Yah, that header is snark.
The Washington Post has some interesting details of emails sent by
Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) contracting and budget
officers to their colleagues.
“Our available funding balances remain large in all appropriations —
too large to spend” just on small supplemental funds often required by
existing contracts, the June 27 e-mail said. DISA’s budget is $2
billion.
“It is critical in our efforts to [spend] 100% of our
available resources this fiscal year,” said the e-mail from budget
officer Sannadean Sims and procurement officer Kathleen Miller. “It is
also imperative that your organization meets its projected spending goal
for June. . .”
Yet they found a way to cut the pay of 650,000 employees by 20% between now and 9/30/13.
The War Party will find a way to fix this. There must be some grease-spot on the face of the Earth requiring a few hundred thousand US troops for a couple of years. We can give 'em a good dose of democracy lessons or something, right?
HT: Mish
Sunday, July 14, 2013
Ah, Yes...TARP
Two in a row HT's to Bayou (see below for #1). This one's on TARP, the $700Bn that TurboTaxTimmy and GWBush flushed into the sewer system known as "The Banks."
...We gave it to the banks. But no one knew what they did with it. I proposed to Tim Geithner that we find out. He was outraged. He cursed me out, using the F-word. He said it would bring the whole banking system down, if I asked.
"I went ahead and sent out a letter. I didn't really have the authority or the staff to insist. But all of the big banks wrote back. And most of them gave me dodgy responses or gave me the brush-off.
"What did they do with the money? They were supposed to increase lending to help bring about a recovery. None of them did that....
Thus spake Barofsky, the (former) Inspector General of Treasury.
By the way--the actual exposure from TARP is well into the trillions of dollars, not "$700 Billion."
...We gave it to the banks. But no one knew what they did with it. I proposed to Tim Geithner that we find out. He was outraged. He cursed me out, using the F-word. He said it would bring the whole banking system down, if I asked.
"I went ahead and sent out a letter. I didn't really have the authority or the staff to insist. But all of the big banks wrote back. And most of them gave me dodgy responses or gave me the brush-off.
"What did they do with the money? They were supposed to increase lending to help bring about a recovery. None of them did that....
Thus spake Barofsky, the (former) Inspector General of Treasury.
By the way--the actual exposure from TARP is well into the trillions of dollars, not "$700 Billion."
A Clear-Eyed Take on Zimmerman
There are no "winners" in the Zimmerman case. Martin--obviously--lost. Zimmerman will live a very truncated 'life' going forward, as will most of his relatives, especially his wife.
As the linked essay states most of the portrayals in the press and blogworld have been simplistic to the point of plastic caricature. Too bad. There are a lot of lessons which should be taken from the event.
By the way, this fellow articulates the thoughts I've had about the affair (Drat. He published first.) Here's where we totally agree:
...It seems to me that Zimmerman was out of line in some of his actions. As a neighborhood watch volunteer, he wasn’t supposed to be armed, but he was. I don’t see that he had any reason to be suspicious of Martin other than the fact that he was a young thuggish-looking black teen....
...Even if Zimmerman wanted to report it to police, he had no business getting out of his car and risking a confrontation....
... Zimmerman and Martin definitely looked at each other through racial lenses, but whether they were or not, each one of them had a chance to escape the confrontation. I’m inclined to believe Zimmerman’s story that Martin picked the physical confrontation...
... Both of them had the chance to walk away from a confrontation, but both kept pushing at a certain point. Once the confrontation started, though, Zimmerman had the legal right to defend himself if he thought he was in danger....
...I think both of these guys were responsible for the confrontation. Either one of them had the power to walk away before it escalated, but neither did. They’re both responsible in the moral sense.
Martin wasn’t the baby-faced innocent victim that some people want to see. Zimmerman isn’t the racist murderer that some want to see. They’re just two people who made some bad decisions that added up to someone getting killed.
HT: RenMan
As the linked essay states most of the portrayals in the press and blogworld have been simplistic to the point of plastic caricature. Too bad. There are a lot of lessons which should be taken from the event.
By the way, this fellow articulates the thoughts I've had about the affair (Drat. He published first.) Here's where we totally agree:
...It seems to me that Zimmerman was out of line in some of his actions. As a neighborhood watch volunteer, he wasn’t supposed to be armed, but he was. I don’t see that he had any reason to be suspicious of Martin other than the fact that he was a young thuggish-looking black teen....
...Even if Zimmerman wanted to report it to police, he had no business getting out of his car and risking a confrontation....
... Zimmerman and Martin definitely looked at each other through racial lenses, but whether they were or not, each one of them had a chance to escape the confrontation. I’m inclined to believe Zimmerman’s story that Martin picked the physical confrontation...
... Both of them had the chance to walk away from a confrontation, but both kept pushing at a certain point. Once the confrontation started, though, Zimmerman had the legal right to defend himself if he thought he was in danger....
...I think both of these guys were responsible for the confrontation. Either one of them had the power to walk away before it escalated, but neither did. They’re both responsible in the moral sense.
