Holy megabucks, Batman.
A little more than a week after a federal prosecutor said virtually every facet of New York City's automated payroll system was tainted by fraud, Mayor Michael Bloomberg demanded on Wednesday that the lead contractor on the project repay the city $600 million
SIX HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS for a PAYROLL SYSTEM?
Thursday, June 30, 2011
A Slap That Stings
Ol' Mitt isn't all milquetoast and pudding.
Standing in front a chain link fence ringing a now boarded-up factory President Obama visited in 2009 to tout his economic stimulus plan, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney said the president means well, but simply lacks the knowledge to fix the economy.
Standing in front a chain link fence ringing a now boarded-up factory President Obama visited in 2009 to tout his economic stimulus plan, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney said the president means well, but simply lacks the knowledge to fix the economy.
"This president came here and called this a symbol of hope," Romney said, dressed in jeans and a plaid shirt before the overgrown lot. "It is a symbol of failure, failure of his economic policy. He's out of his depth. When it comes to getting the economy going, it's just not something he understands."
Here's the video and it is a gut-slammer (HT AmSpec)
No wonder TurboTim is getting the hell outta Dodge.
The ObamaCare Box of Chocolates!
Yup, some damn fool opened the box and figured out that....
If you take Social Security at age 62 and work a 40-hour week, you will pay MORE for ObamaCare insurance than if you retire at 62 and don't work too much (say 20 hours/week or less.)
Actually, that's fine with the Democrats, but not for Obama re-election politicos.
If you take Social Security at age 62 and work a 40-hour week, you will pay MORE for ObamaCare insurance than if you retire at 62 and don't work too much (say 20 hours/week or less.)
Actually, that's fine with the Democrats, but not for Obama re-election politicos.
Good News! AK to "Drill, Baby!!"
While the state has no control over drilling in ANWR, it does own the three miles of Arctic Ocean just off the coast—after those three miles, the federal government owns the waters. Officials say it stands to reason that that three-mile ribbon likely cuts through the vast oil deposits believed to lie beneath ANWR and the Arctic Ocean. Alaskan officials and oil companies hope that by drilling in that strip, they can tap into up to a dozen giant oil pools that would otherwise be off-limits.
Oh, yah, there will be lawsuits. Screw 'em.
The Fan/Fred Criminal Hustle
Let's face it. The GSE's Fannie and Freddie were corrupt beyond the wildest dreams of Richard Daley.
The first sign of what would ultimately become a $3 billion fraud surfaced Jan. 11, 2000, when Fannie Mae executive Samuel Smith discovered Taylor, Bean & Whitaker Mortgage Corp. sold him a loan owned by someone else.
Frank Raines departed Fannie with a bazillion-dollar retirement package...
Put down your coffee NOW.
Taylor Bean would have collapsed in 2002 “but for the fraud scheme,” according to prosecutors. It also survived because Freddie Mac began picking up the company’s business within a week of Fannie Mae’s cutoff, Jason Moore, Taylor Bean’s former chief operating officer, said in an interview. Freddie Mac soon became Taylor Bean’s biggest customer,...
Pitchforks and tar? Or just a loosely-organized firing squad?
Your choice.
HT: Ticker
The first sign of what would ultimately become a $3 billion fraud surfaced Jan. 11, 2000, when Fannie Mae executive Samuel Smith discovered Taylor, Bean & Whitaker Mortgage Corp. sold him a loan owned by someone else.
Fannie Mae, the government-sponsored enterprise which issues almost half of all mortgage-backed securities, determined over the next two years that more than 200 loans acquired from Taylor Bean were bogus, non-performing or lacked critical components such as mortgage insurance.
Ummmnnnnhhhhhh.....so. What did Fannie do about it?
Fannie Mae officials never reported the fraud to law enforcement or anyone outside the company. Internal memos, court papers, and public testimony show it sought only to rid itself of liabilities and cut ties with a mortgage firm selling loans “that had no value,” as Smith, the former vice president of Fannie Mae’s single family operations, said in a 2008 deposition.Frank Raines departed Fannie with a bazillion-dollar retirement package...
Put down your coffee NOW.
Taylor Bean would have collapsed in 2002 “but for the fraud scheme,” according to prosecutors. It also survived because Freddie Mac began picking up the company’s business within a week of Fannie Mae’s cutoff, Jason Moore, Taylor Bean’s former chief operating officer, said in an interview. Freddie Mac soon became Taylor Bean’s biggest customer,...
Pitchforks and tar? Or just a loosely-organized firing squad?
Your choice.
HT: Ticker
Law? We Don't CARE About Your Steeenking Law!
While the fisticuffs agitate some, black-letter law doesn't even faze the Obamunists.
Judicial Watch discovered that the Obama administration is flouting the will of Congress by giving federal taxpayer money to ACORN.
This from the Sanctimonious Obozo's Administration.
HT: AmSpec
Judicial Watch discovered that the Obama administration is flouting the will of Congress by giving federal taxpayer money to ACORN.
Obama's Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) gave a $79,819 grant to the largest branch of the ACORN tree, ACORN Housing Corp. (AHC). AHC filed papers last year legally changing its name to Affordable Housing Centers of America (AHCOA). It's the same old organization with a brand new ACORN-free name.
...in 2009 Congress passed four separate appropriations bills that contained language blocking federal funds from flowing to ACORN during federal fiscal year 2010, which ran from Oct. 1, 2009 through Sept. 30, 2010. All four of the laws prevent ACORN and its affiliated groups from receiving federal taxpayer dollars. The funding prohibition in Public Law 111-117 (PDF) applies specifically to HUD. It spells out in pretty clear terms that ACORN shouldn't be getting any government funding.This from the Sanctimonious Obozo's Administration.
HT: AmSpec
What Happened to Ireland, the "Celtic Tiger"?
Easy. Obamunism got to Ireland.
It IS the spending.
In the 1980s and 1990s, the Irish government adopted a series of pro-growth policies — slashing corporate tax rates, for example — that allowed the productive economy to rapidly expand. Ireland went through a period of fantastic growth that led to its description as a “Celtic Tiger.” In the early 1990s, however, the government embarked on a massive spending spree, fueled by the private-sector wealth creation, that eventually saw public expenditures increase by more than 600 percent.
Until about 2000, with the productive economy growing so fast, government spending as a percent of GDP was actually on a moderate decline, despite the enormous growth of the state. Then came the global economic crisis. Spending shot through the roof, and as a percent of GDP, government expenditures also soared. The central government made matters worse when it agreed to bailout the big banks, putting taxpayers on the hook for monstrous debts.
Irish government spending still makes up around half of GDP, but politicians have recently started to cut spending to deal with economic realities. The nation has also resisted calls for new and higher taxes, so it may yet emerge from the crisis. But it’s clear that statist policies — bank bailouts, skyrocketing spending, and interest-rate distortions — played a key role in Ireland’s woes.
The situation here is dicey; we have Obamunism (albeit it's also FDR-ism, LBJ-ism, Carter-ism, and BushII-ism--all initiated and supported by Congress-ism).It IS the spending.
K-Lo Interviews Robert George on Gay "Marriage"
Prof. George doesn't pull punches.
...Although Sanger was a racist and a eugenicist, though Kinsey was a liar and a fraud, though Hefner was a buffoon, the liberationist view they had championed eventually hardened into something very close to a matter of orthodoxy in elite circles, and liberalism as a political movement went for it hook, line, and sinker. Devotion to “sexual freedom” had been no part of the liberalism of FDR, George Meaney, Cesar Chavez, Hubert Humphrey, or the leaders and rank-and-file members of the civil-rights movement. Today, however, allegiance to the cause of sexual freedom is the nonnegotiable price of admission to the liberal (or “progressive”) club. It is worth noting that more than a few conservatives have bought into a (more limited) version of it as well, as we see in the debate over redefining marriage.
Channeling Scalia and Santorum:
...to the extent that one is in the grip of sexual-liberationist ideology, one will find no reason of moral principle why people oughtn’t to engage in sexual relations prior to marriage, cohabit in non-marital sexual partnerships, form same-sex sexual partnerships, or confine their sexual partnerships to two persons, rather than three or more in polyamorous sexual ensembles.
Or, perhaps, puppyamory!
History:
In that sense, perhaps we’ve already had marriage’s Roe: It is known as “no-fault” or “unilateral” divorce. That was a major advance in the sexual revolution and paved the way for what came afterward. Many people have observed that the movement to redefine marriage is a symptom rather than a cause of the fundamental loss of understanding of the meaning of marriage, especially among elites. They are right. The divorce culture, though itself in some ways a symptom, is also a major cause of our problems. As we fight in other states and at the national level to prevent the redefinition and legal abolition of marriage, it is important to remember that this is merely the first step in a much larger struggle to renew and rebuild a healthy marriage culture.
George expects this to be an issue in the (R) '12 primaries and states that Obozo has 'hit the "pause" button' on his endorsement for precisely political purposes.
...Although Sanger was a racist and a eugenicist, though Kinsey was a liar and a fraud, though Hefner was a buffoon, the liberationist view they had championed eventually hardened into something very close to a matter of orthodoxy in elite circles, and liberalism as a political movement went for it hook, line, and sinker. Devotion to “sexual freedom” had been no part of the liberalism of FDR, George Meaney, Cesar Chavez, Hubert Humphrey, or the leaders and rank-and-file members of the civil-rights movement. Today, however, allegiance to the cause of sexual freedom is the nonnegotiable price of admission to the liberal (or “progressive”) club. It is worth noting that more than a few conservatives have bought into a (more limited) version of it as well, as we see in the debate over redefining marriage.
Channeling Scalia and Santorum:
...to the extent that one is in the grip of sexual-liberationist ideology, one will find no reason of moral principle why people oughtn’t to engage in sexual relations prior to marriage, cohabit in non-marital sexual partnerships, form same-sex sexual partnerships, or confine their sexual partnerships to two persons, rather than three or more in polyamorous sexual ensembles.
Or, perhaps, puppyamory!
History:
In that sense, perhaps we’ve already had marriage’s Roe: It is known as “no-fault” or “unilateral” divorce. That was a major advance in the sexual revolution and paved the way for what came afterward. Many people have observed that the movement to redefine marriage is a symptom rather than a cause of the fundamental loss of understanding of the meaning of marriage, especially among elites. They are right. The divorce culture, though itself in some ways a symptom, is also a major cause of our problems. As we fight in other states and at the national level to prevent the redefinition and legal abolition of marriage, it is important to remember that this is merely the first step in a much larger struggle to renew and rebuild a healthy marriage culture.
George expects this to be an issue in the (R) '12 primaries and states that Obozo has 'hit the "pause" button' on his endorsement for precisely political purposes.
"On-Air" Glitches
I've liked Fox6's Anne State. She's a straight-news type, great vocal modulation, and hey! Roeser liked her when she was in Chicago.
But every now and then, stuff happens. Last night, she told us that "22,000 are still dead and missing" as a result of the Japanese earthquake.
Well, that's partially reassuring, I guess.
But every now and then, stuff happens. Last night, she told us that "22,000 are still dead and missing" as a result of the Japanese earthquake.
Well, that's partially reassuring, I guess.
Prof. Donald Davidson, Critic and Prophet
You never heard of Prof. Donald Davidson, did you? Fortunately, Russell Kirk did.
Turns out that not only was Davidson a fierce critic of Leviathan, but a prophet.
