...
Six months after Milwaukee Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan left for New York, speculation is mounting that his successor will be appointed soon.
There is one fellow who is undesirable in this corner. His name is Kicanas.
Why not? Two reasons.
Kicanas has the highest profile nationally as the No. 2 man in the U.S. Conference of Bishops, who is expected to be named its next president.
A Chicago native who served as an auxiliary bishop there, Kicanas has been bishop in Tucson since 2003, where he settled dozens of clergy sex abuse cases and shepherded the diocese out of bankruptcy.
The article is careful not to point out the time period during which Kicanas was in Chicago, nor the ......ahhh........challenges present at that time.
Second reason: Thomas Reese, SJ, thinks he's a good guy. That's an automatic veto for actual Catholics.
"He'd be a real coup for Milwaukee," said Reese.
An "anonymous" commenter on my blogpost notes that Kicanas will NOT be appointed, nor will Cupich. The JS ought to keep up with the news.
Six months after Milwaukee Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan left for New York, speculation is mounting that his successor will be appointed soon.
There is one fellow who is undesirable in this corner. His name is Kicanas.
Why not? Two reasons.
Kicanas has the highest profile nationally as the No. 2 man in the U.S. Conference of Bishops, who is expected to be named its next president.
A Chicago native who served as an auxiliary bishop there, Kicanas has been bishop in Tucson since 2003, where he settled dozens of clergy sex abuse cases and shepherded the diocese out of bankruptcy.
The article is careful not to point out the time period during which Kicanas was in Chicago, nor the ......ahhh........challenges present at that time.
Second reason: Thomas Reese, SJ, thinks he's a good guy. That's an automatic veto for actual Catholics.
"He'd be a real coup for Milwaukee," said Reese.
An "anonymous" commenter on my blogpost notes that Kicanas will NOT be appointed, nor will Cupich. The JS ought to keep up with the news.
Tammy Baldwin's Voodoo Economics
Tammy has the solution! Only 25 years ago, it was called "Voodoo Economics." Now it's LeftOWacky mainstream theory.
Critics say some young people may end up paying more for insurance if lawmakers do away with the ability of insurers to charge much higher rates for older adults, who tend to use more health care dollars. In some states, insurers charge older people as much as 11 times more than young adults.
Democrats want to reduce the disparity to a 4:1 or 2:1 ratio, meaning that older people would still pay twice or four times as much as younger adults, even though experts agree that older adults can have five to six times the health care costs.
Not a problem, folks. Tammy to the rescue!! (Yes, you have to scroll to the bottom of the story.)
Rep. Tammy Baldwin, a Madison Democrat, said government subsidies will keep costs down for young Americans: "I don't think a mandate will survive if it isn't affordable for people."
Right-O, Tammy!! First you subsidize the cost for old folks from 6:1 to about 2:1. THEN you subsidize the cost for the young folks who will pay the bill.
No problem, right?
Critics say some young people may end up paying more for insurance if lawmakers do away with the ability of insurers to charge much higher rates for older adults, who tend to use more health care dollars. In some states, insurers charge older people as much as 11 times more than young adults.
Democrats want to reduce the disparity to a 4:1 or 2:1 ratio, meaning that older people would still pay twice or four times as much as younger adults, even though experts agree that older adults can have five to six times the health care costs.
Not a problem, folks. Tammy to the rescue!! (Yes, you have to scroll to the bottom of the story.)
Rep. Tammy Baldwin, a Madison Democrat, said government subsidies will keep costs down for young Americans: "I don't think a mandate will survive if it isn't affordable for people."
Right-O, Tammy!! First you subsidize the cost for old folks from 6:1 to about 2:1. THEN you subsidize the cost for the young folks who will pay the bill.
No problem, right?
Here's an Idea: DUMP the Solar Plan!
We had warned you about Diamond Jim Doyle's "plan" to make Wisconsin a wasteland.
The Governor’s Task Force on Global Warming recommended utilities continue [solar power] programs offering buyback incentives for customers, but Soletski said the lawmakers drafting a bill based on those recommendations are grappling with where to place the financial burden
Soletski (Dumbcluck-GreenBay) is a bozo. The "financial burden" will either land on Wisconsin residents or Wisconsin residents. (A third alternative is Wisconsin residents.)
“It’s a numbers game that we still have to come up with the answer for,” said state Rep. Jim Soletski, D-Green Bay. “Is it reasonable for us to continue making utilities foot the bill? This will be showing up in rates somewhere. Or is it better for us to subsidize solar programs?”
No, Jimmy-poo. What's actually reasonable is to DUMP the PLAN.
The Governor’s Task Force on Global Warming recommended utilities continue [solar power] programs offering buyback incentives for customers, but Soletski said the lawmakers drafting a bill based on those recommendations are grappling with where to place the financial burden
Soletski (Dumbcluck-GreenBay) is a bozo. The "financial burden" will either land on Wisconsin residents or Wisconsin residents. (A third alternative is Wisconsin residents.)
“It’s a numbers game that we still have to come up with the answer for,” said state Rep. Jim Soletski, D-Green Bay. “Is it reasonable for us to continue making utilities foot the bill? This will be showing up in rates somewhere. Or is it better for us to subsidize solar programs?”
No, Jimmy-poo. What's actually reasonable is to DUMP the PLAN.
Obama Runs Stupak Around the Tree
What planet is B Hussein Obama living on?
In his speech to the joint session of Congress, Obama directly rebutted the claim that the plan would fund abortions, calling it a “misunderstanding.” But in his later telephone conversation with Stupak, according to the congressman, Obama said that when he claimed in the speech that the plan would not fund abortions he was not talking about the House plan, he was talking about his own plan.
...“I called him,” said Stupak. “I called the president--had a discussion with the president. And I read exactly what you just said. And he said: ‘What it says is “under my plan”’—meaning the president’s plan. And I said: ‘With all due respect, sir, you do not have a plan. The only plan we have out is the House plan.’ So, I don’t know if it is a game of semantics or what.”
Obama must think that Stupak is part of the MSM and that he'd swallow that line whole.
Maybe Our President should lay off the mirror for a while and try looking at reality.
In his speech to the joint session of Congress, Obama directly rebutted the claim that the plan would fund abortions, calling it a “misunderstanding.” But in his later telephone conversation with Stupak, according to the congressman, Obama said that when he claimed in the speech that the plan would not fund abortions he was not talking about the House plan, he was talking about his own plan.
...“I called him,” said Stupak. “I called the president--had a discussion with the president. And I read exactly what you just said. And he said: ‘What it says is “under my plan”’—meaning the president’s plan. And I said: ‘With all due respect, sir, you do not have a plan. The only plan we have out is the House plan.’ So, I don’t know if it is a game of semantics or what.”
Obama must think that Stupak is part of the MSM and that he'd swallow that line whole.
Maybe Our President should lay off the mirror for a while and try looking at reality.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Kilkenny To The Dark Side
Tom Barrett voted for partial-birth abortions in the House.