Martin wasn’t the baby-faced innocent victim that some people want to see. Zimmerman isn’t the racist murderer that some want to see. They’re just two people who made some bad decisions that added up to someone getting killed.
HT: RenMan
Saturday, July 13, 2013
"Small Arms" Treaty Fails
Forty-six (D) Senators voted to renounce national sovereignty:
Baldwin (D-WI); Baucus (D-MT); Bennet (D-CO); Blumenthal (D-CT); Boxer (D-CA); Brown (D-OH); Cantwell (D-WA) Cardin (D-MD); Carper (D-DE); Casey (D-PA); Coons (D-DE); Cowan (D-MA); Durbin (D-IL); Feinstein (D-CA); Franken (D-MN); Gillibrand (D-NY); Harkin (D-IA); Hirono (D-HI); Johnson (D-SD); Kaine (D-VA); King (I-ME); Klobuchar (D-MN); Landrieu (D-LA); Leahy (D-VT); Levin (D-MI); McCaskill (D-MO); Menendez (D-NJ); Merk (D-OR); Mikulski (D-MD); Murphy (D-CT); Murray (D-WA); Nelson (D-FL); Reed (D-RI); Reid (D-NV); Rockefeller (D-WV); Sanders (I-VT); Schatz (D-HI); Schumer (D-NY); Shaheen (D-NH); Stabenow (D-MI); Udall (D-CO); Udall (D-NM); Warner (D-VA); Warren (D-MA); Whitehouse (D-RI); Wyden (D-OR)
Yes, indeed! That's our little Tammy, first on the list!!
HT: Protein
Baldwin (D-WI); Baucus (D-MT); Bennet (D-CO); Blumenthal (D-CT); Boxer (D-CA); Brown (D-OH); Cantwell (D-WA) Cardin (D-MD); Carper (D-DE); Casey (D-PA); Coons (D-DE); Cowan (D-MA); Durbin (D-IL); Feinstein (D-CA); Franken (D-MN); Gillibrand (D-NY); Harkin (D-IA); Hirono (D-HI); Johnson (D-SD); Kaine (D-VA); King (I-ME); Klobuchar (D-MN); Landrieu (D-LA); Leahy (D-VT); Levin (D-MI); McCaskill (D-MO); Menendez (D-NJ); Merk (D-OR); Mikulski (D-MD); Murphy (D-CT); Murray (D-WA); Nelson (D-FL); Reed (D-RI); Reid (D-NV); Rockefeller (D-WV); Sanders (I-VT); Schatz (D-HI); Schumer (D-NY); Shaheen (D-NH); Stabenow (D-MI); Udall (D-CO); Udall (D-NM); Warner (D-VA); Warren (D-MA); Whitehouse (D-RI); Wyden (D-OR)
Yes, indeed! That's our little Tammy, first on the list!!
HT: Protein
Friday, July 12, 2013
Your Tax Dollars on the Stairway
TMJ4 finds $500K staircase, US Attorney says 'it's all for security purposes'.
Uh-huh. Yup. Because there are so many "theft of papers" cases at the Fed Building, right?
Some People Are More Equal Than Others, ya'know.
Uh-huh. Yup. Because there are so many "theft of papers" cases at the Fed Building, right?
Some People Are More Equal Than Others, ya'know.
The Cause of Recession: Demographics
If you wish to hold Obozo harmless vis-a-vis the recession, you may be right.
But you won't like the reasoning at all.
“I think clearly we can see that the economic crisis which we are observing in the western world is a direct consequence of 1968, of the rejection of Humanae Vitae, of the rejection of the Church’s teaching, and the approval of the sexual revolution, which has caused a demographic crash.” Those were the words of Rev. Wojciech Giertych OP, the Theologian of the Papal Household...
Fr. Giertych is not an optimist; he sees inter-generational violence on the horizon in Europe, and perhaps in the US.
Two quick notes: Japan is even worse off than Europe, and Bank of Japan's Bernanke-ism, now in its TENTH year, is not working. Conversely, Third World nations are enjoying (marginally) better economic stats than the West. That's because they have babies.
But you won't like the reasoning at all.
“I think clearly we can see that the economic crisis which we are observing in the western world is a direct consequence of 1968, of the rejection of Humanae Vitae, of the rejection of the Church’s teaching, and the approval of the sexual revolution, which has caused a demographic crash.” Those were the words of Rev. Wojciech Giertych OP, the Theologian of the Papal Household...
Fr. Giertych is not an optimist; he sees inter-generational violence on the horizon in Europe, and perhaps in the US.
Two quick notes: Japan is even worse off than Europe, and Bank of Japan's Bernanke-ism, now in its TENTH year, is not working. Conversely, Third World nations are enjoying (marginally) better economic stats than the West. That's because they have babies.
Clinton's Illegal Legacy; the IRS Gambit
If you thought that Clinton and Ted Kennedy were telling the truth about IRRA in 1996, you are mistaken. (But then, if you thought that Bill Clinton and Ted Kennedy EVER told the truth, you're in need of treatment.) Clinton's IRS decided to flat-out ignore Federal law to protect illegals and their employers.
