Some folks drew attention to this blogspot, in which there is a frank and somewhat disturbing discussion of "Gamaliel," an Alinsky-ite outfit founded by an ex-Jebbie priest, one Greg Galuzzo.
One never knows. It's not uncommon for ex-employees to have personal issues with another individual in an organization. (That goes both ways, of course.) So it's not necessarily productive to bite on the "he said/she said" aspects of the blogpost's combox.
On the other hand, and worth noting, is this, which is agreed upon by both parties:
Gamaliel’s philosophy is that all people are part of a sacred community, intended by God to realize their own dignity, worth, power and voice.
Umnnnnhhhh...that happens to be wrong.
All people are God's children, and they are created to know, love, and serve Him in this world and to live with Him in the next. Period. End of discussion.
The term "sacred community" is not defined and is at best misleading. "Power" and "voice" (as well as the squishy/non-definable terms 'dignity' and 'worth') have nothing to do with First Things. What Galuzzo invented is fundamentally wrong, and he uses feel-good terminology, undefined, to construct fairy-castles.
If THAT is the "philosophy" monetarily supported by Catholic Campaign for Human Development money, then, Houston, we have a problem.
Sunday, March 07, 2010
Use O'Hare? Keep Up With the News
Chicago Mayor Daley's going head-on against the Teamsters.
The Chicago Sun-Times is reporting that despite the 3-1 strike-authorization vote by the Teamsters, Mayor Daley is vowing to keep the airports open no matter what.
In this case, the union represents snow-plow drivers at O'Hare.
If you fly out of O'Hare, (or into it) you might keep your eyes on the news from there.
HT: LaborPains
The Chicago Sun-Times is reporting that despite the 3-1 strike-authorization vote by the Teamsters, Mayor Daley is vowing to keep the airports open no matter what.
In this case, the union represents snow-plow drivers at O'Hare.
If you fly out of O'Hare, (or into it) you might keep your eyes on the news from there.
HT: LaborPains
As Usual, (R) Party Earns Its Nickname
We don't call it "The Stupid Party" for nothing.
I've never been impressed by Boehner. Anybody from Ohio who has THAT deep a tan in mid-winter cannot be trusted, period.
HT: AmSpec/McCain
Party-switcher Parker Griffith was handpicked to deliver the GOP's response to President Obama's radio address today, but House Minority Leader John Boehner may be surprised at the hostile reception he gets in Huntsville at a Monday fundraiser for Griffith.
Conservatives in north Alabama's 5th District have hated Griffith for years, and his switch from "R" to "D" hasn't changed that. However, the discontent of local Democrats has enabled Tea Party leaders to organize bipartisan opposition to Griffith now
[Following are the names of several (D)-Left and TEA Party-Right organizations...]
"We are sending a message to the national Republican establishment: stay out of our primary. We also want to support the true conservative candidates that Tea Party activists and the local GOP have gotten behind, Les Phillip and Mo Brooks. We're pushing back against the political machine," said Christie Carden, founder of the Huntsville Tea Party.I've never been impressed by Boehner. Anybody from Ohio who has THAT deep a tan in mid-winter cannot be trusted, period.
HT: AmSpec/McCain
Will the Real Paul Krugman Please Stand Up?
Paul Krugman:
...was not impressed with Kyl's argument that extending unemployment benefits created an incentive that could actually increase unemployment. --(NYT link)
Macroeconomics textbook:
Public policy designed to help workers who lose their jobs can lead to structural unemployment as an unintended side effect. . . . In other countries, particularly in Europe, benefits are more generous and last longer. The drawback to this generosity is that it reduces a worker's incentive to quickly find a new job. Generous unemployment benefits in some European countries are widely believed to be one of the main causes of "Eurosclerosis," the persistent high unemployment that affects a number of European countries
You guessed it. Paul Krugman was the author.
HT: AOSHQ/Drew
...was not impressed with Kyl's argument that extending unemployment benefits created an incentive that could actually increase unemployment. --(NYT link)
Macroeconomics textbook:
Public policy designed to help workers who lose their jobs can lead to structural unemployment as an unintended side effect. . . . In other countries, particularly in Europe, benefits are more generous and last longer. The drawback to this generosity is that it reduces a worker's incentive to quickly find a new job. Generous unemployment benefits in some European countries are widely believed to be one of the main causes of "Eurosclerosis," the persistent high unemployment that affects a number of European countries
You guessed it. Paul Krugman was the author.
HT: AOSHQ/Drew
Friday, March 05, 2010
School Spy-Cam Case Gets Bigger
Turns out that the cop shop knew all about those school-issued spycam computers.
...lawyers said the use of the software was no secret. On at least two occasions, the district turned over pictures and other information to Lower Merion police so they could help track stolen laptops.
HT: Ticker
...lawyers said the use of the software was no secret. On at least two occasions, the district turned over pictures and other information to Lower Merion police so they could help track stolen laptops.
The district even set up a secure Web site so the police could have access to pictures and other information, according to attorneys in the case.
"Quite honestly, the police knew about these devices," said Marc Neff, a lawyer representing Perbix. "They were not in the dark about the fact that these computers were being tracked."
Lower Merion Township Police Superintendent Michael J. McGrath did not return calls seeking comment.
That should come as no surprise; there's this matter of "warrants," and "probable cause," and stuff like that.HT: Ticker
Pentagon Shooter: The Usual Crap
The Christian Science Monitor tells us that he's a "right-wing extreme" guy.
Actual reporters, on the other hand, discovered:
The Pentagon shooter is linked to several gay rights groups along with PETA, NPR, various drug legalization orgs, Greenpeace and Al Franken.
And he's a registered Democrat.
HT: Gateway
Actual reporters, on the other hand, discovered:
The Pentagon shooter is linked to several gay rights groups along with PETA, NPR, various drug legalization orgs, Greenpeace and Al Franken.
And he's a registered Democrat.
HT: Gateway
Barrett's New Econ 101
Tom Barrett explains it all for you.
...bear in mind we're talking about well over $800 million coming to this state's economy, right now, and it's going to come here and create jobs and opportunities to spend money. As a result, if you use the simple economic concept of a multiplier effect it will have a ripple effect, and it's going to create more jobs and more spending. If you take just a percentage of that $800 million, let's say it's 10%, that's $80 million.... I believe that spending [for subsidies] for years will be covered by the multiplier effect of that injection of dollars into the economy.
Very interesting. That's the first time I have EVER heard that a "multiplier" effect will repeat itself year after year after year.
Les Aspin told us it was only a one-time (near-contemporaneous) thing.
And, of course, that $850 million will NOT be all spent in one year--so one applies the 10% multiplier (a reasonable guess, by the way) over the entire term of the building process.
Sheesh.
HT: Sykes
...bear in mind we're talking about well over $800 million coming to this state's economy, right now, and it's going to come here and create jobs and opportunities to spend money. As a result, if you use the simple economic concept of a multiplier effect it will have a ripple effect, and it's going to create more jobs and more spending. If you take just a percentage of that $800 million, let's say it's 10%, that's $80 million.... I believe that spending [for subsidies] for years will be covered by the multiplier effect of that injection of dollars into the economy.
Very interesting. That's the first time I have EVER heard that a "multiplier" effect will repeat itself year after year after year.
Les Aspin told us it was only a one-time (near-contemporaneous) thing.
And, of course, that $850 million will NOT be all spent in one year--so one applies the 10% multiplier (a reasonable guess, by the way) over the entire term of the building process.
Sheesh.
HT: Sykes
Lawrence of Arabia and Iraq
Well, here's a bit of info that's worthwhile.
Lawrence's chief Arab ally was Prince Feisal of Arabia, who desperately wanted to rule Syria after the war. Secret negotiations between the British and French, however, gave Syria to the French. In 1920-1921, Lawrence, working closely with Churchill, successfully ensured that Feisal would be king of Iraq, an amalgam of three Turkish provinces with capitals in Mosul, Baghdad, and Basra. Feisal's brother, Abdullah, became king of Jordan. (Jordan's current king, Abdullah II, is the first Abdullah's great-grandson.)
In maneuvering Feisal into the Iraqi monarchy, Hulsman says, Lawrence violated all of the principles he used as a war leader. Feisal knew "next to nothing" about Iraq and was a Sunni in a Shia-dominated country. Lacking legitimacy, he created a police state, and Iraq's rulers continued to rule repressively until Saddam Hussein was toppled in 2003.
More at the link.
Lawrence's chief Arab ally was Prince Feisal of Arabia, who desperately wanted to rule Syria after the war. Secret negotiations between the British and French, however, gave Syria to the French. In 1920-1921, Lawrence, working closely with Churchill, successfully ensured that Feisal would be king of Iraq, an amalgam of three Turkish provinces with capitals in Mosul, Baghdad, and Basra. Feisal's brother, Abdullah, became king of Jordan. (Jordan's current king, Abdullah II, is the first Abdullah's great-grandson.)
In maneuvering Feisal into the Iraqi monarchy, Hulsman says, Lawrence violated all of the principles he used as a war leader. Feisal knew "next to nothing" about Iraq and was a Sunni in a Shia-dominated country. Lacking legitimacy, he created a police state, and Iraq's rulers continued to rule repressively until Saddam Hussein was toppled in 2003.
More at the link.
Bernardin's Lasting Monument, Part Two
Was just advised of this EXCELLENT video presentation on Cardinal Bernardin's Lasting Monument (a/k/a "CCHD", or "Catholic Campaign for Human Development").
Aliases are important in some enterprises.
And despite all recent experience (and tens of MILLIONS of dollars lost in settlements), some Bishops insist on the old formula: deny, deceive, and stonewall.
The poor old fools....
Aliases are important in some enterprises.
And despite all recent experience (and tens of MILLIONS of dollars lost in settlements), some Bishops insist on the old formula: deny, deceive, and stonewall.
The poor old fools....
Surprise! FedGov Pays Very Well!!
You'd be amazed at what you can get at the point of a gun.
Damn good pay and bennies.
Federal employees earn higher average salaries than private-sector workers in more than eight out of 10 occupations, a USA TODAY analysis of federal data finds.
Accountants, nurses, chemists, surveyors, cooks, clerks and janitors are among the wide range of jobs that get paid more on average in the federal government than in the private sector.
Overall, federal workers earned an average salary of $67,691 in 2008 for occupations that exist both in government and the private sector, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data. The average pay for the same mix of jobs in the private sector was $60,046 in 2008, the most recent data available.
That's not the worst news, if you pay taxes.
These salary figures do not include the value of health, pension and other benefits, which averaged $40,785 per federal employee in 2008 vs. $9,882 per private worker, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis.Damn good pay and bennies.
Umnnnhhh.....About Those Lithium Batteries....
Be careful out there, folks.
Dr. Steven Chu’s Department of Energy is pouring money into research on an amazingly wide front, and strides are being made with different electrodes (silver, sulfur, manganese), leading to rapid advances in inorganic chemistry. The challenges are formidable, with overcharged large lithium ion batteries prone to explode or catch on fire, or internally or externally short circuit.
It's probably Bush's fault, but still.........
Dr. Steven Chu’s Department of Energy is pouring money into research on an amazingly wide front, and strides are being made with different electrodes (silver, sulfur, manganese), leading to rapid advances in inorganic chemistry. The challenges are formidable, with overcharged large lithium ion batteries prone to explode or catch on fire, or internally or externally short circuit.