In our own time, the metropolitan critics are making national prescriptions that are equally partial, though somewhat more confused. In one sentence they assure us that the industrial unification of America is desirable and inevitable; [ever hear the term "high-tech industries?] but in the next sentence they declare that the civilization thus produced puts upon us an intolerable spiritual bondage from which the artist cannot escape save through the shibboleths of Marxism and Freudianism. Wearily, they proclaim that America is standardized; but angrily they scorn the rural backwardness of regions that prove to be, after all, less urban than New York. Confidently they announce that America must be industrialized; but they sneer at Mr. Babbitt of the Middle West, the creature of industrialism. [Now that's changed; they instead sneer at basic manufacturing.] They urge the provinces to adopt the intellectual sophistication of the Eastern metropolis; but among themselves they bewail the poverty of the modem temper, which in its sophistication has left them nothing to enjoy. Prof. Donald Davidson, The Attack on Leviathan, 1938 quoted by Russell Kirk
Davidson also had some penetrating comments on the Rooseveltian/Johnsonian Leviathan--even though LBJ was still selling advertising for his radio station and fixing local elections at the time.
In 1938, long before the administration of Lyndon Johnson popularized the slogan “The Great Society,” Davidson wrote that his Leviathan is “the idea of the Great Society, organized under a single, complex, but strong and highly centralized national government, motivated ultimately by men’s desire for economic welfare of a specific kind rather than their desire for personal liberty.”
Donaldson went on to prophesy about such folks as Scott Walker, Palin and Bachmann, too, not to mention the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
Can principles enunciated as Southern principles, of whatever cast, get a hearing?” he inquired in The Attack on Leviathan. “ . . . It seems to be a rule that the more special the program and the more remote it is from Southern principles, the greater the likelihood of its being discussed and promulgated. Southerners who wish to engage in public discussion in terms that do not happen to be of common report in the New York newspapers are likely to be met, at the levels where one would least expect it, with the tactics of distortion, abuse, polite tut-tutting, angry discrimination and so on down to the baser devices of journalistic lynching which compose the modern propagandist’s stock in trade. This is an easy and comparatively certain means of discrediting an opponent and of thus denying him a hearing. It is also a fatal means. For if such approaches to public questions are encouraged and condoned, then confusion has done its work well, the days of free and open discussion of ideas is over in the South, only matters of crass expediency can come into the public forum at all, and we face the miserable prospect of becoming the most inert and passive section of the United States, or else of falling into blind and violent divisions whose pent-up forces will hurl us at each other’s throats. Then will Jefferson’s prophetic vision come true. We shall take to eating one another, as they do in Europe.
Or "eating the rich," which is a short-term alternative.
Turns out that not only was Davidson a fierce critic of Leviathan, but a prophet.
In our own time, the metropolitan critics are making national prescriptions that are equally partial, though somewhat more confused. In one sentence they assure us that the industrial unification of America is desirable and inevitable; [ever hear the term "high-tech industries?] but in the next sentence they declare that the civilization thus produced puts upon us an intolerable spiritual bondage from which the artist cannot escape save through the shibboleths of Marxism and Freudianism. Wearily, they proclaim that America is standardized; but angrily they scorn the rural backwardness of regions that prove to be, after all, less urban than New York. Confidently they announce that America must be industrialized; but they sneer at Mr. Babbitt of the Middle West, the creature of industrialism. [Now that's changed; they instead sneer at basic manufacturing.] They urge the provinces to adopt the intellectual sophistication of the Eastern metropolis; but among themselves they bewail the poverty of the modem temper, which in its sophistication has left them nothing to enjoy. Prof. Donald Davidson, The Attack on Leviathan, 1938 quoted by Russell Kirk
Davidson also had some penetrating comments on the Rooseveltian/Johnsonian Leviathan--even though LBJ was still selling advertising for his radio station and fixing local elections at the time.
In 1938, long before the administration of Lyndon Johnson popularized the slogan “The Great Society,” Davidson wrote that his Leviathan is “the idea of the Great Society, organized under a single, complex, but strong and highly centralized national government, motivated ultimately by men’s desire for economic welfare of a specific kind rather than their desire for personal liberty.”
Donaldson went on to prophesy about such folks as Scott Walker, Palin and Bachmann, too, not to mention the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
Can principles enunciated as Southern principles, of whatever cast, get a hearing?” he inquired in The Attack on Leviathan. “ . . . It seems to be a rule that the more special the program and the more remote it is from Southern principles, the greater the likelihood of its being discussed and promulgated. Southerners who wish to engage in public discussion in terms that do not happen to be of common report in the New York newspapers are likely to be met, at the levels where one would least expect it, with the tactics of distortion, abuse, polite tut-tutting, angry discrimination and so on down to the baser devices of journalistic lynching which compose the modern propagandist’s stock in trade. This is an easy and comparatively certain means of discrediting an opponent and of thus denying him a hearing. It is also a fatal means. For if such approaches to public questions are encouraged and condoned, then confusion has done its work well, the days of free and open discussion of ideas is over in the South, only matters of crass expediency can come into the public forum at all, and we face the miserable prospect of becoming the most inert and passive section of the United States, or else of falling into blind and violent divisions whose pent-up forces will hurl us at each other’s throats. Then will Jefferson’s prophetic vision come true. We shall take to eating one another, as they do in Europe.
Or "eating the rich," which is a short-term alternative.
Why Obozo Really, Really Needs the Debt Increase
Ticker mentions something here which is key to understanding the politics behind the debt-ceiling fight.
- If the government does not get its debt increase it must immediately balance the budget. This is good, not bad, in the intermediate and longer term.
The problem is that this situation also exposes the truth, which nobody wants to face in Congress: Whether you raise taxes or cut spending the economic impact is the same - 12% of GDP disappears.
Whoops! If 12% of GDP disappears, Obozo will get run out of office long before 11/12. Of course, most of Congress could suffer the same fate.
So. What's the problem with THAT?
The First Amendment vs. Clarence Thomas
As you know, Thomas filed a dissent on the video-game case before SCOTUS. The Court ruled that the vid-game ban in California violated the First Amendment.
Thomas disagreed, and for far better reasons than the legalistic voodoo of the majority.
...“The practices and beliefs of the founding generation,” he wrote, and then demonstrated at great length, “establish that the ‘freedom of speech,’ as originally understood, does not include a right to speak to minors (or a right of minors to access speech) without going through the minors’ parents or guardians.” This is consistent with his assertions in several cases beginning with Troxel v. Granville in 2000 that “parents have a fundamental constitutional right to rear their children, including the right to determine who shall educate and socialize them.”
HT: AmSpecBlog
Thomas disagreed, and for far better reasons than the legalistic voodoo of the majority.
...“The practices and beliefs of the founding generation,” he wrote, and then demonstrated at great length, “establish that the ‘freedom of speech,’ as originally understood, does not include a right to speak to minors (or a right of minors to access speech) without going through the minors’ parents or guardians.” This is consistent with his assertions in several cases beginning with Troxel v. Granville in 2000 that “parents have a fundamental constitutional right to rear their children, including the right to determine who shall educate and socialize them.”
Apart from the details of the video-game case, which may or may not involve threats to that fundamental right, it should be inarguable that such a right does adhere to parents (or legal guardians), and that protection of that right is essential to this nation’s ordered liberty. This is key: Rights apply not directly to children, but to them only through their parents. A law which prohibits parental authority (except in cases of abuse) violates this understanding (which predates and underlies the Constitution); while a law that aids parents in asserting such authority, without imposing the state’s own judgment, ordinarily is consonant with the Constitution.
As Thomas noted in his dissent in Brown, all the way back to and even before the founding, “the law imposed age limits on all manner of activities that required judgment and reason.” It still does so today, so that courts have upheld even such dubious strictures as a drinking age (21) that is above the otherwise legal age of majority (18)....
The kind of dissent which is fun to read because it's not overlaid with foodaddle about 'scrutiny.'HT: AmSpecBlog
Incompetanto's Boyzzzz Strip Granny, but....
CBS News:
Investigators say Olajide Oluwaseun Noibi, a Nigerian, boarded Virgin America Flight 415 to Los Angeles without a valid passport or identification, using an expired boarding pass for a flight the day before that belonged to someone else.
Yah, but he went through "security." Obviously, he was not old/young enough, infirm enough, or WASP enough to get the full monty.
Investigators say Olajide Oluwaseun Noibi, a Nigerian, boarded Virgin America Flight 415 to Los Angeles without a valid passport or identification, using an expired boarding pass for a flight the day before that belonged to someone else.
Yah, but he went through "security." Obviously, he was not old/young enough, infirm enough, or WASP enough to get the full monty.
RoJo: Obama Will Cut SocSec and Military Pay for "Debt Crisis"
Sykes interviewed Senator Ron Johnson who advises that Obozo will shut off Social Security payments and military pay to leverage the debt-ceiling upward.
Same game Obozo played with the "Government Shutdown" earlier this year: he'd cut off pay to the military.
Simply adds to the pile of evidence that Obama's strategic goal is to create enough chaos that the entire country collapses.
Same game Obozo played with the "Government Shutdown" earlier this year: he'd cut off pay to the military.
Simply adds to the pile of evidence that Obama's strategic goal is to create enough chaos that the entire country collapses.
Irradiation: the Smart Move
Reason posts a short essay from New Scientist on the German/Euro organic-food problem of last month.
Here's the last graf:
The real tragedy of the E. coli incident in Germany is that the outbreak could have been prevented if the organic industry had been willing to irradiate their produce. The bean sprout crop that was the source of the outbreak requires a warm and humid environment to grow, which increases the risk of contamination by E. coli and other disease-causing bacteria. The only certain means of reducing this risk is to irradiate the bean sprout seeds, which effectively kills 99.999 per cent of E. coli. There is no evidence that food irradiation is harmful to consumers, and also no evidence that it affects the nutritional quality of food.
The technology has been around for 20+ years; it's relatively inexpensive, and at 99.999% effective, why hasn't it been implemented?
Here's the last graf:
The real tragedy of the E. coli incident in Germany is that the outbreak could have been prevented if the organic industry had been willing to irradiate their produce. The bean sprout crop that was the source of the outbreak requires a warm and humid environment to grow, which increases the risk of contamination by E. coli and other disease-causing bacteria. The only certain means of reducing this risk is to irradiate the bean sprout seeds, which effectively kills 99.999 per cent of E. coli. There is no evidence that food irradiation is harmful to consumers, and also no evidence that it affects the nutritional quality of food.
The technology has been around for 20+ years; it's relatively inexpensive, and at 99.999% effective, why hasn't it been implemented?
Kathy Stepp Gets It -- Right?
Sykes visited with K. Stepp, Sec'y/DNR.
One extremely positive take-away, one irritating "Madistan-ism."
The positive:
Stepp stated that she and her top management team have been all over the State soliciting ideas from DNR employees as to "how to do this better" and have a large collection of suggestions which they will work to implement. She specifically mentioned duplicative tasks (e.g., the Feds AND the State do the same report/job/analysis, etc.) which should be eliminated.
That is very good news, indeed. It's one of the first steps in "Lean Management" textbooks.
The irritant?
Stepp refers to anyone outside DNR as "Externals." Citizens are "externals," other Gummint agencies and entities are "externals,"........you get the idea.
That language is an infection, Kathy. Take antibiotics immediately to clear it up.
One extremely positive take-away, one irritating "Madistan-ism."
The positive:
Stepp stated that she and her top management team have been all over the State soliciting ideas from DNR employees as to "how to do this better" and have a large collection of suggestions which they will work to implement. She specifically mentioned duplicative tasks (e.g., the Feds AND the State do the same report/job/analysis, etc.) which should be eliminated.
That is very good news, indeed. It's one of the first steps in "Lean Management" textbooks.
The irritant?
Stepp refers to anyone outside DNR as "Externals." Citizens are "externals," other Gummint agencies and entities are "externals,"........you get the idea.
That language is an infection, Kathy. Take antibiotics immediately to clear it up.
The Bailout of Greece? Nope. The Banks!