CORRECTION: Barrett voted to ban PBAs. Memory flaw!
Cindy Kilkenny endorses him for Governor.
"Fairly" Conservative?
Really?
ADDENDUM: I don't vote for anyone based on whether they are 'nice guys.' Feingold is a VERY 'nice guy.'
CORRECTION: Barrett voted to ban PBAs. Memory flaw!
Cindy Kilkenny endorses him for Governor.
"Fairly" Conservative?
Really?
ADDENDUM: I don't vote for anyone based on whether they are 'nice guys.' Feingold is a VERY 'nice guy.'
QueenNancy to Ram ObamaCare Home?
Kevin advises that NRLC thinks Nancy will step out of her our Gulfstream G-5 and try to ram ObamaCare through the House.....
....today!
Apparently QueenNancy hasn't heard enough yet..........
....today!
Apparently QueenNancy hasn't heard enough yet..........
Take This Nomination, Please!!
hooboy.
Lawton bails for a better job w/Obama & Co.
Barrett dawdles, making Obama's Afghan dither look good in comparison.
Here's the REAL question:
Would "no candidate" poll better than Barrett?
Lawton bails for a better job w/Obama & Co.
Barrett dawdles, making Obama's Afghan dither look good in comparison.
Here's the REAL question:
Would "no candidate" poll better than Barrett?
Ahhh, Liberalism in Religion. Its Name is Tool of Satan
Cardinal Newman:
For thirty, forty, fifty years I have resisted to the best of my powers the spirit of liberalism in religion. ... the doctrine that there is no positive truth in religion, but one creed is as good as another, and this is the teaching which is gaining substance and force daily. It is inconsistent with any recognition of any religion as true. It teaches that all are to be tolerated, for all are a matter of opinion. Revealed religion is not a truth, but a sentiment and a taste; not an objective fact, not miraculous; and it is the right of each individual to make it say just what strikes his fancy. ... As to Religion, it is a private luxury which a man may have if he will; but which of course he must pay for, and which he must not intrude upon others, or indulge in to their annoyance.
...there is much in the liberalistic theory which is good and true ... justice, truthfulness, sobriety, self-command, benevolence...
Don't smirk quite yet, Folkie and Capper...
...There never was a device of the Enemy, so cleverly framed, and with such promise of success.
Oh, yah.
Fr. Hunwicke
For thirty, forty, fifty years I have resisted to the best of my powers the spirit of liberalism in religion. ... the doctrine that there is no positive truth in religion, but one creed is as good as another, and this is the teaching which is gaining substance and force daily. It is inconsistent with any recognition of any religion as true. It teaches that all are to be tolerated, for all are a matter of opinion. Revealed religion is not a truth, but a sentiment and a taste; not an objective fact, not miraculous; and it is the right of each individual to make it say just what strikes his fancy. ... As to Religion, it is a private luxury which a man may have if he will; but which of course he must pay for, and which he must not intrude upon others, or indulge in to their annoyance.
...there is much in the liberalistic theory which is good and true ... justice, truthfulness, sobriety, self-command, benevolence...
Don't smirk quite yet, Folkie and Capper...
...There never was a device of the Enemy, so cleverly framed, and with such promise of success.
Oh, yah.
Fr. Hunwicke
Bp Trautperson, Again
This guy manages to crawl out from under his rock........again.
Bishop Donald W. Trautman of Erie, Pa., former chairman of the U.S. bishops’ liturgy committee, sharply criticized what he called the “slavishly literal” translation into English of the new Roman Missal from the original Latin.
He said the “sacred language” used by translators “tends to be elitist and remote from everyday speech and frequently not understandable” and could lead to a “pastoral disaster.”
Bp. Trautperson ought to know from "pastoral disaster." He IS one.
Fr. Z. uses few words to demolish the 'argumentation' from this poor fellow. (It doesn't take much...). Example:
T: “Did Jesus ever speak to the people of his day in words beyond their comprehension? Did Jesus ever use terms or expressions beyond his hearer’s understanding?”
Z: Jesus never used the word "bishop" either. And what of Matthew 13? "The disciples approached him and said, ‘Why do you speak to them in parables?’ He said to them in reply, ‘Because knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven has been granted to you, but to them it has not been granted.’"
Yah, well, one part of that Bishop-ish munus, Excellency, is "to teach."
What part of "teaching" is "whining," Excellency?
Bishop Donald W. Trautman of Erie, Pa., former chairman of the U.S. bishops’ liturgy committee, sharply criticized what he called the “slavishly literal” translation into English of the new Roman Missal from the original Latin.
He said the “sacred language” used by translators “tends to be elitist and remote from everyday speech and frequently not understandable” and could lead to a “pastoral disaster.”
Bp. Trautperson ought to know from "pastoral disaster." He IS one.
Fr. Z. uses few words to demolish the 'argumentation' from this poor fellow. (It doesn't take much...). Example:
T: “Did Jesus ever speak to the people of his day in words beyond their comprehension? Did Jesus ever use terms or expressions beyond his hearer’s understanding?”
Z: Jesus never used the word "bishop" either. And what of Matthew 13? "The disciples approached him and said, ‘Why do you speak to them in parables?’ He said to them in reply, ‘Because knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven has been granted to you, but to them it has not been granted.’"
Yah, well, one part of that Bishop-ish munus, Excellency, is "to teach."
What part of "teaching" is "whining," Excellency?
The Thrill Is Gone, Obama Version
My, my. B. Hussein campaigns for his BFF, Deval Patrick.
Sweeping into town for the fund-raiser and to deliver a speech on clean energy at MIT, Obama said Patrick deserves credit for implementing near-universal health care, investing in education, and making the alternative energy and biotech industries a priority. If voters fail to recognize this hard work in next year's state election, the president said, it will not bode well for the United States.
I'ts also reported that the ballroom/venue was HALF-EMPTY.
HT: Cavey
Sweeping into town for the fund-raiser and to deliver a speech on clean energy at MIT, Obama said Patrick deserves credit for implementing near-universal health care, investing in education, and making the alternative energy and biotech industries a priority. If voters fail to recognize this hard work in next year's state election, the president said, it will not bode well for the United States.
I'ts also reported that the ballroom/venue was HALF-EMPTY.
HT: Cavey
James T. Goes to School
James T. Harris spoke at a local alternative HS in Milwaukee.
The podcast can be downloaded here, but the takeaway's interesting.
When he asked the chilluns whether "racism" or "poverty" was responsible for conditions in the 'hood, the kids laughed out loud.
One child (and James T.) had the answer: the destruction of the family/lack of fathers.
Gee.
Rockford Institute's been saying that for about 20 years. S'pose the kids are reading their reports?
The podcast can be downloaded here, but the takeaway's interesting.
When he asked the chilluns whether "racism" or "poverty" was responsible for conditions in the 'hood, the kids laughed out loud.
One child (and James T.) had the answer: the destruction of the family/lack of fathers.
Gee.