It's probably Bush's fault, but still.........
Ricardo's Perversion of Adam Smith
Germane, if a bit abstruse. Reduced, the question is this: when "world trade" is "free," is the actual effect to reduce the relative average wealth of US citizens?
The important logical question that the Ricardians have to answer is this: Does the level of rising global wealth come at the benefit or the expense of the wealthiest nations? The important empirical question is this: What is the rate of increase in U.S. national wealth per capita compared to the rate of increase in global wealth per capita? Those who are intellectually honest enough to contemplate answering those straightforward questions of applied theory instead of retreating to the safety of the abstract will soon recognize that the Comparative Advantage is a fundamentally incorrect doctrine and the Ricardian case for free trade is strictly dependent upon circumstances that do not apply to many situations, presently including that of the United States.
That from Vox in affirmation of this (quoted in his post):
Adam Smith is commonly regarded as the father of modern economics. Free traders claim he is also the father of free trade and credit him with the first systematic attack on government regulation of trade ever written. This is true as far as it goes. This is not to say, however, that Adam Smith was a free trader in the same sense that the term is promoted today. Since David Ricardo and the Austrians took hold of it, the term has acquired a dimension and a purpose that was, to paraphrase Smith, no part of his intention. Or, in any event, it was no part of his definition.
Smith used the term "absolute advantage," which is a helluvalot different from "comparative advantage," the bastardization introduced by Ricardo.
Vox would argue that, indeed, the average income in the US has been stagnant, or declining, under the influence of "free trade."
It is, after all, labor-substitution.
The important logical question that the Ricardians have to answer is this: Does the level of rising global wealth come at the benefit or the expense of the wealthiest nations? The important empirical question is this: What is the rate of increase in U.S. national wealth per capita compared to the rate of increase in global wealth per capita? Those who are intellectually honest enough to contemplate answering those straightforward questions of applied theory instead of retreating to the safety of the abstract will soon recognize that the Comparative Advantage is a fundamentally incorrect doctrine and the Ricardian case for free trade is strictly dependent upon circumstances that do not apply to many situations, presently including that of the United States.
That from Vox in affirmation of this (quoted in his post):
Adam Smith is commonly regarded as the father of modern economics. Free traders claim he is also the father of free trade and credit him with the first systematic attack on government regulation of trade ever written. This is true as far as it goes. This is not to say, however, that Adam Smith was a free trader in the same sense that the term is promoted today. Since David Ricardo and the Austrians took hold of it, the term has acquired a dimension and a purpose that was, to paraphrase Smith, no part of his intention. Or, in any event, it was no part of his definition.
Smith used the term "absolute advantage," which is a helluvalot different from "comparative advantage," the bastardization introduced by Ricardo.
Vox would argue that, indeed, the average income in the US has been stagnant, or declining, under the influence of "free trade."
It is, after all, labor-substitution.
Homosex Intrigue in the Vatican
This actually is not a big surprise to Church-watchers.
The Vatican was today rocked by a sex scandal reaching into Pope Benedict's household after a chorister was sacked for allegedly procuring male prostitutes for a papal gentleman-in-waiting.
The Vatican was today rocked by a sex scandal reaching into Pope Benedict's household after a chorister was sacked for allegedly procuring male prostitutes for a papal gentleman-in-waiting.
Angelo Balducci, a Gentleman of His Holiness, was caught by police on a wiretap allegedly negotiating with Thomas Chinedu Ehiem, a 29-year-old Vatican chorister, over the specific physical details of men he wanted brought to him. Transcripts in the possession of the Guardian suggest that numerous men may have been procured for Balducci, at least one of whom was studying for the priesthood.
"Gentleman of His Holiness" is, to a great degree, a ceremonial title, although Balducci had an "advisor" position on the Congregation for Evangelization--no small irony.
A gay choir-member? No! Really??
Have a Chase Bank Credit Card?
If you have a Chase Bank credit card, be very, very, very careful.
If you:
- Exceed your credit line.
- Do not pay on time (even once)
- The bank believes you will be either unwilling or unable to pay because of "information they receive" (like, for instance, because your credit report discloses you didn't pay someone else?)
The bank can immediately close your account without notice AND DEMAND YOU PAY THE ENTIRE BALANCE ON THE ACCOUNT IMMEDIATELY.
Oh, and when you can't (because you thought you had time to pay) you are then in default again for not paying "on time" and they can sue and add attorneys fees and costs.
According to Ticker, that policy went into effect in February.The Statists (With Rent-Seekers)
News item:
...Ventura County, California Health inspectors finally put a stop to one hardware store’s reckless practice of giving away complimentary doughnuts and coffee to its customers without the proper permitting.
...Ventura County, California Health inspectors finally put a stop to one hardware store’s reckless practice of giving away complimentary doughnuts and coffee to its customers without the proper permitting.
You read that right: Without. The. Proper. Permitting.
The owners have been putting out coffee and donuts in what they called their “little pink box of love” for their customers to enjoy for over 15 years in the complete and flagrant absence of a stainless steel sink with hot and cold water as the law, nay, as common decency, demands.
Wanna bet that the complaint was forwarded by a doughnut shop down the street?
In any case, read the rest of the piece at the link (below.) Planet Moron's got game on this post!
HT: Moron
The Useless McConnell Gang
Andy McCarthy:
Here’s the sad truth: For all the shining they did at last week’s White House “summit” on health care, when it gets down to actually putting the brakes on the Big Gummint Express, most of today’s Republicans are AWOL. They’re great at the debate society. But making the fight on something concrete, really saying no when it means grinding redistribution to a halt, means taking the slings and arrows. No thanks, they say...
McCarthy mis-worded this. The term is "shining-ON", not "shining."
Here’s the sad truth: For all the shining they did at last week’s White House “summit” on health care, when it gets down to actually putting the brakes on the Big Gummint Express, most of today’s Republicans are AWOL. They’re great at the debate society. But making the fight on something concrete, really saying no when it means grinding redistribution to a halt, means taking the slings and arrows. No thanks, they say...
McCarthy mis-worded this. The term is "shining-ON", not "shining."
Obama: "Holder's Idea Was Stupid. Yup"
Obamamamama will cancel the civilian trial for KSM and go with military tribunals.
Holder will become a bus-undercarriage inspector, working for Rahm.
Holder will become a bus-undercarriage inspector, working for Rahm.
Oh, Yes, Abuse of the Rules IS a Problem
Herbie and Rusty pose for holy pictures.
Both Feingold and Kohl said selfish lawmakers, not the rules, are the problem.
I'm sure they mean "RECONCILIATION" abuse.
Right??
By the way, Rusty, your accountability will end around Election Day this year.
Both Feingold and Kohl said selfish lawmakers, not the rules, are the problem.
"While I am always willing to consider reasonable proposals to change Senate rules, the real answer is for Americans to hold their representatives accountable for their actions," Feingold said.
Kohl agreed, saying: "Senate rules aren't the problem, abusing them is, and we should hold senators accountable when they hijack the process."I'm sure they mean "RECONCILIATION" abuse.
Right??
By the way, Rusty, your accountability will end around Election Day this year.
A Bright(er) Spot
Hotel Occupancy is a bit better than last year. Although that's an "easy" comparo, it does indicate that business travel is on the uptick.
Still not at the long-term average of 62%, but......
HT: Calculated Risk
The Tax-Takers' New Clothes
Wisconsin Way, again.
...The group's "blueprint for change" suggests a variety of business-growth incentives and a plan to wean the university system from volatile state funding through a delayed-tuition payment plan tied to graduates' incomes.
And we all know what "increase investment" really means, right?
Well, if you don't, let James Wood (same flak) help you understand!!
Among the coalition's recommended options:
Revenue: Cut property taxes at least 25% through a combination of tax shifts, government efficiencies and other measures. Boost the 5% state sales tax to 6%, and let counties double local sales taxes to 1%. Pay for public safety through user fees so currently exempt property owners contribute.
Sure. Who needs "local control" when cheese-eating/wine-drinking lobbyists can get what the tax-takers want in Madison?
Now the soothing Soma-coated foofoodust:
The coalition does not estimate the overall tax impact of its proposals. Its goal is a sustainable tax base that is "reasonable and affordable." The tax base is threatened in part because older fixed-income residents will make up a much larger share of the population in the decades ahead, the report says.
*Cough* Sure.
By the way: proptaxes are Federally deductible, remember?
...The group's "blueprint for change" suggests a variety of business-growth incentives and a plan to wean the university system from volatile state funding through a delayed-tuition payment plan tied to graduates' incomes.
The Wisconsin Way includes the state's largest teachers union and associations representing real estate agents, road builders, transportation advocates, cities, villages and counties. Members come from different political perspectives but all have a big stake in the health of government services.
The Realtors are interested in reducing home carrying-costs, making RE sales easier.
We first noticed this "Wisconsin Way" bunch in late '07, when their flak hit a radio show. The pertinent excerpt from that blog entry is this:
And we all know what "increase investment" really means, right?
Well, if you don't, let James Wood (same flak) help you understand!!
Among the coalition's recommended options:
Higher education: Try to stabilize University of Wisconsin System funding by phasing out state support and asking students to pay reduced tuition over a 25-year period at levels based on their income and whether they stay in the state. An accelerated three-year degree program would be more closely tied to career development.
That's a progressive income tax based partly on residency.Revenue: Cut property taxes at least 25% through a combination of tax shifts, government efficiencies and other measures. Boost the 5% state sales tax to 6%, and let counties double local sales taxes to 1%. Pay for public safety through user fees so currently exempt property owners contribute.
Charge tolls on the interstate system. Consider expanding sales taxes to current exempt services. Cut capital gains taxes.
The key term is "tax shifts." Rob Peter, pay Paul.
Or, better yet, rob BOTH of them to pay teachers and roadbuilders!
Sure. Who needs "local control" when cheese-eating/wine-drinking lobbyists can get what the tax-takers want in Madison?
Now the soothing Soma-coated foofoodust:
The coalition does not estimate the overall tax impact of its proposals. Its goal is a sustainable tax base that is "reasonable and affordable." The tax base is threatened in part because older fixed-income residents will make up a much larger share of the population in the decades ahead, the report says.
*Cough* Sure.
By the way: proptaxes are Federally deductible, remember?
Borrow Money to Give It Away!
Interesting factoid:
In George W. Bush's last full year in office, we spent $29 billion for "international affairs." The lion's share of that was foreign aid. In FY 2011, the year for which Congress has begun to budget, spending for international affairs and foreign aid is to jump to $54 billion and continue to surge through the Obama years. --PJBuchanan
So Congress proposes to BORROW $54Bn so the US can send it off to other countries as "aid."
I don't have a problem with disaster-aid, such as what we spent in Haiti, or will likely drop in Chile. That's the kind of stuff that (by and large) only the FedGov can do efficiently, using the term loosely.
But what's the matter with $29Bn? Or $30Bn?
Or only $20Bn?
In George W. Bush's last full year in office, we spent $29 billion for "international affairs." The lion's share of that was foreign aid. In FY 2011, the year for which Congress has begun to budget, spending for international affairs and foreign aid is to jump to $54 billion and continue to surge through the Obama years. --PJBuchanan
So Congress proposes to BORROW $54Bn so the US can send it off to other countries as "aid."
I don't have a problem with disaster-aid, such as what we spent in Haiti, or will likely drop in Chile. That's the kind of stuff that (by and large) only the FedGov can do efficiently, using the term loosely.