Ritholtz reminds us of the reality here.
Let us start first with the Greeks, who lied their way into the EU (with the help Goldman Sachs' financial engineers). The ridiculous pay and vacation structure, the absurdly generous pension plan, the excessive spending by Athens. They are a nation that can honestly be described as tax scofflaws. Yes, Greece is a mess.
Which begs the question: WHO THE FUCK WOULD LEND A DIME TO THESE PEOPLE?
Good question, Barry.
Now, then. When the US taxpayer--through the IMF--"contributes" to the "bailout of Greece", in fact, we will be bailing out the banks who LENT to Greece.
IOW, it's TARP redux.
Don't you feel better already?
Editor of Time Confirms AOSHQ Report on Presser
The editor of Time magazine unexpectedly called Obozo "a dick" on Morning Joe.
That confirms what Drew/AOSHQ has to say about President Disaster.
This was just a taste of what President Wonderful had to say today. It was his usual mix of arrogant, misleading and petulant. He can't get tossed out of the office soon enough.
If it were legal, that would be a recall even Grothman could support.
That confirms what Drew/AOSHQ has to say about President Disaster.
This was just a taste of what President Wonderful had to say today. It was his usual mix of arrogant, misleading and petulant. He can't get tossed out of the office soon enough.
If it were legal, that would be a recall even Grothman could support.
ObamaCare v. Economic Recovery.....
In all likelihood, ObozoCare will flatten any economic recovery (if there is one.)
...The CBO report indicates that consumers could end up paying less directly to their insurers once the health insurance exchanges come into being in 2014, but it will be at the cost of more than $500 billion in new taxes, according to an ATR analysis...
Like what?
A $60.1 billion tax on health insurers that will begin in 2014.
We're not done. The State of Wisconsin will get hammered, too!!
States are being forced to confront burgeoning costs associated with the health care law’s mandate that their Medicaid plans cover all those earning 133% above the federal poverty level starting in 2014. This increased Medicaid caseload will be 100% subsidized by the federal government until 2016.
They also will be responsible for covering those who are currently eligible for, but not currently served by, Medicaid during the same time period. “Given the fiscal damage of the recession on state budgets, these additional costs may be difficult to absorb even a few years from now when implementation of the reform measures begin,” top credit-rating company Moody’s
For practical purposes, all the Act 10 savings will disappear beginning 2014.
Recovery? If there is one, it won't last long.
...The CBO report indicates that consumers could end up paying less directly to their insurers once the health insurance exchanges come into being in 2014, but it will be at the cost of more than $500 billion in new taxes, according to an ATR analysis...
Like what?
A $60.1 billion tax on health insurers that will begin in 2014.
- A $20 billion tax on medical device manufacturers starting in January 2013.
- An $86 billion hike in the Medicare payroll tax starting in January 2013.
- A $123 billion surtax on investment income targeted at those earning more than $250,000 starting in January 2013, among others.
We're not done. The State of Wisconsin will get hammered, too!!
States are being forced to confront burgeoning costs associated with the health care law’s mandate that their Medicaid plans cover all those earning 133% above the federal poverty level starting in 2014. This increased Medicaid caseload will be 100% subsidized by the federal government until 2016.
They also will be responsible for covering those who are currently eligible for, but not currently served by, Medicaid during the same time period. “Given the fiscal damage of the recession on state budgets, these additional costs may be difficult to absorb even a few years from now when implementation of the reform measures begin,” top credit-rating company Moody’s
For practical purposes, all the Act 10 savings will disappear beginning 2014.
Recovery? If there is one, it won't last long.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Wisconsin: We're Number Nine!
Wisconsin's gasoline tax is now ranked 9th in the country.
Another burden that the Walker Government will be reducing soon, right?
Another burden that the Walker Government will be reducing soon, right?
US Vet Affairs Goes Atheist, Orders Compliance
What did that Missouri Congressman say again?
In one example cited in documents filed this week in federal court, cemetery director Arleen Ocasio reportedly told volunteers with the National Memorial Ladies that they had to stop telling families “God bless you” at funerals and that they had to remove the words “God bless” from condolence cards.
Since they are ladies, they can't really give Ocasio the best response, which is an expression consisting of two one-syllable words, the last one being "you!"
HT: Gateway
In one example cited in documents filed this week in federal court, cemetery director Arleen Ocasio reportedly told volunteers with the National Memorial Ladies that they had to stop telling families “God bless you” at funerals and that they had to remove the words “God bless” from condolence cards.
Since they are ladies, they can't really give Ocasio the best response, which is an expression consisting of two one-syllable words, the last one being "you!"
HT: Gateway
Obozo's Straw Men Are Now Completely Plastic
Actually, I feel a little sorry for the press that has to sit through this BS. (On the other hand, most of the prolly don't KNOW that it's BS.)
"If we do not have revenues, that means there are a bunch of kids out there who do not have college scholarships," Obama said. "[It] might compromise the National Weather Services. It means we might not be funding critical medical research. It means food inspection might be compromised. I've said to Republican leaders, 'You g
o talk to your constituents and ask them, "Are you willing to compromise your kids' safety so some corporate-jet owner can get a tax break?" ' ''
Uh-huh.
We'd be happy to sacrifice Michelle's $750K vacation to South Africa, though.
Now the question: does Obozo know who his children are?
By the way, Barack Obama talked today about his 13 year-old daughter.
"If we do not have revenues, that means there are a bunch of kids out there who do not have college scholarships," Obama said. "[It] might compromise the National Weather Services. It means we might not be funding critical medical research. It means food inspection might be compromised. I've said to Republican leaders, 'You g
o talk to your constituents and ask them, "Are you willing to compromise your kids' safety so some corporate-jet owner can get a tax break?" ' ''Uh-huh.
We'd be happy to sacrifice Michelle's $750K vacation to South Africa, though.
Now the question: does Obozo know who his children are?
By the way, Barack Obama talked today about his 13 year-old daughter.
Problem? She's twelve.
All that "birth" confusion in his family, my my my.
All The Lawyers Worry About SCOWI
You notice that all the Lawyers are fretting over the 'incivility' at SCOWI.
Why? Well, it's the "Rule of Law" they're concerned with.
Hell, the country's AG doesn't worry about the Rule of Law. POTUS doesn't, either. BATF doesn't. SecTreas didn't on his 1040. Obozo's homeys, ACORN, never bothered with details like election laws. Congress simply makes up definitions of "interstate commerce" whenever they feel like it.
What's to "preserve"?
Seriously; if it weren't for the common decency of most Americans....
Why? Well, it's the "Rule of Law" they're concerned with.
Hell, the country's AG doesn't worry about the Rule of Law. POTUS doesn't, either. BATF doesn't. SecTreas didn't on his 1040. Obozo's homeys, ACORN, never bothered with details like election laws. Congress simply makes up definitions of "interstate commerce" whenever they feel like it.
What's to "preserve"?
Seriously; if it weren't for the common decency of most Americans....
Just a Reminder for the Gummint Boyzzzz
And if you Boyzzz think that the Armed Forces will obey the Marxist-in-Chief, you ought to think again. Hard.HT: MoonBattery
Fuel Doesn't Exist. No Matter. EPA Mandates It!
You can't make this up, folks.
We recently posted about the EPA’s decision to reduce the cellulosic ethanol blending requirement from 500 million gallons in 2012 to somewhere between 3.45-12.9 million gallons, which is 0.69- 2.5 percent of the original “mandate.”
. . .No companies have to this date been able to produce cellulosic ethanol that qualifies by EPA’s definition. Yet, presumably to save face, the EPA has not lowered the cellulosic ethanol “mandate” to zero gallons.
Nope. Here's why: when companies fail to use the non-existent cellulosic fuel, they pay a large fine to EPA.
There can be no better example of the Unicorns & PixieDust mentality prevalent at all levels of Government, and few better reasons to simply dismantle EPA. By nuclear device, if necessary.
HT: RenMan
We recently posted about the EPA’s decision to reduce the cellulosic ethanol blending requirement from 500 million gallons in 2012 to somewhere between 3.45-12.9 million gallons, which is 0.69- 2.5 percent of the original “mandate.”
. . .No companies have to this date been able to produce cellulosic ethanol that qualifies by EPA’s definition. Yet, presumably to save face, the EPA has not lowered the cellulosic ethanol “mandate” to zero gallons.
Nope. Here's why: when companies fail to use the non-existent cellulosic fuel, they pay a large fine to EPA.
There can be no better example of the Unicorns & PixieDust mentality prevalent at all levels of Government, and few better reasons to simply dismantle EPA. By nuclear device, if necessary.
HT: RenMan
All You Need to Know About "Same Sex" Marriage Enthusiasts
The guy is right.
...David Blankenhorn, a liberal, gay-rights-supporting Democrat and self-professed “marriage nut,” offers this sociological principle: “People who professionally dislike marriage almost always favor gay marriage.” As a corollary, Blankenhorn adds: “Ideas that have long been used to attack marriage are now commonly used to support same-sex marriage.”
And in Wisconsin, our heads are on straight. Pun intended.
HT: First Things
...David Blankenhorn, a liberal, gay-rights-supporting Democrat and self-professed “marriage nut,” offers this sociological principle: “People who professionally dislike marriage almost always favor gay marriage.” As a corollary, Blankenhorn adds: “Ideas that have long been used to attack marriage are now commonly used to support same-sex marriage.”
And in Wisconsin, our heads are on straight. Pun intended.
HT: First Things
The End of the Founders' America?
Bp. Chaput of Denver is concerned.
...America could afford to be "secular" in the best sense, precisely because its people were overwhelmingly religious. The Founders saw religious faith as something separate from government but vital to the nation's survival. In the eyes of Adams, Washington and most of the other Founders, religion created virtuous citizens. And only virtuous citizens could sustain a country as delicately balanced in its institutions, moral instincts and laws as the United States.
As a result, for nearly two centuries, Christian thought, vocabulary and practice were the unofficial but implicit soul to every aspect of American life – including the public square. The great Jesuit scholar, Father John Courtney Murray, put it this way: "The American Bill of Rights is not a piece of 18th-century rationalist theory; it is far more the product of Christian history. Behind it one can see, not the philosophy of the Enlightenment, but the older philosophy that had been the matrix of the common law. The ‘man' whose rights are guaranteed in the face of law and government is, whether he knows it or not, the Christian man, who had learned to know his own dignity in the school of Christian faith."[4]
The trouble is that America's religious soul – its Christian subtext – has been weakening for decades. The reasons for that erosion would need another day and another talk. But I do think we're watching the end of a very old social compact in American life: the mutual respect of civil and sacred authority, and the mutual autonomy of religion and state.
Less successful models: atheist Communism, agnostic/atheist socialism, and of course, Muhammedanism.
...America could afford to be "secular" in the best sense, precisely because its people were overwhelmingly religious. The Founders saw religious faith as something separate from government but vital to the nation's survival. In the eyes of Adams, Washington and most of the other Founders, religion created virtuous citizens. And only virtuous citizens could sustain a country as delicately balanced in its institutions, moral instincts and laws as the United States.
As a result, for nearly two centuries, Christian thought, vocabulary and practice were the unofficial but implicit soul to every aspect of American life – including the public square. The great Jesuit scholar, Father John Courtney Murray, put it this way: "The American Bill of Rights is not a piece of 18th-century rationalist theory; it is far more the product of Christian history. Behind it one can see, not the philosophy of the Enlightenment, but the older philosophy that had been the matrix of the common law. The ‘man' whose rights are guaranteed in the face of law and government is, whether he knows it or not, the Christian man, who had learned to know his own dignity in the school of Christian faith."[4]
The trouble is that America's religious soul – its Christian subtext – has been weakening for decades. The reasons for that erosion would need another day and another talk. But I do think we're watching the end of a very old social compact in American life: the mutual respect of civil and sacred authority, and the mutual autonomy of religion and state.