Rockford Institute's been saying that for about 20 years. S'pose the kids are reading their reports?
Health Insurance Profits: "Anemic", at Best
Lott notes that even AP gets this one.
...Health insurance profit margins typically run about 6 percent, give or take a point or two. That's anemic compared with other forms of insurance and a broad array of industries, even some beleaguered ones.
Profits barely exceeded 2 percent of revenues in the latest annual measure. This partly explains why the credit ratings of some of the largest insurers were downgraded to negative from stable heading into this year, as investors were warned of a stagnant if not shrinking market for private plans.
The Administration Liars (redundant, I know) come up with "billions" in profits by adding up the total profits of health-insurers in a given year. That's about the same as adding up the number of raindrops falling, but not reporting that those billions of raindrops only left 1/4" of rain.
...Health insurance profit margins typically run about 6 percent, give or take a point or two. That's anemic compared with other forms of insurance and a broad array of industries, even some beleaguered ones.
Profits barely exceeded 2 percent of revenues in the latest annual measure. This partly explains why the credit ratings of some of the largest insurers were downgraded to negative from stable heading into this year, as investors were warned of a stagnant if not shrinking market for private plans.
The Administration Liars (redundant, I know) come up with "billions" in profits by adding up the total profits of health-insurers in a given year. That's about the same as adding up the number of raindrops falling, but not reporting that those billions of raindrops only left 1/4" of rain.
Light's In the Tunnel on Recession End?
Calculated Risk caught this:
"At –0.63 in September (up from –0.96 in the previous month), the index’s three-month moving average, CFNAI-MA3, suggests that growth in national economic activity was below its historical trend. However, the CFNAI-MA3 in September improved to a level greater than –0.7 for the first time since the early months of this recession. For the four previous recessions, the first month when the CFNAI-MA3 was above –0.7 coincided closely with the end of each recession as eventually determined by the National Bureau of Economic Research." --Chicago Fed
There are some other optimists out there, and some really dark pessimists.
Politically, the only thing that counts is the U-6, and looking at the chart through September, that is NOT very good for the Party in Power.
"At –0.63 in September (up from –0.96 in the previous month), the index’s three-month moving average, CFNAI-MA3, suggests that growth in national economic activity was below its historical trend. However, the CFNAI-MA3 in September improved to a level greater than –0.7 for the first time since the early months of this recession. For the four previous recessions, the first month when the CFNAI-MA3 was above –0.7 coincided closely with the end of each recession as eventually determined by the National Bureau of Economic Research." --Chicago Fed
There are some other optimists out there, and some really dark pessimists.
Politically, the only thing that counts is the U-6, and looking at the chart through September, that is NOT very good for the Party in Power.
Obama Loves Barrett for Gov. So What?
Bice:
As Mayor Tom Barrett dilly-dallies over whether he should run for governor next year, he now must take this into consideration: The White House badly wants him to enter the race for Wisconsin's top job.
...White House officials have repeatedly made it very clear that the Obama administration is on board with the mayor.
How nice.
No real surprise, of course, but think of it this way:
Does being "Obama's Guy" really help Barrett?
Another question: Does being "Doyle's Guy" really help Barrett?
If Barrett is hyped by SEIU (which shares more than just a New Orleans address with ACORN) does that really help Barrett? What about AFSCME? Since their wages & benefits far outstrip private-industry wages/benefits in SE Wisconsin, will that really help Barrett?
Tom's taking his time for good reason. With all those friends, he certainly doesn't need an opponent, too.
As Mayor Tom Barrett dilly-dallies over whether he should run for governor next year, he now must take this into consideration: The White House badly wants him to enter the race for Wisconsin's top job.
...White House officials have repeatedly made it very clear that the Obama administration is on board with the mayor.
How nice.
No real surprise, of course, but think of it this way:
Does being "Obama's Guy" really help Barrett?
Another question: Does being "Doyle's Guy" really help Barrett?
If Barrett is hyped by SEIU (which shares more than just a New Orleans address with ACORN) does that really help Barrett? What about AFSCME? Since their wages & benefits far outstrip private-industry wages/benefits in SE Wisconsin, will that really help Barrett?
Tom's taking his time for good reason. With all those friends, he certainly doesn't need an opponent, too.
Got H1N1? Don't Be So Sure
Interesting story here.
If you've been diagnosed "probable" or "presumed" 2009 H1N1 or "swine flu" in recent months, you may be surprised to know this: odds are you didn’t have H1N1 flu. In fact, you probably didn’t have flu at all. That's according to state-by-state test results obtained in a three-month-long CBS News investigation.
So why the confusion?
In late July, the CDC abruptly advised states to stop testing for H1N1 flu, and stopped counting individual cases. The rationale given for the CDC guidance to forego testing and tracking individual cases was: why waste resources testing for H1N1 flu when the government has already confirmed there's an epidemic?
That's why. The Gummint has no foggy idea who has what disease: the numbers of "Swine Flu" cases are guesses.
CDC didn't bother to respond timely to FOIA requests from CBS about the situation.
But about "swine flu":
...we asked all 50 states for their statistics on state lab-confirmed H1N1 prior to the halt of individual testing and counting in July. The results reveal a pattern that surprised a number of health care professionals we consulted. The vast majority of cases were negative for H1N1 as well as seasonal flu, despite the fact that many states were specifically testing patients deemed to be most likely to have H1N1 flu, based on symptoms and risk factors, such as travel to Mexico
Why would Our Government stop the testing and then declare an epidemic?
If you've been diagnosed "probable" or "presumed" 2009 H1N1 or "swine flu" in recent months, you may be surprised to know this: odds are you didn’t have H1N1 flu. In fact, you probably didn’t have flu at all. That's according to state-by-state test results obtained in a three-month-long CBS News investigation.
So why the confusion?
In late July, the CDC abruptly advised states to stop testing for H1N1 flu, and stopped counting individual cases. The rationale given for the CDC guidance to forego testing and tracking individual cases was: why waste resources testing for H1N1 flu when the government has already confirmed there's an epidemic?
That's why. The Gummint has no foggy idea who has what disease: the numbers of "Swine Flu" cases are guesses.
CDC didn't bother to respond timely to FOIA requests from CBS about the situation.
But about "swine flu":
...we asked all 50 states for their statistics on state lab-confirmed H1N1 prior to the halt of individual testing and counting in July. The results reveal a pattern that surprised a number of health care professionals we consulted. The vast majority of cases were negative for H1N1 as well as seasonal flu, despite the fact that many states were specifically testing patients deemed to be most likely to have H1N1 flu, based on symptoms and risk factors, such as travel to Mexico
Why would Our Government stop the testing and then declare an epidemic?
"Law for Thee, but Not for Jim Doyle"
The story is about the ex-DNR Secretary, but the telling part is here.
[Doyle's] Department of Administration, which is responsible for the construction of state-owned buildings, made five major modifications to the plant without getting permits required under federal law and enforced by the DNR. The $2.8 million in improvements should have triggered permits that would've required installation of pollution-control equipment to bring the 50-year-old plant into compliance with federal clean air standards
Eventually, that little move cost the State $200MM++.
