NERC (North American Electric Reliability Corporation) thinks that EPA is playing with fire.
In brief, EPA is thinking about implementing rules which will shut down about 20% (TWENTY PERCENT) of coal-generator power plants and replacing them with retro-fitted (cleaner) OR new plants. These changes must be made by 2018.
NERC's concern is that there will not be enough time to plan the re-fit/replace/shutdown cycles, thereby impacting reserve capacity.
The study is not about "Greenhouse Gas" regs; it's concerned only with Cooling Water Intake standards, Clean Air Transport rules, MACT (Title One, Clean Air Act), and Coal (Residual) Disposition standards.
You might have guessed that all of this will cost money.
In the alternative, you won't have electricity.
HT: AmSpecBlog
Sunday, October 31, 2010
"Don't Even THINK About It": SEIU to MPS
It costs $38 million/year to feed MPS students.
The SEIU makes sure of that.
When MPS management proposed to seek bids for the work--and, potentially, dump SEIU employees, who get 100% benefits for 20 hours/week, there was a reaction.
The MPS Board told management "Don't Even THINK About It."
Not thinking is an MPS Board tradition, after all.
The SEIU makes sure of that.
When MPS management proposed to seek bids for the work--and, potentially, dump SEIU employees, who get 100% benefits for 20 hours/week, there was a reaction.
The MPS Board told management "Don't Even THINK About It."
Not thinking is an MPS Board tradition, after all.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Maquiladora Shooting: A New Issue for US Firms?
Perhaps things are getting serious for US companies operating maquila plants in Mexico.
In the first attack of its kind in more than three years of gangland terror, gunmen in the border city of Ciudad Juarez opened fire early Thursday on two buses carrying employees of a U.S.-owned factory, killing four people and wounding 14 others.
Up to now, employees of maquiladoras were more or less 'off-limits'. There are 300+ foreign-owned plants in Mexico employing 190,000--typically earning $100.00/week or so each.
This line is particularly interesting:
Foreign-owned firms so far have been largely immune from Mexico's rising extortion plague, trade association officials and security consultants say. But they add that some Mexican employees, especially those with knowledge of merchandise shipments, occasionally have been targeted by gangsters.
Why is that interesting?
Police along with federal authorities respond to a drug investigation at Toro's Plymouth Parts Distribution Facility in Plymouth. The facility is located on County Road PP.
In the first attack of its kind in more than three years of gangland terror, gunmen in the border city of Ciudad Juarez opened fire early Thursday on two buses carrying employees of a U.S.-owned factory, killing four people and wounding 14 others.
Up to now, employees of maquiladoras were more or less 'off-limits'. There are 300+ foreign-owned plants in Mexico employing 190,000--typically earning $100.00/week or so each.
This line is particularly interesting:
Foreign-owned firms so far have been largely immune from Mexico's rising extortion plague, trade association officials and security consultants say. But they add that some Mexican employees, especially those with knowledge of merchandise shipments, occasionally have been targeted by gangsters.
Why is that interesting?
Police along with federal authorities respond to a drug investigation at Toro's Plymouth Parts Distribution Facility in Plymouth. The facility is located on County Road PP.
Plymouth Police responded to a report of a suspicious incident Thursday morning at the Toro Distribution Plant. The officers learned that a shipment of parts that arrived at the plant also had marijuana.
Distribution channels.Friday, October 29, 2010
REAL Regulatory Reform
We noted below a new regulatory intervention from OSHA which is as pointless as it will be expensive.
Tony Blankley recently suggested that the new Congress could make a very big impact on the Federal budget, as well as on private industry and OTHER Governmental units, and that suggestion is very simple. (The article is in the print-only version of Human Events.)
Strike ALL Federal regulations written since 1977.
All of 'em. Everydamned single one.
Then, because some regulations written post '77 may be important and useful, re-instate them through the legislative process. In other words, make Congress responsible for its actions.
I know. It's a stretch to imagine that Congress could actually become responsible for its actions.
But we can dream.
And, if necessary, we will vote again. Soon.
Tony Blankley recently suggested that the new Congress could make a very big impact on the Federal budget, as well as on private industry and OTHER Governmental units, and that suggestion is very simple. (The article is in the print-only version of Human Events.)
Strike ALL Federal regulations written since 1977.
All of 'em. Every
Then, because some regulations written post '77 may be important and useful, re-instate them through the legislative process. In other words, make Congress responsible for its actions.
I know. It's a stretch to imagine that Congress could actually become responsible for its actions.
But we can dream.
And, if necessary, we will vote again. Soon.
Regulatory Cost Escalation: OSHA
First thing: the OSHA proposal will not actually do any good. Second thing: it WILL keep OSHA bureaucrats busy for a long, long time, and it WILL result in costs to the private sector.
Here's the basic outline:
...since 1983, OSHA has accepted the use of personal hearing protection as an adequate means of reducing noise exposure, in situations where personal protective equipment (PPE) is, in fact, adequate (that is, it meets the federal standard for protection against noise exposure). An alternative means of reducing noise exposure is to reduce the noise itself, through equipment retooling, sound dampening, etc. OSHA has generally declined to fine employers who did not take such noise-reduction measures, as long as the use of PPE in their workplaces provided adequate protection for workers.
But OSHA has filed notice in the Federal Register that it will no longer operate on that basis. It will instead begin assuming that what employers should be doing is reducing noise in the workplace in preference to relying on PPE for workers. It will consider cost to the employer as a mitigating factor only if, in its judgment, the cost would compromise an employer’s ability to remain in business.
Nixon Peabody [the lawfirm providing most of this info] points out that this is likely to cost a lot of businesses a lot of money – and furthermore, that it is unclear from the get-go what standard OSHA will use to determine the “feasibility” of taking material noise-reduction measures.
So. OSHA has decided that what works is no longer a viable test. Now, OSHA will determine--by some method yet to be determined, what WILL work--for OSHA--in the future, cost be damned.
OSHA will now be regulating what OSHA considers to be "noise pollution," after 27 years where there have been no problems (or those problems have been resolved to everyone's satisfaction.)
HT: OptimConserv
Here's the basic outline:
...since 1983, OSHA has accepted the use of personal hearing protection as an adequate means of reducing noise exposure, in situations where personal protective equipment (PPE) is, in fact, adequate (that is, it meets the federal standard for protection against noise exposure). An alternative means of reducing noise exposure is to reduce the noise itself, through equipment retooling, sound dampening, etc. OSHA has generally declined to fine employers who did not take such noise-reduction measures, as long as the use of PPE in their workplaces provided adequate protection for workers.
But OSHA has filed notice in the Federal Register that it will no longer operate on that basis. It will instead begin assuming that what employers should be doing is reducing noise in the workplace in preference to relying on PPE for workers. It will consider cost to the employer as a mitigating factor only if, in its judgment, the cost would compromise an employer’s ability to remain in business.
Nixon Peabody [the lawfirm providing most of this info] points out that this is likely to cost a lot of businesses a lot of money – and furthermore, that it is unclear from the get-go what standard OSHA will use to determine the “feasibility” of taking material noise-reduction measures.
So. OSHA has decided that what works is no longer a viable test. Now, OSHA will determine--by some method yet to be determined, what WILL work--for OSHA--in the future, cost be damned.
OSHA will now be regulating what OSHA considers to be "noise pollution," after 27 years where there have been no problems (or those problems have been resolved to everyone's satisfaction.)
HT: OptimConserv
Personal Income Data Is UGLY
Take a look at this chart.
It doesn't take long to notice that the numbers for 2009 are almost identical to the numbers for 2007. So '09 was a pretty awful year.
Now look at 3Q10 (which will be revised, but hey...) comparing to 2007. All the numbers are more or less equal to 2007 until you get to proprietorship incomes which are up, both farm and non-farm. So that category is OK.
But the biggest pop? "Personal transfer receipts" (unemployment, SocSec, etc.)
That ginormous increase from transfer-payments is almost equal to the increase shown in the very last line (disposable income, chained).
Ticker also notes that tax revs are down significantly, so while the Gummint pays out a lot more in transfer payments, it's taking in a lot less in taxes. About a $920 BILLION spread.
Ugh.
It doesn't take long to notice that the numbers for 2009 are almost identical to the numbers for 2007. So '09 was a pretty awful year.
Now look at 3Q10 (which will be revised, but hey...) comparing to 2007. All the numbers are more or less equal to 2007 until you get to proprietorship incomes which are up, both farm and non-farm. So that category is OK.
But the biggest pop? "Personal transfer receipts" (unemployment, SocSec, etc.)
That ginormous increase from transfer-payments is almost equal to the increase shown in the very last line (disposable income, chained).
Ticker also notes that tax revs are down significantly, so while the Gummint pays out a lot more in transfer payments, it's taking in a lot less in taxes. About a $920 BILLION spread.
Ugh.
GDP Pop? Yes, in Warehouses
GDP popped 2% last quarter.
But 3/4ths of that 'pop' was inventory.
So meh.
OTOH, durables are up--and a lot of that was machinery & equipment, which is good news.
But 3/4ths of that 'pop' was inventory.
So meh.
OTOH, durables are up--and a lot of that was machinery & equipment, which is good news.
Surprise! LeftOWacky Assaults (R) Supporter
Evidently the LeftOWackies are worried.
By choking him
Pic at the link.
HT: Gateway
At the first debate at the University of Arizona between Democrat Gabrielle Giffords and Republican Jesse Kelly, a fictitious group called Republicorp showed up trying to convince people that the Republican Party is bought off by Wall St (despite the FACT that most contributions from Wall St went to Obama).
Well, it appears that these may be the Chicago goons we were looking for. Since they cannot tolerate any dissent, one of the “Republicorp” liberal activists tried to shut up a Jesse Kelly supporter who was telling the crowd about Gabrielle Giffords’ record of voting with Nancy Pelosi…By choking him
Pic at the link.
HT: Gateway
Title Insurers Decide to Insure REO Titles
This is a reverse after only about 2 weeks.
Three major title insurance companies - First American Financial, Old Republic International and Stewart Information Services - told Wall Street analysts in conference calls Thursday that they had decided not to demand written indemnifications from lenders re-selling foreclosed homes. Combined, the three companies account for 52 percent of the title insurance market--WaPo via CalcRisk
Evidently they decided that the risk in the MERS-Mess is not substantial, or they've been told that they don't have to worry.
Three major title insurance companies - First American Financial, Old Republic International and Stewart Information Services - told Wall Street analysts in conference calls Thursday that they had decided not to demand written indemnifications from lenders re-selling foreclosed homes. Combined, the three companies account for 52 percent of the title insurance market--WaPo via CalcRisk
Evidently they decided that the risk in the MERS-Mess is not substantial, or they've been told that they don't have to worry.
Nanny Overlord Witkowiak
In a move designed to reduce the City of Milwaukee's population even further, Nanny Overlord Witkowiak criminalizes tossing medicine bottles.
What a bozo.
What a bozo.
Yank the Pentagon's Chain, Hard
Plenty of budget cuts out there, folks!
Nearly $18 billion was awarded for reconstruction from 2007-2009, the audit showed, but the Pentagon, the U.S. State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) "are unable to readily report on how much money they spend on contracting for reconstruction activities in Afghanistan," the inspector general found.
...Four contracting organizations within the Department of Defense do not coordinate and share information with one another, the report found, adding there is a "minimal sharing" of information across government agencies.
If the geniuses at the Pentagon can't tell us where the money went, they don't need it.
Same stuff, different day:
The U.S. Department of Defense got more than $9 billion from the sale of Iraqi oil and other revenue streams to be used for reconstruction inside the war-damaged nation and spent it but now cannot document where $8.7 billion of those funds went, according to an inspector general's report.
How very nice! The US spends umpty-zillion "building democracy" and has no friggin' idea what, exactly, was "built."
Nearly $18 billion was awarded for reconstruction from 2007-2009, the audit showed, but the Pentagon, the U.S. State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) "are unable to readily report on how much money they spend on contracting for reconstruction activities in Afghanistan," the inspector general found.
...Four contracting organizations within the Department of Defense do not coordinate and share information with one another, the report found, adding there is a "minimal sharing" of information across government agencies.
If the geniuses at the Pentagon can't tell us where the money went, they don't need it.
Same stuff, different day:
The U.S. Department of Defense got more than $9 billion from the sale of Iraqi oil and other revenue streams to be used for reconstruction inside the war-damaged nation and spent it but now cannot document where $8.7 billion of those funds went, according to an inspector general's report.
How very nice! The US spends umpty-zillion "building democracy" and has no friggin' idea what, exactly, was "built."
NFL's PAC Gave $5K to Feingold
It should not be a surprise that the NFL, which depends on various Gummint favors, is trying to re-elect Gummint favor-granters.
The PAC has given $10,000 to Reid—the maximum it can give in a single election cycle—and no money to Angle...
