He's a vacuous opportunist.I’ve never been an Obama supporter. I’ve known him since the very beginning of his political career, which was his campaign for the seat in my state senate district in Chicago. He struck me then as a vacuous opportunist, a good performer with an ear for how to make white liberals like him. I argued at the time that his fundamental political center of gravity, beneath an empty rhetoric of hope and change and new directions, is neoliberal.His political repertoire has always included the repugnant stratagem of using connection with black audiences in exactly the same way Bill Clinton did—i.e., getting props both for emoting with the black crowd and talking through them to affirm a victim-blaming “tough love” message that focuses on alleged behavioral pathologies in poor black communities. Because he’s able to claim racial insider standing, he actually goes beyond Clinton and rehearses the scurrilous and ridiculous sort of narrative Bill Cosby has made infamous.
It may be instructive to look at the outfit where he did his “community organizing,” the invocation of which makes so many lefties go weak in the knees. My understanding of the group, Developing Communities Project, at the time was that it was simply a church-based social service agency. What he pushed as his main political credential then, to an audience generally familiar with that organization, was his role in a youth-oriented voter registration drive.
The Obama campaign has even put out a misleading bio of Michelle Obama, representing her as having grown up in poverty on the South Side, when, in fact, her parents were city workers, and her father was a Daley machine precinct captain. This fabrication, along with those embroideries of the candidate’s own biography, may be standard fare, the typical log cabin narrative. However, in Obama’s case, the license taken not only underscores Obama’s more complex relationship to insider politics in Daley’s Chicago; it also underscores how much this campaign depends on selling an image rather than substance.
There is also something disturbingly ritualistic and superficial in the Obama camp’s young minions’ enthusiasm. Paul Krugman noted months ago that the Obamistas display a cultish quality in the sense that they treat others’ criticism or failure to support their icon as a character flaw or sin. The campaign even has a stock conversion narrative, which has been recycled in print by such normally clear-headed columnists as Barbara Ehrenreich and Katha Pollitt: the middle-aged white woman’s report of not having paid much attention to Obama early on, but having been won over by the enthusiasm and energy of their adolescent or twenty-something daughters. (A colleague recently reported having heard this narrative from a friend, citing the latter’s conversion at the hands of her eighteen year old. I observed that three short years ago the daughter was likely acting the same way about Britney Spears.)
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Buyer's remorse - "progressive" style
Water's video
It used to be democrats would never admit to being socialists. Now they wear it like a badge.
Global Warming Challenge Update
Warm 139
Cool 167
For the past eight days, the low temperature has failed to exceed the average low and the high's have failed to exceed the average high temperature.
All I know... if we get anymore global warming, I'm going to freeze my balls off.
Another great Steyn
I was watching the Big Oil execs testifying before Congress. That was my first mistake. If memory serves, there was lesbian mud wrestling over on Channel 137, and on the whole that's less rigged. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz knew the routine: "I can't say that there is evidence that you are manipulating the price, but I believe that you probably are. So prove to me that you are not."
Had I been in the hapless oil man's expensive shoes, I'd have answered, "Hey, you first. I can't say that there is evidence that you're sleeping with barnyard animals, but I believe that you probably are. So prove to me that you are not. Whatever happened to the presumption of innocence and prima facie evidence, lady? Do I have to file a U.N. complaint in Geneva that the House of Representatives is in breach of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights?"
But that's why I don't get asked to testify before Congress. So instead the Big Oil guy oozed as oleaginous as his product before the grand panjandrums of the House Subcommittee on Televised Posturing, and then they went off and passed 324-82 the so-called NOPEC bill. The NOPEC bill is, in effect, a suit against OPEC, which, if I recall correctly, stands for the Oil Price-Exploiting Club. "No War For Oil!," as the bumper stickers say. But a massive suit for oil – now that's the American way.