Nice work, Jimbo.
[Doyle's] Department of Administration, which is responsible for the construction of state-owned buildings, made five major modifications to the plant without getting permits required under federal law and enforced by the DNR. The $2.8 million in improvements should have triggered permits that would've required installation of pollution-control equipment to bring the 50-year-old plant into compliance with federal clean air standards
Eventually, that little move cost the State $200MM++.
Nice work, Jimbo.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Surprise!! MPS' HR Operation Is Useless
Borsuk's article doesn't use the word "useless." But what other conclusion can you draw?
"The Department of Human Resources' management strategy appeared to be risk aversive and was marked by a weak sense of urgency to improve and little functional concern for customers and stakeholders."
• "The Strategic Support Team saw no evidence that the department is involved in developing strategies that would improve the performance and retention of district employees, support evaluation practices that hold employees accountable for results or help employees develop the skills and knowledge needed for promotion to key leadership positions within schools and departments."
• The department has "over-specialized staff resulting in operational silos, information hoarding and a prevalent 'us' vs. 'them' mentality that is averse to change, discourages teamwork and generates conflicting expectations, ineffective operations, poor customer services and potentially higher costs."
• "There seems to be a pervasive avoidance of responsibility and an aversion to risk among department management."
• "Department processes and practices tend to be slow and cumbersome and contribute to duplicative work, excessive time losses, extensive use of redundant and parallel paper and electronic systems, and risky and inefficient 'work around' methods."
In fairness, these are all the "check-box" results of a confused and ineffective superintendent.
That fish is rotten, from the head.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
The WRONG "Pay Controls"
Talk about "Nixonian" government...paranoia and wage/price controls.....
The pre-weekend information dump included an announcement by the Federal Reserve and Treasury Department that the federal government proposes to extend its control over pay packages beyond financial institutions which received bailout funds.
According to the press release, the government proposes to monitor and, if need be, veto pay packages at any banking institution subject to federal regulation
I don't have a problem with a serious pay-haircut for the bankers who were responsible (or irresponsible, if you prefer) for getting their Banks into TARP-dependency.
But ALL Banks?
Ummmnnnnhhh.......nope.
Jacobsen:
...to base government control of salaries on mere regulatory jurisdiction would give the government control over much of the economy, essentially any business involved in interstate commerce. This is the harm which many of us feared from the Trojan horse of the bailouts
And as he points out, that opens the door to any commerce which falls under Federal jurisdiction, including truck drivers, MD's, or basically the entire friggin' economy.
HT: Legal Insurrection
The pre-weekend information dump included an announcement by the Federal Reserve and Treasury Department that the federal government proposes to extend its control over pay packages beyond financial institutions which received bailout funds.
According to the press release, the government proposes to monitor and, if need be, veto pay packages at any banking institution subject to federal regulation
I don't have a problem with a serious pay-haircut for the bankers who were responsible (or irresponsible, if you prefer) for getting their Banks into TARP-dependency.
But ALL Banks?
Ummmnnnnhhh.......nope.
Jacobsen:
...to base government control of salaries on mere regulatory jurisdiction would give the government control over much of the economy, essentially any business involved in interstate commerce. This is the harm which many of us feared from the Trojan horse of the bailouts
And as he points out, that opens the door to any commerce which falls under Federal jurisdiction, including truck drivers, MD's, or basically the entire friggin' economy.
HT: Legal Insurrection
"Credit Dislocation" Coming Up?
Well, this is an interesting speculation.
I have reason to suspect that the "monetary transmission mechanism" is full of rocks (again), and we are about to have another instance of what could colloquially be called "fun." (Yes, that's sarcasm.)
Denninger then goes through a small list of straws-in-the-wind which form the basis for his speculation.
One item of interest:
If you want to speculate on this outcome levered bets on radical dollar appreciation look like one of the best choices out there...
....which happens to coincide with the projection of the Elliott Wave people.
I have reason to suspect that the "monetary transmission mechanism" is full of rocks (again), and we are about to have another instance of what could colloquially be called "fun." (Yes, that's sarcasm.)
Denninger then goes through a small list of straws-in-the-wind which form the basis for his speculation.
One item of interest:
If you want to speculate on this outcome levered bets on radical dollar appreciation look like one of the best choices out there...
....which happens to coincide with the projection of the Elliott Wave people.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Rumors of Milwaukee's Next Archbishop
Rocco is pretty good with this stuff. He predicts two weeks or so.
While no single front-runner has risen to the top, the interregnum's birthed a lake's worth of speculation, the most common and credible of which has narrowed the field to a Pack of Four: Bishops Gerald Kicanas of Tucson (currently vice-president of the US bishops), Blase Cupich of Rapid City, Jerome Listecki of LaCrosse and Milwaukee's administrator, Auxiliary Bishop William Callahan OFM Conv., a close confidant of Dolan's who attended last week's Al Smith Dinner in New York as the archbishop's guest.
Bp. Cupich didn't make any friends in the traditionalist group with his address to local priests.
While no single front-runner has risen to the top, the interregnum's birthed a lake's worth of speculation, the most common and credible of which has narrowed the field to a Pack of Four: Bishops Gerald Kicanas of Tucson (currently vice-president of the US bishops), Blase Cupich of Rapid City, Jerome Listecki of LaCrosse and Milwaukee's administrator, Auxiliary Bishop William Callahan OFM Conv., a close confidant of Dolan's who attended last week's Al Smith Dinner in New York as the archbishop's guest.
Bp. Cupich didn't make any friends in the traditionalist group with his address to local priests.
The Danger of Rand-ianism
Every now and then there is a "Rand Revival" pushed by the Libertarian types who, frankly, don't know better.
But at the core of Ayn Rand's philosophy lies atheism:
Rand was a programmatic atheist, who sneered at any and all religious believers as self-deluding "mystics."
....which leads ineluctably to worship of self:
...Rand's ideal of selfhood amounts to self-deification, fed by the pretense that the individual is wholly self-created, owing nothing to history, ancestors, neighbors, or the future. Think I'm being unfair here? I'll cite Ms. Rand again: "And now I see the face of god, and I raise this god over the earth, this god whom men have sought since men came into being, this god who will grant them joy and peace and pride. This god, this one word: 'I.'"
Umnnnhhh....yah, well.
So happens that self-deification is precisely the core of "multi-culturalism" and for that matter, it also leads to 'liberal narcissism' (Rousseau)--which leads to socialism or its atheist variant, communism.
Bet Rand never thought of that!
HT: Inside
But at the core of Ayn Rand's philosophy lies atheism:
Rand was a programmatic atheist, who sneered at any and all religious believers as self-deluding "mystics."
....which leads ineluctably to worship of self:
...Rand's ideal of selfhood amounts to self-deification, fed by the pretense that the individual is wholly self-created, owing nothing to history, ancestors, neighbors, or the future. Think I'm being unfair here? I'll cite Ms. Rand again: "And now I see the face of god, and I raise this god over the earth, this god whom men have sought since men came into being, this god who will grant them joy and peace and pride. This god, this one word: 'I.'"