But what's the matter with $29Bn? Or $30Bn?
Or only $20Bn?
RahmSputin-Bus Collision?
RedState:
I’ve heard from multiple people who, interestingly enough, are close to the White House who tell me that David Axelrod and Valerie Jarrett are calling the shots and Obama increasingly relies on Jarrett for advice because she knows the Obamas, not necessarily Washington.
He's thinking the bus will hit before summer.
I’ve heard from multiple people who, interestingly enough, are close to the White House who tell me that David Axelrod and Valerie Jarrett are calling the shots and Obama increasingly relies on Jarrett for advice because she knows the Obamas, not necessarily Washington.
He's thinking the bus will hit before summer.
Thursday, March 04, 2010
On WellPoint Rate Increases
A little information goes a long way, and it's information you won't hear from Obamamamamama.
...WellPoint CEO Angela Braly explains that “higher premiums were justified by soaring medical costs and added that, “health care providers were charging more to the private sector, “including our members,” because payments from Medicare and Medicaid did not fully cover providers’ costs.” She also explained that many younger and healthier enrollees have dropped their coverage because of the recession. They have higher priorities when finances are tight.
...WellPoint CEO Angela Braly explains that “higher premiums were justified by soaring medical costs and added that, “health care providers were charging more to the private sector, “including our members,” because payments from Medicare and Medicaid did not fully cover providers’ costs.” She also explained that many younger and healthier enrollees have dropped their coverage because of the recession. They have higher priorities when finances are tight.
....she noted that premiums in New York are double what they are in California because of New York’s guaranteed issue and community rating requirements – which Congress wants to apply to the entire country.
Not to mention that ObamaCare will "adjust" premiums for people under 40 years UPWARD, while "adjusting" premiums for older folks downward.
Sure. That makes sense.
ChooChoos: Who's Missing?
Stop to think about this for a moment.
There are two US-based manufacturers of diesel-electric locomotives. One is a division of GE, the other (EMD) was a division of GM.
Why are neither of them touting a 'high-speed train' locomotive?
Not because they can't build one. Both have the engineering and manufacturing capability. Certainly GE can fluff up the capital--and likely EMD could, too.
IF they thought the orders were there in sufficient quantity..........over a long enough timeframe.......
Hmmmm.
There are two US-based manufacturers of diesel-electric locomotives. One is a division of GE, the other (EMD) was a division of GM.
Why are neither of them touting a 'high-speed train' locomotive?
Not because they can't build one. Both have the engineering and manufacturing capability. Certainly GE can fluff up the capital--and likely EMD could, too.
IF they thought the orders were there in sufficient quantity..........over a long enough timeframe.......
Hmmmm.
Another "Catholic" for Abort-o-Care
There are plenty of twits like these, who claim "Catholicism", and plenty of them wear habits, too.
Not many knock down $600K++/annum, though.
...the U.S. Catholic Sister Carol Keehan, D.C., president and CEO of the Catholic Health Association supports the healthcare legislation and wonders if opponents of Obamacare are truly pro-life.
She asks "For us as Catholics it's very hard to be pro-life when we don't give many many mothers who are pregnant care. Or we don't give pediatric care, well baby care or sick baby care to children. We have nine million uninsured children in this country. That's not pro-life."
Sister Keehan urges Congress not to table the bill.
Perhaps Sr. Keehan will volunteer to join all the actual Catholics who DO practice the corporal works of mercy. Lots of them are in and around Milwaukee.
There would be a pay-cut, of course.
HT: CMR
Not many knock down $600K++/annum, though.
...the U.S. Catholic Sister Carol Keehan, D.C., president and CEO of the Catholic Health Association supports the healthcare legislation and wonders if opponents of Obamacare are truly pro-life.
She asks "For us as Catholics it's very hard to be pro-life when we don't give many many mothers who are pregnant care. Or we don't give pediatric care, well baby care or sick baby care to children. We have nine million uninsured children in this country. That's not pro-life."
Sister Keehan urges Congress not to table the bill.
Perhaps Sr. Keehan will volunteer to join all the actual Catholics who DO practice the corporal works of mercy. Lots of them are in and around Milwaukee.
There would be a pay-cut, of course.
HT: CMR
Rick Perry And Other Stuff from Texas
Lance brings the (good) news.
UPDATE II - Via HotAir, they had a bunch of ballot propositions on the ballot Tuesday, too:
- Photo ID;
- a TABOR-like limit to government spending;
- a call for Congress to cut taxes;
- an affirmation that the word “God,” prayers, and the Ten Commandments are allowed in public.
Those all won with over 90% of the vote.
A fifth proposition, requiring that women be shown a sonogram before any medically unnecessary abortion, won with over 60%.
I don’t think they have the force of law, but you know candidates are gonna notice all that.
But not in D.C.ObamaCare Numbers
From Verum Serum
44% favor the plan, up three points from last week just before the summit and the highest level of support recorded since mid-November.
But passion remains on the side of the opponents: just 22% Strongly Favor the plan while 43% Strongly Oppose it. --Rasmussen
What Did We Win in Iraq?
P-Mac runs a gripping story today.
...Lying in the road is a young Iraqi woman. I run over to help. She’s caught a round just below her temple. Her stunning beauty has been ruined forever.
“She cries, ‘Paper! Paper’ over and over until the ambulance arrives to take her away. An old lady emerges from the schoolhouse-turned voting site, sheets of blue paper in hand. She gives one to the wounded girl, who clutches it to her like a prized possession even as the ambulance carries her away.
Read the rest here.
...Lying in the road is a young Iraqi woman. I run over to help. She’s caught a round just below her temple. Her stunning beauty has been ruined forever.
“She cries, ‘Paper! Paper’ over and over until the ambulance arrives to take her away. An old lady emerges from the schoolhouse-turned voting site, sheets of blue paper in hand. She gives one to the wounded girl, who clutches it to her like a prized possession even as the ambulance carries her away.
Read the rest here.
BATF's Agent Dunderhead
In the State of Washington...
A local business owner is flabbergasted after a shipment of 30 toy guns for his store was confiscated by ATF agents in Tacoma.
Brad Martin and his son, Ben, sell the Airsoft BB guns from their store in Cornelius where they’ve been in business for seven years.
The reason?
Special Agent Kelvin Crenshaw said the toys can be easily retro-fitted into dangerous weapons.
"With minimal work it could be converted to a machine gun," Crenshaw said.
The AirSoft in question is a handgun, resembling a 9mm semiauto.
With a similar amount of work I can turn my Ford Taurus into a Bradley M1A1.
HT: MoonBattery
A local business owner is flabbergasted after a shipment of 30 toy guns for his store was confiscated by ATF agents in Tacoma.
Brad Martin and his son, Ben, sell the Airsoft BB guns from their store in Cornelius where they’ve been in business for seven years.
The reason?
Special Agent Kelvin Crenshaw said the toys can be easily retro-fitted into dangerous weapons.
"With minimal work it could be converted to a machine gun," Crenshaw said.
The AirSoft in question is a handgun, resembling a 9mm semiauto.
With a similar amount of work I can turn my Ford Taurus into a Bradley M1A1.
HT: MoonBattery
Tax-Exempt Lands
Picture's worth 1,000 words, eh? That's the FEDERAL-OWNED LAND percentages...and now they want more. About 13.5 MILLION acres more.
HT: MoonBattery
Yet Another Way for Congress to Rape the Nation
Morrissey mentions another method for Rahm-a-Jamming ObamaCare, but he forgets something: the budget process.
The real nightmare scenario isn’t that the House might pass the Senate bill now, or in April. It’s that Democrats might get stymied now, and then pass the Senate bill after the midterms in late November, and allow Obama to sign it into law well after the time when voters have held them accountable for their radical agenda.
IOW, the lame-duck strategy.
Displaced House (D)s, however, might have to live anyplace OTHER than their Districts if they pull this trick.
The real nightmare scenario isn’t that the House might pass the Senate bill now, or in April. It’s that Democrats might get stymied now, and then pass the Senate bill after the midterms in late November, and allow Obama to sign it into law well after the time when voters have held them accountable for their radical agenda.
IOW, the lame-duck strategy.
Displaced House (D)s, however, might have to live anyplace OTHER than their Districts if they pull this trick.
And, of course, a majority-Republican House might never FUND ObamaCare.
THIS Is "Banking Reform"??
A snippet from a short essay...
And we'll break a few eggshells and zombies (think Citi), but we'll have a damn good omelette in the end.
HT: Gateway
MORE here from Ritholtz.
The House passed financial reform bill, crafted by none other than Barney Frank (D-MA) contained a permanent bailout fund for banks and Wall Street firms and created a new agency of government that would be allowed to regulate any and all business in America. It received no Republican votes and close to two dozen democrats opposed the legislation. But, it is alive today thanks to Bob Corker.
The ironically named Consumer Financial Protection Agency will pile a new bureaucracy on top of an existing bureaucracy. It will spend hundreds of millions of dollars imposing job killing regulations on small business. It will have the power to strip consumers of their freedoms and restrict credit opportunities for small business. And, there’s more. Also tucked in the bill is a clause that gives the Federal Reserve the authority to bailout businesses to the tune of an astonishing $4 trillion.
The bill seemed to be dead until Corker decided to grab favorable headlines from the New York Times. According to news reports, Corker’s solution to the problem is to move the new regulatory agency to the Federal Reserve as opposed to leaving it a stand alone agency. Corker is misleading his colleagues and the public by telling them that this will some how save money.
Let’s be clear, the bill contains bailouts for big banks and Wall Street firms and new red tape nightmares for main street businesses. What difference does the location of this new uber-regulatory bureaucracy make? The only thing this bill will save is jobs, paychecks, yachts and third vacation homes for Wall Street bankers and irresponsible CEOs.
Give me four normal red-blooded Americans from the Midwest and Paul Volcker and we'll reform "financial regulation."And we'll break a few eggshells and zombies (think Citi), but we'll have a damn good omelette in the end.
HT: Gateway
MORE here from Ritholtz.
Bernardin's Lasting Monument
Mid-length esssay here which connects the dots between ACORN and Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD.)
So far, eight Bishops have nixed the CCHD collection in their respective Dioceses.
Key line:
Created in 1969 -- a year before ACORN launched in 1970 -- CCHD is not a charity the way people ordinarily use the term. It doesn't help the poor. It seems to take Jesus's admonition in the Book of Matthew, "The poor you will always have with you,"as a command to ignore the poor.
Un-mentioned is the Joseph Bernardin connection. He was a muckety-muck in the USCC when CCHD was created.
Surprised?
So far, eight Bishops have nixed the CCHD collection in their respective Dioceses.
Key line:
Created in 1969 -- a year before ACORN launched in 1970 -- CCHD is not a charity the way people ordinarily use the term. It doesn't help the poor. It seems to take Jesus's admonition in the Book of Matthew, "The poor you will always have with you,"as a command to ignore the poor.
Un-mentioned is the Joseph Bernardin connection. He was a muckety-muck in the USCC when CCHD was created.
Surprised?
Lightbulb Jokes
I use the plural, of course, because there are the 400 low-wattage jokes in Congress who voted for this, then GWB, the ........ahhhh..........dim bulb........who SIGNED the damnfool law, and then this:
Question: How many government officials does it take to change ALL the bulbs?
Answer: 37,221.