"It shall be illegal and a violation of this Act," declared the House of Representatives, "to limit the production or distribution of oil, natural gas, or any other petroleum product ... or to otherwise take any action in restraint of trade for oil, natural gas or any petroleum product when such action, combination, or collective action has a direct, substantial, and reasonably foreseeable effect on the market, supply, price or distribution of oil, natural gas or other petroleum product in the United States."
Er, OK. But, before we start suing distant sheikhs in exotic lands for violating the NOPEC act, why don't we start by suing Congress? After all, who "limits the production or distribution of oil" right here in the United States by declaring that there'll be no drilling in the Gulf of Florida or the Arctic National Mosquito Refuge? As Rep. Wasserman Schultz herself told Neil Cavuto on Fox News, "We can't drill our way out of this problem."
Go Bearcats
Let's bring it home boys.
McCain Coasts?
It sounds crazy at first. Amid dire reports about the toxic political environment for Republican candidates and the challenges facing John McCain, many top GOP strategists believe he can defeat Barack Obama — and by a margin exceeding President Bush’s Electoral College victory in 2004.
Friday, May 23, 2008
1964?
When I asked him [Kennedy] whether it would take a 1964-style landslide to pass his long-sought goal of universal health care, he said, "No, I just think we need additional Democratic votes in the Senate and a Democratic president to lead them."
There is little chance that Kennedy's choice for president, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), will pull an LBJ-sized victory this year, but Kennedy clearly is hoping that Obama's ability to attract new voters to the polls will expand their party's majorities in the House and Senate and make it possible to pass liberal legislation.
And Republicans have every reason to fear that this Kennedy dream might be fulfilled.
...Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.) warned last week, "the political atmosphere facing House Republicans this November is the worst since Watergate..."
More...
A fine waste of state resources
Cincinnati Museum Center 2,500,000
Riverfront Park 2,000,000
Cincinnati Art Museum 1,500,000
Cincinnati Zoo 1,500,000
Music Hall 1,100,000
American Red Cross facility – Cincinnati 1,000,000
Little Miami Trail Extension - Hamilton County Park District 1,000,000
Sharonville Convention Center 1,000,000
Greentree Health Science Academy, Sinclair Community College 1,000,000
National Underground Railroad Freedom Center 850,000
Voice of America Museum, Butler County 500,000
Green Township Legacy Place Park 500,000
Colerain Township Park 500,000
New Town Indian Artifact Museum 300,000
New Richmond Park, Clermont County 300,000
Clifton Cultural Arts Center 250,000
Cincinnati Ballet 250,000
Beckett Park improvements, West Chester, Butler County 250,000
Mariemont -- Women’s Cultural Arts Center 220,000
First Step Home, (Dept. of Alcohol & Drug Addiction Services) 200,000
BalletTech 200,000
Wyoming City Regional Park 200,000
Hebrew Union College Archives 185,000
Blue Ash City Conference Center (Cincinnati State) 150,000
Forest Park Health Care Facility 150,000
Health Care Connection - Lincoln Heights 150,000
Beech Acres 125,000
People Working Cooperatively 120,000
Covedale Theatre 100,000
Addyson Boat Ramp 100,000
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals 100,000
Rivers Edge Amphitheater, Butler County 100,000
Monroe Veterans Memorial Park, Butler County 100,000
Rivers Edge Bikeway, Butler County 100,000
Springboro Park improvements, Warren County 100,000
Ault Park improvements 75,000
Madeira Historical Society/Miller House 60,000
Forest Park homeland security facility 50,000
Mohawk Veterans’ Memorial 15,000
People Working Cooperatively (helps disabled, seniors, low-income) 120,000
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals 100,000
University of Cincinnati
Basic Renovations 10,720,621
Medical Science Building Renovation and Expansion 26,412,509
Barrett Cancer Center 1,500,000
Raymond Walters Renovations 501,195
Raymond Walters New Building 1,582,233
Renovations, Clermont County 1,077,244
Consolidated Communication Project of Clermont County 400,000
Cincinnati State Technical and Community College
Basic Renovations 1,255,923
Classroom Upgrade Project 270,000
Lot C Parking Lot 250,000
Ceiling Replacement 75,000
Electrical Surge Protection 100,000
Campus Signage 75,000
Window and Garage Doors 175,659
Window Replacement 100,000
Miami University
Basic renovations, Oxford 5,615,288
Basic renovations, Hamilton 686,759
Basic renovations, Middletown 588,815
Upham Hall North Wing Rehabilitation 3,600,000
Academic and administrative projects 2,439,443
Laws Hall Rehabilitation 6,250,000
Western Steam Distribution Project 1,500,000
The National Underground Railroad Museum received a lot opf press here for their request of over a million to move the front door.