The NFL’s PAC also contributed to other incumbent Democratic senators facing viable challengers this year, giving $5,000 to Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas; $5,000 to Russ Feingold of Wisconsin; $5,000 to Barbara Boxer of California; $5,000 to Michael Bennet of Colorado; and $5,000 to Patty Murray of Washington.
Of course, the NFL is not an eeeeeeeeeevil "business." Right?
The PAC has given $10,000 to Reid—the maximum it can give in a single election cycle—and no money to Angle...
The NFL’s PAC also contributed to other incumbent Democratic senators facing viable challengers this year, giving $5,000 to Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas; $5,000 to Russ Feingold of Wisconsin; $5,000 to Barbara Boxer of California; $5,000 to Michael Bennet of Colorado; and $5,000 to Patty Murray of Washington.
Of course, the NFL is not an eeeeeeeeeevil "business." Right?
Will Congress Stop Corn-A-Holing You?
Welfare for corn farmers is set to expire 12/31/10.
As of now, the federal government is mandating that U.S. vehicle fleet burn 36 billion gallons of ethanol per year by 2022.
That costs big, big, big money.
According to estimates by Earth Track founder, Douglas Koplow, if current laws are maintained until 2022, the biofuels industry will receive more than $60 billion per year in subsidies, more than six times the $9.5 billion in support received in 2008. --NAS study (Runge/Johnson)
That's about $750/ton of CO2-reduction. You can buy credits for CO2 reduction for $20/ton in Europe.
Of course, the next Congress could simply repeal the program.
OR we could have more elections.
As of now, the federal government is mandating that U.S. vehicle fleet burn 36 billion gallons of ethanol per year by 2022.
That costs big, big, big money.
According to estimates by Earth Track founder, Douglas Koplow, if current laws are maintained until 2022, the biofuels industry will receive more than $60 billion per year in subsidies, more than six times the $9.5 billion in support received in 2008. --NAS study (Runge/Johnson)
That's about $750/ton of CO2-reduction. You can buy credits for CO2 reduction for $20/ton in Europe.
Of course, the next Congress could simply repeal the program.
OR we could have more elections.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Kerry Gets It (Partly) Right
John F'n Kerry, who served in Vietnam, paid his yacht-taxes and complains.
Kerry singled out attacks on an energy deal he was negotiating with Republicans, which fell apart amid criticism of an emissions-trading program. Some 20 Senate candidates are now opposing the proposed deal in their campaigns.
“It’s absurd. We’ve lost our minds,” said a clearly exasperated Kerry. “We’re in a period of know-nothingism in the country, where truth and science and facts don’t weigh in. It’s all short-order, lowest common denominator, cheap-seat politics.”
That last sentence-and-a-half was correct, retrospectively; Obama did get elected on a fact- and truth-free platform featuring cheap-seat politics and playing to the lowest common denominator.
And that applies to the AGW fairy tales, too.
What? You say that's not what Kerry meant?
HT: Zippers
Budget Cuts? Here's Another One!
This reminds me that the UN is a waste of US taxpayer money.
We don't have to spend it there. And we can get our troops back as a bonus!
Another reason here.
We don't have to spend it there. And we can get our troops back as a bonus!
Another reason here.
Just Who Do These People Think They Are?
For what it's worth, because there's not a lot you can learn here.
...let’s recap: Treadway tried to censor Reynolds from criticizing her, Treadway, a federal prosecutor. She then tried to intimidate patients of the doctor Reynolds was advocating for from defending him. She then retaliated against Reynolds with a criminal investigation. And she has now gagged Reynolds and barred the public from knowing anything about that investigation. And thus far, on the latter two actions, the federal courts have backed her up.
The doctor was a pain practitioner. Grand jury proceedings locked under seal (??). 10th Circuit agrees to the seal. Case going to SCOTUS.
Treadway was a GWB appointee, case being continued 'steady as she goes' by Obama types.
HT: Agitator
...let’s recap: Treadway tried to censor Reynolds from criticizing her, Treadway, a federal prosecutor. She then tried to intimidate patients of the doctor Reynolds was advocating for from defending him. She then retaliated against Reynolds with a criminal investigation. And she has now gagged Reynolds and barred the public from knowing anything about that investigation. And thus far, on the latter two actions, the federal courts have backed her up.
The doctor was a pain practitioner. Grand jury proceedings locked under seal (??). 10th Circuit agrees to the seal. Case going to SCOTUS.
Treadway was a GWB appointee, case being continued 'steady as she goes' by Obama types.
HT: Agitator
On Feingold's Planet, There are Three Moons, Too
The Johnson folks are not putting this one on the air.
Too bad, but you can view it here.
Rusty (Washington Politician) Feingold says the economy is "gangbusters."
Today's BLS report tells us that 250,000 people just dropped off of Extended Unemployment, and that there are 300,000 more ON EU than there were last year at this time.
And the reason Rusty's pal with the Waunakee fence company is doing so well? Simple. They're selling fences to cut off access to closed factories and un-finished construction projects.
Gravediggers did very well when the Black Death hit Europe, too.
HT: Sykes
Too bad, but you can view it here.
Rusty (Washington Politician) Feingold says the economy is "gangbusters."
Today's BLS report tells us that 250,000 people just dropped off of Extended Unemployment, and that there are 300,000 more ON EU than there were last year at this time.
And the reason Rusty's pal with the Waunakee fence company is doing so well? Simple. They're selling fences to cut off access to closed factories and un-finished construction projects.
Gravediggers did very well when the Black Death hit Europe, too.
HT: Sykes
The TEA Party's Mirror-Image: HillBuzz
Rush mentioned this and Ace has a copy. It's the PUMAs letter, and it's hot hot hot. In a way, it's a mirror-image of the TEA Party's 'revolt' against McPain, the (R) Spending Party bunch, and the Bush-ist Big Gummint power-grabbers such as Karl Rove. (But I repeat myself.)
...a Civil War in the Democrat ranks has been raging since May 31st, 2008…a date every Hillary Clinton supporter knows well, because that was the date of the Democrat Rules & Bylaws Committee Meeting where Howard Dean (then-DNC Chair), Donna Brazile, and scores of other Kool-Aid slurping Obama flunkies took off their masks and revealed the full extent of the Leftist coup that had taken over the party. This was the day when the DNC took delegates Hillary Clinton won in Michigan away from her and handed them to Obama (despite the fact he wasn’t even on the primary ballot in that state, because he removed his name when his campaign realized he’d come in third in that race).
They found that the logical end of McGovernism is here.
I was a Democrat for 32 years before the heavy-handed push for Obama alienated me from the party…and I borrow what Hillary Clinton said about Republicans once, back when she was a Goldwater Girl, and will paraphrase by saying that I didn’t leave the Democrat Party, the Democrat Party left me.
FWIW, the author won't register as a Pubbie b/c the Illinois Pubbie Party is.....ahhh.....just as evil-ridden as the Illinois Democrat Party.
There's the Familiar:
While I was always aware Democrats use unions and other means to cheat in elections, I never knew the Democrat Party was capable of the large-scale, aggressive, unapologetic fraud it committed on Obama’s behalf all through 2008. In Iowa, I watched Obama’s ACORN and SEIU goons push and shove old people, bully them, and intimidate them when they wanted to vote for Hillary Clinton. I saw scores of Illinois license plates fill the parking lots outside caucus locations, with Chicagoland Obama supporters illegally entering the Caucus sites to vote for Obama and game Iowa for him. Having planned ahead, Obama supporters actually RAN those caucus sites, and held the doors open for all these fraudulent voters to walk right in, without being asked for IDs, where they then took control of the caucuses and bullied the Iowa residents into supporting Obama — lest they be called RAAACISTS! out in the open in front of their friends and neighbors in those open-air caucuses.
And then Kevin has the temerity to quote the Obamunists!
Now for a most unusual (or, perhaps, counter-espionage-esque?) declaration:
The reason so many of us support Governor Palin is not just because we see the same Alinksy assaults being waged upon her…but the woman is pitch-perfect in outlining exactly why Obama and the Left are wrong, and why Democrats under Obama are dangerous to have in elected office.
A couple of thoughts...
1) The author would have Rush believe that there are big numbers of disaffected (D) folk out there who are utterly revolted by Obamunism. I don't doubt that SOME number of (D) folk are revolted, but how many? Will it make a difference?
This year, it clearly WILL make a difference, as will the TEA Party. The "enthusiasm gap" is obvious--for crying out loud, Barrett is not enthusiastic about running for Governor. But how long will that last?
2) The author doesn't exactly disavow vote-fraud. Too bad.
3) Like the TEA Party, this author (and allies) doesn't seem to have an alternative nominee for '12--nor an agenda (aside from what HRC might have done.) At least the TEA Party has something of an agenda: reduce the Fed and the States' Gummints, reduce the deficits and debts.
Bears watching, I guess.
...a Civil War in the Democrat ranks has been raging since May 31st, 2008…a date every Hillary Clinton supporter knows well, because that was the date of the Democrat Rules & Bylaws Committee Meeting where Howard Dean (then-DNC Chair), Donna Brazile, and scores of other Kool-Aid slurping Obama flunkies took off their masks and revealed the full extent of the Leftist coup that had taken over the party. This was the day when the DNC took delegates Hillary Clinton won in Michigan away from her and handed them to Obama (despite the fact he wasn’t even on the primary ballot in that state, because he removed his name when his campaign realized he’d come in third in that race).
They found that the logical end of McGovernism is here.
I was a Democrat for 32 years before the heavy-handed push for Obama alienated me from the party…and I borrow what Hillary Clinton said about Republicans once, back when she was a Goldwater Girl, and will paraphrase by saying that I didn’t leave the Democrat Party, the Democrat Party left me.
FWIW, the author won't register as a Pubbie b/c the Illinois Pubbie Party is.....ahhh.....just as evil-ridden as the Illinois Democrat Party.
There's the Familiar:
While I was always aware Democrats use unions and other means to cheat in elections, I never knew the Democrat Party was capable of the large-scale, aggressive, unapologetic fraud it committed on Obama’s behalf all through 2008. In Iowa, I watched Obama’s ACORN and SEIU goons push and shove old people, bully them, and intimidate them when they wanted to vote for Hillary Clinton. I saw scores of Illinois license plates fill the parking lots outside caucus locations, with Chicagoland Obama supporters illegally entering the Caucus sites to vote for Obama and game Iowa for him. Having planned ahead, Obama supporters actually RAN those caucus sites, and held the doors open for all these fraudulent voters to walk right in, without being asked for IDs, where they then took control of the caucuses and bullied the Iowa residents into supporting Obama — lest they be called RAAACISTS! out in the open in front of their friends and neighbors in those open-air caucuses.
And then Kevin has the temerity to quote the Obamunists!
During the campaign, Donna Brazile famously said that the Democrat Party no longer needed the people Obama once described as “bitter, religion-and-guns-clinging, Midwesterners”. Brazile took this further and said, outright, that the Democrat party did not need blue-collar white voters, the Jacksonian voters, the Hillary voters, because the party was “Obamafied” and would win elections for generations with the Obama coalition of blacks, Leftist elites, Hispanics, low information gay voters, and self-hating Jews.
This is all the Democrats have left, Rush.
Consequences, again:
Democrats took off the mask. The DNC reveled in being fully Leftist-controlled. Crazy people unapologetic in their Communist admiration took over positions of great influence not just in the DNC, but in our state and federal governments as well.Now for a most unusual (or, perhaps, counter-espionage-esque?) declaration:
The reason so many of us support Governor Palin is not just because we see the same Alinksy assaults being waged upon her…but the woman is pitch-perfect in outlining exactly why Obama and the Left are wrong, and why Democrats under Obama are dangerous to have in elected office.
A couple of thoughts...
1) The author would have Rush believe that there are big numbers of disaffected (D) folk out there who are utterly revolted by Obamunism. I don't doubt that SOME number of (D) folk are revolted, but how many? Will it make a difference?
This year, it clearly WILL make a difference, as will the TEA Party. The "enthusiasm gap" is obvious--for crying out loud, Barrett is not enthusiastic about running for Governor. But how long will that last?
2) The author doesn't exactly disavow vote-fraud. Too bad.
3) Like the TEA Party, this author (and allies) doesn't seem to have an alternative nominee for '12--nor an agenda (aside from what HRC might have done.) At least the TEA Party has something of an agenda: reduce the Fed and the States' Gummints, reduce the deficits and debts.
Bears watching, I guess.
Hmmnpf. I Told You So!
I've mentioned "Throw ALL the Bums Out!!" a few times on this blog, and also mentioned it to a Republican Party operative. (He reacted with horror and disgust.)
He might wind up in the fetal position if he reads this:
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 65% of Likely U.S. Voters say if they had the option next week, they would vote to get rid of the entire Congress and start all over again.
That operative is very defensive about the (R) telethon-GOTV system--which, by the way, is error-ridden to the point of embarrassment.