The vast bulk of them repose in EPA (18,000) and DOE (15,000) who are writing regulations to destroy the incandescent. At ~$75K each plus bennies, they suck up a lot of dollars that COULD be used to pay utility bills.
HT: AmSpecBlog
Question: How many government officials does it take to change ALL the bulbs?
Answer: 37,221.
The vast bulk of them repose in EPA (18,000) and DOE (15,000) who are writing regulations to destroy the incandescent. At ~$75K each plus bennies, they suck up a lot of dollars that COULD be used to pay utility bills.
HT: AmSpecBlog
Shameless Propaganda: Kohl and Feingold
Just shameless propaganda.
...Wisconsin's two Democratic senators sent a letter to WellPoint President Angela Braly, questioning her company's plans to increase health insurance premiums by 17% for more than 13,000 people in Wisconsin covered by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Wisconsin plans starting next month.
...Wisconsin's two Democratic senators sent a letter to WellPoint President Angela Braly, questioning her company's plans to increase health insurance premiums by 17% for more than 13,000 people in Wisconsin covered by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Wisconsin plans starting next month.
"We can not understand how these large increases in premiums are justified and ask that you explain the rationale for placing such a heavy burden on policyholders," wrote Sens. Russ Feingold and Herb Kohl in the letter dated Wednesday.
Herbie Kohl knows plenty about costs and pricing; he learned it from his father and practiced profit-making at the graduate level for quite some time. Somebody ought to ask Herbie how, exactly, his grocery empire became unionized...
Feingold may have an excuse; his living has always been provided at the point of a gun through tax revenues.
Experience Counts
Oh, well.
A 45-year-old woman, charged with ending a domestic dispute by killing her 26-year-old husband of five days, is a registered lobbyist for a group fighting domestic violence.
Harry Reid's going to eat some words, eh?
A 45-year-old woman, charged with ending a domestic dispute by killing her 26-year-old husband of five days, is a registered lobbyist for a group fighting domestic violence.
Harry Reid's going to eat some words, eh?
Cheese Writes Whine
This guy, Ed Perkins, doesn't like 'transparency' when it bears a message.
The latest hidden mandatory add-on is a "health" charge added to restaurant bills. As far as I know, this scam cropped up first in San Francisco, but you can count on it to spread.
The rationale for this one is to cover the employers' mandatory contribution to the City's "Healthy San Francisco" health-coverage system. The charge actually is levied on employers, but at least some restaurants are adding a few dollars or percentage points to each customer's bill to cover this charge.
The restaurants' excuse for assessing this charge separately is to let customers know how much they're paying for employees' health coverage.
And on and on and on for several more grafs. Enough for a whole whine-cellar of MadDog 20-20.
I think the restaurant owners are to be complimented on their openness.
The latest hidden mandatory add-on is a "health" charge added to restaurant bills. As far as I know, this scam cropped up first in San Francisco, but you can count on it to spread.
The rationale for this one is to cover the employers' mandatory contribution to the City's "Healthy San Francisco" health-coverage system. The charge actually is levied on employers, but at least some restaurants are adding a few dollars or percentage points to each customer's bill to cover this charge.
The restaurants' excuse for assessing this charge separately is to let customers know how much they're paying for employees' health coverage.
And on and on and on for several more grafs. Enough for a whole whine-cellar of MadDog 20-20.
I think the restaurant owners are to be complimented on their openness.
Yup, It's the Spending!
Spending is the problem, so here's a solution.
Two House Republicans have introduced a spending limit amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
...Pence and Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) say their proposed amendment will give the American people a “unique opportunity to define the size and scope of the federal government for future generations.”
They say lawmakers have a moral obligation to control spending: “Unless we change course, the public debt will consume the entire economy in less than fifteen years,” Pence said. “Runaway spending and record debt will make future generations of Americans less free, less prosperous and less secure.”
Gee, I dunno. Should we or should we not have an economy in 2025?
Two House Republicans have introduced a spending limit amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
...Pence and Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) say their proposed amendment will give the American people a “unique opportunity to define the size and scope of the federal government for future generations.”
They say lawmakers have a moral obligation to control spending: “Unless we change course, the public debt will consume the entire economy in less than fifteen years,” Pence said. “Runaway spending and record debt will make future generations of Americans less free, less prosperous and less secure.”
Gee, I dunno. Should we or should we not have an economy in 2025?
Corporate Welfare Queens: Windbag Edition
Who could have guessed??
After two studies refuted President Barack Obama’s assertions regarding the success of Spain’s and Denmark’s wind energy programs, a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request reveals the Department of Energy turned to George Soros and to wind industry lobbyists to attack the studies.
You're aware of this part of the history:
As candidate and president, on eight separate occasions Barack Obama instructed Americans to “think about what’s happening in countries like Spain [and] Germany” if they wanted to know what successful “green jobs” policies look like, and if they wanted to know what we should expect here in the U.S. from his agenda.
After the Spanish study embarrassed the White House, prompting substantial media attention and even questioning at a press conference, Obama swapped out Denmark for Spain for later references to an enacted “green jobs” program.
The piece's author filed an FOIA request which included the following:
We therefore seek documents revealing the origins of the effort and clarifying the alternating, mutually exclusive claims of NREL saying DoE told me to do it and DoE telling Congress that it was all NREL’s idea, fully aware of of DoE’s extant protestations to congressional offices that the above-cited paper is of like kind with other NREL products (noting here that no paper DoE cites is comparable on any level [citations omitted]).
No surprise to find James Doyle and Tommy Barrett wind up with a Spanish corporate welfare queen, is it?
After two studies refuted President Barack Obama’s assertions regarding the success of Spain’s and Denmark’s wind energy programs, a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request reveals the Department of Energy turned to George Soros and to wind industry lobbyists to attack the studies.
You're aware of this part of the history:
As candidate and president, on eight separate occasions Barack Obama instructed Americans to “think about what’s happening in countries like Spain [and] Germany” if they wanted to know what successful “green jobs” policies look like, and if they wanted to know what we should expect here in the U.S. from his agenda.
Some European economists took a look. In March, a research team from Madrid’s King Juan Carlos University produced a detailed, substantive, heavily sourced, two-method paper: “Study of the Effects on Employment of Public Aid to Renewable Energy Sources.” The paper concluded that Spain’s “green jobs” program was an economic failure, in fact costing Spain many jobs.
But you may not have heard this:After the Spanish study embarrassed the White House, prompting substantial media attention and even questioning at a press conference, Obama swapped out Denmark for Spain for later references to an enacted “green jobs” program.
Soon, Denmark produced a study (“Wind Energy: The Case of Denmark“) through the think-tank CEPOS. This paper also revealed tremendous costs, and that Obama’s claim about Denmark’s “renewables” experience was also steeped in mythology.
Enter the Corporate Welfare Queens (American Wind Energy Ass'n.), and then the Obama Administration produced a document which attempted to refute both the Spanish and Danish studies. And enter (from the right), Jim Sensenbrenner.The piece's author filed an FOIA request which included the following:
We therefore seek documents revealing the origins of the effort and clarifying the alternating, mutually exclusive claims of NREL saying DoE told me to do it and DoE telling Congress that it was all NREL’s idea, fully aware of of DoE’s extant protestations to congressional offices that the above-cited paper is of like kind with other NREL products (noting here that no paper DoE cites is comparable on any level [citations omitted]).
Congressman James Sensenbrenner wrote to Ms. Zoi two days later, asking five specific questions about how and by whose instruction this NREL paper was produced. On January 6, 2010, Zoi wrote back with a one-paragraph reply which either failed or refused to provide answers to any of the queries.
We now know that the prospect of such answers seeing the light of day was clearly of great concern to the DoE. This raises the question of whether, by refusing to share information sought by the ranking Republican on the House Select Committee on Global Warming, Ms. Zoi lied to or misled a member of Congress exercising his legitimate oversight function.
Misleading, hidden, inaccurate, evasive.No surprise to find James Doyle and Tommy Barrett wind up with a Spanish corporate welfare queen, is it?
Wednesday, March 03, 2010
The Third ObamaCare Possibility
Legal Insurrection brings even more discouraging words.
The strategy appears to be for the House to pass the Senate bill as is, based on the promise of the budget reconciliation process being successful in the Senate to implement changes.
But what if the Senate does not or cannot pass the changes through the reconciliation process?
Obama then has to power to sign the bill as passed by the House and Senate, meaning the Senate bill.
What was the name of that Beatles tune....."there's gonna be a ......."
Whatever was that word??
The strategy appears to be for the House to pass the Senate bill as is, based on the promise of the budget reconciliation process being successful in the Senate to implement changes.
But what if the Senate does not or cannot pass the changes through the reconciliation process?
Obama then has to power to sign the bill as passed by the House and Senate, meaning the Senate bill.
What was the name of that Beatles tune....."there's gonna be a ......."
Whatever was that word??
Don't Do This, Reps. Kind, Obey, Moore, Baldwin, Kagen!
Obama, lecturing and whining to push ObamaCare V3.0:
I have therefore asked leaders in both of Houses of Congress to finish their work and schedule a vote in the next few weeks. From now until then, I will do everything in my power to make the case for reform. And I urge every American who wants this reform to make their voice heard as well – every family, every business owner, every patient, every doctor, every nurse.
He wants it Rahm-a-Jamma'd through before Congress takes their Easter break--IOW, before they get back to their districts, where the public will tar and feather them.
Congressmen, of course, can vote any way they want.
But defying the expressed sentiment (~70/30 AGAINST) of the population will have consequences which are unpleasant and unpredictable. Inter alia, when Congress is no longer representative of the will of the people, what binds the people to obey other Congressional legislation? Pick a law, any law (or bunch of them).
This "representative" stuff is a two-way street.
It's not just re-election. It's good faith.
And once you've broken faith, you may expect the favor will be returned.
UPDATE:
From the McCain combox on the same question:
Some folks are serious about this.
I have therefore asked leaders in both of Houses of Congress to finish their work and schedule a vote in the next few weeks. From now until then, I will do everything in my power to make the case for reform. And I urge every American who wants this reform to make their voice heard as well – every family, every business owner, every patient, every doctor, every nurse.
He wants it Rahm-a-Jamma'd through before Congress takes their Easter break--IOW, before they get back to their districts, where the public will tar and feather them.
Congressmen, of course, can vote any way they want.
But defying the expressed sentiment (~70/30 AGAINST) of the population will have consequences which are unpleasant and unpredictable. Inter alia, when Congress is no longer representative of the will of the people, what binds the people to obey other Congressional legislation? Pick a law, any law (or bunch of them).
This "representative" stuff is a two-way street.
It's not just re-election. It's good faith.
And once you've broken faith, you may expect the favor will be returned.
UPDATE:
From the McCain combox on the same question:
Some folks are serious about this.
The Ironic Laugh of the Month
Steny Hoyer, commenting on allegations that a Congressman sexually harassed a male staffer:
“When there were allegations about Mr. Foley or others, I think the institution suffers,” Hoyer continued. “And that’s why it’s so important that each of us conducts ourselves in a way that won't bring discredit on the institution."
Discredit Congress?
Mein Herz!!
“When there were allegations about Mr. Foley or others, I think the institution suffers,” Hoyer continued. “And that’s why it’s so important that each of us conducts ourselves in a way that won't bring discredit on the institution."
Discredit Congress?
Mein Herz!!