The question of whether to legalize illegal aliens and put them on a pathway to citizenship may be the most controversial legislative issue facing the U.S. Congress this year.
But, according to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), seventeen years have already passed since the Internal Revenue Service made its own “policy decision” to “’legalize’ illegal aliens.”
It's bad enough that IRS management inflicts punishment on the political right and brags about it.
Now it turns out that they unilaterally decide to ignore Federal law to protect illegals--and to ship them a bunch of money. IRS is also protecting the employers of illegals by unilaterally declaring that the law, which requires reporting to INS--doesn't apply.
Try telling IRS that the law doesn't apply to you sometime....
It's about time that IRS goes away, ain'a?
Or maybe it's time to extend the TEA Party revolution to W-4 activity.
The question of whether to legalize illegal aliens and put them on a pathway to citizenship may be the most controversial legislative issue facing the U.S. Congress this year.
But, according to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), seventeen years have already passed since the Internal Revenue Service made its own “policy decision” to “’legalize’ illegal aliens.”
It's bad enough that IRS management inflicts punishment on the political right and brags about it.
Now it turns out that they unilaterally decide to ignore Federal law to protect illegals--and to ship them a bunch of money. IRS is also protecting the employers of illegals by unilaterally declaring that the law, which requires reporting to INS--doesn't apply.
Try telling IRS that the law doesn't apply to you sometime....
It's about time that IRS goes away, ain'a?
Or maybe it's time to extend the TEA Party revolution to W-4 activity.
NILF-WJNs, Ratios: The ObozoDisaster Economy
Wherein the author demonstrates that the Obozo Economy --like the Obozo Foreign Policy and the Obozo Respect for Laws--is worse than awful. As usual, socialist policy inflicts its worst damage on the lower and lower-middle classes, here forcing them into part-time work, if they can find work at all.
...The “official” unemployment rate held steady at 7.6%. The economy created 195,000 jobs in June. The BLS revised payrolls for the last three months upwards and the labor participation rate (the percentage of the total population over the age of 16 in the labor force) improved slightly moving from 63.4% to 63.5%.
However, there were several very troubling indicators. The number of people who gave up looking for work because they believe no jobs were available increased by 206,000 from a year earlier to 1 million. The number of individuals who were working part time increased by 432,000, twice the number of jobs created. Full time jobs actually declined by 272,000....
Yah, that's grim, unless you eat part-time, or have a part-time mortgage. Or maybe part-time electricity, hey!! Part-time water and sewer, anyone? How about part-time car payments?
...The BLS reports a number each month which it labels “Not in the Labor Force – Want a Job Now” that seems to confirm this study’s conclusion.
According to the BLS, in June there were 6,580,000 people out of work who “want a job now” but who BLS excluded from the ranks of the officially unemployed, including those who were too discouraged to look for a job in the past 30 days. Adding these people back into the labor force produces an unemployment rate of 11.3%, again well in excess of the “official” 7.6%....
The author and a colleague developed a "Growth Ratio." During the Obozo Regime, that's not been healthy, either.
...The Growth Ratio is the year-over-year growth in the number of jobs (measured through the BLS’s household survey) divided by the year-over-year growth in the civilian non-institutional population (the number of people who could be in the labor force)....In June, the growth ratio clocked in at 1.15%, indicating that employment growth over the previous twelve months was slightly greater than population growth. The average for the recovery to date is a dismal 0.97%. In other words, the labor market has actually gotten slightly worse since the recovery began. Yet the early years of a recovery should be its most robust, especially where a recession was severe. Considering the loss in employment during the last recession, the growth ratio should be consistently hitting 1.5% or better, as it did following prior recoveries once the Growth Ratio went positive....
There is a conclusion:
In short, real unemployment is well above the “official” 7.6%. The official rate has only declined because of a very disturbing decline in the number of people the BLS considers in the labor force. In addition, as employers divide the number of available full time work hours among a larger group of part time workers, the official unemployment rate makes it appear as though our economy is growing and creating more jobs than it is. Dividing full time jobs into more numerous part time jobs is not an indication of economic growth. Yet, even with this false positive, job creation is barely exceeding population growth...
Another summary: how about part-time "demand" growth? Ever see that happen??
...The “official” unemployment rate held steady at 7.6%. The economy created 195,000 jobs in June. The BLS revised payrolls for the last three months upwards and the labor participation rate (the percentage of the total population over the age of 16 in the labor force) improved slightly moving from 63.4% to 63.5%.
However, there were several very troubling indicators. The number of people who gave up looking for work because they believe no jobs were available increased by 206,000 from a year earlier to 1 million. The number of individuals who were working part time increased by 432,000, twice the number of jobs created. Full time jobs actually declined by 272,000....
Yah, that's grim, unless you eat part-time, or have a part-time mortgage. Or maybe part-time electricity, hey!! Part-time water and sewer, anyone? How about part-time car payments?
...The BLS reports a number each month which it labels “Not in the Labor Force – Want a Job Now” that seems to confirm this study’s conclusion.