Less successful models: atheist Communism, agnostic/atheist socialism, and of course, Muhammedanism.
Hey!! Those Regs? They're GOOD For You!!!
The usual BS, with More of the Same, Piled Higher and Deeper.
Every dollar spent complying with federal regulations returned anywhere from $2.13 to $14.90 during the 2000s, according to a new report from the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
...the OMB report is not a re-analysis of costs and benefits claimed by federal agencies or a retrospective analysis of actual costs and benefits. The report simply parrots and adds up what the hallucinatory agencies have previously claimed
And, of course, the BS part:
EPA benefits estimates are LOL-ably wild, if not entirely imaginary.
Pravda reports. You decide.
Every dollar spent complying with federal regulations returned anywhere from $2.13 to $14.90 during the 2000s, according to a new report from the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
...the OMB report is not a re-analysis of costs and benefits claimed by federal agencies or a retrospective analysis of actual costs and benefits. The report simply parrots and adds up what the hallucinatory agencies have previously claimed
And, of course, the BS part:
EPA benefits estimates are LOL-ably wild, if not entirely imaginary.
Pravda reports. You decide.
That Birth Certificate Problem Just Won't Go Away
Some guy who is an Adobe engineer lays out a few of the problems with the "birth certificate" released by the White House.
...Bitmap text versus antialiasing text: Notice the bitmap X checkbox in question compared to the antialiased X checkbox in question "e" – major inconsistency.
Additionally, the checkboxes are slightly different widths and positioned differently. (Pixels of checkboxes on the bottom right overlap line pixels below, almost as if the boxes were copied and pasted and manually positioned).
Some letter characters are identical, pixel for pixel, almost as if they were copied and pasted and then moved into position. For example, the lowercase "i" in the word Inside is identical to the first "i" in judicial. There are many similar identical instances as there are dissimilar typesetting examples of different fonts – both suggesting compilation of a document digitally.
Irregular typesetting spacing which is not consistent with proportional spacing used by computers or monospacing used by typewriters in 1961 – but is consistent with copy and pasting and moving letters around. ---quoted at Vox
I'm an agnostic on the matter. Obama will not be the country's nightmare in about 2 years. But this is sure a lot of fun to watch.
...Bitmap text versus antialiasing text: Notice the bitmap X checkbox in question compared to the antialiased X checkbox in question "e" – major inconsistency.
Additionally, the checkboxes are slightly different widths and positioned differently. (Pixels of checkboxes on the bottom right overlap line pixels below, almost as if the boxes were copied and pasted and manually positioned).
Some letter characters are identical, pixel for pixel, almost as if they were copied and pasted and then moved into position. For example, the lowercase "i" in the word Inside is identical to the first "i" in judicial. There are many similar identical instances as there are dissimilar typesetting examples of different fonts – both suggesting compilation of a document digitally.
Irregular typesetting spacing which is not consistent with proportional spacing used by computers or monospacing used by typewriters in 1961 – but is consistent with copy and pasting and moving letters around. ---quoted at Vox
I'm an agnostic on the matter. Obama will not be the country's nightmare in about 2 years. But this is sure a lot of fun to watch.
How Bradley Ushers in George Soros
You've seen a few combox items and/or blogposts from the Lefties citing the Bradley v. Prosser dustup as justification for this.
Soros has spent several million dollars in the past decade in an attempt to get more states to scrap elections and adopt the merit method. Supporters say it would allow judges to focus on interpreting the law rather than on raising campaign funds and winning elections...
"Merit" selection means that you put a bunch of lawyers in a room and they nominate a few folks; one of them gets appointed by the Governor.
IOW, to avoid problems with lawyers, get MORE lawyers involved.
Sure.
Soros has spent several million dollars in the past decade in an attempt to get more states to scrap elections and adopt the merit method. Supporters say it would allow judges to focus on interpreting the law rather than on raising campaign funds and winning elections...
"Merit" selection means that you put a bunch of lawyers in a room and they nominate a few folks; one of them gets appointed by the Governor.
IOW, to avoid problems with lawyers, get MORE lawyers involved.
Sure.
Recalls to be More Difficult?
I think Sen. Grothmann and the Fitzgerald Boyzzzz are wrong on this one.
Republican leaders in the state contemplate the idea of introducing a bill to make it harder to recall public officials.
Grothman says a single vote isn’t good reason to recall any lawmaker — Republican or Democrat. He says recalls are associated with some sort of malfeasance, not simply as a result of taking a vote that might not please everyone. “Why do you think we have elections in November?”
This is, frankly, the Government Mind at work: "I'll keep my job. I'm in Government."
The reality is that there have been very few Legislative recalls in modern history--which is not mentioned by the Senator.
In the case at hand, the "single vote" happened to have a significant effect on the finances of a lot of people. This wasn't some obscure recycling provision that cost a few taxpayers $20.00 each. It was a major shift in labor relations law and practice.
Most people who read this blog know that I favor Act 10. I think it makes sense. Like most people in Wisconsin, I don't enjoy the prospect of my neighbor getting whacked by the economy. At the same time, I understand the motivation for the recalls.
Limiting recalls is a bad idea, period.
Republican leaders in the state contemplate the idea of introducing a bill to make it harder to recall public officials.
Grothman says a single vote isn’t good reason to recall any lawmaker — Republican or Democrat. He says recalls are associated with some sort of malfeasance, not simply as a result of taking a vote that might not please everyone. “Why do you think we have elections in November?”
This is, frankly, the Government Mind at work: "I'll keep my job. I'm in Government."
The reality is that there have been very few Legislative recalls in modern history--which is not mentioned by the Senator.
In the case at hand, the "single vote" happened to have a significant effect on the finances of a lot of people. This wasn't some obscure recycling provision that cost a few taxpayers $20.00 each. It was a major shift in labor relations law and practice.
Most people who read this blog know that I favor Act 10. I think it makes sense. Like most people in Wisconsin, I don't enjoy the prospect of my neighbor getting whacked by the economy. At the same time, I understand the motivation for the recalls.
Limiting recalls is a bad idea, period.
Pawlenty Joins the Warmonger Crowd
Pawlenty apparently bought the line of BillyBoy Kristol--and Obozo, too!
"It is not wrong for Republicans to debate the timing of our military drawdown in Afghanistan," Pawlenty said. "What is wrong is for the Republican Party to shrink from the challenges of American leadership in the world."
"America already has one political party devoted to decline, retrenchment, and withdrawal," he added. "It does not need a second one."
He referred to conservatives who are inclined to restraint as "isolationists."
Good luck with that, Tim.
He wasn't done.
...former-Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty told the Council on Foreign Relations in New York today that the War Powers Act “does not apply” to the current U.S. military operation in Libya.HT: Examiner
Senator Johnson Gets Serious
Senator Ron Johnson was elected because he was NOT going to continue the Feingold ultra-Lefty policies. He ran on a platform of fiscal restraint for the Fed government.
He also ran on a platform of repealing ObamaCare.
As to Part One, RoJo's put down the markers.
Excellent. The eggs are going to be broken, and that's exactly why the Senator is there.
Keep the faith, Senator!
HT: Wiggy
He also ran on a platform of repealing ObamaCare.
As to Part One, RoJo's put down the markers.
Excellent. The eggs are going to be broken, and that's exactly why the Senator is there.
Keep the faith, Senator!
HT: Wiggy
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
CBO's Rounding Error: $4.6 Trillion
It's not a rounding error, really. It's Congressional message-management.
On July 22, the Congressional Budget Office’s (CBO) issued its latest long-term projections on the growth of the national debt. Astonishingly, as bad as the numbers issued by the CBO were, the debt crisis the nation faces is even worse than we are being told.
On July 22, the Congressional Budget Office’s (CBO) issued its latest long-term projections on the growth of the national debt. Astonishingly, as bad as the numbers issued by the CBO were, the debt crisis the nation faces is even worse than we are being told.
The CBO analysis does not take into account the full $14.344 trillion national debt, nor does it reflect the $430 billion in gross interest payments we are paying every year.
Instead it only considers the $9.7 trillion ‘debt held by the public’. That was cited by the CBO. What was not was the $4.6 trillion of debt owed to the Medicare and Social Security trust funds. Interest is owed to those programs similarly is not included.
A Reminder of Abrahamson's Rule
Way back when, Abrahamson vomited forth a truly bad ruling.
From the dissent:
This court cannot create exceptions to Wis. Stat. § 941.23 to cure that statute's constitutional defects. That is the job of the Wisconsin Legislature.2 It is well-established in Wisconsin law that "'[w]here the language used in a statute is plain, the court cannot read words into it that are not found . . . even to save its constitutionality, because this would be
legislation and not construction.'
The majority, instead of striking down the statute, attempts, yet again, to do the job of the legislature and to judicially rewrite Wis. Stat. § 941.23.
Now that Shirley is no longer The Queen, the Court suddenly becomes "dysfunctional" and "non-collegial."
Gee. How did THAT happen?
From the dissent:
This court cannot create exceptions to Wis. Stat. § 941.23 to cure that statute's constitutional defects. That is the job of the Wisconsin Legislature.2 It is well-established in Wisconsin law that "'[w]here the language used in a statute is plain, the court cannot read words into it that are not found . . . even to save its constitutionality, because this would be
legislation and not construction.'
The majority, instead of striking down the statute, attempts, yet again, to do the job of the legislature and to judicially rewrite Wis. Stat. § 941.23.
Now that Shirley is no longer The Queen, the Court suddenly becomes "dysfunctional" and "non-collegial."
Gee. How did THAT happen?
A Fourth Version of the Prosser v. Bradley WWW Match
Found in the Althouse combox.
I got up and flew at the little yard troll, who was sitting there stupidly in his black robe, with the speed and fury of a valkyrie wearing a metal bra with impossible leather straps that tie in the back and riding a white horse that can fly, and slammed my stomach directly into his clenched fist. And then I deftly punched my face directly onto his whimperingly defensive other fist. His pathetic mewls sounded through the chamber as I then tore my eyes across his clawed sharpened fingernails, and caused my entangling hair to ensnarl his helpless womanly hands as a hopelessly bound prisoner, tugging on them tormentingly so that his arms nearly left their sockets, then finally releasing his hands and before he could regain his senses I threw my strong long sensually stretched neck directly into his pathetically grasping hands forcing them closed and then twisted my body and collapsed my knees so that his arm then became hopelessly wrapped around my pillar-like neck as a weak defeated python wraps a hare, whereupon I held my breath until my eyes rolled back and he sheepishly submitted. Then I came here and gallantly provided my report describing his insane unreasonable aggression which is proof of his disqualifying unfitness for office.
Written in only one breath, I understand.
I got up and flew at the little yard troll, who was sitting there stupidly in his black robe, with the speed and fury of a valkyrie wearing a metal bra with impossible leather straps that tie in the back and riding a white horse that can fly, and slammed my stomach directly into his clenched fist. And then I deftly punched my face directly onto his whimperingly defensive other fist. His pathetic mewls sounded through the chamber as I then tore my eyes across his clawed sharpened fingernails, and caused my entangling hair to ensnarl his helpless womanly hands as a hopelessly bound prisoner, tugging on them tormentingly so that his arms nearly left their sockets, then finally releasing his hands and before he could regain his senses I threw my strong long sensually stretched neck directly into his pathetically grasping hands forcing them closed and then twisted my body and collapsed my knees so that his arm then became hopelessly wrapped around my pillar-like neck as a weak defeated python wraps a hare, whereupon I held my breath until my eyes rolled back and he sheepishly submitted. Then I came here and gallantly provided my report describing his insane unreasonable aggression which is proof of his disqualifying unfitness for office.