Some things simply need to be fixed.
He might wind up in the fetal position if he reads this:
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 65% of Likely U.S. Voters say if they had the option next week, they would vote to get rid of the entire Congress and start all over again.
That operative is very defensive about the (R) telethon-GOTV system--which, by the way, is error-ridden to the point of embarrassment.
Some things simply need to be fixed.
Moral Hazards From Nanny Government
The counter-intuitive. Too much Gummint results in stupid citizens.
...The University of Chicago economist Sam Peltzman famously studied the results of the American 1966 Motor Safety Act that mandated new car safety standards. Instead of making driving safer, Peltzman found, the new standards prompted drivers to be more reckless on the roads, and endangered the lives of pedestrians. Other risk analysts have found the same occurred when seatbelt laws were introduced around the world.
Economists call that ''moral hazard'' - when people feel they are insulated from the consequences of their actions and behave differently as a result.
Similarly, some advocate that the NFL abandon helmets, noting that un-helmeted rugby players suffer less concussions than NFL players. Seems that rugby players are more cautious.
Well, maybe. Rugby tackling-rules ARE different: tackles must be made at waist-level or below (e.g.). On the other hand, rugby players actually play for 60 minutes, whereas an NFL team (offense AND defense) only plays for around 25 of the 60 minutes allotted.
Anyhoo,...
In a revolution in traffic management across Europe, a number of towns are removing traffic lights, stop signs, and other road markings. Once eliminated, drivers enter intersections more slowly and more attentively. Instead of focusing their attention on signs, they make eye contact with other drivers. They negotiate. Accidents in these towns have dramatically declined...
(Quotations from the Sydney Morning Herald at this post of Bayou)
...The University of Chicago economist Sam Peltzman famously studied the results of the American 1966 Motor Safety Act that mandated new car safety standards. Instead of making driving safer, Peltzman found, the new standards prompted drivers to be more reckless on the roads, and endangered the lives of pedestrians. Other risk analysts have found the same occurred when seatbelt laws were introduced around the world.
Economists call that ''moral hazard'' - when people feel they are insulated from the consequences of their actions and behave differently as a result.
Similarly, some advocate that the NFL abandon helmets, noting that un-helmeted rugby players suffer less concussions than NFL players. Seems that rugby players are more cautious.
Well, maybe. Rugby tackling-rules ARE different: tackles must be made at waist-level or below (e.g.). On the other hand, rugby players actually play for 60 minutes, whereas an NFL team (offense AND defense) only plays for around 25 of the 60 minutes allotted.
Anyhoo,...
In a revolution in traffic management across Europe, a number of towns are removing traffic lights, stop signs, and other road markings. Once eliminated, drivers enter intersections more slowly and more attentively. Instead of focusing their attention on signs, they make eye contact with other drivers. They negotiate. Accidents in these towns have dramatically declined...
(Quotations from the Sydney Morning Herald at this post of Bayou)
On Voting for Catholics
Abp. (soon Cardinal) Burke, from Rome, on the mid-terms.
...Cardinal-designate Burke said one “can never vote for someone who favors absolutely the right to choice of a woman to destroy a human life in her womb or the right to a procured abortion.”
That's part one.
[He] also addressed the issue of same-sex “marriage,” asserting that maintaining the definition of marriage as between one man and one woman is not unjust discrimination.
There. The Archbishop gave all the instruction that the pastor (below) didn't bother with. That pastor was so much more concerned with "nastiness" than, say, murder, or acts contrary to nature. Priorities, you know.
HT: Fr Z
...Cardinal-designate Burke said one “can never vote for someone who favors absolutely the right to choice of a woman to destroy a human life in her womb or the right to a procured abortion.”
That's part one.
[He] also addressed the issue of same-sex “marriage,” asserting that maintaining the definition of marriage as between one man and one woman is not unjust discrimination.
There. The Archbishop gave all the instruction that the pastor (below) didn't bother with. That pastor was so much more concerned with "nastiness" than, say, murder, or acts contrary to nature. Priorities, you know.
HT: Fr Z
Politics? Culture?
Interesting commentary from R R Reno.
...Today as we shift toward a seemingly ever-increasing interest in the machinery of partisan politics, we’re becoming Marxists by default. Marx held that economic realities are fundamental, and questions of culture are epiphenomenal.
To use the technical terms of Marxist theory, the struggle for economic power functions as the base of social reality, while literature and poetry, music, and the arts are part of the “superstructure” that is determined by the base. Thus the primacy of politics, for whoever controls the levers of state power can influence and guide economic affairs, and thus control everything.
That, v. the 'older' method:
...the capacity to talk about Jane Austen or T.S. Eliot or James Joyce was once seen as clear indication of a highly developed and socially relevant mind. Literature, theater, film, the visual arts—a certain acquaintance with and command of these domains made people intellectuals. For Lionel Trilling and Jacques Barzun and their readers, debates about novels and poetry seemed more fraught with public significance than the ins and outs of current electoral politics.
So?
...across the board we assume that politics is about power—getting it and wielding it. The question, asked by Plato and Aristotle, as well as Augustine and Aquinas, “What is politics for?” is irrelevant, and indeed uninteresting.
This tacitly Bolshevik mentality is mistaken. Yes, of course people vote their pocketbooks. “It’s the economy, stupid,” as Bill Clinton reminded his campaign in 1992. But we also vote in order to forestall what we fear, and to achieve what we hope for.
And, of course, that's a reductionism which is short-sighted AND which leads to problems.
This is why the most potent force in political life is the human imagination, not control over the levers of state power. Utopian fantasies and exaggerated dreams of national greatness agitated millions in the twentieth century, providing legitimacy to communist and fascist regimes
The rhetoric of "Hope'n'Change'.
But of course, the reductionism works the other way, too: the Dickensian State is not all that admirable.
...Today as we shift toward a seemingly ever-increasing interest in the machinery of partisan politics, we’re becoming Marxists by default. Marx held that economic realities are fundamental, and questions of culture are epiphenomenal.
To use the technical terms of Marxist theory, the struggle for economic power functions as the base of social reality, while literature and poetry, music, and the arts are part of the “superstructure” that is determined by the base. Thus the primacy of politics, for whoever controls the levers of state power can influence and guide economic affairs, and thus control everything.
That, v. the 'older' method:
...the capacity to talk about Jane Austen or T.S. Eliot or James Joyce was once seen as clear indication of a highly developed and socially relevant mind. Literature, theater, film, the visual arts—a certain acquaintance with and command of these domains made people intellectuals. For Lionel Trilling and Jacques Barzun and their readers, debates about novels and poetry seemed more fraught with public significance than the ins and outs of current electoral politics.
So?
...across the board we assume that politics is about power—getting it and wielding it. The question, asked by Plato and Aristotle, as well as Augustine and Aquinas, “What is politics for?” is irrelevant, and indeed uninteresting.
This tacitly Bolshevik mentality is mistaken. Yes, of course people vote their pocketbooks. “It’s the economy, stupid,” as Bill Clinton reminded his campaign in 1992. But we also vote in order to forestall what we fear, and to achieve what we hope for.
And, of course, that's a reductionism which is short-sighted AND which leads to problems.
This is why the most potent force in political life is the human imagination, not control over the levers of state power. Utopian fantasies and exaggerated dreams of national greatness agitated millions in the twentieth century, providing legitimacy to communist and fascist regimes
The rhetoric of "Hope'n'Change'.
But of course, the reductionism works the other way, too: the Dickensian State is not all that admirable.
Context Counts
Broden, a (R) candidate in Texas:
...Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.
Those damned (R) people. What gives them the RIGHT to paraphrase the Declaration? Who in Hell do they think they ARE?
More at the link, and it is pointed commentary.
HT: Domine, Da Mihi
The Declaration of Independence:Q: Are you implying that if a change at the ballot box can’t be made to your satisfaction you’re urging some violent uprising or overthrow of the government?
A:No, I’m not saying to my satisfaction at all. I’m saying that if in fact we have a government who becomes destructive to the end that the Founding Fathers identified within the Declaration and that has to deal with our liberties, our unalienable rights, those rights that are given to us by our Creator, if in fact government becomes destructive to that end it is the right of the governed to alter or abolish it and abolishment there means to change it, and change has to do with revolution.
...Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.
Those damned (R) people. What gives them the RIGHT to paraphrase the Declaration? Who in Hell do they think they ARE?
More at the link, and it is pointed commentary.
HT: Domine, Da Mihi
How Many Jobs Did You Hold?
This is the (very very) brief take:
In the instant action, Ms. Johnson-Seck claims to be: a Vice President of MERS in the March 16, 2009 MERS to INDYMAC assignment; a Vice President of INDYMAC in the May 14, 2009 INDYMAC to ONEWEST assignment; and, a Vice President of ONEWEST in her June 30, 2009-affidavit of merit.Ms. Johnson-Seck must explain to the Court, in her affidavit: her employment history for the past three years; and, why a conflict of interest does not exist in the instant action with her acting as a Vice President of assignor MERS, a Vice President of assignee/assignor INDYMAC, and a Vice President of assignee/plaintiff ONEWEST.
While Ms. Johnson-Seck may explain her employment at IndyMac and OneWest easily (the latter was a successor-corporation of the former), it will be a bit more interesting to see her affadavit's explanation of the MERS Vice-Presidency, as MERS had no employees.
None.
HT: Denninger
In the instant action, Ms. Johnson-Seck claims to be: a Vice President of MERS in the March 16, 2009 MERS to INDYMAC assignment; a Vice President of INDYMAC in the May 14, 2009 INDYMAC to ONEWEST assignment; and, a Vice President of ONEWEST in her June 30, 2009-affidavit of merit.Ms. Johnson-Seck must explain to the Court, in her affidavit: her employment history for the past three years; and, why a conflict of interest does not exist in the instant action with her acting as a Vice President of assignor MERS, a Vice President of assignee/assignor INDYMAC, and a Vice President of assignee/plaintiff ONEWEST.
While Ms. Johnson-Seck may explain her employment at IndyMac and OneWest easily (the latter was a successor-corporation of the former), it will be a bit more interesting to see her affadavit's explanation of the MERS Vice-Presidency, as MERS had no employees.
None.
HT: Denninger
"Send a Little More Money and I'll Change My Mind.."
Pandering for maximum contributions, you understand, requires time.
"I have been to this point unwilling to sign on to same-sex marriage primarily because of my understandings of the traditional definitions of marriage. But I also think you’re right that attitudes evolve, including mine," Obama said...
As JOM notes, Obama's position on gay "marriage" has reversed.
Obama is poised to flip-flop back to the position he held in 1996, when he unambiguously supported gay marriage.
Of course, if he takes too long to re-flop, he may not be in office.
"I have been to this point unwilling to sign on to same-sex marriage primarily because of my understandings of the traditional definitions of marriage. But I also think you’re right that attitudes evolve, including mine," Obama said...
As JOM notes, Obama's position on gay "marriage" has reversed.
Obama is poised to flip-flop back to the position he held in 1996, when he unambiguously supported gay marriage.
Of course, if he takes too long to re-flop, he may not be in office.
The Bought-and-Paid-For Party? (D)
Wall Street, pharmaceuticals, HMO's, Unions, and Business PAC's--not to mention lobbyists, gave far more to the (D) Party than the (R) this cycle.
HT: Carney
HT: Carney
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Nastiness in Politics
The pastor of a Prestigious West Suburban Parish wrote a several-graf letter to his parishioners lamenting the nastiness of political opinion.
Some parishioner referred to Nancy Pelosi as 'the Anti-Christ.'
Let's hope she's not, hey. But one wonders what that pastor might have said about Ace.
I was just about to link this evergreen story about Nancy Pelosi's Broomstick Express with the snark that she'll resign if we take it away from her.
Quoted below, a section wherein Granny Rictus McBotoxImplants' staff attempts to get the plane repositioned ...
But enough of his compliments about Nancy.
Anyhoo, the pastor hoped that his flock would vote with a fully-informed conscience.
Noteworthy: in his entire 'charity to all' letter, the pastor NEVER mentioned Feingold's or Barrett's support for abortion--which happens to be a Non-Negotiable Evil in the eyes of the Church.
So....why didn't the pastor "inform" the consciences of his flock?
I don't know. But I don't think Pelosi is the Anti-Christ. Yet.
Some parishioner referred to Nancy Pelosi as 'the Anti-Christ.'
Let's hope she's not, hey. But one wonders what that pastor might have said about Ace.
I was just about to link this evergreen story about Nancy Pelosi's Broomstick Express with the snark that she'll resign if we take it away from her.
Quoted below, a section wherein Granny Rictus McBotoxImplants' staff attempts to get the plane repositioned ...
But enough of his compliments about Nancy.
Anyhoo, the pastor hoped that his flock would vote with a fully-informed conscience.