According to the BLS, in June there were 6,580,000 people out of work who “want a job now” but who BLS excluded from the ranks of the officially unemployed, including those who were too discouraged to look for a job in the past 30 days. Adding these people back into the labor force produces an unemployment rate of 11.3%, again well in excess of the “official” 7.6%....
The author and a colleague developed a "Growth Ratio." During the Obozo Regime, that's not been healthy, either.
...The Growth Ratio is the year-over-year growth in the number of jobs (measured through the BLS’s household survey) divided by the year-over-year growth in the civilian non-institutional population (the number of people who could be in the labor force)....In June, the growth ratio clocked in at 1.15%, indicating that employment growth over the previous twelve months was slightly greater than population growth. The average for the recovery to date is a dismal 0.97%. In other words, the labor market has actually gotten slightly worse since the recovery began. Yet the early years of a recovery should be its most robust, especially where a recession was severe. Considering the loss in employment during the last recession, the growth ratio should be consistently hitting 1.5% or better, as it did following prior recoveries once the Growth Ratio went positive....
There is a conclusion:
In short, real unemployment is well above the “official” 7.6%. The official rate has only declined because of a very disturbing decline in the number of people the BLS considers in the labor force. In addition, as employers divide the number of available full time work hours among a larger group of part time workers, the official unemployment rate makes it appear as though our economy is growing and creating more jobs than it is. Dividing full time jobs into more numerous part time jobs is not an indication of economic growth. Yet, even with this false positive, job creation is barely exceeding population growth...
Another summary: how about part-time "demand" growth? Ever see that happen??
Thursday, July 11, 2013
Fourth Circuit Emulates Ninth
It was a struggle to "reason" to the conclusion that ObozoCare does not "burden" religious organizations.
It was a particularly difficult struggle to wrestle RFRA to the ground and kill it off in this case.
But the Fourth Circuit succeeded.
So far.
It was a particularly difficult struggle to wrestle RFRA to the ground and kill it off in this case.
But the Fourth Circuit succeeded.
So far.
The Real Compassionate Conservatism and Intermediary Institutions
From a somewhat lengthy post at RedState, we are given this quote from Arthur Brooks (AEI) who wrote in the WSJ:
...If Republicans and conservatives double down on the promotion of economic growth, job creation and traditional values, Americans might turn away from softheaded concerns about “caring.” Right?
Wrong. As New York University social psychologist Jonathan Haidt has shown in his research on 132,000 Americans, care for the vulnerable is a universal moral concern in the U.S. In his best-selling 2012 book “The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion,” Mr. Haidt demonstrated that citizens across the political spectrum place a great importance on taking care of those in need and avoiding harm to the weak. By contrast, moral values such as sexual purity and respect for authority—to which conservative politicians often give greater emphasis—resonate deeply with only a minority of the population. Raw money arguments, e.g., about the dire effects of the country’s growing entitlement spending, don’t register morally at all....
OK. Now we switch to Jonah Goldberg:
...As a candidate, Bush distanced himself from the Gingrich “revolutionaries” of the 1994 Congress, and he criticized social conservatives such as Robert Bork, who had written an admittedly uncheery book, Slouching towards Gomorrah. He talked endlessly about what a tough job single mothers have and scolded his fellow conservatives for failing to see that “family values don’t end at the Rio Grande.” As president, he said that “when somebody hurts, government has got to move.” According to compassionate conservatives, reflexive anti-statism on the right is foolish, for there are many important — and conservative — things the state can do right....
Brooks again:
...The left talks a big game about helping the bottom half, but its policies are gradually ruining the economy, which will have catastrophic results once the safety net is no longer affordable. Labyrinthine regulations, punitive taxation and wage distortions destroy the ability to create private-sector jobs. Opportunities for Americans on the bottom to better their station in life are being erased....
Now Medved:
...The American people .... respond to “its morning in America.” They respond to our greatest days are ahead of us not behind us. They respond to the fact that this country is a nation of kindness and optimism. And when it comes to that optimistic spirit that is why the core issue here is not a green eye shade kind of where we have to balance the budget and we have to balance this. It has to be growth. That is what we are talking about. Growing the economy, growing families, growing communities, growing lives we have the right answers. We have the right answers not only for the country, not only for our states, as Arizona is demonstrating, we have the right answers for individuals and for families and for communities and that is what we have to be able to do, If we emphasize appealing to people based on their individual characteristics and decisions not membership in some kind of group...
And finally to the post's author, Bill S:
And that’s what “compassionate conservatism” was supposed to be about…not about “No Child Left Behind” or Medicare Part D. It was about supporting vulnerable people via charities and other organizations, with a little help from the government. True “compassionate conservatism” is about empowering charities to help the needy…to enable “little platoons” to assist.
Burke used the term "little platoons" to describe intermediary institutions, churches and schools, clubs and charities that served neighbors.
Too bad the ACLU spiked all that stuff Bush tried with "faith-based initiatives," eh?
...If Republicans and conservatives double down on the promotion of economic growth, job creation and traditional values, Americans might turn away from softheaded concerns about “caring.” Right?