Well at least state wisdom prevailed as they will only get $850,000 to move the front door.
I've got an idea. How about the museum pay me and some bubbas $400,000 and we'll come down with a table saw, a level and some hammers and we'll get that baby done tomorrow.
But the state apparently has lots and lots of money. After all, they seem more than willing to give Miami and UC money for things they could pay for out of their endowment funds. You know, those endowment funds in the BILLIONS OF DOLLARS that never get used for anything but making them bigger.
By the way, nice to see Ballet Tech ($200,000) get some feed at the trough.
More democratic oil stupidity
"If Saudi Arabia were to increase its production by 1 million barrels per day that translates to a reduction of 20 percent to 25 percent in the world price of crude oil, and crude oil prices could fall by more than $25 dollar per barrel from its current level of $126 per barrel. In turn, that would lower the price of gasoline between 13 percent and 17 percent, or by more than 62 cents off the expected summer regular-grade price - offering much needed relief to struggling families. "
First Chucky, why would Saudi Arabia offer to pump more fuel for less dollars? Once again, "progressives" will die on the hill of global warming theory but seem to believe that the law of supply and demand can be suspended in some way.
Second, what are you going to do to coerce a foreign supplier of oil to kick out more? Do you remember the Arab oil embargo you twit? We were the ones hurting; they weren't?
Third, this is the one thing I find most hypocritical of the democratic oil position. What about Saudi Arabia's environment? Isn't a barren desert as beautiful and pristine as packs of ice in the Arctic? Do these people realize that if we drill for oil in the gulf that the US controls we stand a much better chance of monitoring the effects on the environment than pumping in the middle east into huuuuuuge super tankers going half way across the world to deliver our product?
Witnessing these clown's gyrations to avoid the most common sense solution to this situation is like watching a Twister game at my house; without the oil and whipped cream.
A feminist's daughter
But the truth was I was very lonely and, with my mother's knowledge, started having sex at 13. I guess it was a relief for my mother as it meant I was less demanding. And she felt that being sexually active was empowering for me because it meant I was in control of my body.Now I simply cannot understand how she could have been so permissive. I barely want my son to leave the house on a play-date, let alone start sleeping around while barely out of junior school.
A good mother is attentive, sets boundaries and makes the world safe for her child. But my mother did none of those things.
Although I was on the Pill - something I had arranged at 13, visiting the doctor with my best friend - I fell pregnant at 14. I organised an abortion myself. Now I shudder at the memory. I was only a little girl. I don't remember my mother being shocked or upset. She tried to be supportive, accompanying me with her boyfriend.
Although I believe that an abortion was the right decision for me then, the aftermath haunted me for decades. It ate away at my self-confidence and, until I had Tenzin, I was terrified that I'd never be able to have a baby because of what I had done to the child I had destroyed. For feminists to say that abortion carries no consequences is simply wrong.
I've always wondered why there are no studies that report the long term mental health consequence of abortions? How many women who have had babies given up for adoption regret that decision over those women who abort? Once again, the clue phone rings but no one wants to answer.
It's a great read.