Written in only one breath, I understand.
Time Mag-a-Rag v. Reality of the Constitution
Patterico did the heavy lifting; evidently the Time Mag-a-Rag contributor is a graduit' of publikschoolz.
(More than 3 decades ago, the National Forensics League did NOT allow citations from Time Mag-a-Rag as evidence in high-school debate. The NFL was right then and, obviously, things have not changed at Time.)
...we are going to focus solely on the factual errors. There are thirteen of them and like the lawyer that I am, I will start off with his most egregious error and end with the least egregious. Here are the thirteen errors, in short:
HT: Ace
(More than 3 decades ago, the National Forensics League did NOT allow citations from Time Mag-a-Rag as evidence in high-school debate. The NFL was right then and, obviously, things have not changed at Time.)
...we are going to focus solely on the factual errors. There are thirteen of them and like the lawyer that I am, I will start off with his most egregious error and end with the least egregious. Here are the thirteen errors, in short:
- The Constitution does not limit the Federal Government.
- The Constitution is not law.
- The Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment emancipated the slaves.
- The Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment granted the right to vote to African Americans.
- The original Constitution declared that black people were to be counted as three-fifths of a person.
- That the original, unamended Constitution prohibited women from voting.
- Inter arma enim silent leges translates as “in time of war, the Constitution is silent.”
- The War Powers Act allows the president to unilaterally wage war for sixty days.
- We have only declared war five times.
- Alexander Hamilton wanted a king for America.
- Social Security is a debt within the meaning of Section Four of the Fourteenth Amendment.
- Naturalization depends on your birth.
- The Obamacare mandate is a tax.
HT: Ace
Bradley Should Resign
The way Schneider's sources put it, it was Bradley who threatened the assault.
...According to one witness, Bradley charged toward Prosser, shaking her clenched fist in his face. Another source says they were “literally nose to nose.” Prosser then put his hands up to push her away.
As one source pointed out, if a man wants to push a woman who is facing him, he wouldn’t push her in the chest (unless he wants to face an entirely different criminal charge).
Consequently, Prosser put his hands on Bradley’s shoulders to push her away, and in doing so, made contact with her neck. At that moment, another justice approached Bradley from behind and pulled her away from Prosser, saying, “Stop it, Ann, this isn’t like you.” Bradley then shouted, “I was choked!”
Another justice present replied, “You were not choked.”
Oh, she wasn't?
...Abrahamson emphasized that Prosser had exerted “pressure” on Bradley’s throat.
“There was no pressure,” interrupted the justice who had initially broken up the incident between Bradley and Prosser.
“That’s only because you broke us apart,” shot back Bradley.
*cough* *cough* *cough*
Clearly, Bradley is out-of-control and in need of anger management along with a long rest-period called "retirement." The attack--even the threat thereof--on an older, far smaller man, is simply one more sign that Bradley is unable to control herself.
...According to one witness, Bradley charged toward Prosser, shaking her clenched fist in his face. Another source says they were “literally nose to nose.” Prosser then put his hands up to push her away.
As one source pointed out, if a man wants to push a woman who is facing him, he wouldn’t push her in the chest (unless he wants to face an entirely different criminal charge).
Consequently, Prosser put his hands on Bradley’s shoulders to push her away, and in doing so, made contact with her neck. At that moment, another justice approached Bradley from behind and pulled her away from Prosser, saying, “Stop it, Ann, this isn’t like you.” Bradley then shouted, “I was choked!”
Another justice present replied, “You were not choked.”
Oh, she wasn't?
...Abrahamson emphasized that Prosser had exerted “pressure” on Bradley’s throat.
“There was no pressure,” interrupted the justice who had initially broken up the incident between Bradley and Prosser.
“That’s only because you broke us apart,” shot back Bradley.
*cough* *cough* *cough*
Clearly, Bradley is out-of-control and in need of anger management along with a long rest-period called "retirement." The attack--even the threat thereof--on an older, far smaller man, is simply one more sign that Bradley is unable to control herself.
The Fitzgeralds' Failure
No, actually, this is not about the boneheaded "leadership" failure in Hansen's district.
Schneider saw some of the same things I did in the budget, and he's not enthralled with the Madison-Boyzzz-Fitzgerald (whose Daddy now heads a redundant State agency.)
...I have kindred spirits among legislative Republicans in Wisconsin, who think the state budget looks just fine in neon spandex. The dairy state’s lawmakers continue to crow about the health of Wisconsin’s budget despite large spending increases, growing state structural imbalances, and rising taxes. They believe that holding spending to an acceptable rate of growth is enough to pacify a public who already believes their taxes are too high.
...Wisconsin’s taxpayer burden ranks sixth in the nation relative to income. In 2004, state and local expenditures claimed 21.9 percent of personal incomes, up from 20.2 percent in 1999. Total state and local taxes and fees have increased 47 percent in the past decade, despite a reduction in income tax revenue in 2002 due to the slumping economy. When an economic recession hits and tax revenue declines, the state still manages to spend more and more every year—even when Republicans control both houses of the Wisconsin Legislature.
So happens that a frequent commenter here mentioned a few figures which are germane:
WI
2 year budget = $66 B
Pop. ~ 5.5 million
Spending per resident = ~ $6000
NC
2 year budget = $39 B
Pop. ~ 9.5 millon
Spending per person = ~$2050
It's possible, of course, that North Carolina has NO roads, NO universities, NO Medicaid, NO State employees.....
The way Wisconsin budgets also fails to provide adequate funding oversight. During the budget process, legislators are presented with documents that merely detail changes in funding—they get papers analyzing the governor’s proposals to add three percent here, and four percent there. Rarely are base reviews conducted as to whether programs deserve new funding. Programs about which there are questions receive smaller increases as punishment; nothing is ever actually cut.
Yah. We noticed that the "Conservative" budget actually ADDS to State employment. Comfortable for Madistan types, of course--which group happens to include the Fitzgerald Boyzzzz. The culture of Madison is Government. That's not the culture of Conservatives, no matter how hard the Fitzgerald Boyzzzz try to convince us.
Schneider saw some of the same things I did in the budget, and he's not enthralled with the Madison-Boyzzz-Fitzgerald (whose Daddy now heads a redundant State agency.)
...I have kindred spirits among legislative Republicans in Wisconsin, who think the state budget looks just fine in neon spandex. The dairy state’s lawmakers continue to crow about the health of Wisconsin’s budget despite large spending increases, growing state structural imbalances, and rising taxes. They believe that holding spending to an acceptable rate of growth is enough to pacify a public who already believes their taxes are too high.
...Wisconsin’s taxpayer burden ranks sixth in the nation relative to income. In 2004, state and local expenditures claimed 21.9 percent of personal incomes, up from 20.2 percent in 1999. Total state and local taxes and fees have increased 47 percent in the past decade, despite a reduction in income tax revenue in 2002 due to the slumping economy. When an economic recession hits and tax revenue declines, the state still manages to spend more and more every year—even when Republicans control both houses of the Wisconsin Legislature.
So happens that a frequent commenter here mentioned a few figures which are germane:
WI
2 year budget = $66 B
Pop. ~ 5.5 million
Spending per resident = ~ $6000
NC
2 year budget = $39 B
Pop. ~ 9.5 millon
Spending per person = ~$2050
It's possible, of course, that North Carolina has NO roads, NO universities, NO Medicaid, NO State employees.....
The way Wisconsin budgets also fails to provide adequate funding oversight. During the budget process, legislators are presented with documents that merely detail changes in funding—they get papers analyzing the governor’s proposals to add three percent here, and four percent there. Rarely are base reviews conducted as to whether programs deserve new funding. Programs about which there are questions receive smaller increases as punishment; nothing is ever actually cut.
Yah. We noticed that the "Conservative" budget actually ADDS to State employment. Comfortable for Madistan types, of course--which group happens to include the Fitzgerald Boyzzzz. The culture of Madison is Government. That's not the culture of Conservatives, no matter how hard the Fitzgerald Boyzzzz try to convince us.
The Mess of Pottage for NY Republicans
McCain read this story from NRO, and now we know that NY Republicans sold their birthrights.
...The background stories on the vote now emerging give us reason to be skeptical of that narrative. One of the senators who switched to give Governor Cuomo his vote told the Village Voice: “It’s not our job to be moral, it’s our job to be functional as a legislature.” What “functional as a legislature” means is not entirely clear, but we get some hints in the stories that detail the money spent by gay marriage advocates (including some wealthy libertarians) and the power-play by the governor and gay-marriage advocates. One lobbyist said there was “a ‘limitless’ amount of lobbying dollars and campaign contributions from gay marriage advocates.” The New York Daily News provides the not-surprising news: “Gay marriage advocates said they expect money from same-sex groups to flow to the four not just as a thank you, but also as a message to Republicans nationally.”
The current MediaMeme is that "conservatives have accepted this peacefully."
That's only half-true. "Peacefully" is accurate. "Accepted" is bullshit.
...The background stories on the vote now emerging give us reason to be skeptical of that narrative. One of the senators who switched to give Governor Cuomo his vote told the Village Voice: “It’s not our job to be moral, it’s our job to be functional as a legislature.” What “functional as a legislature” means is not entirely clear, but we get some hints in the stories that detail the money spent by gay marriage advocates (including some wealthy libertarians) and the power-play by the governor and gay-marriage advocates. One lobbyist said there was “a ‘limitless’ amount of lobbying dollars and campaign contributions from gay marriage advocates.” The New York Daily News provides the not-surprising news: “Gay marriage advocates said they expect money from same-sex groups to flow to the four not just as a thank you, but also as a message to Republicans nationally.”
The current MediaMeme is that "conservatives have accepted this peacefully."
That's only half-true. "Peacefully" is accurate. "Accepted" is bullshit.
Hoenig's Very Good Questions
Ritholtz points to this speech by Hoenig, the FRB/Kansas City President.
“How can one firm of relatively small global significance merit a government bailout? How can a single investment bank on Wall Street bring the world to the brink of financial collapse? How can a single insurance company require billions of dollars of public funds to stay solvent and yet continue to operate as a private institution? How can a relatively small country such as Greece hold Europe financially hostage? These are the questions for which I have found no satisfactory answers. That’s because there are none. It is not acceptable to say that these events occurred because they involved systemically important financial institutions.
OK, so?
...I suggest that the problem with SIFIs [Systemically Important Financial Institutions--AKA "Too Big to Fail"] is they are fundamentally inconsistent with capitalism. They are inherently destabilizing to global markets and detrimental to world growth. So long as the concept of a SIFI exists, and there are institutions so powerful and considered so important that they require special support and different rules, the future of capitalism is at risk and our market economy is in peril.”
Hoenig is convinced that if TBTF banks continue to exist, they MUST be subject to Glass-Steagall again.
He's right.
“How can one firm of relatively small global significance merit a government bailout? How can a single investment bank on Wall Street bring the world to the brink of financial collapse? How can a single insurance company require billions of dollars of public funds to stay solvent and yet continue to operate as a private institution? How can a relatively small country such as Greece hold Europe financially hostage? These are the questions for which I have found no satisfactory answers. That’s because there are none. It is not acceptable to say that these events occurred because they involved systemically important financial institutions.
OK, so?
...I suggest that the problem with SIFIs [Systemically Important Financial Institutions--AKA "Too Big to Fail"] is they are fundamentally inconsistent with capitalism. They are inherently destabilizing to global markets and detrimental to world growth. So long as the concept of a SIFI exists, and there are institutions so powerful and considered so important that they require special support and different rules, the future of capitalism is at risk and our market economy is in peril.”
Hoenig is convinced that if TBTF banks continue to exist, they MUST be subject to Glass-Steagall again.