Noteworthy: in his entire 'charity to all' letter, the pastor NEVER mentioned Feingold's or Barrett's support for abortion--which happens to be a Non-Negotiable Evil in the eyes of the Church.
So....why didn't the pastor "inform" the consciences of his flock?
I don't know. But I don't think Pelosi is the Anti-Christ. Yet.
Did TARP Actually Return Profits?
Oh, yah, the Gummint spinners (and the Banks) are happy to yappy that TARP is a profit-maker.
Well, yes.
If you don't count the $135 billion (and maybe $245 Billion) that Fan/Fred are losing.
...On crap-paper they bought from the Banks.
....which Banks are now "repaying" TARP, with interest.
IOW, the taxpayer recapitalized the Banks, then cleaned up their portfolios---and now Obama/TurboTim & Co. are telling you that it was a helluva good deal for the taxpayers.
*No, not ALL the Banks. Not yet, anyway.
Well, yes.
If you don't count the $135 billion (and maybe $245 Billion) that Fan/Fred are losing.
...On crap-paper they bought from the Banks.
....which Banks are now "repaying" TARP, with interest.
IOW, the taxpayer recapitalized the Banks, then cleaned up their portfolios---and now Obama/TurboTim & Co. are telling you that it was a helluva good deal for the taxpayers.
*No, not ALL the Banks. Not yet, anyway.
"Entuhsiasm Gap"? WHAT "Enthusiasm"?
He played to 1/3rd of a house in Detroit.
Now, in Chicago, only a couple hundred. And the WLS radio report had even more:
Former President Bill Clinton's 'get out the vote' rally for Democrats at a downtown Chicago hotel was the most unenthusiastic WLS veteran political reporter Bill Cameron has ever witnessed.
Well, 200 is more than Biden's 80 in Milwaukee.
HT MoonBattery
Now, in Chicago, only a couple hundred. And the WLS radio report had even more:
Former President Bill Clinton's 'get out the vote' rally for Democrats at a downtown Chicago hotel was the most unenthusiastic WLS veteran political reporter Bill Cameron has ever witnessed.
Well, 200 is more than Biden's 80 in Milwaukee.
HT MoonBattery
The Rest of the Story on the Rand Paul Stalker
Oh, yes, there's a "rest of the story."
No, I don't condone stepping on someone's neck under those circumstances, period.
HT: LegalInsurrection
Just by co-incidence, the woman has a number of 'incidents' on her record.
No, I don't condone stepping on someone's neck under those circumstances, period.
HT: LegalInsurrection
Just by co-incidence, the woman has a number of 'incidents' on her record.
The Milwaukee "Catholic" Herald?
I'm reliably informed that the "Catholic" Herald of Milwaukee ran an advertisement for Senator Partial-Birth-Abortion Feingold.
I think that's called blood money, and there's a place for it: Haceldema.
I think that's called blood money, and there's a place for it: Haceldema.
A Warning for Ron Johnson, Ribble, and Duffy
Erik Erickson has a few words of wisdom for Ron Johnson.
...expecting to pick up a number of seats by “newbies,” what do GOP leaders in Washington want to ensure? They want “GOP insiders to staff outsiders,” according to Roll Call.
...Having worked on the Hill, I can tell you that new members would be better off telling leadership to stuff it. ...This is about making sure the “newbies” do not rock the boat and get with the program… the Washington establishment’s program. The staff that the establishment will “suggest” to the new members will be the same freaking idiots who have been bouncing around the Hill forever and will be more likely to go along to get along - to continue the same way Washington has been working forever. Just take a look at top Republican offices - they are a bunch of re-treads from years past, Administrations past - and for those of us who have been in the trenches fighting for conservatism, let me just say that we have more often been fighting against them than with them.
As RoJo undoubtedly knows, the single most important individual in his Senate office will be the secretary/receptionist. That person likely should have Hill experience, because that sergeant will run the Army.
All the rest? Weight it heavily with Conservative people from Wisconsin who understand that the MOST important question to ask is "Cui bono"? The answer must be "the American people."
Any questions, see Jim Sensenbrenner.
...expecting to pick up a number of seats by “newbies,” what do GOP leaders in Washington want to ensure? They want “GOP insiders to staff outsiders,” according to Roll Call.
...Having worked on the Hill, I can tell you that new members would be better off telling leadership to stuff it. ...This is about making sure the “newbies” do not rock the boat and get with the program… the Washington establishment’s program. The staff that the establishment will “suggest” to the new members will be the same freaking idiots who have been bouncing around the Hill forever and will be more likely to go along to get along - to continue the same way Washington has been working forever. Just take a look at top Republican offices - they are a bunch of re-treads from years past, Administrations past - and for those of us who have been in the trenches fighting for conservatism, let me just say that we have more often been fighting against them than with them.
As RoJo undoubtedly knows, the single most important individual in his Senate office will be the secretary/receptionist. That person likely should have Hill experience, because that sergeant will run the Army.
All the rest? Weight it heavily with Conservative people from Wisconsin who understand that the MOST important question to ask is "Cui bono"? The answer must be "the American people."
Any questions, see Jim Sensenbrenner.
Vote GAY!!
See? My headlines are decidedly egalitarian.
Now watch the 30-second video.
He's pretty good with that pistol.
Now watch the 30-second video.
He's pretty good with that pistol.
Barnum & Bailey's 9th Circus Rolls On
Citizenship required to vote?
Not in the West!!
A three-judge panel of the court said the proof-of- citizenship requirement conflicted with the intent of the federal law aiming to increase voter registration by streamlining the process with a single form and removing state- imposed obstacles to registration.
HT: Malkin
Not in the West!!
A three-judge panel of the court said the proof-of- citizenship requirement conflicted with the intent of the federal law aiming to increase voter registration by streamlining the process with a single form and removing state- imposed obstacles to registration.
The federal law requires applicants to “attest to their citizenship under penalty of perjury” without requiring documentary proof, the panel said.
“Proposition 200 creates an additional state hurdle to registration,” the judges said.
And some wonder why the 10th Amendment is so......ahhh.......popular these days.HT: Malkin
Going Anti-Catholic: (D) Payback for Defending Marriage
The Minnesota CPUSA Democrat Farm Labor Party pushed a Catholic-bashing postcard.
Morrissey surmised the same thing I did:
A few weeks ago, the Catholic bishop issued DVDs with the Catholic Church’s arguments on same-sex marriage, which the DFL and its supporters decried as interference in the election. This looks suspiciously like payback.
Even the Know-Nothings didn't campaign for homosex 'marriage.'
Morrissey surmised the same thing I did:
A few weeks ago, the Catholic bishop issued DVDs with the Catholic Church’s arguments on same-sex marriage, which the DFL and its supporters decried as interference in the election. This looks suspiciously like payback.
Even the Know-Nothings didn't campaign for homosex 'marriage.'
Heeding Sykes' Call
Charlie just suggested that 'armed guards should be posted at every shredder in the Governor's Office' when Barrett loses the election.
I think that can be arranged, Charlie, and it would be a lot of fun.
But Doyle's not that stupid. He destroyed all the evidence weeks ago, when it was obvious that his successor would be Walker.
I think that can be arranged, Charlie, and it would be a lot of fun.
But Doyle's not that stupid. He destroyed all the evidence weeks ago, when it was obvious that his successor would be Walker.
Where's SNAP Now?
Gee. Trial Attorney-financed SNAP is kinda quiet about this one.
A Catholic priest has been acquitted of sexually assaulting a female parishioner in La Crosse County.
A jury found the Rev. Edmund Donkor-Baine not guilty of misdemeanor assault. The 48-year-old visiting priest was accused of touching the woman's breasts after she sought marriage counseling in August 2009.
Not surprising, given this:
Donkor-Baine, visiting the U.S. from Ghana, said the 48-year-old woman made sexual advances to him.
Trial-attorney-financed SNAP (and some local priest) have implied that Bps. Burke and Listecki turned a blind eye to allegations of sexual impropriety in LaCrosse.
Waiting for apology......crickets.......crickets.......
A Catholic priest has been acquitted of sexually assaulting a female parishioner in La Crosse County.
A jury found the Rev. Edmund Donkor-Baine not guilty of misdemeanor assault. The 48-year-old visiting priest was accused of touching the woman's breasts after she sought marriage counseling in August 2009.
Not surprising, given this:
Donkor-Baine, visiting the U.S. from Ghana, said the 48-year-old woman made sexual advances to him.
Trial-attorney-financed SNAP (and some local priest) have implied that Bps. Burke and Listecki turned a blind eye to allegations of sexual impropriety in LaCrosse.
Waiting for apology......crickets.......crickets.......
Vegas Cop-Shop Signals Corruption
Actual professional police officers might want to pay attention to the Erik Scott story because the excrement is beginning to hit the rotational device--and the splatter will begin to foul badges across the country.
...I wrote of the fact that Sterner [Erik Scott's girlfriend who witnessed Scott's shooting] had recently received two traffic citations and several friends had been followed by the police for such distances that mere coincidence was not a credible explanation. The common factor was that all of the vehicles involved displayed a red, white and blue Erik Scott memorial ribbon on their rear surfaces.
Since that post, Sterner has received a third ticket. Bill Scott’s more detailed account of these recent developments can be found here. In brief, Sterner has received three tickets, two by Henderson officers, one by a Metro officer near her workplace, and as I mentioned in Update 7, others have been harassed--there is no other word for it--as well....
Mind you, the linked post is written by a 20+-year experienced supervisory LEO.
As with far too much in the Erik Scott case, this behavior by the officers of two cooperating police agencies goes beyond mere coincidence. It is unprofessional. It is badge heavy; it is destructive to the community and to the officers and their agencies. Oh, and let's not forget that tampering with witnesses (Sterner will be a witness in the upcoming civil trial and the Police know this) is unethical and a crime.
The tickets? Two "pink lights" and a 5-over speed violation.
So far, the LVPD/Metro Police are covering themselves with stink. That won't do much good for the tourist trade, either.
...I wrote of the fact that Sterner [Erik Scott's girlfriend who witnessed Scott's shooting] had recently received two traffic citations and several friends had been followed by the police for such distances that mere coincidence was not a credible explanation. The common factor was that all of the vehicles involved displayed a red, white and blue Erik Scott memorial ribbon on their rear surfaces.
Since that post, Sterner has received a third ticket. Bill Scott’s more detailed account of these recent developments can be found here. In brief, Sterner has received three tickets, two by Henderson officers, one by a Metro officer near her workplace, and as I mentioned in Update 7, others have been harassed--there is no other word for it--as well....
Mind you, the linked post is written by a 20+-year experienced supervisory LEO.
As with far too much in the Erik Scott case, this behavior by the officers of two cooperating police agencies goes beyond mere coincidence. It is unprofessional. It is badge heavy; it is destructive to the community and to the officers and their agencies. Oh, and let's not forget that tampering with witnesses (Sterner will be a witness in the upcoming civil trial and the Police know this) is unethical and a crime.
The tickets? Two "pink lights" and a 5-over speed violation.
So far, the LVPD/Metro Police are covering themselves with stink. That won't do much good for the tourist trade, either.
BK the School Districts?
Odd chatter from somebody Up Nort'.
Tired of cutting hundreds of thousands of dollars annually from their district's budget, some board members have lost confidence that state elected officials will change Wisconsin's school funding formula.During the board's recent monthly meeting, Nekoosa School Board member Steve Bechard introduced a rough outline of a plan that would have the district and others like it stop making cuts ...
What's the Plan, Ozzie??
Bechard wants to encourage school boards throughout the state to halt budget reductions, pushing their school districts into bankruptcy.
OK. Whatever floats your boat. At least that will eliminate the retiree health/pension obligations.
Tired of cutting hundreds of thousands of dollars annually from their district's budget, some board members have lost confidence that state elected officials will change Wisconsin's school funding formula.During the board's recent monthly meeting, Nekoosa School Board member Steve Bechard introduced a rough outline of a plan that would have the district and others like it stop making cuts ...
What's the Plan, Ozzie??
Bechard wants to encourage school boards throughout the state to halt budget reductions, pushing their school districts into bankruptcy.
OK. Whatever floats your boat. At least that will eliminate the retiree health/pension obligations.
Trial Lawyers Prefer Botulism
You take your choice. BPA or botulism. The trial lawyers prefer botulism!
Canada has announced it will ban the chemical bisphenol A -- known as BPA -- which is used to make plastic water and baby bottles.
You remember BPA, don't you? The Milwaukee paper has been yapping about it for a year or so, with information fed to them by the Trial Lawyers.
If you think that bottling-scientists are out to kill you, note the wording of this comment:
Richard Sharpe of the University of Edinburgh explained:
"Some early animal studies produced results suggesting the possibility of adverse effects relevant to human health, but much larger, carefully designed studies in several laboratories have failed to confirm these initial studies."
In other words, studies which did not have a conclusion prior to the science. (Global Warming, anyone??)