The McDonald of McDonald v. Chicago
Another bunch of info you'll NEVER see in the MSM. After all, McDonald's lawsuit (now in SCOTUS), was financed in part by the NRA.
Otis McDonald is a 76 year old African American Democrat who moved here from Louisiana at the age of 17, got married, landed a job as a janitor and was promoted to building engineer. In 1972 he and his wife found they could afford to buy a modest home on the far South Side. Repeatedly that home has been broken into.
One time Otis called the cops and the intruder told him he had overheard the phone call and for that he was going to kill Otis McDonald. He didn’t.
Otis McDonald then piled into his car and drove 200 miles to Springfield to attend his first gun rally. It is likely the Supreme Court will uphold Otis McDonald and ditch the stupid handgun ordinance which is used by liberals as their weak attempt at fighting crime…keeping honorable people from defending themselves.
The media…which largely lives in more protected areas than Otis McDonald can afford…believes with their entire bleeding elitist hearts that Otis should not own a gun to defend himself. Which is why we don’t hear much about Otis McDonald from them.
Instead we hear and see that raving egomaniacal lunatic Farrakhan saying that whitey is going to kill the president.
--Tom Roeser
Otis McDonald is a 76 year old African American Democrat who moved here from Louisiana at the age of 17, got married, landed a job as a janitor and was promoted to building engineer. In 1972 he and his wife found they could afford to buy a modest home on the far South Side. Repeatedly that home has been broken into.
One time Otis called the cops and the intruder told him he had overheard the phone call and for that he was going to kill Otis McDonald. He didn’t.
Otis McDonald then piled into his car and drove 200 miles to Springfield to attend his first gun rally. It is likely the Supreme Court will uphold Otis McDonald and ditch the stupid handgun ordinance which is used by liberals as their weak attempt at fighting crime…keeping honorable people from defending themselves.
The media…which largely lives in more protected areas than Otis McDonald can afford…believes with their entire bleeding elitist hearts that Otis should not own a gun to defend himself. Which is why we don’t hear much about Otis McDonald from them.
Instead we hear and see that raving egomaniacal lunatic Farrakhan saying that whitey is going to kill the president.
--Tom Roeser
Sailing Around Scotland? Landmarks You Need
Just in case you're sailing around Western Scotland and need to fix your bearings,
Martin Martin, in A Description of the Western Isles of Scotland (1703), was the first to mention the Paps of Jura:
The isle is mountainous along the middle, where there are four hills of a considerable height. The two highest are well known to sea-faring men by the name of the Paps of Jura. They are very conspicuous from all quarters of sea and land in those parts.
Can't say I didn't ever give you useful information.
HT: Laudator
Martin Martin, in A Description of the Western Isles of Scotland (1703), was the first to mention the Paps of Jura:
The isle is mountainous along the middle, where there are four hills of a considerable height. The two highest are well known to sea-faring men by the name of the Paps of Jura. They are very conspicuous from all quarters of sea and land in those parts.
Can't say I didn't ever give you useful information.
HT: Laudator
News From the Other Planet
That planet which is occupied by the WackoLefties, of course...
...But animals suing? For most people, the very idea is a surreal fantasy out of a Far Side cartoon. But from the viewpoint of animal-rights ideologues, nothing could be more logical. The dogma of animal liberation demands the obliteration of all animal industries and, eventually, the eradication by attrition of all domesticated animals…
What could further the eradication goal more dramatically than allowing domesticated animals to sue their owners in court?
By the way, two of the "names" supporting that are Lawrence Tribe (Hah-vahd) and Cass Sunstein (some damn place in Illinois.) Sunstein has been mentioned as an Obama-nominee for some spot or other--perhaps SCOTUS.
Thought you'd like to know.
...But animals suing? For most people, the very idea is a surreal fantasy out of a Far Side cartoon. But from the viewpoint of animal-rights ideologues, nothing could be more logical. The dogma of animal liberation demands the obliteration of all animal industries and, eventually, the eradication by attrition of all domesticated animals…
What could further the eradication goal more dramatically than allowing domesticated animals to sue their owners in court?
By the way, two of the "names" supporting that are Lawrence Tribe (Hah-vahd) and Cass Sunstein (some damn place in Illinois.) Sunstein has been mentioned as an Obama-nominee for some spot or other--perhaps SCOTUS.
Thought you'd like to know.
Virginia, New Jersey, Mass., Texas....
The count continues to increase.
Gov. Rick Perry won a decisive victory over Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison in the Texas GOP primary for governor Tuesday night, bringing a bruising fight between two of the state’s most popular Republicans to an anticlimactic conclusion.
Perry said his win should send a message to Washington.
“Quit spending all the money, stop trying to take over our lives and our businesses,” he said in a speech that seemed aimed as much as the Obama White House as his Democratic opponent Bill White. . . .
Or you could try jamming ObamaCare, at great peril.
Hutchinson was a 'center-right' (R) Senator. Perry blew her away in a 3-way primary.
HT: mcCain
Gov. Rick Perry won a decisive victory over Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison in the Texas GOP primary for governor Tuesday night, bringing a bruising fight between two of the state’s most popular Republicans to an anticlimactic conclusion.
Perry said his win should send a message to Washington.
“Quit spending all the money, stop trying to take over our lives and our businesses,” he said in a speech that seemed aimed as much as the Obama White House as his Democratic opponent Bill White. . . .
Or you could try jamming ObamaCare, at great peril.
Hutchinson was a 'center-right' (R) Senator. Perry blew her away in a 3-way primary.
HT: mcCain
Why No Tyranny Here?
Nicely stated. Happens to correspond with my thought, too.
Sometimes liberals sneer at the idea we might keep arms against government tyranny, because a bunch of pistol-packing Tea Party types have no chance of repeating the success of the Revolution against a modern military force. This completely misses the point. A disarmed populace has little choice but to obey orders. If the population is armed, a tyrant’s forces have to do more than just brandish their weapons… they’d have to start pulling triggers. Victory for a righteous populace would come in the military’s refusal to pull those triggers. Tyranny should never be easy. Of course, it should never come to that again, in the United States. As long as the population is armed, this is an understanding, and a duty… not an assumption.
Much more, including an absolutely gripping first graf, here.
Sometimes liberals sneer at the idea we might keep arms against government tyranny, because a bunch of pistol-packing Tea Party types have no chance of repeating the success of the Revolution against a modern military force. This completely misses the point. A disarmed populace has little choice but to obey orders. If the population is armed, a tyrant’s forces have to do more than just brandish their weapons… they’d have to start pulling triggers. Victory for a righteous populace would come in the military’s refusal to pull those triggers. Tyranny should never be easy. Of course, it should never come to that again, in the United States. As long as the population is armed, this is an understanding, and a duty… not an assumption.
Much more, including an absolutely gripping first graf, here.
How Eco-Stimulus Works--for the Other Guys
Yesterday, a Spanish choochoo manufacturer announced that they will inhabit the old A O Smith works and collect a bunch of tax credits from Wisconsin.
By no co-incidence, an 80++-year-old Milwaukee metal fabricator and choochoo builder announced its move into receivership. Seems the Doylet Line didn't need US manufacturers.
Same kinda thing here.
Thanks to the Pelosi-Reid-Obama Stimulus a Chinese company is helping build a massive wind farm in west Texas. The firm will receive $450 million in Stimulus cash. The project will save or create 300 jobs in Texas and 2,000 manufacturing jobs in China.
With more success stories like this, Doylet/Barrett--and Obama--will surely secure election victories.
But maybe they'll be in Spain, or Red China.
By no co-incidence, an 80++-year-old Milwaukee metal fabricator and choochoo builder announced its move into receivership. Seems the Doylet Line didn't need US manufacturers.
Same kinda thing here.
Thanks to the Pelosi-Reid-Obama Stimulus a Chinese company is helping build a massive wind farm in west Texas. The firm will receive $450 million in Stimulus cash. The project will save or create 300 jobs in Texas and 2,000 manufacturing jobs in China.
With more success stories like this, Doylet/Barrett--and Obama--will surely secure election victories.
But maybe they'll be in Spain, or Red China.
"Why Is the GOP Ignoring Ryan's Roadmap?" Simple!
Newsweek asks 'why the GOP ignores Ryan's roadmap.'
Simple. The GOP doesn't get it, (but the TEA Party folks do).
...it's a thoroughly radical idea. But talk to Ryan about the plan, and he'll insist that, despite all evidence to the contrary, drastic as it sounds, the American people are ready for it. "They know the fiscal situation's bad," he tells NEWSWEEK. "They know this debt is wrong. They know we've got a problem." Yet despite its concerns about the deficit, the public is also deeply attached to Social Security and Medicare.
This is the TEA Party's genesis, its oxygen, and its raison d'etre. The TEA Party has absolutely no use for creatures, (R) or (D), who hand out candy--other people's candy--to maintain their comfy offices.
Do I agree with every single item in Ryan's plan? Nope. I'm much more comfortable with a consumption tax than a flat-tax, for example.
Michael Tanner, a senior fellow at the libertarian Cato Institute and author of Leviathan on the Right: How Big-Government Conservatism Brought Down the Republican Revolution, says that Ryan's plan offers "one of the few serious plans in Washington." Yet he worries that "it is far too serious for today's Republicans."
Would Tommy Thompson endorse the Ryan plan? I doubt it. He's far too 'BigGummint' a guy.
On the other hand, having a 'serious plan' hasn't hurt Ryan's elections, has it? Remember that Ryan's from a heavy-Union district. But it's also useful to remember that those Union folks are private-industry unions. They know how the real world works.
...Asked about the barriers his own party has erected to entitlement reform, his response is a boilerplate dodge that begins, "I think we need to get beyond the old politics." Yet in the Republican Party, the old politics of pandering to seniors and posturing about unnamed spending cuts still rules. "The Ryan Roadmap is a test," says Cato's Tanner, "and right now the Republican Party is failing it."
Indeed they are--which means that a number of them should be looking over their shoulders.
HT: FoxPolitics
Simple. The GOP doesn't get it, (but the TEA Party folks do).
...it's a thoroughly radical idea. But talk to Ryan about the plan, and he'll insist that, despite all evidence to the contrary, drastic as it sounds, the American people are ready for it. "They know the fiscal situation's bad," he tells NEWSWEEK. "They know this debt is wrong. They know we've got a problem." Yet despite its concerns about the deficit, the public is also deeply attached to Social Security and Medicare.
This is the TEA Party's genesis, its oxygen, and its raison d'etre. The TEA Party has absolutely no use for creatures, (R) or (D), who hand out candy--other people's candy--to maintain their comfy offices.
Do I agree with every single item in Ryan's plan? Nope. I'm much more comfortable with a consumption tax than a flat-tax, for example.
Michael Tanner, a senior fellow at the libertarian Cato Institute and author of Leviathan on the Right: How Big-Government Conservatism Brought Down the Republican Revolution, says that Ryan's plan offers "one of the few serious plans in Washington." Yet he worries that "it is far too serious for today's Republicans."
Would Tommy Thompson endorse the Ryan plan? I doubt it. He's far too 'BigGummint' a guy.
On the other hand, having a 'serious plan' hasn't hurt Ryan's elections, has it? Remember that Ryan's from a heavy-Union district. But it's also useful to remember that those Union folks are private-industry unions. They know how the real world works.