Wrong. As New York University social psychologist Jonathan Haidt has shown in his research on 132,000 Americans, care for the vulnerable is a universal moral concern in the U.S. In his best-selling 2012 book “The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion,” Mr. Haidt demonstrated that citizens across the political spectrum place a great importance on taking care of those in need and avoiding harm to the weak. By contrast, moral values such as sexual purity and respect for authority—to which conservative politicians often give greater emphasis—resonate deeply with only a minority of the population. Raw money arguments, e.g., about the dire effects of the country’s growing entitlement spending, don’t register morally at all....
OK. Now we switch to Jonah Goldberg:
...As a candidate, Bush distanced himself from the Gingrich “revolutionaries” of the 1994 Congress, and he criticized social conservatives such as Robert Bork, who had written an admittedly uncheery book, Slouching towards Gomorrah. He talked endlessly about what a tough job single mothers have and scolded his fellow conservatives for failing to see that “family values don’t end at the Rio Grande.” As president, he said that “when somebody hurts, government has got to move.” According to compassionate conservatives, reflexive anti-statism on the right is foolish, for there are many important — and conservative — things the state can do right....
Brooks again:
...The left talks a big game about helping the bottom half, but its policies are gradually ruining the economy, which will have catastrophic results once the safety net is no longer affordable. Labyrinthine regulations, punitive taxation and wage distortions destroy the ability to create private-sector jobs. Opportunities for Americans on the bottom to better their station in life are being erased....
Now Medved:
...The American people .... respond to “its morning in America.” They respond to our greatest days are ahead of us not behind us. They respond to the fact that this country is a nation of kindness and optimism. And when it comes to that optimistic spirit that is why the core issue here is not a green eye shade kind of where we have to balance the budget and we have to balance this. It has to be growth. That is what we are talking about. Growing the economy, growing families, growing communities, growing lives we have the right answers. We have the right answers not only for the country, not only for our states, as Arizona is demonstrating, we have the right answers for individuals and for families and for communities and that is what we have to be able to do, If we emphasize appealing to people based on their individual characteristics and decisions not membership in some kind of group...
And finally to the post's author, Bill S:
And that’s what “compassionate conservatism” was supposed to be about…not about “No Child Left Behind” or Medicare Part D. It was about supporting vulnerable people via charities and other organizations, with a little help from the government. True “compassionate conservatism” is about empowering charities to help the needy…to enable “little platoons” to assist.
Burke used the term "little platoons" to describe intermediary institutions, churches and schools, clubs and charities that served neighbors.
Too bad the ACLU spiked all that stuff Bush tried with "faith-based initiatives," eh?
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
The Bill of Indictment Against Obozo
Nicely laid-out articulation of what is a Constitutional crisis.
...The employer mandate in the Affordable Care Act contains no provision allowing the president to suspend, delay or repeal it.
... In June of last year, for example, the administration stopped initiating deportation proceedings against some 800,000 illegal immigrants...
... Earlier in 2012, the president effectively replaced congressional requirements governing state compliance under the No Child Left Behind Act with new ones crafted by his administration....
And there's the infamous non-defense of DOMA, a lesser offense only of degree.
The essay also supplies pertinent SCOTUS decisions, including one slapping Bill Clinton for *saving* money (gasp...)
Seems to me that some Congressman should institute a lawsuit over the ObozoCare violation. But that would take balls.
Oh, well.
HT: Althouse
...The employer mandate in the Affordable Care Act contains no provision allowing the president to suspend, delay or repeal it.
... In June of last year, for example, the administration stopped initiating deportation proceedings against some 800,000 illegal immigrants...
... Earlier in 2012, the president effectively replaced congressional requirements governing state compliance under the No Child Left Behind Act with new ones crafted by his administration....
And there's the infamous non-defense of DOMA, a lesser offense only of degree.
The essay also supplies pertinent SCOTUS decisions, including one slapping Bill Clinton for *saving* money (gasp...)
Seems to me that some Congressman should institute a lawsuit over the ObozoCare violation. But that would take balls.
Oh, well.
HT: Althouse
A Little Advice for Ryan (and Walker)
Paul Ryan fell all over himself trying to explain how the Senate's immigration abomination was kinda sorta good. Scott Walker had to "clarify" a comment he made on the same topic.
Here are a couple of congresscritters who actually get it:
...“They have shown no respect for traditional Constitutional separation of powers,” Rep. Phil Roe, R-Tenn., told National Review’s John Fund about the impact of the ObamaCare delays on the immigration debate, “and that makes it difficult to pass laws where the fear is that they will simply ignore the parts they don’t like.”
Carroll goes on to write that, “Rep. Raul Labrador, R-Idaho, who is on the House Judiciary Committee and had been a member of a bipartisan group working on immigration reform, echoed Roe’s concerns on Meet the Press. ‘In fact, if you look at this ObamaCare debacle that they have right now, this administration is actually deciding when and where to actually enforce the law. And that’s what some of us in the House are concerned about. If you give to this administration the authority to decide when they’re going to enforce the law, how they’re going to enforce the law… what’s going to happen is that we’re going to give legalization to 11 million people and Janet Napolitano is going to come to Congress and tell us that the border is already secure and nothing else needs to happen.’”...