Oh, there's more:
"Since BPA became commonplace in the lining of canned goods, food-borne illness from canned foods -- including botulism -- has virtually disappeared," says the American Council of Science and Health.
Trial lawyers prefer botulism. Has to do with family, I suppose.
Canada has announced it will ban the chemical bisphenol A -- known as BPA -- which is used to make plastic water and baby bottles.
You remember BPA, don't you? The Milwaukee paper has been yapping about it for a year or so, with information fed to them by the Trial Lawyers.
If you think that bottling-scientists are out to kill you, note the wording of this comment:
Richard Sharpe of the University of Edinburgh explained:
"Some early animal studies produced results suggesting the possibility of adverse effects relevant to human health, but much larger, carefully designed studies in several laboratories have failed to confirm these initial studies."
In other words, studies which did not have a conclusion prior to the science. (Global Warming, anyone??)
Oh, there's more:
"Since BPA became commonplace in the lining of canned goods, food-borne illness from canned foods -- including botulism -- has virtually disappeared," says the American Council of Science and Health.
Trial lawyers prefer botulism. Has to do with family, I suppose.
Here's Another $400 Million/Year the Feds Waste
Budget cuts? No problem!!
First Lady Michelle Obama has called on Congress to create a $400 million-a-year program to encourage the establishment of supermarkets in places she calls “food deserts.”
Yah, well, her thesis is missing the staples.
...Congress mandated that the department conduct a $500,000 study of “food deserts.” The study—“Access to Affordable and Nutritious Food: Measuring and Understanding Food Deserts and Their Consequences”—was published in June 2009.
HT: CNS
First Lady Michelle Obama has called on Congress to create a $400 million-a-year program to encourage the establishment of supermarkets in places she calls “food deserts.”
Yah, well, her thesis is missing the staples.
...Congress mandated that the department conduct a $500,000 study of “food deserts.” The study—“Access to Affordable and Nutritious Food: Measuring and Understanding Food Deserts and Their Consequences”—was published in June 2009.
The report demonstrates that Mrs. Obama’s depiction of American “food deserts” is fatuous at best. Lower-income Americans live closer to supermarkets than higher-income Americans.
Nice try, Michelle.HT: CNS
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Law Enforcement?
I don't know what the New Haven (Conn.) cops are preparing for, but WWIII comes to mind.
Police had a warrant for a suspected marijuana operation, but it was in a different portion of a 15,000-square foot building that housed several businesses. They just went ahead and raided them all.
...This comes a few weeks after New Haven police sent the SWAT team to raid a bar where there was suspected underage drinking.
More of the story at the link.
A SWAT team for underage drinking?
Police had a warrant for a suspected marijuana operation, but it was in a different portion of a 15,000-square foot building that housed several businesses. They just went ahead and raided them all.
...This comes a few weeks after New Haven police sent the SWAT team to raid a bar where there was suspected underage drinking.
More of the story at the link.
A SWAT team for underage drinking?
The Problem With Banks
This just keeps getting worse.
A unit of Assured Guaranty Ltd. sued affiliates of Deutsche Bank AG over $312 million of mortgage- backed securities that the bond insurer guaranteed and says were “plagued by rampant fraud and misrepresentations.” Assured Guaranty Corp. is asking a judge to force the bank to repurchase the loans...
...Assured said more than 83 percent of 1,306 defaulted loans examined in one of the transactions, ACE’s Home Equity Loan Trust, Series 2007-SL2, breached Deutsche Bank’s representations and warranties. In the second deal, Home Equity Loan Trust, Series 2007-SL3, 86 percent of the 1,774 loans breached the agreements, Assured said.
An officer of Citibank testified under oath that Bank officials KNEW there were rep/warranty problems in their bundles.
Further down post-road at Ticker, he opines that the lawbreaking of the Banks (and Treasury, by the way) may have repercussions.
There's a limit to the screwing of this sort that the people will take. I have no idea where it is. Neither does anyone else. The Politicians definitely don't; they're tone deaf to this sort of abuse, because most of them haven't bought their own groceries or pumped their own gas in 20 years. We have reported every time there's an election how "Politician X" didn't pay his 24 speeding tickets and as a result his license was suspended - but now he paid them and it's all ok.
If the people get into their head that not only politicians can do this sort of thing and get away with it when it comes to things like traffic tickets, but banks can literally rob the people with predatory lending and then enlist the courts to screw them a second time in unjustly evicting them from their house, there is a point where they will snap.
So now they're foreclosing, but in many instances they don't have the proper paperwork. It was "accidentally destroyed."
That presents a very tough problem, no?
A unit of Assured Guaranty Ltd. sued affiliates of Deutsche Bank AG over $312 million of mortgage- backed securities that the bond insurer guaranteed and says were “plagued by rampant fraud and misrepresentations.” Assured Guaranty Corp. is asking a judge to force the bank to repurchase the loans...
...Assured said more than 83 percent of 1,306 defaulted loans examined in one of the transactions, ACE’s Home Equity Loan Trust, Series 2007-SL2, breached Deutsche Bank’s representations and warranties. In the second deal, Home Equity Loan Trust, Series 2007-SL3, 86 percent of the 1,774 loans breached the agreements, Assured said.
An officer of Citibank testified under oath that Bank officials KNEW there were rep/warranty problems in their bundles.
Further down post-road at Ticker, he opines that the lawbreaking of the Banks (and Treasury, by the way) may have repercussions.
There's a limit to the screwing of this sort that the people will take. I have no idea where it is. Neither does anyone else. The Politicians definitely don't; they're tone deaf to this sort of abuse, because most of them haven't bought their own groceries or pumped their own gas in 20 years. We have reported every time there's an election how "Politician X" didn't pay his 24 speeding tickets and as a result his license was suspended - but now he paid them and it's all ok.
If the people get into their head that not only politicians can do this sort of thing and get away with it when it comes to things like traffic tickets, but banks can literally rob the people with predatory lending and then enlist the courts to screw them a second time in unjustly evicting them from their house, there is a point where they will snap.
That point is where people vote from the rooftop.
Despite all the mewling and bleating from the WSJournal, it is fact that a number of Banks (and brokers--who were sometimes subsidiaries of the Banks) pulled all sorts of shenanigans in the subprime market.So now they're foreclosing, but in many instances they don't have the proper paperwork. It was "accidentally destroyed."
That presents a very tough problem, no?
UW-Madison Catholic Center
Looks kinda neat! A local architect proposed this elevation-design; an Omaha architect is handling the rest of the project.Let's hope that the Center includes a RESONANT CHAPEL SPACE with shoe-box proportions, plaster, hardwood floors, and no curtains. Fuggedabout the carpeted floor and cushioned seats, folks, please!!
HT: NLM
Who Needs IBM?
Heh.
Bees can solve complex mathematical problems which keep computers busy for days, research has shown.
Bees can solve complex mathematical problems which keep computers busy for days, research has shown.
The insects learn to fly the shortest route between flowers discovered in random order, effectively solving the "travelling salesman problem" , said scientists at Royal Holloway, University of London.
The conundrum involves finding the shortest route that allows a travelling salesman to call at all the locations he has to visit. Computers solve the problem by comparing the length of all possible routes and choosing the one that is shortest.
Bees manage to reach the same solution using a brain the size of a grass seed.
Meantime, IBM runs all sorts of advertisements.
TARP: Still a Loser
Woopsie! Seems that Geithner's TurboTaxTreasury accounting, ah, .....is disingenuous.
In early October, the Treasury issued a report predicting that the taxpayers would ultimately lose just $5 billion on their investment in A.I.G., a remarkable outcome, since the insurance company was extended $182 billion in taxpayer money in the early months of its rescue. The prediction of a modest loss, widely reported as A.I.G., the Federal Reserve and the Treasury rushed to complete an exit plan, contrasted with an earlier prediction by the Treasury that the taxpayers would lose $45 billion.”
"A change in accounting methodology" was the excuse given by Treasury.
Yes. We're all acquainted with the CPA who asks "What do you WANT to pay" (in taxes.) Evidently he's moved over to Treasury.
HT: Ritholtz
In early October, the Treasury issued a report predicting that the taxpayers would ultimately lose just $5 billion on their investment in A.I.G., a remarkable outcome, since the insurance company was extended $182 billion in taxpayer money in the early months of its rescue. The prediction of a modest loss, widely reported as A.I.G., the Federal Reserve and the Treasury rushed to complete an exit plan, contrasted with an earlier prediction by the Treasury that the taxpayers would lose $45 billion.”
"A change in accounting methodology" was the excuse given by Treasury.
Yes. We're all acquainted with the CPA who asks "What do you WANT to pay" (in taxes.) Evidently he's moved over to Treasury.
HT: Ritholtz
Not "Warming", Not "Change": Now "Disruption"
OK, so "warming" didn't work out too well.
And "change" is not very sexy.
“Last month, John Holdren, director of the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy, urged everyone to start using the term “global climate disruption.”
See, that includes high winds, no wind, rain, no rain, snow, no snow, heat, cold,.....EVERYTHING.
Personally, I think the "disruption" is Obama's Gummint.
HT: Examiner
And "change" is not very sexy.
“Last month, John Holdren, director of the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy, urged everyone to start using the term “global climate disruption.”
See, that includes high winds, no wind, rain, no rain, snow, no snow, heat, cold,.....EVERYTHING.
Personally, I think the "disruption" is Obama's Gummint.
HT: Examiner
Monday, October 25, 2010
Windy Tomorrow? Think "Edmund Fitzgerald Windy"
Gee.
This could be nasty.
Still ranking at No. 1, ahead of the storm coming Tuesday, is the Great Ohio Blizzard of Jan. 25-27, 1978. That storm produced winds that gusted up to more than 100 mph, wind chills of -60, and left snow drifts 20 feet high in some areas, according to published reports.
So tomorrow/Wednesday is #2.
...Fifth on the list is the storm on Nov, 10, 1975, which sank the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald freighter ship in Lake Superior.
Not a good day to be driving your SmartCar.
This could be nasty.
Still ranking at No. 1, ahead of the storm coming Tuesday, is the Great Ohio Blizzard of Jan. 25-27, 1978. That storm produced winds that gusted up to more than 100 mph, wind chills of -60, and left snow drifts 20 feet high in some areas, according to published reports.
So tomorrow/Wednesday is #2.
...Fifth on the list is the storm on Nov, 10, 1975, which sank the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald freighter ship in Lake Superior.
Not a good day to be driving your SmartCar.
Keynes "Monetize" Policy Has Consequences UPDATED
Ticker observes:
Dollar down 0.5%, Corn up 1.9%, Wheat up 1.2%, Oats up 4.5%, Soy up 1.5%.
We can add that petroleum is also floating up (NY futures.)
Has nothing, nothing, whatever, to do with deficits-being-monetized.
Nothing.
MORE:
...for the first time ever on Monday, the government sold inflation-protected bonds for a negative yield. As the Wall Street Journal put it in layman's terms: "This suggests investors are so terrified of inflation that they’re willing to pay the government money every year to buy insurance against it."
Nothing to see here. Move along.
Dollar down 0.5%, Corn up 1.9%, Wheat up 1.2%, Oats up 4.5%, Soy up 1.5%.
We can add that petroleum is also floating up (NY futures.)
Has nothing, nothing, whatever, to do with deficits-being-monetized.
Nothing.
MORE:
...for the first time ever on Monday, the government sold inflation-protected bonds for a negative yield. As the Wall Street Journal put it in layman's terms: "This suggests investors are so terrified of inflation that they’re willing to pay the government money every year to buy insurance against it."
Nothing to see here. Move along.
Obama/Geithner Lying? Yup.
McCain's been on this for quite some time. Paydirt has arrived.
...a federal watchdog exposes the failure of the 2008 Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) bailout and suggests Treasury Department officials engaged in a politically motivated attempt to hide losses at bankrupt insurance giant AIG with “manipulated” data.
Sorta like "forgetting" stuff when entering income data into Turbo Tax?
...The report also describes the administration's mortgage-relief program as "a cynical attempt to define success as failure." TARP has enriched the financial sector while the policies of the Obama administration and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner have failed to stimulate economic recovery...
Whaddyamean "failed"? Goldman Sachs is paying big bonus bucks! That's not "failure."
...a federal watchdog exposes the failure of the 2008 Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) bailout and suggests Treasury Department officials engaged in a politically motivated attempt to hide losses at bankrupt insurance giant AIG with “manipulated” data.
Sorta like "forgetting" stuff when entering income data into Turbo Tax?
...The report also describes the administration's mortgage-relief program as "a cynical attempt to define success as failure." TARP has enriched the financial sector while the policies of the Obama administration and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner have failed to stimulate economic recovery...
Whaddyamean "failed"? Goldman Sachs is paying big bonus bucks! That's not "failure."
A Couple of Points About "Incivility"
Hudson mentions some common-sense stuff here.