...Asked about the barriers his own party has erected to entitlement reform, his response is a boilerplate dodge that begins, "I think we need to get beyond the old politics." Yet in the Republican Party, the old politics of pandering to seniors and posturing about unnamed spending cuts still rules. "The Ryan Roadmap is a test," says Cato's Tanner, "and right now the Republican Party is failing it."
Indeed they are--which means that a number of them should be looking over their shoulders.
HT: FoxPolitics
The Short Summary of the Chicago Guns Case
Following the Heller decision, the NRA sued the City of Chicago to overturn its gun laws. (McDonald v. Chicago.)
The case has arrived in SCOTUS, and Cramer has a nice layman-language short take on the issues.
It's pretty clear that "privileges or immunities" isn't going anywhere with the Court--but the Second Amendment is likely to be incorporated through the due process clause instead. From reading the questions, it is pretty clear to me that:
1. A number of the justices recognize that Slaughter-House Cases (1873) was wrongly decided, but are reluctant to overturn all the existing precedents that are derived from that.
2. Even those justices who don't like the Heller decision don't want to rock the boat on due process incorporation, preferring to come up with a narrower definition of the right for the states.
Why? My guess is that the conservative members of the Court recognize that declaring that Slaughter-House was wrongly decided would unleash more lawsuits trying to relitigate questions that have already been decided under due process than there are enough lawyers in America to handle--and in many cases, no net change in result. The liberal members of the Court may be reluctant to challenge incorporation for fear that if a fight turns this into a "P or I" dispute, with the generally more conservative tendency of courts now, a lot of the liberal causes decided under due process reasoning (Roe v. Wade, Lawrence v. Texas, among many) would get relitigated and perhaps not do as well.
The net effect is that Alan Gura did a nice job of defending what I think most justices know is the right argument (P or I), but they are going to incorporate the Second Amendment through the due process clause. Feldman, representing Chicago, presented his case very poorly. Admittedly, he's trying to defend an absurd position.
Justice Breyer, however, when he starts arguing that the Second Amendment should be subject to a less level of protection than freedom of speech because there are human lives involved in contest with an abstract concept of rights--where, exactly, did Justice Breyer go on the abortion cases? Oh yeah, that's right.
Well, Clayton, consistency is a 'hobgoblin of little minds', right?
The case has arrived in SCOTUS, and Cramer has a nice layman-language short take on the issues.
It's pretty clear that "privileges or immunities" isn't going anywhere with the Court--but the Second Amendment is likely to be incorporated through the due process clause instead. From reading the questions, it is pretty clear to me that:
1. A number of the justices recognize that Slaughter-House Cases (1873) was wrongly decided, but are reluctant to overturn all the existing precedents that are derived from that.
2. Even those justices who don't like the Heller decision don't want to rock the boat on due process incorporation, preferring to come up with a narrower definition of the right for the states.
Why? My guess is that the conservative members of the Court recognize that declaring that Slaughter-House was wrongly decided would unleash more lawsuits trying to relitigate questions that have already been decided under due process than there are enough lawyers in America to handle--and in many cases, no net change in result. The liberal members of the Court may be reluctant to challenge incorporation for fear that if a fight turns this into a "P or I" dispute, with the generally more conservative tendency of courts now, a lot of the liberal causes decided under due process reasoning (Roe v. Wade, Lawrence v. Texas, among many) would get relitigated and perhaps not do as well.
The net effect is that Alan Gura did a nice job of defending what I think most justices know is the right argument (P or I), but they are going to incorporate the Second Amendment through the due process clause. Feldman, representing Chicago, presented his case very poorly. Admittedly, he's trying to defend an absurd position.
Justice Breyer, however, when he starts arguing that the Second Amendment should be subject to a less level of protection than freedom of speech because there are human lives involved in contest with an abstract concept of rights--where, exactly, did Justice Breyer go on the abortion cases? Oh yeah, that's right.
Well, Clayton, consistency is a 'hobgoblin of little minds', right?
OMG!! The Patriots Are Coming!!!
About what you'd expect from Morrie Dees' Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), which counters poverty by making itself rich through press releases and Government contracts.
Southern Poverty Law Center issued an alarming report "that an astonishing 363 new Patriot groups appeared in 2009, with the totals going from 149 groups (including 42 militias) to 512 (127 of them militias) - a 244% jump" from 2008.
Better call out Homeland Security! Mobilize the National Guard!! Activate the bomb-shelters!!
Or not.
The SPLC's roster includes 48 separate listings of a group called "We the People." This a non-profit organization founded by Robert Schultz, a hyper-litigious critic of the Internal Revenue Service.
So far, I like this.
After finding the Web site of the Alabama chapter of "We the People," I phoned Huntsville resident Lesha Martin, one of the members listed on the site. Is "We the People" some kind of violent militia-type outfit?
Southern Poverty Law Center issued an alarming report "that an astonishing 363 new Patriot groups appeared in 2009, with the totals going from 149 groups (including 42 militias) to 512 (127 of them militias) - a 244% jump" from 2008.
Better call out Homeland Security! Mobilize the National Guard!! Activate the bomb-shelters!!
Or not.
The SPLC's roster includes 48 separate listings of a group called "We the People." This a non-profit organization founded by Robert Schultz, a hyper-litigious critic of the Internal Revenue Service.
So far, I like this.
After finding the Web site of the Alabama chapter of "We the People," I phoned Huntsville resident Lesha Martin, one of the members listed on the site. Is "We the People" some kind of violent militia-type outfit?
"Good heavens, no," said Ms. Martin, an admirer of Ron Paul who described herself as devoted to individual freedom and "resurrecting the Constitution."
Patriots. Militia. I guess it's really confusing, eh, Morrie??
HT: AmSpecBlog
BOHICA. Hoyer Wants More Tax Revenues
Many of you are shocked!!!--if you live under a rock.
“No one likes raising revenue, and understandably so,” Hoyer said in an address at the Brookings Institution. “But if you’re going to buy, you need to pay.
“No one likes raising revenue, and understandably so,” Hoyer said in an address at the Brookings Institution. “But if you’re going to buy, you need to pay.
“If need be, I am hopeful that both parties will agree to look at revenues as part of the solution — not as a gateway to higher spending, but as part of a compromise that cuts spending and balances the budget,” he added.
Or, as Ace comments,
Tiresome, I know.
IT'S THE SPENDING, STUPID!!!!!
Global Not-So-Warming, or Something
Gee. This is shocking. Phil "EMail" Jones testifies before Parliament:
But for the first time he did concede publicly that when he tried to repeat the 1990 study in 2008, he came up with radically different findings. Or, as he put it, "a slightly different conclusion". Fully 40% of warming there in the past 60 years was due to urban influences. "It's something we need to consider," he said.
Yes, old chap. It ought to be considered. Just like the China data--which disappeared, or something.
And while we're considering, consider this:
...the committee will be hard pressed to ignore the issue after the intervention of no less a body than the Institute of Physics. In 13 coruscating paragraphs of written evidence to MPs, it spoke of "prima facie evidence of determined and coordinated refusals to comply with honourable scientific traditions and freedom of information law", "manipulation of the publication and peer review system", and "intolerance to challenge ... which is vital to the integrity of the scientific process."
Other than that, Phil's a nice guy. Does a good job weeding his garden, you know. Shares vegetables with the neighbors.
HT: Ace
But for the first time he did concede publicly that when he tried to repeat the 1990 study in 2008, he came up with radically different findings. Or, as he put it, "a slightly different conclusion". Fully 40% of warming there in the past 60 years was due to urban influences. "It's something we need to consider," he said.
Yes, old chap. It ought to be considered. Just like the China data--which disappeared, or something.
And while we're considering, consider this:
...the committee will be hard pressed to ignore the issue after the intervention of no less a body than the Institute of Physics. In 13 coruscating paragraphs of written evidence to MPs, it spoke of "prima facie evidence of determined and coordinated refusals to comply with honourable scientific traditions and freedom of information law", "manipulation of the publication and peer review system", and "intolerance to challenge ... which is vital to the integrity of the scientific process."
Other than that, Phil's a nice guy. Does a good job weeding his garden, you know. Shares vegetables with the neighbors.
HT: Ace
QueenNancy Lies--Again
QueenNancy, perhaps oxygen-deprived from flying on the taxpayers' G-5s, lied again about abortion coverage in ObamaCare V3.0.
Here's the technical breakout.
No it didn't. SS was passed when life-expectancy was ~63 years. Offering payouts for people aged >65 (when most were already dead) was not "courageous." It was typical (D) Congress-ese.
Here's the technical breakout.
"Buried deep in the Manager’s Amendment was new language making a direct appropriation of funds for Community Health Centers (CHCs) (which are also called Federally Qualified Health Centers, or FQHCs), totaling $7 billion ($7,000,000,000) over five years," wrote the NRLC, referencing Sec. 10503 on page 2355 of H.R. 3590.
"Because this is a direct appropriation in the health care bill itself, these funds will not flow through the annual appropriations bill for the Department of Health and Human Services. Therefore, these funds would not be covered by the Hyde Amendment," said the group.
The Senate bill forms the basis for the proposals presented by President Obama last month, proposals that NRLC said only make matters worse. "None of President Obama's proposed changes diminish any of the sweeping pro-abortion problems in the Senate bill, and he actually proposes to increase the funds that would be available to directly subsidize abortion procedures (through Community Health Centers) and to subsidize private health insurance that covers abortion (through the premium-subsidy tax credits program)," said NRLC.
It's also possible that QueenNancy never read the bill, I suppose.
And another howler from QueenNancy:
“It took courage to pass Social Security."No it didn't. SS was passed when life-expectancy was ~63 years. Offering payouts for people aged >65 (when most were already dead) was not "courageous." It was typical (D) Congress-ese.
Tuesday, March 02, 2010
Dawn Johnson's Pals at MU Law
Signatories to a letter pressing for confirmation of Dawn Johnson include:
Kali Murray and Paul Secunda
Marquette University Law School
In April 2009, Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the pro-life Susan B. Anthony List, characterized Johnsen’s views on abortion as “bizarre.”
"Dawn Johnsen does not represent mainstream America or the type of common ground abortion policy President Obama promised this nation," Dannenfelser said at the time. “Her bizarre characterizations of pregnancy as 'slavery' and mothers as 'losers in the contraceptive lottery' expose an unacceptable disdain for commonsense abortion restrictions and motherhood in general. Furthermore, Johnsen's opposition to existing federal restrictions like the ban on partial-birth abortion casts doubt on her ability to perform her duties faithfully as the head of the Office of Legal Counsel."
"Bizarre" is appropriate. So MU Law faculty members endorse "bizarre"?
Just asking.
HT: Cavey
Kali Murray and Paul Secunda
Marquette University Law School
In April 2009, Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the pro-life Susan B. Anthony List, characterized Johnsen’s views on abortion as “bizarre.”
"Dawn Johnsen does not represent mainstream America or the type of common ground abortion policy President Obama promised this nation," Dannenfelser said at the time. “Her bizarre characterizations of pregnancy as 'slavery' and mothers as 'losers in the contraceptive lottery' expose an unacceptable disdain for commonsense abortion restrictions and motherhood in general. Furthermore, Johnsen's opposition to existing federal restrictions like the ban on partial-birth abortion casts doubt on her ability to perform her duties faithfully as the head of the Office of Legal Counsel."
"Bizarre" is appropriate. So MU Law faculty members endorse "bizarre"?
Just asking.