He's right.
"Immoral" Budget Position, Eh?
PowerLine notes:
President Obama's spokesman explained today that Obama thinks the Republicans' position on the budget is "immoral."
More "immoral" than raping our children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren with debt payments, Obozo?
For the long version of ObamaRape, see this entry from Ticker. (For you Lefties, there are pictures--they look like graphs--so you don't have to be able to read for meaning.)
President Obama's spokesman explained today that Obama thinks the Republicans' position on the budget is "immoral."
More "immoral" than raping our children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren with debt payments, Obozo?
For the long version of ObamaRape, see this entry from Ticker. (For you Lefties, there are pictures--they look like graphs--so you don't have to be able to read for meaning.)
ObamaCare: Where's the Resistance?
Erickson raised a good question this morning.
Whatever happened to the Republican resistance to ObamaCare?
Whatever happened to the Republican resistance to ObamaCare?
95 Years Old, Dying, Wheelchair-Bound: The Perfect TSA Terror Suspect
Janet Napolitano (the Incompetanto) sat in a chair last week, and smirked out a response to the question 'Why is it logical to pat down children?'
Her response was the classic Lefty Tautology: 'It is logical because I SAY it is logical.'
The fact that Incompetanto's pose, smirk, and condescending dismissal of the question fits right into her flat-out lie that 'very few people get groped.' Actually, TSA gropes 1,800,000 people per month.
The Incompetanto Logic-and-Smirk were at play again last week.
Weber told CNN that the June 18 incident occurred when she and her mother were traveling from northwest Florida to Michigan, where her mother was planning to move in with other relatives prior to moving into an assisted-living facility.
Her response was the classic Lefty Tautology: 'It is logical because I SAY it is logical.'
The fact that Incompetanto's pose, smirk, and condescending dismissal of the question fits right into her flat-out lie that 'very few people get groped.' Actually, TSA gropes 1,800,000 people per month.
The Incompetanto Logic-and-Smirk were at play again last week.
Weber told CNN that the June 18 incident occurred when she and her mother were traveling from northwest Florida to Michigan, where her mother was planning to move in with other relatives prior to moving into an assisted-living facility.
"My mother is very ill, she has a form of leukemia," Weber said Sunday. "She had a blood transfusion the week before, just to bolster up her strength for this travel."
The infirm 95-year-old terrorist suspect, eh, Janet?
Clearly, TSA is out of control. Worse, Americans accept this crap as 'normal' and 'useful.'
What Are They Doing Right?
From the combox, moved here for visibility:
WI
2 year budget = $66 B
Pop. ~ 5.5 million
Spending per resident = ~ $6000
NC
2 year budget = $39 B
Pop. ~ 9.5 millon
Spending per person = ~$2050
What's the difference? Should be obvious. Snow removal costs $3950/person.
/sarcasm
WI
2 year budget = $66 B
Pop. ~ 5.5 million
Spending per resident = ~ $6000
NC
2 year budget = $39 B
Pop. ~ 9.5 millon
Spending per person = ~$2050
What's the difference? Should be obvious. Snow removal costs $3950/person.
/sarcasm
How To Practice Handgunnery
Courtesy of the NRA, a brief lesson in handgun practice!
For "drawing" and presentation skills:
1) Position a target with six 2-inch circles at between 5 and 7 yards. Shoot one shot at each circle, drawing the handgun from the holster before each shot. The goal is to fire one shot at each circle and hit each target once. This is not a speed drill, but rather it’s an accuracy and gun-handling drill to help you establish a foundation for gun presentation, sight alignment and trigger control. Conduct this drill four times at the beginning of every trip to the range.
2) Position a silhouette target at between 5 and 7 yards. At the signal, draw your handgun and fire two shots in quick succession to center mass. Then, immediately fire one shot to the center of the head. You’ll have to slow down to make the head shot count. Something between three and four seconds is commonplace. Perform this drill eight times during each practice session to establish your average time. Work toward a goal of completing the drill with no misses in less than three seconds.
3) We cannot simulate the stress levels you’ll experience in a life-and-death encounter, but we can simulate your reaction. This is why I believe the adrenalin dump drill is important. If your reaction is going to be to shove the handgun toward the target and start yanking on the trigger, then learn how to do it effectively. I call my version of the adrenalin dump drill “The 45 Drill,” because the drill has four elements of five—five shots at a 5-inch circle at 5 yards in five seconds.
4) This 12-shot drill is somewhat unrealistic, but it does provide the opportunity to evaluate a variety of handgun skills and is a good benchmark to use as an evaluation tool. Place a silhouette target at 3 yards, one at 5 yards, and one at 7 yards. Space them 5 feet apart laterally. Start by standing in front of the right or left target, and at the signal engage each target with two shots working from the closest to the farthest. Then, move laterally about 10 feet to cover, reload and repeat the drill from behind cover. Completing this drill in less than 10 seconds with all kill zone hits demonstrates a high level of proficiency. Times between 12 and 18 seconds with no misses will be average. Run this drill twice at the end of each practice session.
5) The basis for all marksmanship training is sight alignment and trigger control. Both must be mastered before realistic self-defense training can begin. One of the best drills for learning and sustaining these skills is dry-fire. Some shooters look at dry-fire as pointless. It’s not. The best shooters in the world do it regularly. It’s a very good way to develop hand/eye coordination and kinesthetics or proprioception—the unconscious perception of movement and spatial orientation arising from stimuli within the body itself. Any time you dry-fire, remove all the ammunition from where you are practicing, double and triple check that your handgun is unloaded and be sure that you are working—pointing your handgun—on a safe direction. Using a snap cap is a good idea, regardless of whether your handgun maker recommends one. Basic dry-fire is nothing more than pointing the unloaded handgun at a target and squeezing the trigger while you keep the sights aligned on the target. You want to execute the trigger pull without disturbing the sights. Handgun-mounted lasers can help tremendously and there are even training lasers designed just for this purpose. If you flinch or snatch the trigger it will show up as a wiggle or jerk of the red dot on the target.
Plenty more at the link, including videos!
Practice, practice, practice!
For "drawing" and presentation skills:
1) Position a target with six 2-inch circles at between 5 and 7 yards. Shoot one shot at each circle, drawing the handgun from the holster before each shot. The goal is to fire one shot at each circle and hit each target once. This is not a speed drill, but rather it’s an accuracy and gun-handling drill to help you establish a foundation for gun presentation, sight alignment and trigger control. Conduct this drill four times at the beginning of every trip to the range.
2) Position a silhouette target at between 5 and 7 yards. At the signal, draw your handgun and fire two shots in quick succession to center mass. Then, immediately fire one shot to the center of the head. You’ll have to slow down to make the head shot count. Something between three and four seconds is commonplace. Perform this drill eight times during each practice session to establish your average time. Work toward a goal of completing the drill with no misses in less than three seconds.
3) We cannot simulate the stress levels you’ll experience in a life-and-death encounter, but we can simulate your reaction. This is why I believe the adrenalin dump drill is important. If your reaction is going to be to shove the handgun toward the target and start yanking on the trigger, then learn how to do it effectively. I call my version of the adrenalin dump drill “The 45 Drill,” because the drill has four elements of five—five shots at a 5-inch circle at 5 yards in five seconds.
4) This 12-shot drill is somewhat unrealistic, but it does provide the opportunity to evaluate a variety of handgun skills and is a good benchmark to use as an evaluation tool. Place a silhouette target at 3 yards, one at 5 yards, and one at 7 yards. Space them 5 feet apart laterally. Start by standing in front of the right or left target, and at the signal engage each target with two shots working from the closest to the farthest. Then, move laterally about 10 feet to cover, reload and repeat the drill from behind cover. Completing this drill in less than 10 seconds with all kill zone hits demonstrates a high level of proficiency. Times between 12 and 18 seconds with no misses will be average. Run this drill twice at the end of each practice session.
5) The basis for all marksmanship training is sight alignment and trigger control. Both must be mastered before realistic self-defense training can begin. One of the best drills for learning and sustaining these skills is dry-fire. Some shooters look at dry-fire as pointless. It’s not. The best shooters in the world do it regularly. It’s a very good way to develop hand/eye coordination and kinesthetics or proprioception—the unconscious perception of movement and spatial orientation arising from stimuli within the body itself. Any time you dry-fire, remove all the ammunition from where you are practicing, double and triple check that your handgun is unloaded and be sure that you are working—pointing your handgun—on a safe direction. Using a snap cap is a good idea, regardless of whether your handgun maker recommends one. Basic dry-fire is nothing more than pointing the unloaded handgun at a target and squeezing the trigger while you keep the sights aligned on the target. You want to execute the trigger pull without disturbing the sights. Handgun-mounted lasers can help tremendously and there are even training lasers designed just for this purpose. If you flinch or snatch the trigger it will show up as a wiggle or jerk of the red dot on the target.
Plenty more at the link, including videos!
Practice, practice, practice!
Monday, June 27, 2011
This Investigation Should Go Very Well!
Cindy, from Schneider's twitter feed, pulled up a few pix/videos.
See if you recognize the characters. Then note why they're all on video.
One big happy family!
See if you recognize the characters. Then note why they're all on video.
One big happy family!
Both Sides of Keynes' Mouth
There's a reader out there who knows exactly why I used that headline.
...From the beginning of the recession to April 2011, real personal income has grown just .9% compared to 9.4% for the same period in previous post 1960 recessions.
Total employment (employed/total population) is five points LESS than at the beginning of the recession.
HT: AOSHQ
...From the beginning of the recession to April 2011, real personal income has grown just .9% compared to 9.4% for the same period in previous post 1960 recessions.
The standard response from Obama apologists is that recession of 2008 and 2009 was different because, as former Clinton administration economist Robert Shapiro puts it, "this was a financial crisis, and these take longer to recover from." In fact, in most cases, the deeper the recession, the stronger the recovery to make up for lost ground.
That was what Ronald Reagan's critics said when the U.S. economy soared during 1983 and 1984 with quarterly growth numbers exceeding 7%. At the time, liberal Keynesians yawned and declared the good times nothing more than a normal snapback from the deep recession.
Which was also a "financial" recession: the S&L crisis, remember?
Total employment (employed/total population) is five points LESS than at the beginning of the recession.
HT: AOSHQ
Does This Sound Vaguely Familiar?
The nation of Greece is about to collapse. Reasons? Well, among others:
As it turned out, what the Greeks wanted to do, once the lights went out and they were alone in the dark with a pile of borrowed money, was turn their government into a piñata stuffed with fantastic sums and give as many citizens as possible a whack at it.
In just the past decade the wage bill of the Greek public sector has doubled, in real terms—and that number doesn’t take into account the bribes collected by public officials. The average government job pays almost three times the average private-sector job. The national railroad has annual revenues of 100 million euros [about US $141.5 million] against an annual wage bill of 400 million [about US $566.1 million], plus 300 million euros [about US $424.6 million] in other expenses.
The average state railroad employee earns 65,000 euros [about US $92,000] a year. Twenty years ago a successful businessman turned minister of finance named Stefanos Manos pointed out that it would be cheaper to put all Greece’s rail passengers into taxicabs: it’s still true. “We have a railroad company which is bankrupt beyond comprehension,” Manos put it to me. “And yet there isn’t a single private company in Greece with that kind of average pay.”
The Greek public-school system is the site of breathtaking inefficiency: one of the lowest-ranked systems in Europe, it nonetheless employs four times as many teachers per pupil as the highest-ranked, Finland’s. Greeks who send their children to public schools simply assume that they will need to hire private tutors to make sure they actually learn something.