Setup: apparently, some have accused the 'religious Right' of "incivility."
Those men and women of faith who are drawn into politics to fight for the endangered values they believe in do so because they're passionate about combating evil. I've always found it surprising that anyone would expect only calm and rational discussion from large groups of citizens who are outraged by the murder of unborn children, the destruction of the institution of marriage, government attacks on religious liberty, and the pervasive takeover of education by postmodern multiculturalists.
Setup: apparently, some have accused the 'religious Right' of "incivility."
Those men and women of faith who are drawn into politics to fight for the endangered values they believe in do so because they're passionate about combating evil. I've always found it surprising that anyone would expect only calm and rational discussion from large groups of citizens who are outraged by the murder of unborn children, the destruction of the institution of marriage, government attacks on religious liberty, and the pervasive takeover of education by postmodern multiculturalists.
Further, I've yet to see a successful political movement that wasn't fueled by a considerable amount of passionate outrage. That was true for Obama in 2008, and it will be the same for the GOP in the upcoming election. Passion is like fuel -- sure, you can waste it unproductively, but at the same time, you can't drive a grassroots movement without it. Nor can you control it from the perch of a Washington, D.C. think tank.
And, we might add, the 'religious "Right"' is not driving the TEA Party movement. That's the Political Right, folks. But there is a Venn diagram here; overlap can be expected.
And In 10th Place: National Security
Yah, the economy and "jobs" are Number One to Obama & Co.
Bailing out banks, the automotives, and union pension-plans are also on the short-list, not to mention protecting ObamaCare, a disaster-in-motion which is directly comparable to a tsunami in appearance and effect.
So where's "national security"?
Maybe 10th.
OptiCon has a few observations on current events which are portentous.
In the Far East, for example, China and Russia piled on Japan near-simultaneously this month, in two long-running disputes over local island chains (the Senkaku Islands to Japan’s south and the Kuril Islands to the north).
No, that's not all, but recall that Japan (like Israel) is a very loyal ally of the US.
In our hemisphere, Russia is proclaiming unabashedly her intention to assist Hugo Chavez’s Venezuela in developing a nuclear program. A Chinese company, Huawei, is being allowed to begin supplying smartphones to the fourth-largest US service provider, T-Mobile, although T-Mobile is a government contractor and such agreements have always been prohibited in the past. Huawei also proposes to partner with a US start-up company in performing the 4G upgrade on Sprint Nextel’s 35,000 US transmission towers – a level of infrastructure involvement that has been unthinkable up to now because of obvious IT security concerns. But it may pass the Obama administration’s smell test: it appears that China’s purchase of an interest in shale-oil fields in Texas will do so, and Russia’s tender for a uranium mining operation in Wyoming is receiving serious consideration from the Geithner Treasury Department.
Each of these proposals/initiatives has real, live, serious National Security implications, as does PRChina's rare-earth near-monopoly (90% or so.)
This stuff is "creative destruction" alright. But it's the destruction that Obama & Co. approve.
Why?
Bailing out banks, the automotives, and union pension-plans are also on the short-list, not to mention protecting ObamaCare, a disaster-in-motion which is directly comparable to a tsunami in appearance and effect.
So where's "national security"?
Maybe 10th.
OptiCon has a few observations on current events which are portentous.
In the Far East, for example, China and Russia piled on Japan near-simultaneously this month, in two long-running disputes over local island chains (the Senkaku Islands to Japan’s south and the Kuril Islands to the north).
No, that's not all, but recall that Japan (like Israel) is a very loyal ally of the US.
In our hemisphere, Russia is proclaiming unabashedly her intention to assist Hugo Chavez’s Venezuela in developing a nuclear program. A Chinese company, Huawei, is being allowed to begin supplying smartphones to the fourth-largest US service provider, T-Mobile, although T-Mobile is a government contractor and such agreements have always been prohibited in the past. Huawei also proposes to partner with a US start-up company in performing the 4G upgrade on Sprint Nextel’s 35,000 US transmission towers – a level of infrastructure involvement that has been unthinkable up to now because of obvious IT security concerns. But it may pass the Obama administration’s smell test: it appears that China’s purchase of an interest in shale-oil fields in Texas will do so, and Russia’s tender for a uranium mining operation in Wyoming is receiving serious consideration from the Geithner Treasury Department.
Each of these proposals/initiatives has real, live, serious National Security implications, as does PRChina's rare-earth near-monopoly (90% or so.)
This stuff is "creative destruction" alright. But it's the destruction that Obama & Co. approve.
Why?
Proud Member of the Constitution Cult!
Oh, yah.
So far, they've tried 1) "stupid," 2) "bitter," and 3) "Bible-clingers", not to mention 4) Nazis, 5) crypto-Hitlers, and 6) "haters" (cf 'bigots').
That's only a partial list, but we don't have all day.
Here's the variation on #3:
Most cults are based in some sort of skewed spiritual vision or the worship of a charismatic leader, but there is a re-emerging cult that bows down at the feet of the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Many of them want to bring their cultish beliefs to the halls of Congress and are running for election this fall.
They’re called the “tenthers”and they say federal laws and rules like the minimum wage, Medicare, Social Security, unemployment insurance, the Department of Education, even child labor laws and a laundry list of other federal laws and programs are unconstitutional. --Larry Cohen of C.W.A. quoted at RedState
Naturally, it's easier to create and knock down straw-men than real ones. While the 10th Amendment (and its partner, the 9th) clearly restrict the Federal Government from all sorts of activities, it does NOT necessarily follow that "Tenthers" object to every item on the above lists.
But as long as we're talking about religious beliefs, let's talk about the sacrament of abortion, held to be an absolute necessity by the Left, as well as their forebears on the Isle of Minos and in the temples of the Aztecs.
They'll give up D of Ed. and child labor protections LONG before they give up abortion.
So far, they've tried 1) "stupid," 2) "bitter," and 3) "Bible-clingers", not to mention 4) Nazis, 5) crypto-Hitlers, and 6) "haters" (cf 'bigots').
That's only a partial list, but we don't have all day.
Here's the variation on #3:
Most cults are based in some sort of skewed spiritual vision or the worship of a charismatic leader, but there is a re-emerging cult that bows down at the feet of the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Many of them want to bring their cultish beliefs to the halls of Congress and are running for election this fall.
They’re called the “tenthers”and they say federal laws and rules like the minimum wage, Medicare, Social Security, unemployment insurance, the Department of Education, even child labor laws and a laundry list of other federal laws and programs are unconstitutional. --Larry Cohen of C.W.A. quoted at RedState
Naturally, it's easier to create and knock down straw-men than real ones. While the 10th Amendment (and its partner, the 9th) clearly restrict the Federal Government from all sorts of activities, it does NOT necessarily follow that "Tenthers" object to every item on the above lists.
But as long as we're talking about religious beliefs, let's talk about the sacrament of abortion, held to be an absolute necessity by the Left, as well as their forebears on the Isle of Minos and in the temples of the Aztecs.
They'll give up D of Ed. and child labor protections LONG before they give up abortion.
The Big Dog Money in the Elections? AFSCME
Ol' Capper is doing his damndest.
The 1.6 million-member AFSCME is spending a total of $87.5 million on the elections after tapping into a $16 million emergency account to help fortify the Democrats’ hold on Congress. Last week, AFSCME dug deeper, taking out a $2 million loan to fund its push. The group is spending money on television advertisements, phone calls, campaign mailings and other political efforts, helped by a Supreme Court decision that loosened restrictions on campaign spending.
If you don't know why that's happening, try "public-sector pension collapse", or "public-sector employees overpaid."
HT: Labor Pains
The 1.6 million-member AFSCME is spending a total of $87.5 million on the elections after tapping into a $16 million emergency account to help fortify the Democrats’ hold on Congress. Last week, AFSCME dug deeper, taking out a $2 million loan to fund its push. The group is spending money on television advertisements, phone calls, campaign mailings and other political efforts, helped by a Supreme Court decision that loosened restrictions on campaign spending.
If you don't know why that's happening, try "public-sector pension collapse", or "public-sector employees overpaid."
HT: Labor Pains
Well, Now I KNOW How to Vote
"I once was lost, but now I'm found..."
Thank God for the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel Editorial Board, which serves as a lamp unto my feet.
Well, OK. I lied.
Thank God for the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel Editorial Board, which serves as a lamp unto my feet.
Well, OK. I lied.
Vote for Ralph Feinberg, (D-WI)!!!
Well, these things happen.
It’s Sen. Roland Burris (D-Blagojevich), and he’s at it again.
HT: Examiner.
It’s Sen. Roland Burris (D-Blagojevich), and he’s at it again.
Long-distance relationship, I'd guess.Burris misnamed Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.), according to a report in the Chicago Tribune, calling the senator from his neighboring state “Ralph Feinberg” instead.
“We’ve had a great relationship,” Burris told the Tribune, in a profile piece detailing Burris’s closing days in office.
HT: Examiner.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Single Payer? You Betcha!!
Not that the AP is the first to figure this out.
But they're reporting on it.
The critical take-away is this:
"I don't think you are going to hear anybody publicly say 'We've made a decision to drop insurance,' " said Paul Keckley, executive director of the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions. "What we are hearing in our meetings is, 'We don't want to be the first one to drop benefits, but we would be the fast second.' We are hearing that a lot." Deloitte is a major accounting and consulting firm.
Yes, Deloitte IS a major firm. And their clientele ranges in size from super-big to almost-little. And you can take their impressions to the bank.
But they're reporting on it.
The critical take-away is this:
"I don't think you are going to hear anybody publicly say 'We've made a decision to drop insurance,' " said Paul Keckley, executive director of the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions. "What we are hearing in our meetings is, 'We don't want to be the first one to drop benefits, but we would be the fast second.' We are hearing that a lot." Deloitte is a major accounting and consulting firm.
Yes, Deloitte IS a major firm. And their clientele ranges in size from super-big to almost-little. And you can take their impressions to the bank.
John Drew, Ph.D., on Classmate Obama
I don't know who John Drew is, (he claims to be a card-carrying Marxist) nor do I know about the Glen Meakem show.
But this is kinda .....dynamitey...IYKWIMAITYD.
Q: …John, you had told me before, and I’m reading from my book, that “Obama was already an ardent Marxist in the fall of 1980 when I met him. I know it’s incendiary to say this, but although he said inDreams From My Father that he’d ‘hung out with Marxist professors’, he did not explain in that book or clarify is that he was 100% in total agreement with those professors.
But this is kinda .....dynamitey...IYKWIMAITYD.
Q: …John, you had told me before, and I’m reading from my book, that “Obama was already an ardent Marxist in the fall of 1980 when I met him. I know it’s incendiary to say this, but although he said inDreams From My Father that he’d ‘hung out with Marxist professors’, he did not explain in that book or clarify is that he was 100% in total agreement with those professors.
A: Yeah, you’ve got that exactly right. Obama believed, at the time I met him, this was probably around Christmas time in 1980. I’d flown out on Christmas break from Cornell, where I was in grad school. And Obama was looking forward to an imminent social revolution, literally a movement where the working classes would overthrow the ruling class and institute a kind of socialist Utopia in the United States. I mean, that’s how extreme his views were his sophomore year of college.
Yes, there's more. At Zippers."Meet the Depressed (And Totally Stupid)"
Took a quick look at "Meet the Press" this AM.
My heavens. Some sleazo-Dem named Ford declared that Christine McConnell "does not know the Constitution" (referring to the debate of last week.)
This sleazo-Dem 'served' in Congress for 12 years--in a seat he inherited from his father. You'd think that he might know the text of the First Amendment.
You'd be wrong.
You'd think that perhaps he'd know what actually was said in the 'debate.'
You'd be wrong again.
Even worse, not one member of the "esteemed panel" of "journalists" (and Santelli, of Tea Party fame) bothered to correct the dummy.
It's no wonder that MSM ratings are in total collapse.
My heavens. Some sleazo-Dem named Ford declared that Christine McConnell "does not know the Constitution" (referring to the debate of last week.)
This sleazo-Dem 'served' in Congress for 12 years--in a seat he inherited from his father. You'd think that he might know the text of the First Amendment.
You'd be wrong.
You'd think that perhaps he'd know what actually was said in the 'debate.'
You'd be wrong again.
Even worse, not one member of the "esteemed panel" of "journalists" (and Santelli, of Tea Party fame) bothered to correct the dummy.
It's no wonder that MSM ratings are in total collapse.
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Obama's Conveniently Truncated Lincoln Quote
Obama loves to run around paraphrasing Abe Lincoln, which paraphrase fits his perversion of the Constitution, to wit:
“But in the words of the first Republican President, Abraham Lincoln, I also believe that government should do for the people what they cannot do better for themselves”.
Well, that presents a vague semblance of the principle of subsidiarity, which is enshrined in the Constitution, particularly the 9th and 10th Amendments.