HT: Cavey
The JFK Speech Fifty Years Later
Abp. Chaput of Denver spoke at a Houston conference of Baptists on the role of religion in public life.
And he wasn't too kind to JFK.
Fifty years ago this fall, in September 1960, Sen. John F. Kennedy, the Democratic candidate for president, spoke to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association. He had one purpose. He needed to convince 300 uneasy Protestant ministers, and the country at large, that a Catholic like himself could serve loyally as our nation’s chief executive. Kennedy convinced the country, if not the ministers, and went on to be elected. And his speech left a lasting mark on American politics. It was sincere, compelling, articulate – and wrong. Not wrong about the patriotism of Catholics, but wrong about American history and very wrong about the role of religious faith in our nation’s life. And he wasn’t merely “wrong.” His Houston remarks profoundly undermined the place not just of Catholics, but of all religious believers, in America’s public life and political conversation. Today, half a century later, we’re paying for the damage.
Here's the reasoning:
Too many Catholics confuse their personal opinions with a real Christian conscience. Too many live their faith as if it were a private idiosyncrasy – the kind that they’ll never allow to become a public nuisance. And too many just don't really believe. Maybe it’s different in Protestant circles. But I hope you’ll forgive me if I say, “I doubt it.”
In other words, an actual Christian conscience is not necessarily congruent with one's own conscience (see, e.g., David Obey.) And, by the way, a well-formed Christian conscience (or well-formed Jewish conscience) is the best guide for governing a country.
A bit more:
He also warned that he would not “disavow my views or my church in order to win this election.” But in its effect, the Houston speech did exactly that. It began the project of walling religion away from the process of governance in a new and aggressive way. It also divided a person’s private beliefs from his or her public duties. And it set “the national interest” over and against “outside religious pressures or dictates.”
Of course, the 'national interest' is not necessarily opposed to 'religious' thought or formation, and using terms like 'outside........pressures......dictates' is to use inflammatory rhetoric.
John XXIII was not particularly interested in annexing the USA, nor in imposing Canon Law here.
And he wasn't too kind to JFK.
Fifty years ago this fall, in September 1960, Sen. John F. Kennedy, the Democratic candidate for president, spoke to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association. He had one purpose. He needed to convince 300 uneasy Protestant ministers, and the country at large, that a Catholic like himself could serve loyally as our nation’s chief executive. Kennedy convinced the country, if not the ministers, and went on to be elected. And his speech left a lasting mark on American politics. It was sincere, compelling, articulate – and wrong. Not wrong about the patriotism of Catholics, but wrong about American history and very wrong about the role of religious faith in our nation’s life. And he wasn’t merely “wrong.” His Houston remarks profoundly undermined the place not just of Catholics, but of all religious believers, in America’s public life and political conversation. Today, half a century later, we’re paying for the damage.
Here's the reasoning:
Too many Catholics confuse their personal opinions with a real Christian conscience. Too many live their faith as if it were a private idiosyncrasy – the kind that they’ll never allow to become a public nuisance. And too many just don't really believe. Maybe it’s different in Protestant circles. But I hope you’ll forgive me if I say, “I doubt it.”
In other words, an actual Christian conscience is not necessarily congruent with one's own conscience (see, e.g., David Obey.) And, by the way, a well-formed Christian conscience (or well-formed Jewish conscience) is the best guide for governing a country.
A bit more:
He also warned that he would not “disavow my views or my church in order to win this election.” But in its effect, the Houston speech did exactly that. It began the project of walling religion away from the process of governance in a new and aggressive way. It also divided a person’s private beliefs from his or her public duties. And it set “the national interest” over and against “outside religious pressures or dictates.”
Of course, the 'national interest' is not necessarily opposed to 'religious' thought or formation, and using terms like 'outside........pressures......dictates' is to use inflammatory rhetoric.
John XXIII was not particularly interested in annexing the USA, nor in imposing Canon Law here.
Add ObamaCare to This---What Could Go Wrong?
Even without ObamaCare, trouble may be brewing in the electronic healthcare systems.
Hospitals and physicians in the U.S. have until 2015 to deploy comprehensive electronic health records (EHR) and the accompanying technology to meet federal guidelines and qualify for billions of dollars in reimbursements. But some health care experts are concerned that the quality of e-health systems might be at risk because of unrealistic deadlines and confusion about what to do first.
...Although the rules are being developed in phases, industry experts and even government officials are concerned that the rush to deploy EHRs could lead to administrative complications, formatting problems, errors and interoperability glitches.
...Dr. Reid Conant, chief medical information officer at Tri-City Emergency Medical Group in Oceanside, Calif., believes the meaningful use rules will improve health care quality and streamline workflow. But he's concerned hospitals will struggle to meet the criteria...
Hospitals and physicians in the U.S. have until 2015 to deploy comprehensive electronic health records (EHR) and the accompanying technology to meet federal guidelines and qualify for billions of dollars in reimbursements. But some health care experts are concerned that the quality of e-health systems might be at risk because of unrealistic deadlines and confusion about what to do first.
"I think we have nontechnology people making decisions about technology," said Gregg Veltri, CIO at Denver Health, a health care group that serves some of Denver's poorest residents. "The issue is the timelines. I wonder if anybody understands the reality of IT systems and how complex they are, especially when they're integrated together. You're going to sacrifice quality if you increase the speed [of the rollout]."
...Last year, just 10% of health care facilities in the U.S. used EHRs; by 2014, the government wants more than half of all facilities to use them. To spur the initiative, it's offering money -- a lot of it. Physicians who implement EHR systems can get as much as $44,000 to help defray technology costs; a typical 275-bed hospital would be eligible for approximately $6 million. But clinicians and health care facilities must show they're using EHRs in a meaningful way beginning in the government's 2011 fiscal year to qualify for a full incentive payment. Hospitals that do not meet federal guidelines by 2015 face Medicare reimbursement cuts....Although the rules are being developed in phases, industry experts and even government officials are concerned that the rush to deploy EHRs could lead to administrative complications, formatting problems, errors and interoperability glitches.
...Dr. Reid Conant, chief medical information officer at Tri-City Emergency Medical Group in Oceanside, Calif., believes the meaningful use rules will improve health care quality and streamline workflow. But he's concerned hospitals will struggle to meet the criteria...
While vendors may achieve meaningful use certification for their software and systems, hospitals still have to roll those systems out in a way that meets government standards.
"For example, if you implement an application but you don't design it to meet the five rules for clinical physician support, the hospital won't meet the [government] measure," Conant said. "A lot of this will come down to customization of these applications."
And on, and on. Lots more at the link, and that's only Part One of a two-parter.
THE Definition of Lefty Tactics
Stacy McCain wraps it up nicely. I'll quote the leads, you can find the rest of it here.
...my perspective on the smear tactics used against conservatives. These may be summarized briefly:
Bad Faith – The accusation that conservatives are motivated by bad faith (mala fides) is essential to the Left’s attacks. ...
The Ransom Note Method – By carefully selecting “evidence” of bad faith, the Left is able to present a distorted image of its conservative targets. Out-of-context quotes and controversial biographical data are cherry-picked and re-assembled...
The ‘Links and Ties’ Method – More than simple guilt-by-association, the Links-and-Ties Method involves presenting a chain of incidental connections to suggest a sympathy of views that does not actually exist. To wit: Target A once spoke at Event B which was sponsored by Group C, co-founded by Person D who once made controversial statement E. By this method, it is implied that Target A actually endorses Statement E.
Telescoping and Telepathy – The actions, statements and associations of a conservative target acquire a trans-temporal permanence in the smear attacks of the Left. Once a target is associated (however incidentally) with controversy, this association can be repeated endlessly as evidence of bad faith, no matter how many years intervene. Furthermore, if the target is associated in Year X with a respectable person or organization that becomes controversial in Year X+5, that association can be cited in Year X+10 as evidence against the target ...
Deny, Denounce, Repudiate – The key to these attack methods is the presumption of the target’s guilt. The accuser, having carefully selected the evidence to be discussed in the manner of a prosecutor making an indictment, demands that the target deny the accusation, denounce the bad-faith views involved, and repudiate the persons and organizations ...
As neatly described as possible. And quite effective.
But it's projection in most cases.
...my perspective on the smear tactics used against conservatives. These may be summarized briefly:
Bad Faith – The accusation that conservatives are motivated by bad faith (mala fides) is essential to the Left’s attacks. ...
The Ransom Note Method – By carefully selecting “evidence” of bad faith, the Left is able to present a distorted image of its conservative targets. Out-of-context quotes and controversial biographical data are cherry-picked and re-assembled...
The ‘Links and Ties’ Method – More than simple guilt-by-association, the Links-and-Ties Method involves presenting a chain of incidental connections to suggest a sympathy of views that does not actually exist. To wit: Target A once spoke at Event B which was sponsored by Group C, co-founded by Person D who once made controversial statement E. By this method, it is implied that Target A actually endorses Statement E.
Telescoping and Telepathy – The actions, statements and associations of a conservative target acquire a trans-temporal permanence in the smear attacks of the Left. Once a target is associated (however incidentally) with controversy, this association can be repeated endlessly as evidence of bad faith, no matter how many years intervene. Furthermore, if the target is associated in Year X with a respectable person or organization that becomes controversial in Year X+5, that association can be cited in Year X+10 as evidence against the target ...
Deny, Denounce, Repudiate – The key to these attack methods is the presumption of the target’s guilt. The accuser, having carefully selected the evidence to be discussed in the manner of a prosecutor making an indictment, demands that the target deny the accusation, denounce the bad-faith views involved, and repudiate the persons and organizations ...
As neatly described as possible. And quite effective.
But it's projection in most cases.
Humor?
Ritholtz quotes Ernst who quotes an anonymous Brit:
“You’ve probably heard about those well-known curious collective terms for groups of animals, e.g. flock of seagulls, murder of crows, etc. A British friend shared the following snarky one for “group of financiers”, in which the B and W can be exchanged and still leave the phrase descriptively apt: A “Wunch of Bankers”
Not "lunch."
Compare the old saw about FDR's wife: the difference between Eleanor Roosevelt and the Panama Canal is that one of them is a busy ditch.
“You’ve probably heard about those well-known curious collective terms for groups of animals, e.g. flock of seagulls, murder of crows, etc. A British friend shared the following snarky one for “group of financiers”, in which the B and W can be exchanged and still leave the phrase descriptively apt: A “Wunch of Bankers”
Not "lunch."
Compare the old saw about FDR's wife: the difference between Eleanor Roosevelt and the Panama Canal is that one of them is a busy ditch.
Abortion Bans Do Not Lead to More Maternal Deaths
A study from Chile.
“This study provides evidence that the legal status of the therapeutic abortion is not related with maternal mortality reduction. Moreover, after abortion was prohibited, an additional reduction in maternal and abortion mortality was observed in Chile,” Dr. Elard Koch, an epidemiologist on the faculty of medicine at the University of Chile, said in an e-mail to CNSNews.com.
And further:
“Although (it) is frequently considered that illegal abortion is related with ‘unsafe abortion’—especially in developing countries with restrictive abortion laws, our preliminary findings suggest that although in Chile abortion is fully clandestine, it occurs in very low-risk sanitary conditions,” Koch explained.
So what, exactly, is the statistical foundation of Planned Barrenhood's yadayada about 'back-alley' abortions and 'death due to lack of abortions'?