There are three government-owned defense companies: together they have billions of euros in debts, and mounting losses. The retirement age for Greek jobs classified as “arduous” is as early as 55 for men and 50 for women. As this is also the moment when the state begins to shovel out generous pensions, more than 600 Greek professions somehow managed to get themselves classified as arduous: hairdressers, radio announcers, waiters, musicians, and on and on and on.
The Greek public health-care system spends far more on supplies than the European average—and it is not uncommon, several Greeks tell me, to see nurses and doctors leaving the job with their arms filled with paper towels and diapers and whatever else they can plunder from the supply closets.
Quoted at RenMan
As it turned out, what the Greeks wanted to do, once the lights went out and they were alone in the dark with a pile of borrowed money, was turn their government into a piñata stuffed with fantastic sums and give as many citizens as possible a whack at it.
In just the past decade the wage bill of the Greek public sector has doubled, in real terms—and that number doesn’t take into account the bribes collected by public officials. The average government job pays almost three times the average private-sector job. The national railroad has annual revenues of 100 million euros [about US $141.5 million] against an annual wage bill of 400 million [about US $566.1 million], plus 300 million euros [about US $424.6 million] in other expenses.
The average state railroad employee earns 65,000 euros [about US $92,000] a year. Twenty years ago a successful businessman turned minister of finance named Stefanos Manos pointed out that it would be cheaper to put all Greece’s rail passengers into taxicabs: it’s still true. “We have a railroad company which is bankrupt beyond comprehension,” Manos put it to me. “And yet there isn’t a single private company in Greece with that kind of average pay.”
The Greek public-school system is the site of breathtaking inefficiency: one of the lowest-ranked systems in Europe, it nonetheless employs four times as many teachers per pupil as the highest-ranked, Finland’s. Greeks who send their children to public schools simply assume that they will need to hire private tutors to make sure they actually learn something.
There are three government-owned defense companies: together they have billions of euros in debts, and mounting losses. The retirement age for Greek jobs classified as “arduous” is as early as 55 for men and 50 for women. As this is also the moment when the state begins to shovel out generous pensions, more than 600 Greek professions somehow managed to get themselves classified as arduous: hairdressers, radio announcers, waiters, musicians, and on and on and on.
The Greek public health-care system spends far more on supplies than the European average—and it is not uncommon, several Greeks tell me, to see nurses and doctors leaving the job with their arms filled with paper towels and diapers and whatever else they can plunder from the supply closets.
Quoted at RenMan
On the Inevitable Failure of "Progressivism"
The most devastating criticism of Progressivism, in very few words:
Leo Strauss had it right in The City and Man: “The conquest of nature requires the conquest of human nature and hence in the first place the questioning of the unchangeability of human nature: an unchangeable human nature might set absolute limits to progress.”
And of course, The Project set out to deny 'unchangeability'; failing that--as they have--they then seek to enforce "change" on humans by whatever means necessary.
The Gulag, for example.
HT: The Catholic Thing
Leo Strauss had it right in The City and Man: “The conquest of nature requires the conquest of human nature and hence in the first place the questioning of the unchangeability of human nature: an unchangeable human nature might set absolute limits to progress.”
And of course, The Project set out to deny 'unchangeability'; failing that--as they have--they then seek to enforce "change" on humans by whatever means necessary.
The Gulag, for example.
HT: The Catholic Thing
Chaos Theory, Revisited: Obama Is Not Incompetent
Elizabeth Scalia is not one of my favorite columnists.
Having said that, she makes a very persuasive case that Obozo is not "incompetent."
It's far, far worse than that. (HT: Insurrection)
One more election cycle is all it will take to wholly and forever “remake America” so the stage is being set for chaos. And when chaos comes (and it feels like we’re in rehearsals for it, right now) this administration will “do what it has to do” for the sake of America.
Having said that, she makes a very persuasive case that Obozo is not "incompetent."
It's far, far worse than that. (HT: Insurrection)
One more election cycle is all it will take to wholly and forever “remake America” so the stage is being set for chaos. And when chaos comes (and it feels like we’re in rehearsals for it, right now) this administration will “do what it has to do” for the sake of America.
Which will probably have little-to-nothing to do with the constitution.
This imperial president has already demonstrated that he has no patience for process or for waiting for what he wants. He is quite competent at doing pretty much as he damn pleases.
Time to haul out the mantra:BUY MORE AMMO!!
Who's Buying Farmland?
Interesting post. Seems that SPECULATORS are buying a helluvalotta farmland--distressed and otherwise.
SPECULATORS, as we all know, are EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEVIL.
Wanna know the name of the SPECULATORS here?
Read the link, but here's the beginning of the good stuff:
...The company is called Ospraie Capital Management and is buying up farmground in a joint venture with Teays River Investments as a partner. ...
Wanna bet this never, ever hits NPR?
SPECULATORS, as we all know, are EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEVIL.
Wanna know the name of the SPECULATORS here?
Read the link, but here's the beginning of the good stuff:
...The company is called Ospraie Capital Management and is buying up farmground in a joint venture with Teays River Investments as a partner. ...
Wanna bet this never, ever hits NPR?
Stimulus? Sure!! Dump Regulators!
Need stimulus? Don't spend more money (doh.)
According to the Phoenix study, “even a small 5% reduction in the regulatory budget (about $2.8 billion) would result in about $75 billion in expanded private-sector GDP each year, with an increase in employment by 1.2 million jobs annually. On average, eliminating the job of a single regulator grows the American economy by $6.2 million and nearly 100 private sector jobs annually.” The reverse is true as well, according to Phoenix, which said “each million dollar increase in the regulatory budget costs the economy 420 private sector jobs.” --quoted at Cold Fury
It's a two-fer: one less Gummint salary-with-benefits, and 100 new tax-paying private-sector jobs.
According to the Phoenix study, “even a small 5% reduction in the regulatory budget (about $2.8 billion) would result in about $75 billion in expanded private-sector GDP each year, with an increase in employment by 1.2 million jobs annually. On average, eliminating the job of a single regulator grows the American economy by $6.2 million and nearly 100 private sector jobs annually.” The reverse is true as well, according to Phoenix, which said “each million dollar increase in the regulatory budget costs the economy 420 private sector jobs.” --quoted at Cold Fury
It's a two-fer: one less Gummint salary-with-benefits, and 100 new tax-paying private-sector jobs.
The Public-Employee Pension Need in Wisconsin
A few days ago, Rauh of U of Chicago released a long paper telling us that in order to fund public-employee pensions, tax increases would have to happen.
Across the country, the average was ~$1,300/year.
In Wisconsin, it's "only" $641.00/year. (See P. 31 of the PDF)
Right. To maintain the pension system for public employees, Wisconsin taxpayers will have to cough up $641.00 EVERY YEAR until .......forever.
Across the country, the average was ~$1,300/year.
In Wisconsin, it's "only" $641.00/year. (See P. 31 of the PDF)
Right. To maintain the pension system for public employees, Wisconsin taxpayers will have to cough up $641.00 EVERY YEAR until .......forever.
Is Vox a Cynic? Is Water Wet?
Just one snippet:
This is why Republicans cannot, in good conscience, permit the raising of the debt ceiling, even if the suggested promises of severe spending cuts and balanced budgets were genuine. The promises of future fiscal responsibility are worth no more than a fraudulent mortgage-backed security, and only the most politically naïve will believe that even the most binding guarantees on future congressional actions are anything more than transparent cover for elected Republicans to betray the tea party and their fiscally conservative base.The red-highlight language is a tell. He's right, of course.
This is why Republicans cannot, in good conscience, permit the raising of the debt ceiling, even if the suggested promises of severe spending cuts and balanced budgets were genuine. The promises of future fiscal responsibility are worth no more than a fraudulent mortgage-backed security, and only the most politically naïve will believe that even the most binding guarantees on future congressional actions are anything more than transparent cover for elected Republicans to betray the tea party and their fiscally conservative base.The red-highlight language is a tell. He's right, of course.
Personal Income Increases? Not Really
Denninger looks at the numbers more closely.
Personal income increased $36.2 billion, or 0.3 percent, and disposable personal income (DPI) increased $29.2 billion, or 0.2 percent, in May, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Hey, that's good, no?
Well, actually, no. It's not.
Proprietors' income decreased $1.7 billion in May, in contrast to an increase of $3.2 billion in April. Farm proprietors' income decreased $1.3 billion, the same decrease as in April. Nonfarm proprietors' income decreased $0.4 billion in May, in contrast to an increase of $4.5 billion in April.
And private wage/salary increased by $14.Bn. So where's the rest?
Personal current transfer receipts increased $9.3 billion, in contrast to a decrease of $1.8 billion.
Social Security, Unemployment Comp, and welfare.
Personal income increased $36.2 billion, or 0.3 percent, and disposable personal income (DPI) increased $29.2 billion, or 0.2 percent, in May, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Hey, that's good, no?
Well, actually, no. It's not.
Proprietors' income decreased $1.7 billion in May, in contrast to an increase of $3.2 billion in April. Farm proprietors' income decreased $1.3 billion, the same decrease as in April. Nonfarm proprietors' income decreased $0.4 billion in May, in contrast to an increase of $4.5 billion in April.
And private wage/salary increased by $14.Bn. So where's the rest?
Personal current transfer receipts increased $9.3 billion, in contrast to a decrease of $1.8 billion.
Social Security, Unemployment Comp, and welfare.
AFSCME Tries to Lock in High Costs for Milwaukee
What a shock.
Members of Milwaukee County's largest union on Sunday overwhelmingly approved a proposed contract designed to beat the deadline on the new state labor law. With about one-third of the 3,500 members of District Council 48 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees going to the polls Sunday, 89% voted in favor of the contract.
OK, so?
Well. If the deal isn't done before July 1, the deal can't be done; Act 10 comes into play and allows the County to stop deducting/paying union dues. (Nothing else really matters to AFSCME bigboys, of course.)
But there are other items; changes in health-premium payments, changes in pension contributions, and The Rules. Of those three, the last is by far the largest cost-cutting item.
Is it all over? Nope.
However, the union has several hurdles to jump before the contract can be approved. County Board Chairman Lee Holloway, who has opposed approving a new contract for District Council 48, must refer the proposed contract to two separate County Board committees for hearings before scheduling a special board meeting.
Members of Milwaukee County's largest union on Sunday overwhelmingly approved a proposed contract designed to beat the deadline on the new state labor law. With about one-third of the 3,500 members of District Council 48 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees going to the polls Sunday, 89% voted in favor of the contract.
OK, so?
Well. If the deal isn't done before July 1, the deal can't be done; Act 10 comes into play and allows the County to stop deducting/paying union dues. (Nothing else really matters to AFSCME bigboys, of course.)
But there are other items; changes in health-premium payments, changes in pension contributions, and The Rules. Of those three, the last is by far the largest cost-cutting item.
Is it all over? Nope.
However, the union has several hurdles to jump before the contract can be approved. County Board Chairman Lee Holloway, who has opposed approving a new contract for District Council 48, must refer the proposed contract to two separate County Board committees for hearings before scheduling a special board meeting.
A County Board meeting is not scheduled for Tuesday, and Abelson declined to say what would happen if the county does not act on the proposed contract before the new state law regarding collective bargaining goes into effect Wednesday.
Gee. Lee Holloway controls the gateway. How do YOU think this will play out?Sunday, June 26, 2011
Where SCJohnson's Next Large Investment Will Be
A mosquito-repellent which actually works--by accident.
The Proxy-War of "Prosser v. Bradley"
Althouse is on the ball here and her commentary is very specific.
I'm linking to the publication of the article in the Wisconsin State Journal, because it seems to be the original version of what Lueders wrote. The version that now appears at the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism has been — according to a note in red at the top, time-stamped 10:15 p.m. — "updated to reflect reports of a statement from Prosser denying the allegations." But "updated" does not mean that there is an update at the bottom of the original text, adding new material or noting mistakes. The article has been rewritten, so the flaws that I am going to write about here can no longer be detected.