But it's only a semblance--and the actual quotation is much more definitive:
“The legitimate object of government, is to do for a community of people, whatever they need to have done, but can not do, at all, or can not, so well do, for themselves in their separate, and individual capacities. In all that the people can individually do as well for themselves, government ought not to interfere.”
And "interference" is the kindest and gentlest word one can use to describe ObamaCare. Or "net neutrality." Or Lightbulb Regulation, Shower Regulation.....shall we go on?
Just as important is Obama's convenient implicit elision of State and Local Governments. To Obama, there is only ONE Government: the Federal one. All the rest are subsidiaries. Lawn jockeys. Clients.
That happens to be an inversion of both the Constitution's intent and explicit text (see, again, the 9th/10th Amendments.)
I say 'inversion' to be polite. It's really a perversion, which is quite familiar to the Democrat Party and all other Statists and crypto-Statists who infest Washington DC and a lot of State capitals.
To that end, another Lincoln quote:
“We the people are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution.”
Second Amendment, anyone?
HT: Laura/Ace
“But in the words of the first Republican President, Abraham Lincoln, I also believe that government should do for the people what they cannot do better for themselves”.
Well, that presents a vague semblance of the principle of subsidiarity, which is enshrined in the Constitution, particularly the 9th and 10th Amendments.
But it's only a semblance--and the actual quotation is much more definitive:
“The legitimate object of government, is to do for a community of people, whatever they need to have done, but can not do, at all, or can not, so well do, for themselves in their separate, and individual capacities. In all that the people can individually do as well for themselves, government ought not to interfere.”
And "interference" is the kindest and gentlest word one can use to describe ObamaCare. Or "net neutrality." Or Lightbulb Regulation, Shower Regulation.....shall we go on?
Just as important is Obama's convenient implicit elision of State and Local Governments. To Obama, there is only ONE Government: the Federal one. All the rest are subsidiaries. Lawn jockeys. Clients.
That happens to be an inversion of both the Constitution's intent and explicit text (see, again, the 9th/10th Amendments.)
I say 'inversion' to be polite. It's really a perversion, which is quite familiar to the Democrat Party and all other Statists and crypto-Statists who infest Washington DC and a lot of State capitals.
To that end, another Lincoln quote:
“We the people are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution.”
Second Amendment, anyone?
HT: Laura/Ace
One Helluva Visit to Bombay, Mr. President!
A couple of excerpts from the news item:
To ensure fool-proof security, the President’s team has booked the entire the Taj Mahal Hotel, including 570 rooms, all banquets and restaurants. Since his security contingent and staff will comprise a huge number, 125 rooms at Taj President have also been booked, apart from 80 to 90 rooms each in Grand Hyatt and The Oberoi hotels. The NCPA, where the President is expected to meet representatives from the business community, has also been entirely booked...
...There are two jumbo jets coming along with Air Force One, which will be flanked by security jets. There will be 30 to 40 secret service agents, who will arrive before him. The President’s convoy has 45 cars, including the Lincoln Continental in which the President travels.”
It appears that the US population will be a lot smaller during his trip.
To ensure fool-proof security, the President’s team has booked the entire the Taj Mahal Hotel, including 570 rooms, all banquets and restaurants. Since his security contingent and staff will comprise a huge number, 125 rooms at Taj President have also been booked, apart from 80 to 90 rooms each in Grand Hyatt and The Oberoi hotels. The NCPA, where the President is expected to meet representatives from the business community, has also been entirely booked...
...There are two jumbo jets coming along with Air Force One, which will be flanked by security jets. There will be 30 to 40 secret service agents, who will arrive before him. The President’s convoy has 45 cars, including the Lincoln Continental in which the President travels.”
It appears that the US population will be a lot smaller during his trip.
Michelle Obama, Jackson-Lee: Electioneering Is Big This Year
Michelle Obama, an attorney-at-law, was electioneering in Chicago.
Sheila Jackson-Lee was electioneering in Houston.
Exemplars.
Sheila Jackson-Lee was electioneering in Houston.
Exemplars.
The Prophetic Onion
McCain, ever on the alert for Real News, finds that the Onion was 12 years ahead of this time.
PRINCETON, NJ–According to the latest Gallup Poll, conducted Monday and Tuesday of this week, nearly three out of four Americans can no longer believe this s**t.
In addition to the 73 percent of poll respondents who described this s**t as “beyond belief,” 9 percent said they could “hardly” believe this s**t, with another 5 percent “just barely” believing it. An additional 13 percent said they “couldn’t give a flying f**k about the whole g*****n thing.”
There's more, and it comports with everything we know.
The Bugs
About 20 years ago during Fall, I visited a friend who lived in Delafield, south of the Interstate. He had a nice home with lake frontage, heavily wooded lot, yada yada yada.
It was crawling with fingernail-length black bugs which had orange spots on their wings.
"Box-elder bugs," he said. "They're a pain, but don't do anything. No bites, but large swarms of them trying to get inside."
They were successful at 'getting inside.' But they didn't do anything but crawl around.
That was then.
Now they've migrated east. In another 20 years they'll be at the Marcus Center during MSO concerts. That should be fun to watch, midstream a quiet Schubert piece.
Anyhoo, they make great food for our pet spiders. The damn cats won't touch 'em, so somebody has to.
It was crawling with fingernail-length black bugs which had orange spots on their wings.
"Box-elder bugs," he said. "They're a pain, but don't do anything. No bites, but large swarms of them trying to get inside."
They were successful at 'getting inside.' But they didn't do anything but crawl around.
That was then.
Now they've migrated east. In another 20 years they'll be at the Marcus Center during MSO concerts. That should be fun to watch, midstream a quiet Schubert piece.
Anyhoo, they make great food for our pet spiders. The damn cats won't touch 'em, so somebody has to.
Defense Budget Cuts? Here's One
Yah, well.
Looks like the 101st Airborne could be the next home for a lot of unwanted puppies. (HSUS, take note!!)
Drones, metal detectors, chemical sniffers, and super spycams — forget ‘em. The leader of the Pentagon’s multibillion military task force to stop improvised bombs says there’s nothing in the U.S. arsenal for bomb detection more powerful than a dog’s nose.
Despite a slew of bomb-finding gagdets, the American military only locates about 50 percent of the improvised explosives planted in Afghanistan and Iraq. But that number jumps to 80 percent when U.S. and Afghan patrols take dogs along for a sniff-heavy walk. “Dogs are the best detectors,” Lieutenant General Michael Oates, the commander of the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization, told a conference yesterday..
The KP duties expand slightly to include doggy-doo pickups.
No problem.
HT: Agitator
Looks like the 101st Airborne could be the next home for a lot of unwanted puppies. (HSUS, take note!!)
Drones, metal detectors, chemical sniffers, and super spycams — forget ‘em. The leader of the Pentagon’s multibillion military task force to stop improvised bombs says there’s nothing in the U.S. arsenal for bomb detection more powerful than a dog’s nose.
Despite a slew of bomb-finding gagdets, the American military only locates about 50 percent of the improvised explosives planted in Afghanistan and Iraq. But that number jumps to 80 percent when U.S. and Afghan patrols take dogs along for a sniff-heavy walk. “Dogs are the best detectors,” Lieutenant General Michael Oates, the commander of the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization, told a conference yesterday..
The KP duties expand slightly to include doggy-doo pickups.
No problem.
HT: Agitator
Who Spent More Than the Chamber of Commerce?
RedState provides a fine graph of '10 election spending.
At the very top of the list, with $87.5 MILLION supporting their (D) servants:
AFSCME.
And 3 of the 5 top-spenders are public-employee unions.
The Chamber could only rustle up $75 Million.
Surprise!
At the very top of the list, with $87.5 MILLION supporting their (D) servants:
AFSCME.
And 3 of the 5 top-spenders are public-employee unions.
The Chamber could only rustle up $75 Million.
Surprise!
Walker Pander Creates Lefty Bash-Opportunity
Scott shoulda kept his mouth shut.
We all know that this is really a clever hit-piece, whereby the JS intends to peel support away from Walker. That's a given. (If Walker supported tax-funded abortions, it would get a LOT of play--not because the Left disapproves, but because the Right will.) Same difference here.
By talking about adding pay-only express lanes to highways, Republican candidate for governor Scott Walker has become the highest profile official in the state to support some form of tolling.
Walker, the Milwaukee County executive, stresses that he opposes traditional tolls like those in Illinois. Instead, he says he would consider building new lanes on busy highways that drivers could pay to use to save time.
Of course, Walker cannot possibly "add lanes" to the I-94 Milwaukee metro area without incurring un-repayable bonded debt, not to mention horrific ill-will.
But Scott was talking to the RoadBuilders, who share Tommy Thompson's desire to pave every square inch of the State, and who throw around a lot of money.
We all know that this is really a clever hit-piece, whereby the JS intends to peel support away from Walker. That's a given. (If Walker supported tax-funded abortions, it would get a LOT of play--not because the Left disapproves, but because the Right will.) Same difference here.
By talking about adding pay-only express lanes to highways, Republican candidate for governor Scott Walker has become the highest profile official in the state to support some form of tolling.
Walker, the Milwaukee County executive, stresses that he opposes traditional tolls like those in Illinois. Instead, he says he would consider building new lanes on busy highways that drivers could pay to use to save time.
Of course, Walker cannot possibly "add lanes" to the I-94 Milwaukee metro area without incurring un-repayable bonded debt, not to mention horrific ill-will.
But Scott was talking to the RoadBuilders, who share Tommy Thompson's desire to pave every square inch of the State, and who throw around a lot of money.
(R) Establishment Biting the Green....Weenie...
To no one's surprise, the (R) Establishment picked the wrong guy in Colorado.
Can't wait for the Rove/Krauthammer/Will/Kristol barfing.
Can't wait for the Rove/Krauthammer/Will/Kristol barfing.
Katharine McPhee
IIRC, she came in second in her American Idol run.
Shoulda been first.
Kevin found this while exploring the work of Cole Porter--one of the very best American lieder-writers.
But when you add McPhee's ........ahhhh........appeal.......to Porter's craftsmanship, you have dynamite.
The rest of the Porter stuff he found is on this post.
Shoulda been first.
Kevin found this while exploring the work of Cole Porter--one of the very best American lieder-writers.
But when you add McPhee's ........ahhhh........appeal.......to Porter's craftsmanship, you have dynamite.
The rest of the Porter stuff he found is on this post.
The Other Way to Look at Obama's Job Record
Keith Hennessey was a Bush economics guy.
So it's fair for him to comment on Goolsbee's ......ahhh........propaganda.
It's worth your 15 minutes.
Summary: It Ain't Really Working.
So it's fair for him to comment on Goolsbee's ......ahhh........propaganda.
It's worth your 15 minutes.
Summary: It Ain't Really Working.
SEIU "Finds" 6,000 Fake Voters in CO
Yesterday the SEIU/ACORN/MiaFamilia bunch "found" voters in Arizona. Only about 1/3rd were actually legal.
Today, Colorado!
A federal judge declined to force the secretary of state to reactivate approximately 6,000 new voters whose registrations were canceled under Colorado’s 20-day rule. In a decision issued Monday, Senior U.S. District Judge John L. Kane denied a motion for a preliminary injunction...
Here's the deal. When you are a new registrant-to-vote in Colorado, the elections clerk sends a postcard. If it's undeliverable, you are de-registered.
Vote-fraudsters don't like that rule. For about 6,000 reasons.
HT: Gateway
Today, Colorado!
A federal judge declined to force the secretary of state to reactivate approximately 6,000 new voters whose registrations were canceled under Colorado’s 20-day rule. In a decision issued Monday, Senior U.S. District Judge John L. Kane denied a motion for a preliminary injunction...
Here's the deal. When you are a new registrant-to-vote in Colorado, the elections clerk sends a postcard. If it's undeliverable, you are de-registered.
Vote-fraudsters don't like that rule. For about 6,000 reasons.
HT: Gateway
Yup. Holder's Dept of Justice is Racist
The WaPo did some digging and came up with no real surprise.
“The Voting Rights Act was passed because people like Bull Connor were hitting people like John Lewis, not the other way around,” said one Justice Department official not authorized to speak publicly, referring to the white Alabama police commissioner who cracked down on civil rights protesters such as Lewis, now a Democratic congressman from Georgia. --WaPo quoted by Breitbart
The article makes flat-out liars out of Holder and DoJ spinners.
Gee. I'm shocked.
“The Voting Rights Act was passed because people like Bull Connor were hitting people like John Lewis, not the other way around,” said one Justice Department official not authorized to speak publicly, referring to the white Alabama police commissioner who cracked down on civil rights protesters such as Lewis, now a Democratic congressman from Georgia. --WaPo quoted by Breitbart
The article makes flat-out liars out of Holder and DoJ spinners.
Gee. I'm shocked.