“This study provides evidence that the legal status of the therapeutic abortion is not related with maternal mortality reduction. Moreover, after abortion was prohibited, an additional reduction in maternal and abortion mortality was observed in Chile,” Dr. Elard Koch, an epidemiologist on the faculty of medicine at the University of Chile, said in an e-mail to CNSNews.com.
And further:
“Although (it) is frequently considered that illegal abortion is related with ‘unsafe abortion’—especially in developing countries with restrictive abortion laws, our preliminary findings suggest that although in Chile abortion is fully clandestine, it occurs in very low-risk sanitary conditions,” Koch explained.
So what, exactly, is the statistical foundation of Planned Barrenhood's yadayada about 'back-alley' abortions and 'death due to lack of abortions'?
Monday, March 01, 2010
The FooFooDust of Language
AP reports that 9 (D) votes may switch to "yes" on ObamaCare in the House.
Noteworthy:
Democratic leaders have asked colleagues not to use the term "reconciliation" but instead to refer to the process as "majority vote," said Rep. Allyson Schwartz, D-Pa. They also are frequently using the term "up or down vote."
Uh-huh. What's the phrase...."Tyranny of the majority"? That would be why the FedGov is set up the way it is, with the Senate's 100 members NOT determined by population, right?
Noteworthy:
Democratic leaders have asked colleagues not to use the term "reconciliation" but instead to refer to the process as "majority vote," said Rep. Allyson Schwartz, D-Pa. They also are frequently using the term "up or down vote."
Uh-huh. What's the phrase...."Tyranny of the majority"? That would be why the FedGov is set up the way it is, with the Senate's 100 members NOT determined by population, right?
More on What Passes for Music in Catholic Churches
Gee. This is familiar.
But the music in Catholic Churches — recognizable worldwide, by the way, from its earnest, inoffensively tonal strains, its simple (and incessantly repeating) sub-Broadway-melodies accompanied by mediocre piano music. It is inoffensive, but also unflattering, uninspiring, and completely interchangeable piece-to-piece.
...It’s like having the Bible translated by Hallmark Card writers, just to achieve mass appeal
Yah. More at the link here.
HT: Scelata
But the music in Catholic Churches — recognizable worldwide, by the way, from its earnest, inoffensively tonal strains, its simple (and incessantly repeating) sub-Broadway-melodies accompanied by mediocre piano music. It is inoffensive, but also unflattering, uninspiring, and completely interchangeable piece-to-piece.
...It’s like having the Bible translated by Hallmark Card writers, just to achieve mass appeal
Yah. More at the link here.
HT: Scelata
New Script for Sheriff Clarke
Clarke and a lot of others are on radio suggesting that texting-while-driving is stupid.
They're right, of course. Here's another way to put it:
Honk if you love Jesus.
Text while driving if you want to meet Him.
HT: Happy
They're right, of course. Here's another way to put it:
Honk if you love Jesus.
Text while driving if you want to meet Him.
HT: Happy
Health Insurance Does Not Really "Save Lives"
Although it is intuitively silly to believe that "health insurance saves lives," it is now statistically proven.
Richard Kronick of the University of California at San Diego’s Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, an adviser to the Clinton administration, recently published the results of what may be the largest and most comprehensive analysis yet done of the effect of insurance on mortality. He used a sample of more than 600,000, and controlled not only for the standard factors, but for how long the subjects went without insurance, whether their disease was particularly amenable to early intervention, and even whether they lived in a mobile home. In test after test, he found no significantly elevated risk of death among the uninsured. --McArdle/City Journal
Statistically, of course, the 100% guarantor of death is life.
HT: VerumSerum
Richard Kronick of the University of California at San Diego’s Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, an adviser to the Clinton administration, recently published the results of what may be the largest and most comprehensive analysis yet done of the effect of insurance on mortality. He used a sample of more than 600,000, and controlled not only for the standard factors, but for how long the subjects went without insurance, whether their disease was particularly amenable to early intervention, and even whether they lived in a mobile home. In test after test, he found no significantly elevated risk of death among the uninsured. --McArdle/City Journal
Statistically, of course, the 100% guarantor of death is life.
HT: VerumSerum
Public-Employee Union "Negotiations"
Last week it was reported that public employees were unusually-well blessed with pension payouts in Wisconsin. The same can be said for California, Illinois, and a number of other States (and locals.)
In Madison, the bus drivers were knocking down $100K++ due to contract language--but the REAL reason for the ......uhhhhh.......drive to earn megabucks has to do with .........
You guessed it: pension payments.
In the combox, you'll see remarks about a similar situation in Appleton. Pensions, again.
What we have here, folks, is the appearance of "negotiation"--but not the reality. In most (not all) of the cases, white-collar State/City/Local employees "negotiate" with blue-collar State/City/Local employees over pensions, health insurance, (etc.)--but in fact, the 'white-collar' folks will get substantially the SAME benefit-schedule as do the 'blue-collar' people, once the contract is signed.
Can you say "Conflict of interest?" Or to be less inflammatory, "Potential conflict of interest"? Or "Appearance of conflict of interest"?
Salaries/wages are 'above-the-fold' items for newspaper reporters and for most citizens. The negotiators know that, too. So they pose for holy pictures with low-low-low front-end prices while the details of the retirement and healthcare provisions--the real time-bombs--lie there unexamined.
There has to be a better way. Maybe a negotiating-team majority composed of non-public-employees on the 'white-collar' side of the table? I.R. folks from local businesses would be useful, because they bring knowledge of comp/bennie arrangements in private industry.
By the way, the same is (or was) true for GM/FoMoCo/Chrysler. Only FoMoCo has survived, so far.
In Madison, the bus drivers were knocking down $100K++ due to contract language--but the REAL reason for the ......uhhhhh.......drive to earn megabucks has to do with .........
You guessed it: pension payments.
In the combox, you'll see remarks about a similar situation in Appleton. Pensions, again.
What we have here, folks, is the appearance of "negotiation"--but not the reality. In most (not all) of the cases, white-collar State/City/Local employees "negotiate" with blue-collar State/City/Local employees over pensions, health insurance, (etc.)--but in fact, the 'white-collar' folks will get substantially the SAME benefit-schedule as do the 'blue-collar' people, once the contract is signed.
Can you say "Conflict of interest?" Or to be less inflammatory, "Potential conflict of interest"? Or "Appearance of conflict of interest"?
Salaries/wages are 'above-the-fold' items for newspaper reporters and for most citizens. The negotiators know that, too. So they pose for holy pictures with low-low-low front-end prices while the details of the retirement and healthcare provisions--the real time-bombs--lie there unexamined.
There has to be a better way. Maybe a negotiating-team majority composed of non-public-employees on the 'white-collar' side of the table? I.R. folks from local businesses would be useful, because they bring knowledge of comp/bennie arrangements in private industry.
By the way, the same is (or was) true for GM/FoMoCo/Chrysler. Only FoMoCo has survived, so far.
Surveillance Cameras: Mostly Wasted Money
Schneier is highly-respected as a security guy.
Pervasive security cameras don't substantially reduce crime. This fact has been demonstrated repeatedly: in San Francisco, California, public housing; in a New York apartment complex; in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; in Washington; in study after study in both the U.S. and the U.K. Nor are they instrumental in solving many crimes after the fact.
They CAN be useful, in limited circumstances.
...Used properly, they're effective in reducing crime in enclosed areas with minimal foot traffic. Combined with adequate lighting, they substantially reduce both personal attacks and auto-related crime in multistory parking garages. And sometimes it is cost-effective for a store to install cameras to catch shoplifters or a casino to install cameras to detect cheaters.
Hire cops and train them well.
Pervasive security cameras don't substantially reduce crime. This fact has been demonstrated repeatedly: in San Francisco, California, public housing; in a New York apartment complex; in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; in Washington; in study after study in both the U.S. and the U.K. Nor are they instrumental in solving many crimes after the fact.
They CAN be useful, in limited circumstances.
...Used properly, they're effective in reducing crime in enclosed areas with minimal foot traffic. Combined with adequate lighting, they substantially reduce both personal attacks and auto-related crime in multistory parking garages. And sometimes it is cost-effective for a store to install cameras to catch shoplifters or a casino to install cameras to detect cheaters.
But these are instances where there is a specific risk at a specific location.
Schneier's conclusion? Dump (most of) the cameras.Hire cops and train them well.
East Anglia Numbers Don't Compute
A serious scientist re-analyzes the temp data.
The following plot shows that the monthly U.S. temperature anomalies from the two datasets are very similar (anomalies in both datasets are relative to the 30-year base period from 1973 through 2002). But while the monthly variations are very similar, the warming trend in the Jones dataset is about 20% greater than the warming trend in my ISH data analysis.
Chart, graph, all the numbers-stuff at the link.
HT: Lott
The following plot shows that the monthly U.S. temperature anomalies from the two datasets are very similar (anomalies in both datasets are relative to the 30-year base period from 1973 through 2002). But while the monthly variations are very similar, the warming trend in the Jones dataset is about 20% greater than the warming trend in my ISH data analysis.
Chart, graph, all the numbers-stuff at the link.
HT: Lott
Brett Thompson
Kevin's "Favre/Thompson" quip is not only brilliant--it endures. He even gets credit for it in this Morrissey item.
After noting a Politico article which says that TT has begun turning on the valves and switches necessary to fire up a campaign, Morrissey opines:
...the Rasmussen poll appears to have pushed Thompson into something approaching action. And well it should; the other GOP candidates trail Feingold despite his low level of popularity in Wisconsin. Thompson gives Republicans an option for a credible candidate who can compete with Feingold’s stature in a statewide race.
One question will be whether Thompson is conservative enough to excite the Tea Party backers, but let’s face it: replacing the most liberal member of the Senate with anyone willing to at least oppose the thundering statism of the Democratic majority would be well worth it.
Morrissey is subtly pushing a canard about TEA Party folks.
Just in case Ed missed it, there was a US Senate election in Massachusetts recently. The winner is a RINO who's openly stated that he thinks John McCain is a wonderful (R).
He won because TEA Party people voted for him. Thompson will also win votes from TEA Party folks. Maybe not tons of money, nor 'voiced' support.
But it's the votes that count.
After noting a Politico article which says that TT has begun turning on the valves and switches necessary to fire up a campaign, Morrissey opines:
...the Rasmussen poll appears to have pushed Thompson into something approaching action. And well it should; the other GOP candidates trail Feingold despite his low level of popularity in Wisconsin. Thompson gives Republicans an option for a credible candidate who can compete with Feingold’s stature in a statewide race.
One question will be whether Thompson is conservative enough to excite the Tea Party backers, but let’s face it: replacing the most liberal member of the Senate with anyone willing to at least oppose the thundering statism of the Democratic majority would be well worth it.
Morrissey is subtly pushing a canard about TEA Party folks.
Just in case Ed missed it, there was a US Senate election in Massachusetts recently. The winner is a RINO who's openly stated that he thinks John McCain is a wonderful (R).
He won because TEA Party people voted for him. Thompson will also win votes from TEA Party folks. Maybe not tons of money, nor 'voiced' support.
But it's the votes that count.
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“As much as we enjoy flogging these GOP weenies, they really are the last thing between the country and abyss.” [Quoting the original post]
No they aren’t. We are. If elections fail, if Congress is so corrupt they ram unconstitutional bills down our throats well it’s time we threw it up on them.
We are the last thing. [Signed USMC]