Someone at the Times is in trouble
When older people can no longer remember names at a cocktail party, they tend to think that their brainpower is declining. But a growing number of studies suggest that this assumption is often wrong.
I can here an editor now "Who the hell put that pro McCain piece in our paper...."
Thursday, May 22, 2008
If Gordon was an oil company executive
From yesterday's senate hearings.
"We need to get prices under control.... We can only conclude that the oil markets have failed," said Sen. Herbert Kohl, D-Wis.
Gordon - Senator Kohl, markets don't fail; markets are markets. I know you are a senator, so this is probably new knowledge to you. But have you ever heard of the law of supply and demand? Because your question confirms my belief that senators are narcissistic retards.
"My question is where does this end?" Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-RI, asked.
Gordon - Senator, markets do not end. As long as there are people in this country willing to pay $4 a gallon for gasoline, that will be the price.
"We have to explain to our family and friends what is going on," Robertson answered.
Gordon - Sir, if your family and friends are as moronic as you are, you have a great challenge on your hands.
"How do you explain your profits?" asked Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill.
Gordon - We drill oil, transport it to refineries, refine it into gasoline, transport gasoline to gas stations and they sell it. How do you explain your profits?
Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., said there was no explanation for "why profits have gone up so high when the consumer is suffering so much."
Gordon - Senator, last year the American consumer purchased 130 billion gallons of gasoline. if we abandoned all of our profits, we could bring the price down 50 cents a gallon. But if we are not going to make any money on the sale of gasoline, then we'll just close down our operation. It's a lot easier to not do anything to make no money than to employ a 100,000 people to not make money. Now if all of the governments in this country didn't tax gasoline, that alone would drop the price over $1.00 a gallon and you do nothing for it. If you fat ass, loud mouth, senators cared so much about gas prices, you'd drop all those taxes.
In addition, have you ever wondered where we get the money to pay for giant super tankers that cost hundreds of millions of dollars? What about all the money distributed to retirees for their pensions? Where does that money come from you idiot?
"The issue is simple," said Leahy. "People we represent are hurting, the companies you represent are profiting."
Gordon - Then as soon as this hearing is over, we all have an expectation that you'll allow us to drill in the gulf and in ANWAR so that we can increase the supply of crude oil. If we can increase that supply, prices will fall which will lead to lower gasoline prices for Americans. Can we count on you for that senator?
By the way Senator, according to the investment bankers here today, most of the price spikes have occurred as a result of speculation in the market. Many of these people believe that this speculation has resulted in increases of $50 to $60 a barrel.
Why? On January, 2007, when this democratic congress assumed power, light sweet crude prices were hovering around $53 a barrel. Today, those prices exceed $120 a barrel. When this congress took power, the market knew that you idiots would do what ever it took to prevent drilling on US soil in order to protect some musk rat in Manitoba or water moccasin off the Georgian coast.
As a result, speculators know that world supply will be limited due to your inaction, so prices have no where to go but up. But you'd rather come here today and grandstand your fat ass and lecture us about crude prices instead of actually governing in a manner that will help the average American.
Are there any other questions from you weasels before I go back to actually serving my customer instead giving them governmental "prison love"?
Let's see if they're doubling ignorant
Hours after voting to approve just the second veto override of President Bush's tenure on the massive farm bill, a colossal blunder means the House will have to have a do-over and repass the entire bill anew.
A clerical error meant the version of the bill that Mr. Bush vetoed yesterday differed from the version passed last week by Congress, and House Democrats said they will have to go through the whole vote process again.
The flub turned a Democratic political victory into a major — albeit likely temporary — embarrassment, and gave Republican opponents more time to rally opposition and an excuse to crow about majority party incompetence.
The vote was 316-108, with 100 Republicans joining 216 Democrats to override the presidential veto, while 14 Democrats and 94 Republicans voted to uphold it. The Senate had passed the original bill by a veto-proof 81-15 margin.