"Selective enforcement" also applies to IRS and the NSA, remember.
So what is the "Rule of Law" these days?
Bueller? Anyone?
Here are a couple of congresscritters who actually get it:
...“They have shown no respect for traditional Constitutional separation of powers,” Rep. Phil Roe, R-Tenn., told National Review’s John Fund about the impact of the ObamaCare delays on the immigration debate, “and that makes it difficult to pass laws where the fear is that they will simply ignore the parts they don’t like.”
Carroll goes on to write that, “Rep. Raul Labrador, R-Idaho, who is on the House Judiciary Committee and had been a member of a bipartisan group working on immigration reform, echoed Roe’s concerns on Meet the Press. ‘In fact, if you look at this ObamaCare debacle that they have right now, this administration is actually deciding when and where to actually enforce the law. And that’s what some of us in the House are concerned about. If you give to this administration the authority to decide when they’re going to enforce the law, how they’re going to enforce the law… what’s going to happen is that we’re going to give legalization to 11 million people and Janet Napolitano is going to come to Congress and tell us that the border is already secure and nothing else needs to happen.’”...
"Selective enforcement" also applies to IRS and the NSA, remember.
So what is the "Rule of Law" these days?
Bueller? Anyone?
Got SWAT? Go Kill Somebody--Updated
What passes for "law enforcement" these days is more than a little disturbing.
...detective David Baucum overheard the thirty-eight-year-old optometrist and some friends wagering on a college football game. “To Sal, betting a few bills on the Redskins was a stress reliever, done among friends,” a friend of Culosi’s told me...
...On the night of January 24, 2006, Baucum called Culosi and arranged a time to drop by to collect his winnings. When Culosi, barefoot and clad in a T-shirt and jeans, stepped out of his house to meet the man he thought was a friend, the SWAT team began to move in. Seconds later, Det. Deval Bullock, who had been on duty since 4:00 AM and hadn’t slept in seventeen hours, fired a bullet that pierced Culosi’s heart....
Whoops.
Then there's the latest/greatest abuse: SWAT-for-regulators (!!)
...By the end of the 2000s, police departments were sending SWAT teams to enforce regulatory law. In August 2010, for example, a team of heavily armed Orange County, Florida, sheriff’s deputies raided several black-and Hispanic-owned barbershops in the Orlando area. More raids followed in September and October. The Orlando Sentinel reported that police held barbers and customers at gunpoint and put some in handcuffs, while they turned the shops inside out. The police raided a total of nine shops and arrested thirty-seven people...
Nope. Not drugs, not gambling, not prostitution.
...thirty-four of the thirty-seven arrests were for “barbering without a license,” a misdemeanor for which only three people have ever served jail time in Florida.
The most disturbing aspect of the Orlando raids was that police didn’t even attempt to obtain a legal search warrant. They didn’t need to, because they conducted the raids in conjunction with the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation.
Think about THAT the next time you sell whole milk to your neighbors.
HT: PW
More: I took 3 of my grandchildren jug fishing (tie string to a milk jug, attach a hook and bait and set them in the water, come back hours later and bring in the fish). This was a first for my kids. We left about 9:00 p.m., and after setting out two of the jugs we got stopped by two officers from Illinois Department of Natural Resources (appropriately shortened to DNR). They were going to do a safety check. They had guns, dressed as Gestapo, and had bulletproof vests. --quoted at PJMedia
The DNR with BULLETPROOF VESTS?
Be serious.
Here, the acronym stands for "Damn Near Russia." The FIB's could learn something from us.
...detective David Baucum overheard the thirty-eight-year-old optometrist and some friends wagering on a college football game. “To Sal, betting a few bills on the Redskins was a stress reliever, done among friends,” a friend of Culosi’s told me...
...On the night of January 24, 2006, Baucum called Culosi and arranged a time to drop by to collect his winnings. When Culosi, barefoot and clad in a T-shirt and jeans, stepped out of his house to meet the man he thought was a friend, the SWAT team began to move in. Seconds later, Det. Deval Bullock, who had been on duty since 4:00 AM and hadn’t slept in seventeen hours, fired a bullet that pierced Culosi’s heart....
Whoops.
Then there's the latest/greatest abuse: SWAT-for-regulators (!!)
...By the end of the 2000s, police departments were sending SWAT teams to enforce regulatory law. In August 2010, for example, a team of heavily armed Orange County, Florida, sheriff’s deputies raided several black-and Hispanic-owned barbershops in the Orlando area. More raids followed in September and October. The Orlando Sentinel reported that police held barbers and customers at gunpoint and put some in handcuffs, while they turned the shops inside out. The police raided a total of nine shops and arrested thirty-seven people...
Nope. Not drugs, not gambling, not prostitution.
...thirty-four of the thirty-seven arrests were for “barbering without a license,” a misdemeanor for which only three people have ever served jail time in Florida.
The most disturbing aspect of the Orlando raids was that police didn’t even attempt to obtain a legal search warrant. They didn’t need to, because they conducted the raids in conjunction with the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation.