Umnnnhhh....yah, well.
So happens that self-deification is precisely the core of "multi-culturalism" and for that matter, it also leads to 'liberal narcissism' (Rousseau)--which leads to socialism or its atheist variant, communism.
Bet Rand never thought of that!
HT: Inside
Sinsinawa Dominican Wacko
Thoughts scarfed this up.
A Dominican nun has been seen frequenting an abortion facility in Hinsdale, Illinois recently - but not, as one might expect, to pray for an end to abortion or to counsel women seeking abortions, but to volunteer as a clinic escort.
Local pro-life activists say that they recognized the escort at the ACU Health Center as Sr. Donna Quinn, a nun outspokenly in favor of legalized abortion, after seeing her photo in a Chicago Tribune article
Sr. Patricia Mulcahey, OP, Quinn's Prioress at the Sinsinawa Dominican community, said in an email response to LSN that the nun sees her volunteer activity as "accompanying women who are verbally abused by protestors. Her stance is that if the protestors were not abusive, she would not be there."
Though Sr. Mulcahey claimed that her sisters "support the teachings of the Catholic Church," she declined to comment on Quinn's public protest of Catholic Church teaching.
Those nuns operated a nominally-Catholic HS in Racine for years--they still might, for all I know.
A Dominican nun has been seen frequenting an abortion facility in Hinsdale, Illinois recently - but not, as one might expect, to pray for an end to abortion or to counsel women seeking abortions, but to volunteer as a clinic escort.
Local pro-life activists say that they recognized the escort at the ACU Health Center as Sr. Donna Quinn, a nun outspokenly in favor of legalized abortion, after seeing her photo in a Chicago Tribune article
Sr. Patricia Mulcahey, OP, Quinn's Prioress at the Sinsinawa Dominican community, said in an email response to LSN that the nun sees her volunteer activity as "accompanying women who are verbally abused by protestors. Her stance is that if the protestors were not abusive, she would not be there."
Though Sr. Mulcahey claimed that her sisters "support the teachings of the Catholic Church," she declined to comment on Quinn's public protest of Catholic Church teaching.
Those nuns operated a nominally-Catholic HS in Racine for years--they still might, for all I know.
Feingold's Non-Fact Assertions on HealthCare
A couple of days ago a friend sent along a "response" from Herb Kohl on the healthcare issue.
Now he sent Feingold's "response" too. Besides the new wrinkle of "investment" mentioned below, Feinie dissembled in the usual (D) fashion.
A few out-takes w/responses:
It is far past time for Congress to ensure all Americans have guaranteed, affordable, high-quality health care
And you are given that mandate by what provision of the Constitution, Senator???
Our country spends $5,670 per capita annually on health care...Despite this spending, we are not healthier than those other countries
FAIL Logic 101. Outcomes have nothing to do with expenditures, Senator. This response is demeaning to your office and your alleged IQ.
...we still have more than 46 million Americans - including eight million children - who do not have health insurance
Actually, Senator, they are NOT all "Americans." Even Obama gave up on that. Get with the program and get an updated form letter.
...reforming health care is necessary to getting health spending under control.
True dat. Ever hear of Paul Ryan? Wyden-Bennett?
...initial investments can be at least partially offset by addressing current overpayments, waste, and fraud in the system,...
And the Feds have done SUCH good work on overpay/waste/fraud so far, Senator!!
For example, by adopting the Wisconsin model for health care delivery, taxpayers will save billions of dollars
You mean the model whereby dental care is no longer available, Senator? And where enrollments are now suspended b/c there are "budget problems"? THAT Wisconsin model?
Altogether, Senator Feingold's response is not worthy of the office.
And you may note that Feinie didn't bother to mention at-the-point-of-a-gun-you-WILL-pay-for-abortions.
Wonder why the Great Civil Libertarian ignored that? (/sarcasm)
Now he sent Feingold's "response" too. Besides the new wrinkle of "investment" mentioned below, Feinie dissembled in the usual (D) fashion.
A few out-takes w/responses:
It is far past time for Congress to ensure all Americans have guaranteed, affordable, high-quality health care
And you are given that mandate by what provision of the Constitution, Senator???
Our country spends $5,670 per capita annually on health care...Despite this spending, we are not healthier than those other countries
FAIL Logic 101. Outcomes have nothing to do with expenditures, Senator. This response is demeaning to your office and your alleged IQ.
...we still have more than 46 million Americans - including eight million children - who do not have health insurance
Actually, Senator, they are NOT all "Americans." Even Obama gave up on that. Get with the program and get an updated form letter.
...reforming health care is necessary to getting health spending under control.
True dat. Ever hear of Paul Ryan? Wyden-Bennett?
...initial investments can be at least partially offset by addressing current overpayments, waste, and fraud in the system,...
And the Feds have done SUCH good work on overpay/waste/fraud so far, Senator!!
For example, by adopting the Wisconsin model for health care delivery, taxpayers will save billions of dollars
You mean the model whereby dental care is no longer available, Senator? And where enrollments are now suspended b/c there are "budget problems"? THAT Wisconsin model?
Altogether, Senator Feingold's response is not worthy of the office.
And you may note that Feinie didn't bother to mention at-the-point-of-a-gun-you-WILL-pay-for-abortions.
Wonder why the Great Civil Libertarian ignored that? (/sarcasm)
ObamaCare Mantra Has Changed--Now Requires "Investment"
Noted by another blogger, Jo Egelhoff, and confirmed by a Feingold "response" letter on the general topic (non-responsive, of course).
Health reform will likely require significant initial investments, but, if done right, it can also yield significant savings in the near future.
That was NEVER brought up...at least in the MSM.
Health reform will likely require significant initial investments, but, if done right, it can also yield significant savings in the near future.
That was NEVER brought up...at least in the MSM.
ObamaCare Cost vs. Wisconsin Projections
Some of you recall that there was a serious move towards installing a Wisconsin fore-runner of ObamaCare in late 2006/early 2007.
While that move was scuttled, the numbers are very interesting, indeed.
WHP, a proposal from Richards (D) and Gielow (R), will be funded by a 12% tax on employers and a 2% tax on employees, and will raise $12 billion/year for health-care expenses in Wisconsin.
However, WPRI analysis (admittedly not by actuaries) shows that the actual cost is likely to be between $16 Bn. and $20 Bn.
...That would raise the tax to 18% on employers and 3% on individuals...for a plan which has a $2K out-of-pocket (less $500.00 HSA) stop-loss for individuals? Really!
So. The numbers for Wisconsin, which were pretty carefully researched, tell us that the actual cost of "healthcare for all" will run around 18% of payroll plus 3% of individual income. (Those are approximations--see P. 10 of this report for the WHP original funding proposal which would come up short of expenditures.)