Those margins left conservative leaders to ponder what happened to the fiscal conservative message that used to be the backbone of Republican election victories.
She must have recieved an Obama sub prime loan special
Update: California Rep. Laura Richardson today denied a published report that her $535,000 Sacramento home had slipped into foreclosure, saying she had renegotiated her loan to keep the home.These are just the people we need to make good financial legislation. Of course, she would be a democrat.The house "... is not in foreclosure and has NOT been seized by the bank," Richardson, a Democrat from Long Beach, said in a statement. "I have worked with my lender to complete a loan modification and have renegotiated the terms of the agreement -- with no special provisions." (Richardson's entire statement is at the bottom of this article).
Earlier, Capitol Weekly reported that Richardson walked away from the mortgage on her $535,000 Sacramento home, letting the house slip into foreclosure and disrepair less than two years after she bought it with no money down.
"While being elevated to Congress in a 2007 special election, Richardson apparently stopped making payments on her new Sacramento home, and eventually walked away from it, leaving nearly $600,000 in unpaid loans and fees," the publication reported.
Richardson declined to comment for the Capitol Weekly story. Her office issued a written statement Wednesday afternoon.
Capitol Weekly, citing tax records at the Sacramento County assessor's office, reports "... in January 2007, Richardson took out a mortgage for the entire sale price of the house -- $535,000. The mortgage amount was equal to the sale price of the home, meaning she was able to buy the house without a down payment, even though the housing market was beginning to turn. A March 19, 2008 notice of trustee's sale indicates that the unpaid balance of Richardson's loan, which is held by Washington Mutual, is more than $578,000 –- $40,000 more than the original mortgage."
More....
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Chasing the Golden Goose
I'm just going to print what he sent me.
Taxman,I know you may have run across this but it seems to fit in with the theme of your blog. Looks like Amelia is considering an emergency tax referendum to collect 1% of the winnings from that megamillions ticket purchased in their city limits.
A couple of things struck me, beyond just the shamlessness of a city govenment setting up a special tax to nail a single lottery winner. First, that the mayor has the audacity to give planning advice to the victim he's about ready to shake down..."If it was me, the first thing I would do is seek a financial-planning firm to help me ... protect my earnings."then at the end of the article it quotes:
"An earnings tax would cover weekly curbside trash removal, and it could enable Amelia to cope with a rising demand for other services."I don't know. I guess it bothers me that apparently they are over budget on something as basic as trash removal. The implication is that Amelia is in serious need of a windfall to make ends meet. "Whew! Lucky for us that guy won just in time for us to pay the garbage man." And that the city feels compelled to provide "other services" simply because there is demand for them. IMHO, just because there is demand for services does not mean they must be supplied. There's also a high demand for filet mignon, rides on the space shuttle, and murder for hire contract. Does that mean the government should supply these also; on that basis of demand alone?
Sorry about the rant. Sometimes stuff like this makes me wonder if "we the people" are in charge of our country anymore.
I couldn't agree more.
Amelia may want to do some homework. I know some cities in this area tax gambling winnings but you have to be a resident to do so. Since the lottery is run out of Cleveland, I believe that the "nexus" of the winnings will come from there since the carryout will obviously not pay out.
In addition, you know damn well, if a resident won that jackpot the people who run that office won't keep their mouths shut; they'll be blabbing in every dumpy bar in Amelia. The "poor" person will have to deal with every other hand out right along side of Amelia.
Ouch
From the Enquirer.State officials said work will start immediately to repair and reopen the eastbound Interstate 74 bridge at I-275 that was severely damaged after a tractor trailer carrying an 80-ton train engine slammed into three bridge support columns Tuesday night.So I guess if you need to use I-74 during the summer, you need to make other arrangements.Eastbound I-74 could reopen in 60 to 90 days, the state estimates. An initial repair estimate is placed at $500,000 to $600,000.