Think about THAT the next time you sell whole milk to your neighbors.
HT: PW
More: I took 3 of my grandchildren jug fishing (tie string to a milk jug, attach a hook and bait and set them in the water, come back hours later and bring in the fish). This was a first for my kids. We left about 9:00 p.m., and after setting out two of the jugs we got stopped by two officers from Illinois Department of Natural Resources (appropriately shortened to DNR). They were going to do a safety check. They had guns, dressed as Gestapo, and had bulletproof vests. --quoted at PJMedia
The DNR with BULLETPROOF VESTS?
Be serious.
Here, the acronym stands for "Damn Near Russia." The FIB's could learn something from us.
Mass. Clash Leaves 72 Dead
National Guard units seeking to confiscate a cache of recently banned
assault weapons were ambushed by elements of a Para-military extremist
faction. Military and law enforcement sources estimate that 72 were
killed and more than 200 injured before government forces were compelled
to withdraw.
More at PW.
More at PW.
Obozo, the President of Train Wreck
If you thought that (illegally) abrogating the insurance mandate and (irrationally) putting ObozoCare applicants on the "honor system" were the last you'd hear about the ObozoWreck, you're wrong.
Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah wrote a letter to the administration asking why the president is already requesting 107 percent more than three years ago to pay for subsidies.
That would be MORE THAN DOUBLE, for you math-challenged Lefties....
Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah wrote a letter to the administration asking why the president is already requesting 107 percent more than three years ago to pay for subsidies.
That would be MORE THAN DOUBLE, for you math-challenged Lefties....
Tuesday, July 09, 2013
The Corn-A-Holers Love to Lie, and to Blame YOU
The Corn-A-Hole crowd knows how to lie. They're also good at blaming YOU for problems that they cause.
They just *forget* a couple of facts. Of course, the JS "reporters" don't include them, either.
...Raising the amount of the biofuel in gasoline could reduce the nation's dependence on foreign oil, lower fuel prices, and aid the environment because the ethanol blend burns cleaner, ethanol advocates say...
That will also raise the price of corn--therefore, of beef, pork, and chicken--which will increase hunger in the Third World and have a negative impact on your budget. Unless you don't eat much of anything.
As for Blame-Spreading:
Don't blame ethanol for water in gasoline, says Kristy Moore, vice president of technical services for the Renewable Fuels Association.
Most of the problems stem from careless handling of fuel, such as leaving the cap off a gasoline can and failing to use a fuel stabilizer when outdoor power equipment is put in storage for months, according to Moore.
"We call these 'housekeeping issues,'" she said. "If someone doesn't take care of equipment to keep water out of the fuel, they're going to have a hard time starting that engine."
This snippy little bitch deserves .....ahhh........wellllll.........
Ethanol IS a water-magnet. There's no question about it. Her contention that the owners of outdoor power equipment (boats, mowers, chainsaws, generators, snowblowers, trimmers, leaf-blowers) are just ignorant slobs is ......umnnnhhh....cheeky, to be kind.
Gasoline usage for O.P.E. is unpredictable. Mowers don't get used during dry spells; snowblowers don't get used in dry winters. But precipitation is unpredictable (unlike bitchiness in females), so one buys X gallons of fuel with the hope that it will all get used. It's only a hope; rarely a reality.
I'm certain that Ms. Moore and her paymasters will not buy back all the unused Corn-A-Hole at the end of a given season, right? Should we dump it on their doorsteps instead?
Here's another wonderful little line of s*&^:
The small-engine industry has lagged behind automakers in keeping up with changing fuel standards, according to Moore.
First off, the automakers' R&D/Engine Engineering budgets are approximately the same as Briggs' entire annual sales volume. Secondly, there IS no "leftover" gasoline in (most) automobiles, because they are in continuous use.
Ugly little fact, no? Gee! It's un-mentioned!!!
Corn liquor in internal combustion engines is a cancer, both for the engines and for the consumers.
However, it's a cancer that can be cured with an election or two.
They just *forget* a couple of facts. Of course, the JS "reporters" don't include them, either.
...Raising the amount of the biofuel in gasoline could reduce the nation's dependence on foreign oil, lower fuel prices, and aid the environment because the ethanol blend burns cleaner, ethanol advocates say...
That will also raise the price of corn--therefore, of beef, pork, and chicken--which will increase hunger in the Third World and have a negative impact on your budget. Unless you don't eat much of anything.
As for Blame-Spreading:
Don't blame ethanol for water in gasoline, says Kristy Moore, vice president of technical services for the Renewable Fuels Association.
Most of the problems stem from careless handling of fuel, such as leaving the cap off a gasoline can and failing to use a fuel stabilizer when outdoor power equipment is put in storage for months, according to Moore.
"We call these 'housekeeping issues,'" she said. "If someone doesn't take care of equipment to keep water out of the fuel, they're going to have a hard time starting that engine."
This snippy little bitch deserves .....ahhh........wellllll.........