Friday, October 22, 2010
The 'Underwater' Party Grows
Ugh.
The Clear Capital index is also repeat sales, with a price-per-square-foot model, and is a rolling three months average that can be updated daily....[CalcRisk comment]
"Clear Capital’s latest data through October 22 shows even more pronounced price declines than our most recent HDI market report released two weeks ago,” said Dr. Alex Villacorta, senior statistician, Clear Capital. “At the national level, home prices are clearly experiencing a dramatic drop from the tax credit-induced highs, effectively wiping out all of the gains obtained during the flurry of activity just preceding the tax credit expiration.”
This special Clear Capital Home Data Index (HDI) alert shows that national home prices have declined 5.9% in just two months and are now at the same level as in mid April 2010 --quoting Clear Capital
So how's the water?
The Clear Capital index is also repeat sales, with a price-per-square-foot model, and is a rolling three months average that can be updated daily....[CalcRisk comment]
"Clear Capital’s latest data through October 22 shows even more pronounced price declines than our most recent HDI market report released two weeks ago,” said Dr. Alex Villacorta, senior statistician, Clear Capital. “At the national level, home prices are clearly experiencing a dramatic drop from the tax credit-induced highs, effectively wiping out all of the gains obtained during the flurry of activity just preceding the tax credit expiration.”
This special Clear Capital Home Data Index (HDI) alert shows that national home prices have declined 5.9% in just two months and are now at the same level as in mid April 2010 --quoting Clear Capital
So how's the water?
Germany Dumps Keynes, Recovers Fast
Gee. Maybe "Mo'Money!!!!" isn't the magic.
Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel said: “The crisis did not take place because we were spending too little but because we were spending too much to create growth that was not sustainable..."
(August, 2009)
And he goes on to compare v. the US stimulus, which he calculates to be near 20% of GDP in actual "spend" plus various commitments (mostly the GSE lines/loans.)
Next event:
In October 2009, Merkel's party, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), a center-right party, with its political ally, the Free Democratic Party (FDP) and another Bavarian party, won the Bundestag (lower house) elections. The FDP are my kind of people, and they came in on a platform of lower taxes and cutting government spending.
...Germany is the world’s fourth largest economy, they are successful manufacturers and exporters, and their government’s deficit as a percentage of GDP in 2010 is expected to be about 5.5% versus about 10.1% in the U.S. Their fiscal stimulus was largely in the form of tax cuts rather than government spending.
So what? Here's what:
Read it and weep all you Keynesians (from today's WSJ):
But the Germans explicitly eschewed "Mo'Spend/Mo'Debt"--unlike the Socialists here--and are showing a helluvalot more economic progress than the Obama/Doyle bunch.
On to 11/2!!
Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel said: “The crisis did not take place because we were spending too little but because we were spending too much to create growth that was not sustainable..."
(August, 2009)
In that article I noted:
According to the IMF Germany’s stimulus amounted to 1.5% of GDP...And he goes on to compare v. the US stimulus, which he calculates to be near 20% of GDP in actual "spend" plus various commitments (mostly the GSE lines/loans.)
Next event:
In October 2009, Merkel's party, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), a center-right party, with its political ally, the Free Democratic Party (FDP) and another Bavarian party, won the Bundestag (lower house) elections. The FDP are my kind of people, and they came in on a platform of lower taxes and cutting government spending.
...Germany is the world’s fourth largest economy, they are successful manufacturers and exporters, and their government’s deficit as a percentage of GDP in 2010 is expected to be about 5.5% versus about 10.1% in the U.S. Their fiscal stimulus was largely in the form of tax cuts rather than government spending.
So what? Here's what:
Read it and weep all you Keynesians (from today's WSJ):
Germany's economy is set to grow 3.4% this year as its recovery continues across almost all sectors, the government said Thursday in its updated forecast for this year. The growth forecast for 2011 is a more modest 1.8%.
The government's previous forecast in April predicted 1.4% growth this year, before Europe's largest economy posted a blistering 9% annualized rate of growth in the second quarter and other indicators, such as unemployment rates and business confidence, continued to suggest a more rapid rate of recovery.
Granted the German economic structure is a bit different from the US'. And there are demographic differences, too.But the Germans explicitly eschewed "Mo'Spend/Mo'Debt"--unlike the Socialists here--and are showing a helluvalot more economic progress than the Obama/Doyle bunch.
On to 11/2!!
SEIU "Finds" 3K New Voters. 1.8K Are Not Real
Let's get something straight. SEIU and ACORN are sisters. They shared an address in New Orleans; they shared Board members. And they share something else: a burning desire to destroy the voting process.
So.
Seven workers are going door to door in Yuma County to get eligible Latino voters to register for permanent early voting ballots. “They are going by precinct and talking to folks,” said Francisco Heredia, Arizona state director for Mi Familia Vota and spokesman for One Arizona, the organizations behind the effort --Yuma Sun quoted at Gateway
And who is "Mi Familia"?
Mi Familia Vota is a far left group. The group along with the SEIU and America’s Voice launched a Spanish-language radio ad
Surprise, Gomer!!
Yuma County Recorder’s Office has found that 65% of the registrations have been found to be invalid!” Wrong address. Not citizens...
You can bet that it's happening in Racine, Milwaukee, Madistan, and Beloit.
So.
Seven workers are going door to door in Yuma County to get eligible Latino voters to register for permanent early voting ballots. “They are going by precinct and talking to folks,” said Francisco Heredia, Arizona state director for Mi Familia Vota and spokesman for One Arizona, the organizations behind the effort --Yuma Sun quoted at Gateway
And who is "Mi Familia"?
Mi Familia Vota is a far left group. The group along with the SEIU and America’s Voice launched a Spanish-language radio ad
Surprise, Gomer!!
Yuma County Recorder’s Office has found that 65% of the registrations have been found to be invalid!” Wrong address. Not citizens...
You can bet that it's happening in Racine, Milwaukee, Madistan, and Beloit.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Bruce Murphy Discovers the Party of Government
Give credit where it's due: Murphy uncovered the Milwaukee County Zillion-Dollar Pension Suckitude.
Now he's on Chapter Two--lightly--mentioning Tommy "Stick It To 'Em" and others.
He discovered that there IS no "arms-length" bargaining in Gummint bennies.
HT: Jo
Now he's on Chapter Two--lightly--mentioning Tommy "Stick It To 'Em" and others.
He discovered that there IS no "arms-length" bargaining in Gummint bennies.
HT: Jo
Jay's A Day Late and ~$1.99 Million Short
Sometimes blogging is just a lot of fun.
Jay opened his mouth. And in the combox, Roger Ailes inserted a Size 14 right into it.
Jay opened his mouth. And in the combox, Roger Ailes inserted a Size 14 right into it.
Obama NLRB Resurrects the Secondary Boycott
You're surprised at that headline? Then you don't understand how serious the situation in DC really is.
An Aug. 27 board decision on “bannering” highlights this point. Bannering refers to the display of large signs, often containing misleading claims, at job sites belonging to neutral parties. It is a union tactic often designed to threaten and coerce neutral businesses to avoid dealing with non-union contractors or suppliers.
Although the law expressly prohibits unions from engaging in coercive or threatening actions toward neutral businesses, the new board has ruled that bannering is protected. Under this new rule, unions can now target your business or job sites with large banners — or use giant inflatable rats signifying the presence of “scabs” — even when you have no labor dispute with that union.--Keith Eastland, quoted at Labor Pains
Only Obama-lawyers could pretend that "bannering" is not a secondary boycott. And that's who's running the NLRB these days.
An Aug. 27 board decision on “bannering” highlights this point. Bannering refers to the display of large signs, often containing misleading claims, at job sites belonging to neutral parties. It is a union tactic often designed to threaten and coerce neutral businesses to avoid dealing with non-union contractors or suppliers.
Although the law expressly prohibits unions from engaging in coercive or threatening actions toward neutral businesses, the new board has ruled that bannering is protected. Under this new rule, unions can now target your business or job sites with large banners — or use giant inflatable rats signifying the presence of “scabs” — even when you have no labor dispute with that union.--Keith Eastland, quoted at Labor Pains
Only Obama-lawyers could pretend that "bannering" is not a secondary boycott. And that's who's running the NLRB these days.
Corker, McConnell Playing Word-Games, Again
We mentioned that Sens. Corker and McConnell (RINOs) seem to be playing word games over ObamaCare.
You be the judge. Read this Spectator post.
Note well that McConnell, while yapping his flap about "voting for repeal" has NOT signed onto the legislation which would, actually, repeal ObamaCare.
Corker is a senile fart, so whatever he says...
By the way, Reagan was right: "We win. They lose."
That's the ONLY way to think about ObamaCare.
You be the judge. Read this Spectator post.
Note well that McConnell, while yapping his flap about "voting for repeal" has NOT signed onto the legislation which would, actually, repeal ObamaCare.
Corker is a senile fart, so whatever he says...
By the way, Reagan was right: "We win. They lose."
That's the ONLY way to think about ObamaCare.
JS Reporter Overworked?
Here's the text we find today from Patrick Marley of the JS:
Should the state change its constitution to eliminate any or all of the offices of lieutenant governor, state treasurer and secretary of state?
Meanwhile, Ron Johnson is running against Herbert Smith.
Should the state change its constitution to eliminate any or all of the offices of lieutenant governor, state treasurer and secretary of state?
Tom Barrett: The positions state treasurer and secretary of state should be eliminated. These functions can be consolidated into existing positions without disrupting any service and saving Wisconsin taxpayers over $1 million.
Jason Stein: I support measures to eliminate the offices of state treasurer and secretary of state, shifting their few remaining functions to other executive branch agencies. My lieutenant. governor, Rebecca Kleefisch, will play a key role in my administration promoting and supporting Wisconsin's small businesses.
Huh?Meanwhile, Ron Johnson is running against Herbert Smith.
Nanny Public Radio (NPR) Fires Williams
NPR (Nanny Public Radio) has been itching to fire Juan Williams for years because Williams is a Fox News contributor.
Can't have THAT sort of person on their payroll, after all.
The Ninnies-in-Charge of Nanny finally got their excuse. Here's what Williams said:
"...when I get on the plane, I got to tell you, if I see people who are in Muslim garb and I think, you know, they are identifying themselves first and foremost as Muslims, I get worried. I get nervous."
(Sorta like B. Hussein Obama's white-bread grandmother got nervous when she saw several young black men approaching on the street?)
Williams was guilty--if you call it that-- of being honest about his fears. He did not recommend his fears to others; in fact, his statement reveals his own self-doubt about having such fears.
In that, he followed to the "T" the dictum of Edward Murrow:
Everyone is a prisoner of his own experiences. No one can eliminate prejudices - just recognize them.
Williams honestly recognized his prejudice, honestly admitted to it, and got fired for it by Nanny Public Radio.
The Triumph of the Ninnies.
Can't have THAT sort of person on their payroll, after all.
The Ninnies-in-Charge of Nanny finally got their excuse. Here's what Williams said:
"...when I get on the plane, I got to tell you, if I see people who are in Muslim garb and I think, you know, they are identifying themselves first and foremost as Muslims, I get worried. I get nervous."
(Sorta like B. Hussein Obama's white-bread grandmother got nervous when she saw several young black men approaching on the street?)
Williams was guilty--if you call it that-- of being honest about his fears. He did not recommend his fears to others; in fact, his statement reveals his own self-doubt about having such fears.
In that, he followed to the "T" the dictum of Edward Murrow:
Everyone is a prisoner of his own experiences. No one can eliminate prejudices - just recognize them.
Williams honestly recognized his prejudice, honestly admitted to it, and got fired for it by Nanny Public Radio.
The Triumph of the Ninnies.
The Walker Agenda, Part 1,958
While Governor Scott Walker may not be able to close up DNR altogether, there's at least one "order" that should simply be rescinded.
New water quality standards imposed by the Department of Natural Resources could cost the city of Brookfield $50 million in coming years - and bring a hefty increase in utility bills.
It's not just Brookfield; this "order" will cost several billion dollars state-wide.
So what's going to be "achieved"?
Not much.
...the new standard could lead to $35 million in capital improvements for the Fox River Pollution Control Center, which already filters about 90 percent of phosphorus from wastewater.
New water quality standards imposed by the Department of Natural Resources could cost the city of Brookfield $50 million in coming years - and bring a hefty increase in utility bills.
It's not just Brookfield; this "order" will cost several billion dollars state-wide.
So what's going to be "achieved"?
Not much.
...the new standard could lead to $35 million in capital improvements for the Fox River Pollution Control Center, which already filters about 90 percent of phosphorus from wastewater.
"What they're asking us to do is remove another 90 percent of the remaining 10 percent (of phosphorus)," Grisa said. "We have to filter the water to microscopic levels to remove phosphorus to those levels. It's very energy intensive."
I'll be happy if Governor Walker eliminates 90% of DNR. He can leave the last 10% intact.