IOW, it's not really "journalism"; it's full-bore propaganda.
...The Journal Sentinel then cites "another source" that said "that Bradley attacked Prosser." Here we get the first allegation that Bradely "charged him with fists raised" and that Prosser "put his hands in a defensive posture," blocking her, resulting in hand-neck contact.
Which, sources note, was NOT 'strangling'; it was merely a defensive 'blocking' which stopped the Mini-Me attack-dog.
Now Althouse has hit the gold-vein in the mine:
...That is, 2 of Lueders's sources could have been the sources who gave the fuller context, with Bradley as the aggressor. What did Lueders know and when did he know it? Did Lueders have the fists-of-fury version of the story and deliberately leave it out?
Althouse does not mention that Lueders & Co. are a Soros project.
The Left lost in November and lost again in April. Only when you understand that they are using propaganda and half-truth to continue their attack on Conservatism will you understand that the Left is AT WAR, and will escalate from rude behavior (the drumcircle crap) to whatever it takes, including character assassinations, death threats, property-destruction, and physical violence. IOW, Bradley is now at the 'physical violence' end of the war-cycle, having failed to eliminate Prosser through threats and prior character-assassination.
Alinsky: "The third rule of ethics of means and ends is that in war the end justifies almost any means"
They take that very seriously. So should we.
I'm linking to the publication of the article in the Wisconsin State Journal, because it seems to be the original version of what Lueders wrote. The version that now appears at the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism has been — according to a note in red at the top, time-stamped 10:15 p.m. — "updated to reflect reports of a statement from Prosser denying the allegations." But "updated" does not mean that there is an update at the bottom of the original text, adding new material or noting mistakes. The article has been rewritten, so the flaws that I am going to write about here can no longer be detected.
IOW, it's not really "journalism"; it's full-bore propaganda.
...The Journal Sentinel then cites "another source" that said "that Bradley attacked Prosser." Here we get the first allegation that Bradely "charged him with fists raised" and that Prosser "put his hands in a defensive posture," blocking her, resulting in hand-neck contact.
Which, sources note, was NOT 'strangling'; it was merely a defensive 'blocking' which stopped the Mini-Me attack-dog.
Now Althouse has hit the gold-vein in the mine:
...That is, 2 of Lueders's sources could have been the sources who gave the fuller context, with Bradley as the aggressor. What did Lueders know and when did he know it? Did Lueders have the fists-of-fury version of the story and deliberately leave it out?
Althouse does not mention that Lueders & Co. are a Soros project.
The Left lost in November and lost again in April. Only when you understand that they are using propaganda and half-truth to continue their attack on Conservatism will you understand that the Left is AT WAR, and will escalate from rude behavior (the drumcircle crap) to whatever it takes, including character assassinations, death threats, property-destruction, and physical violence. IOW, Bradley is now at the 'physical violence' end of the war-cycle, having failed to eliminate Prosser through threats and prior character-assassination.
Alinsky: "The third rule of ethics of means and ends is that in war the end justifies almost any means"
They take that very seriously. So should we.
"Religion of Peace" Update
This is the "Arab Spring" of which Obozo approves?
Hundreds of Muslim extremists surrounded a church in central Egypt and threatened to kill the local priest, the Assyrian International News Agency reported. The extremists began targeting the church in a village 7 kilometres south of the city of Minya in March after renovation work began, threatening to demolish the church.
Hundreds of Muslim extremists surrounded a church in central Egypt and threatened to kill the local priest, the Assyrian International News Agency reported. The extremists began targeting the church in a village 7 kilometres south of the city of Minya in March after renovation work began, threatening to demolish the church.
AINA Friday cited eyewitnesses as saying that the Muslim mob, dressed in white robes and long beards, chanted: “We will kill the priest, we will kill him and no one will prevent us.”
One of their leaders was cited as saying they would “…cut him to pieces,” AINA reported.
Notice that "hundreds" of Muzzies were there, not "a few extremists" which is the Bush-and-Obozo approved spin (or lie, if you wish.)
We've mentioned that Mohammedanism is NOT a 'multi-culti'-friendly religion before, and we'll have to mention it lots more times, eh?
Prosser/Bradley: Curious Text and Timeline, Eh?
York picks up the story at the Examiner. And we now understand this is war.
Curious that the Left-O-Wackies had what appears to be 'press-ready copy' the instant Lueders released his half of the story. Even more curious that "how to dump Prosser" analysis appeared almost as fast.
And the phrase "accused criminal" is a first in "journalism."
But that's because this is NOT "journalism." It's war by other means.
The report was done by the liberal Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, which was working in cooperation with Wisconsin Public Radio. The Center recently unveiled a project, funded by the Open Society Institute, to "shine a light into the operations of Wisconsin's government." It hired Bill Lueders, a longtime news editor and columnist for Isthmus, an alternative newspaper based in Madison, to run the project. Lueders wrote the Prosser report.
The report was posted on Saturday. It was immediately picked up by ThinkProgress, the activist arm of the liberal think tank Center for American Progress. (ThinkProgress has some of the same funding sources as the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism.) "BREAKING: Wisconsin Justice Prosser 'grabbed fellow justice around the neck' prior to union bill decision," the group tweeted on Saturday afternoon. ThinkProgress sent out more details, and within an hour or two posted an article headlined, "Four Ways Justice David Prosser Can Be Removed From Office." The article outlined the processes involved in resignation, impeachment, removal by address, and recall, while noting that the "accused criminal," Prosser, "should not be condemned until the evidence clearly shows that he is guilty."
As the activist press was running with the story, new evidence emerged in a Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel report to suggest the matter was more complicated than originally reported.
In this case, it's clear that the adults in the room were the JS reporters.Curious that the Left-O-Wackies had what appears to be 'press-ready copy' the instant Lueders released his half of the story. Even more curious that "how to dump Prosser" analysis appeared almost as fast.
And the phrase "accused criminal" is a first in "journalism."
But that's because this is NOT "journalism." It's war by other means.
Napolitano's "Grab Gang" Hits 95-Y-O Woman
Yup. Those damn National Security Ris
ks come in all flavors and sizes.
Jean Weber of Destin filed a complaint with the Department of Homeland Security after her 95-year-old mother was detained and extensively searched last Saturday while trying to board a plane to fly to Michigan to be with family members during the final stages of her battle with leukemia.
ks come in all flavors and sizes.Jean Weber of Destin filed a complaint with the Department of Homeland Security after her 95-year-old mother was detained and extensively searched last Saturday while trying to board a plane to fly to Michigan to be with family members during the final stages of her battle with leukemia.
Her mother, who was in a wheelchair, was asked to remove an adult diaper in order to complete a pat-down search.
Seems Napolitano's Bozos are concentrating on diapers lately. Maybe it's some sort of TSA fetish.
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Raging Bull? Charging Camel? Prosser v Walsh!!
This is going to be a lot of fun to watch.
According to some sources, Prosser wrapped his hands around Bradley's neck. According to another, Bradley charged Prosser.
As you recall, the first story only included the allegation against Prosser.
This one is a bit more realistic. Prosser doesn't have the personality which is associated with sudden un-caused violence. But self-defense? Yah, that makes sense.
...The conversation grew heated, the source said, and Bradley asked Prosser to leave. Bradley was bothered by disparaging remarks Prosser had made about Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson....
She's The Bitch's Mini-Me, after all. The story is beginning to make sense.
Before leaving, Prosser "put his hands around her neck in what (Bradley) described as a chokehold," the source said.
It's also clear from the JS story and the earlier WPR release that SCOWI staffers are doing all the talking. And the JS story came up with a date on which this occurred--something that the WPR story was not able to ascertain.
According to some sources, Prosser wrapped his hands around Bradley's neck. According to another, Bradley charged Prosser.
As you recall, the first story only included the allegation against Prosser.
This one is a bit more realistic. Prosser doesn't have the personality which is associated with sudden un-caused violence. But self-defense? Yah, that makes sense.
...The conversation grew heated, the source said, and Bradley asked Prosser to leave. Bradley was bothered by disparaging remarks Prosser had made about Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson....
She's The Bitch's Mini-Me, after all. The story is beginning to make sense.
Before leaving, Prosser "put his hands around her neck in what (Bradley) described as a chokehold," the source said.
"He did not exert any pressure, but his hands were around her neck," the source said.
(That should kick the memory of the Representative from the 84th District.)It's also clear from the JS story and the earlier WPR release that SCOWI staffers are doing all the talking. And the JS story came up with a date on which this occurred--something that the WPR story was not able to ascertain.
Those Missouri Floods? Yup. The GreenWeenies
Ace caught this from Breitbart.
Some sixty years ago, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) began the process of taming the Missouri by constructing a series of six dams. The idea was simple: massive dams at the top moderating flow to the smaller dams below, generating electricity while providing desperately needed control of the river's devastating floods The stable flow of water allowed for the construction of the concrete and earthen levees that protect more than 10 million people who reside and work within the river's reach. It allowed millions of acres of floodplain to become useful for farming and development. In fact, these uses were encouraged by our government, which took credit for the resulting economic boom. By nearly all measures, the project was a great success.
That was then. This is now:
...the Corps received a great deal of pressure to include some specific environmental concerns into their MWCM (Master Water Control Manual, the "bible" for the operation of the dam system). Preservation of habitat for at-risk bird and fish populations soon became a hot issue among the burgeoning environmental lobby. The pressure to satisfy the demands of these groups grew exponentially as politicians eagerly traded their common sense for "green" political support.
Things turned absurd from there. An idea to restore the nation's rivers to a natural (pre-dam) state swept through the environmental movement and their allies.
Whaddya mean, disaster?
Greg Pavelka, a wildlife biologist with the Corps of Engineers in Yankton, SD, told the Seattle Times that this event will leave the river in a "much more natural state than it has seen in decades," describing the epic flooding as a "prolonged headache for small towns and farmers along its path, but a boon for endangered species." He went on to say, "The former function of the river is being restored in this one-year event. In the short term, it could be detrimental, but in the long term it could be very beneficial."
Uh-huh.
They never told us that the "endangered species" will be homo sapiens.
Some sixty years ago, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) began the process of taming the Missouri by constructing a series of six dams. The idea was simple: massive dams at the top moderating flow to the smaller dams below, generating electricity while providing desperately needed control of the river's devastating floods The stable flow of water allowed for the construction of the concrete and earthen levees that protect more than 10 million people who reside and work within the river's reach. It allowed millions of acres of floodplain to become useful for farming and development. In fact, these uses were encouraged by our government, which took credit for the resulting economic boom. By nearly all measures, the project was a great success.
That was then. This is now:
...the Corps received a great deal of pressure to include some specific environmental concerns into their MWCM (Master Water Control Manual, the "bible" for the operation of the dam system). Preservation of habitat for at-risk bird and fish populations soon became a hot issue among the burgeoning environmental lobby. The pressure to satisfy the demands of these groups grew exponentially as politicians eagerly traded their common sense for "green" political support.
Things turned absurd from there. An idea to restore the nation's rivers to a natural (pre-dam) state swept through the environmental movement and their allies.
Whaddya mean, disaster?
Greg Pavelka, a wildlife biologist with the Corps of Engineers in Yankton, SD, told the Seattle Times that this event will leave the river in a "much more natural state than it has seen in decades," describing the epic flooding as a "prolonged headache for small towns and farmers along its path, but a boon for endangered species." He went on to say, "The former function of the river is being restored in this one-year event. In the short term, it could be detrimental, but in the long term it could be very beneficial."
Uh-huh.
They never told us that the "endangered species" will be homo sapiens.