Ethanol IS a water-magnet. There's no question about it. Her contention that the owners of outdoor power equipment (boats, mowers, chainsaws, generators, snowblowers, trimmers, leaf-blowers) are just ignorant slobs is ......umnnnhhh....cheeky, to be kind.
Gasoline usage for O.P.E. is unpredictable. Mowers don't get used during dry spells; snowblowers don't get used in dry winters. But precipitation is unpredictable (unlike bitchiness in females), so one buys X gallons of fuel with the hope that it will all get used. It's only a hope; rarely a reality.
I'm certain that Ms. Moore and her paymasters will not buy back all the unused Corn-A-Hole at the end of a given season, right? Should we dump it on their doorsteps instead?
Here's another wonderful little line of s*&^:
The small-engine industry has lagged behind automakers in keeping up with changing fuel standards, according to Moore.
First off, the automakers' R&D/Engine Engineering budgets are approximately the same as Briggs' entire annual sales volume. Secondly, there IS no "leftover" gasoline in (most) automobiles, because they are in continuous use.
Ugly little fact, no? Gee! It's un-mentioned!!!
Corn liquor in internal combustion engines is a cancer, both for the engines and for the consumers.
However, it's a cancer that can be cured with an election or two.
Sunday, July 07, 2013
The AFSCME Gets What It Wished For. It Ain't Pretty
I know that it's not really nice to indulge in schadenfreude. So I'll try to make that indulgence short.
Bloomberg reports this week on the latest Obamacare trend sweeping across the country: Cities and states may soon attempt to unload unsustainable health costs on the federal government by dumping employees and retirees onto exchanges....--Heritage Foundation quoted at McCain
Can Milwaukee County be far behind?
Bloomberg reports this week on the latest Obamacare trend sweeping across the country: Cities and states may soon attempt to unload unsustainable health costs on the federal government by dumping employees and retirees onto exchanges....--Heritage Foundation quoted at McCain
Can Milwaukee County be far behind?
Be (Exceedingly) Polite
The VERY Short Memory of Lefties
A Left-o-Blog from Madison notes that Walker's transportation budget is heavy on borrowing (about $1BN, to be specific.)
They cite WISTAX, a non-partisan tax watchdog:
...As borrowing has increased, the share of the state transportation budget going to debt service has grown. WISTAX found that these mandatory debt payments rose 230% from $93.3 million in 2002 to $306.9 million in 2012. Debt service accounted for only 4.1% of transportation expenditures in 2002 but 9.5% by 2012....
Gee. Who was Governor between 2002-2012? And didn't that Governorsteal re-allocate about $1BN from the transportation trust fund during his kleptocratic reign?
I'm no fan of Big Spending, nor Big Borrowing, and have noted that Walker's budget is laden with both. But in fairness, Walker didn't put the State into the position it's in.
That was Diamond Jim Doyle.
Either way, the RoadBuilder Lobby scores again!!!
They cite WISTAX, a non-partisan tax watchdog:
...As borrowing has increased, the share of the state transportation budget going to debt service has grown. WISTAX found that these mandatory debt payments rose 230% from $93.3 million in 2002 to $306.9 million in 2012. Debt service accounted for only 4.1% of transportation expenditures in 2002 but 9.5% by 2012....
Gee. Who was Governor between 2002-2012? And didn't that Governor
I'm no fan of Big Spending, nor Big Borrowing, and have noted that Walker's budget is laden with both. But in fairness, Walker didn't put the State into the position it's in.
That was Diamond Jim Doyle.
Either way, the RoadBuilder Lobby scores again!!!
Friday, July 05, 2013
Even MORE Gummint Spying on You
What the NSA, IRS, and ObozoCare doesn't catch, the CFPB will.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, created by the Dodd-Frank financial reform, is collecting reams of data on your bill-paying and spending habits.
In fact, the Obama administration is compiling a massive database of personal information, including monthly credit card, mortgage, car and other payments.
The data will be warehoused by private contractors and shared with other federal agencies and Congress, as well as researchers in the field.
Naturally, that's to protect you.
Or not:
CFPB has failed to adequately protect the data it's amassing from major banks and consumer credit reporting firms from unauthorized disclosures, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce warns.
In fact, CFPB's own inspector general recently cited "weaknesses" in its security program. His findings were corroborated by a Government Accountability Office report that expressed concerns about CFPB's data security.
Does anyone you know know how to read and send smoke signals? Because that's about all that the Gummint doesn't collect.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, created by the Dodd-Frank financial reform, is collecting reams of data on your bill-paying and spending habits.
In fact, the Obama administration is compiling a massive database of personal information, including monthly credit card, mortgage, car and other payments.
The data will be warehoused by private contractors and shared with other federal agencies and Congress, as well as researchers in the field.
Naturally, that's to protect you.
Or not:
CFPB has failed to adequately protect the data it's amassing from major banks and consumer credit reporting firms from unauthorized disclosures, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce warns.
In fact, CFPB's own inspector general recently cited "weaknesses" in its security program. His findings were corroborated by a Government Accountability Office report that expressed concerns about CFPB's data security.
Does anyone you know know how to read and send smoke signals? Because that's about all that the Gummint doesn't collect.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