Just for funsies: if there were NO inflation between then and now, and Wisconsin's population was/is 1/50th of the entire USA, then ObamaCare's actual cost would run around 50X$18Bn, or $900Bn.
So far, so good--the ObamaCare estimates run in that neighborhood.
But somehow, the ObamaCare agitprop forgets to mention that 18% of payroll plus 3% of individual income when talking about the actual impact.
While that move was scuttled, the numbers are very interesting, indeed.
WHP, a proposal from Richards (D) and Gielow (R), will be funded by a 12% tax on employers and a 2% tax on employees, and will raise $12 billion/year for health-care expenses in Wisconsin.
However, WPRI analysis (admittedly not by actuaries) shows that the actual cost is likely to be between $16 Bn. and $20 Bn.
...That would raise the tax to 18% on employers and 3% on individuals...for a plan which has a $2K out-of-pocket (less $500.00 HSA) stop-loss for individuals? Really!
So. The numbers for Wisconsin, which were pretty carefully researched, tell us that the actual cost of "healthcare for all" will run around 18% of payroll plus 3% of individual income. (Those are approximations--see P. 10 of this report for the WHP original funding proposal which would come up short of expenditures.)
Just for funsies: if there were NO inflation between then and now, and Wisconsin's population was/is 1/50th of the entire USA, then ObamaCare's actual cost would run around 50X$18Bn, or $900Bn.
So far, so good--the ObamaCare estimates run in that neighborhood.
But somehow, the ObamaCare agitprop forgets to mention that 18% of payroll plus 3% of individual income when talking about the actual impact.
Shhhh!! Sex Ed's a Secret Now
Discussion of a new sex-ed bill before the Legislature. Same s*&^, different day--the (D) sponsors want to de-emphasize abstinence. (Surprise!!)
But there's more:
Rhonda Thompson, a Middleton mom of five and community relations director at Care Net Pregnancy Center of Dane County, says the law would limit parents' ability to know what is being taught.
"They're restricting access by eliminating the words 'all' and 'at any time,' meaning that parents and community members could only see the curriculum before they begin teaching it," Thompson says. "That change of policy and lack of transparency is disrespectful of parents."
There's no good reason to eliminate parental oversight, especially given the demi-polymorphous-pervert "School Safety" czar installed by Obamamamamamama.
HT: FoxPolitics
But there's more:
Rhonda Thompson, a Middleton mom of five and community relations director at Care Net Pregnancy Center of Dane County, says the law would limit parents' ability to know what is being taught.
"They're restricting access by eliminating the words 'all' and 'at any time,' meaning that parents and community members could only see the curriculum before they begin teaching it," Thompson says. "That change of policy and lack of transparency is disrespectful of parents."
There's no good reason to eliminate parental oversight, especially given the demi-polymorphous-pervert "School Safety" czar installed by Obamamamamamama.
HT: FoxPolitics
Another Reason for TEA Parties, (R) Version
Oh, yah, we're bi-partisan.
The biggest accomplishment so far of U.S. Rep. Steve Buyer's [R-IN] scholarship foundation has been to send the Indiana congressman to play golf with donors at luxury locales such as the Bahamas and Disney World.
The fundraising golf outings have raised more than $880,000 for the Frontier Foundation that Buyer founded in 2003. Almost all the contributions are from 20 companies and trade organizations that have interests before the House Energy and Commerce Committee on which Buyer serves.
As to "scholarships"? Not so much.
The foundation has yet to award its first scholarship, and it has handed out only $10,500 in charitable grants
A retirement TEA party would be in order.
By the way, on NY23, McCain echoes:
...While the Tea Party movement does strongly disagree with the freedom-strangling, wastrel policies of President Obama, their protests aren't aimed at him because most of the protesters have very clearly heard the Democratic Party's message that neither it nor the President are particularly interested in listening to them.
Instead, the protesters have been aiming their most pointed messages at the Republican Party that purports to represent them.
You heard that, Tommy Thompson (free-spending wastrel)??
The biggest accomplishment so far of U.S. Rep. Steve Buyer's [R-IN] scholarship foundation has been to send the Indiana congressman to play golf with donors at luxury locales such as the Bahamas and Disney World.
The fundraising golf outings have raised more than $880,000 for the Frontier Foundation that Buyer founded in 2003. Almost all the contributions are from 20 companies and trade organizations that have interests before the House Energy and Commerce Committee on which Buyer serves.
As to "scholarships"? Not so much.
The foundation has yet to award its first scholarship, and it has handed out only $10,500 in charitable grants
A retirement TEA party would be in order.
By the way, on NY23, McCain echoes:
...While the Tea Party movement does strongly disagree with the freedom-strangling, wastrel policies of President Obama, their protests aren't aimed at him because most of the protesters have very clearly heard the Democratic Party's message that neither it nor the President are particularly interested in listening to them.
Instead, the protesters have been aiming their most pointed messages at the Republican Party that purports to represent them.
You heard that, Tommy Thompson (free-spending wastrel)??
What Does This Mean, O Barack?
Here's the quote: UPDATE: The quotation is a hoax. Klein (Time Magarag) was alleged as the source and he says he didn't write this. Follow the links or see the combox.
“… the Constitution allows for many things, but what it does not allow is the most revealing. The so-called Founders did not allow for economic freedom. While political freedom is supposedly a cornerstone of the document, the distribution of wealth is not even mentioned. While many believed that the new Constitution gave them liberty, it instead fitted them with the shackles of hypocrisy.”
Author: B. Hussein Obama. (From a college thesis (Columbia))
Since the public is not allowed to read the thesis, and the reporter who noted that passage was only allowed to read 10 pages of it, we may never understand it.
Of course, that was pre-TOTUS.
“… the Constitution allows for many things, but what it does not allow is the most revealing. The so-called Founders did not allow for economic freedom. While political freedom is supposedly a cornerstone of the document, the distribution of wealth is not even mentioned. While many believed that the new Constitution gave them liberty, it instead fitted them with the shackles of hypocrisy.”
Author: B. Hussein Obama. (From a college thesis (Columbia))
Since the public is not allowed to read the thesis, and the reporter who noted that passage was only allowed to read 10 pages of it, we may never understand it.
Of course, that was pre-TOTUS.
MSM Finds Its Spine: TEA Parties Roll On!
The MSM press-pool told Obama to shove it where the sun never shines.
They're in danger of becoming TEA Party demonstrators.......
They're in danger of becoming TEA Party demonstrators.......
New LEO Training?
Grim:
That [portrait] captures the difference between a "Peace Officer" and a "Law Enforcement Officer." If I were in charge of the training of the police, I'd set aside a whole day of the course to reflect on that painting and write essays about how it defines your duty.
I'll second that!
ConLaw From QueenNancy and the Jesters
QueenNancy, who was not in her our Gulfstream G-5, answered a question.
As it turns out, it might be a "multiple-choice" question...
CNSNews.com: “Madam Speaker, where specifically does the Constitution grant Congress the authority to enact an individual health insurance mandate?”
Pelosi: “Are you serious? Are you serious?”
CNSNews.com: “Yes, yes I am.”
Pelosi then shook her head before taking a question from another reporter. Her press spokesman, Nadeam Elshami, then told CNSNews.com that asking the speaker of the House where the Constiution authorized Congress to mandated that individual Americans buy health insurance as not a "serious question.
Later, the Queen's lackey said that the Queen declared the Interstate Commerce Clause justified whatever.
However, Steny Hoyer opined that the authority derives from the "general welfare" clause, while the chair of Senate Judiciary (Leaky Leahy) had no idea whatsoever.
So far we have: A) No idea; B) Commerce clause; C) General Welfare
Only a few miles south, the Constitution is "toilet paper." At least it's being used...
As it turns out, it might be a "multiple-choice" question...
CNSNews.com: “Madam Speaker, where specifically does the Constitution grant Congress the authority to enact an individual health insurance mandate?”
Pelosi: “Are you serious? Are you serious?”
CNSNews.com: “Yes, yes I am.”
Pelosi then shook her head before taking a question from another reporter. Her press spokesman, Nadeam Elshami, then told CNSNews.com that asking the speaker of the House where the Constiution authorized Congress to mandated that individual Americans buy health insurance as not a "serious question.
Later, the Queen's lackey said that the Queen declared the Interstate Commerce Clause justified whatever.
However, Steny Hoyer opined that the authority derives from the "general welfare" clause, while the chair of Senate Judiciary (Leaky Leahy) had no idea whatsoever.
So far we have: A) No idea; B) Commerce clause; C) General Welfare
Only a few miles south, the Constitution is "toilet paper." At least it's being used...
Another Commie Dictatorship Coming
You all remember Daniel Ortega.
The vice-president of the Nicaraguan bishops' conference is stating that a recent Supreme Court decision could pave the way for President Daniel Ortega to take the role of a dictator.
Bishop Juan Abelardo Mata of Esteli affirmed this after the Supreme Court decided Monday to allow the re-election of the president in 2011, even though he is already serving his second five-year term.
The prelate asserted that "the sad reality is that for those in power the constitution is toilet paper."
The bishop expressed his opinion that "if Ortega is re-elected, dictatorship will be established" and there will be trouble for anyone "who opposes his interests."
He noted, however, that "on a juridical level President Ortega hasn't achieved anything because what they have done is tainted."
On Oct. 15, Ortega moved to declare an article impeding consecutive presidential re-election as unconstitutional.
This article, which limits the president to two consecutive terms, was judged "inapplicable" by the court on Monday.
Politicians and businessmen opposed to Ortega announced Wednesday that they will attempt to obtain the annulment of the court's decision which, according to Ortega, "is already engraved in stone."
It won't be long before Our Statist-in-Chief decides to back Ortega.
After all, they share the same opinion about Constitutions.
Source: ZENIT
The vice-president of the Nicaraguan bishops' conference is stating that a recent Supreme Court decision could pave the way for President Daniel Ortega to take the role of a dictator.
Bishop Juan Abelardo Mata of Esteli affirmed this after the Supreme Court decided Monday to allow the re-election of the president in 2011, even though he is already serving his second five-year term.
The prelate asserted that "the sad reality is that for those in power the constitution is toilet paper."
The bishop expressed his opinion that "if Ortega is re-elected, dictatorship will be established" and there will be trouble for anyone "who opposes his interests."
He noted, however, that "on a juridical level President Ortega hasn't achieved anything because what they have done is tainted."
On Oct. 15, Ortega moved to declare an article impeding consecutive presidential re-election as unconstitutional.
This article, which limits the president to two consecutive terms, was judged "inapplicable" by the court on Monday.
Politicians and businessmen opposed to Ortega announced Wednesday that they will attempt to obtain the annulment of the court's decision which, according to Ortega, "is already engraved in stone."
It won't be long before Our Statist-in-Chief decides to back Ortega.
After all, they share the same opinion about Constitutions.
Source: ZENIT
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Those Salary Reductions and Hypocrite RadioMouths
As Vox opined, we have "free market capitalists" on the radiowaves who don't exactly live up to their self-billing. And some of them have the gall to mutter, disdainfully, about the "populists" who "envy" Wall Street bloodsuckers.
Look very closely at any commentator, so-called conservative or otherwise, who complains about this action by the White House being somehow "anti-capitalist". If he was also a supporter of the bailouts last November, you should never, ever, consider taking him seriously again, because he's either an untrustoworthy hypocrite or he's too dumb to even realize his inconsistency. Once the government stepped in to socialize a corporation's losses, that corporation lost the right to privatize its profits or even manage itself independently. From an economic perspective, the only thing more disastrous than a pure socialist system where both profits and losses are public is a fascist system where profits are private and losses are public.
(There are some who are now managing taxpayer-owned Banks who were not complicit in the self-delusion and self-destruction of those insitutions, and they should not be subject to the haircut administered by Obama.)
But Limbaugh, Belling, and Weber are simply wrong when they first endorsed the "bailouts" of TARP, and then ran back to mama to cry "wolf" when the bill is presented for payment.
I might add that at least one of those commentators specifically wailed about the treatment afforded Ken Lewis of BofA. You'd think that he would at least have some knowledge of how underhanded Lewis & Co. actually WERE during that process--as pointed out by Ritholtz this morning:
Investigators also think the documents, combined with prior testimony and fresh interviews with a key executive, suggest that Bank of America chief executive Kenneth D. Lewis used the threat of backing out of the government-backed deal as leverage for billions more in taxpayer bailout money, the sources said.”
In other words, the lying sack of s*&^ Lewis increased the amount of taxpayer money he took because he over-bid (by a ton) for the rotting corpse that was Merrill. Not only did he fail to exercise due diligence--when he failed, he billed the taxpayer for it.
Shylock was a more sympathetic figure.
But hey! Some people can only mouth the Party Line. They're incapable of thought.
Look very closely at any commentator, so-called conservative or otherwise, who complains about this action by the White House being somehow "anti-capitalist". If he was also a supporter of the bailouts last November, you should never, ever, consider taking him seriously again, because he's either an untrustoworthy hypocrite or he's too dumb to even realize his inconsistency. Once the government stepped in to socialize a corporation's losses, that corporation lost the right to privatize its profits or even manage itself independently. From an economic perspective, the only thing more disastrous than a pure socialist system where both profits and losses are public is a fascist system where profits are private and losses are public.
(There are some who are now managing taxpayer-owned Banks who were not complicit in the self-delusion and self-destruction of those insitutions, and they should not be subject to the haircut administered by Obama.)
But Limbaugh, Belling, and Weber are simply wrong when they first endorsed the "bailouts" of TARP, and then ran back to mama to cry "wolf" when the bill is presented for payment.
I might add that at least one of those commentators specifically wailed about the treatment afforded Ken Lewis of BofA. You'd think that he would at least have some knowledge of how underhanded Lewis & Co. actually WERE during that process--as pointed out by Ritholtz this morning:
Investigators also think the documents, combined with prior testimony and fresh interviews with a key executive, suggest that Bank of America chief executive Kenneth D. Lewis used the threat of backing out of the government-backed deal as leverage for billions more in taxpayer bailout money, the sources said.”
In other words, the lying sack of s*&^ Lewis increased the amount of taxpayer money he took because he over-bid (by a ton) for the rotting corpse that was Merrill. Not only did he fail to exercise due diligence--when he failed, he billed the taxpayer for it.
Shylock was a more sympathetic figure.
But hey! Some people can only mouth the Party Line. They're incapable of thought.
The REAL Poll Results
No, not about Obama's drama-drop this week.
About how to jigger a poll on ObamaCare! There's a lot of very interesting information at that link which discusses use of various terms. Subtle stuff....
Progressives in the blogosphere and the halls of Congress are pushing for the so-called "public option." One of their major arguments is that the public wants it.
But does it?
Well, that depends on the question. Rasmussen uses two of them.
Would you favor or oppose the creation of a government-sponsored non-profit health insurance option that people could choose instead of a private health insurance plan?
That one gets strong approval. But when it's phrased like this:
Suppose that the creation of a government-sponsored non-profit health insurance option encouraged companies to drop private health insurance coverage for their workers. Workers would then be covered by the government option. Would you favor or oppose the creation of a government-sponsored non-profit health insurance option if it encouraged companies to drop private health insurance coverage for their workers?
THEN the respondents disapprove "public option" by 6-to-4.
HT: Ace
About how to jigger a poll on ObamaCare! There's a lot of very interesting information at that link which discusses use of various terms. Subtle stuff....
Progressives in the blogosphere and the halls of Congress are pushing for the so-called "public option." One of their major arguments is that the public wants it.
But does it?
Well, that depends on the question. Rasmussen uses two of them.
Would you favor or oppose the creation of a government-sponsored non-profit health insurance option that people could choose instead of a private health insurance plan?
That one gets strong approval. But when it's phrased like this:
Suppose that the creation of a government-sponsored non-profit health insurance option encouraged companies to drop private health insurance coverage for their workers. Workers would then be covered by the government option. Would you favor or oppose the creation of a government-sponsored non-profit health insurance option if it encouraged companies to drop private health insurance coverage for their workers?
THEN the respondents disapprove "public option" by 6-to-4.
HT: Ace
Observation on the Rome/TAC Affair
Diogenes found this incisive comment:
[The move] represents a sense that only an external action will have any benefit to Anglicanism going forward. Let us not kid ourselves. Rome put a lot into ecumencial conversations with Anglicans because they believed that more internal mechanisms and persuasions were possible. Now, in their judgment, they are not. They don't see a future of greater Anglican unity they see one of greater Anglican splintering. At this level, it represents a shout which one wonders if any Anglicans will hear. --Canon K. Harmon
There's little question that the "professional ecumenists" were simply--and in the end, totally--ineffective. A good part of that had to do with the disintegration of faith-practice by the Anglicans, particularly in the US, unchecked by Rowan Williams and his predecessor.
When licit and serious representatives of 400,000 people beg, it impels a shepherd to respond.
[The move] represents a sense that only an external action will have any benefit to Anglicanism going forward. Let us not kid ourselves. Rome put a lot into ecumencial conversations with Anglicans because they believed that more internal mechanisms and persuasions were possible. Now, in their judgment, they are not. They don't see a future of greater Anglican unity they see one of greater Anglican splintering. At this level, it represents a shout which one wonders if any Anglicans will hear. --Canon K. Harmon
There's little question that the "professional ecumenists" were simply--and in the end, totally--ineffective. A good part of that had to do with the disintegration of faith-practice by the Anglicans, particularly in the US, unchecked by Rowan Williams and his predecessor.
When licit and serious representatives of 400,000 people beg, it impels a shepherd to respond.
Leaky Leahy's Assertive Arrogance
So.
Precisely what provision of the Constitution authorizes ObamaCare?
CNS News asked Senator Patrick Leahy this reasonable question, and disturbingly, he didn’t have an answer. From the interview:
CNSNews.com: Where, in your opinion, does the Constitution give specific authority for Congress to give an individual mandate for health insurance?
Sen. Leahy: We have plenty of authority. Are you saying there is no authority?
CNSNews.com: I’m asking –
Sen. Leahy: Why would you say there is no authority? I mean, there’s no question there’s authority. Nobody questions that.
You don't have to be a genius to understand Leahy's answer, which is "I don't know, and I don't care."
HT: SecondHandSmoke
Precisely what provision of the Constitution authorizes ObamaCare?
CNS News asked Senator Patrick Leahy this reasonable question, and disturbingly, he didn’t have an answer. From the interview:
CNSNews.com: Where, in your opinion, does the Constitution give specific authority for Congress to give an individual mandate for health insurance?
Sen. Leahy: We have plenty of authority. Are you saying there is no authority?
CNSNews.com: I’m asking –
Sen. Leahy: Why would you say there is no authority? I mean, there’s no question there’s authority. Nobody questions that.
You don't have to be a genius to understand Leahy's answer, which is "I don't know, and I don't care."
HT: SecondHandSmoke
Feds Screw Up Swine Flu Vaccine Deliveries Badly
UPDATE: It's even worse than first reported:
Milwaukee health officials say they will have only 7,000 doses of swine flu vaccine available at a vaccination clinic Friday, fewer than the 12,000 officials thought earlier this week they would have.
The Obama Administration is responsible for ordering, manufacturing, and distribution of swine-flu vaccinations.
And they aren't doing very well at all.
Sykes interviewed the City of Milwaukee's Health Commissioner, who told Sykes that he has about 12,500 doses of the stuff--and only a few hundred of them are 'injectable.' (Nothing online at his site as of this post.)
There's been a "delay" in shipping the vaccine. There are no projections as to when the vaccine may become available.
But to get a sense of how badly Obama & Co. have SNAFUd this deal, the entire State of Wisconsin has received only 250,000 doses to date, and the City of Milwaukee, the LARGEST City in the State, has only received 12,500--about 5% of the State's allocation.
Milwaukee health officials say they will have only 7,000 doses of swine flu vaccine available at a vaccination clinic Friday, fewer than the 12,000 officials thought earlier this week they would have.
The Obama Administration is responsible for ordering, manufacturing, and distribution of swine-flu vaccinations.
And they aren't doing very well at all.
Sykes interviewed the City of Milwaukee's Health Commissioner, who told Sykes that he has about 12,500 doses of the stuff--and only a few hundred of them are 'injectable.' (Nothing online at his site as of this post.)
There's been a "delay" in shipping the vaccine. There are no projections as to when the vaccine may become available.
But to get a sense of how badly Obama & Co. have SNAFUd this deal, the entire State of Wisconsin has received only 250,000 doses to date, and the City of Milwaukee, the LARGEST City in the State, has only received 12,500--about 5% of the State's allocation.