Walter Williams
Most of the great problems we face are caused by politicians creating solutions to problems they created in the first place. Politicians and much of the public lose sight of the unavoidable fact that for every created benefit, there's also a created cost or, as Nobel Laureate Milton Friedman said, "There's no free lunch.
snipCongress, doing the bidding of environmental extremists, created our energy supply problem. Oil and gas exploration in a tiny portion of the coastal plain of Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge would, according to a 2002 U.S. Geological Survey's estimate, increase our proven domestic oil reserves by about 50 percent.
The Pacific and Atlantic Oceans and eastern Gulf of Mexico offshore areas have enormous reserves of oil and natural gas. Congress has also placed these energy sources of oil off-limits. Because of onerous regulations, it has been 30-plus years since a new refinery has been built. Similar regulations also explain why the U.S. nuclear energy production is a fraction of what it might be.
Congress' solution to our energy supply problems is not to relax supply restrictions but to enact the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 that mandates that oil companies mix more ethanol with their gasoline. Anyone with an ounce of brains would have realized that diverting crops from food to fuel use would raise the prices of a host of corn-related foods, such as corn-fed meat and dairy products.
Wheat and soybeans prices have also risen as a result of fewer acres being planted in favor of corn. A Purdue University study found the ethanol program has cost consumers $15 billion in higher food costs in 2007 and that it will be considerably higher in 2008.
Higher food prices, as a result of the biofuels industry, have not only affected the U.S. consumer but have had international consequences as seen in food riots in Egypt, Haiti, Yemen, Bangladesh and elsewhere.
What's the congressional response? On May 1, Sen. Charles Schumer, New York Democrat and chairman of the Joint Economic Committee, convened a hearing on rising food prices saying, "The anxiety felt over higher food prices is going to be just as widespread, and will equal or surpass, the anger and frustrations so many Americans have about higher gas prices." Congress' proposed "solutions" to the energy and food mess it created include a windfall profits tax on oil companies, a gasoline tax holiday for the summer, increases in the food stamp program and foreign food aid. These measures will not solve the problem but will create new problems.
More....
MSDNC
[The Obama campaign have] been arguing that their electoral map is different, that they can do this with North Carolina and Colorado, and other places where they have won either primaries or caucuses. Other people, I should point out, other Clinton loyalists, but realists, say that that electoral map is a stretch in one regard: There are, you know, Republican governors and Secretaries of State, if you will, Katherine Harris-type election officials in those states. So, even though he may have won primaries or caucuses in those states, he has to go up against the establishment, which would be Republican, and he has to figure out a way to get a fair vote if he's the nominee in those red states.
This is a credible news source?
For the record Andrea, you twit, the only party that has prevented an honest vote any where is the DNC as it relates to Michigan and Florida.
Obamania in Oregon
Apparently, that's only part of the story.
Hugh Hewitt just told me that right before Obama addressed that huge crowd in Portland, the indie rock band the Decemberists played a free 45-minute concert. Now, I'm sure Obama would draw a big crowd either way, but wasn't that worth mentioning in the coverage?From Wikipedia: "Named both in reference to the Russian Decembrist Revolt (which may explain its use of the National Anthem of the Soviet Union as an introduction at many concerts)..." Lovely.
I wonder if they played, "Sixteen Military Wives." The video depicts a bully named "Henry Stowecroft" (Kissinger and Brent?) representing the United States in a grade school model United Nations who declares war on Luxembourg. I kid you not when I tell you the video begins with the bully putting on a flag pin.
So once again we've got the media not fully disclosing that Obamania was only part of the draw for this event. In addition, Obamania is preceded by an indie rock group who opens their show with the Soviet National Anthem.
Here's a video of the group's National Anthem prelude. In fact, the video is titled
The Decemberists at Messiah - Soviet Intro (3/31/07)
That's probably a good title for any Obamania event.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Could The Billary go third party?
Let's face it. After watching the results in KY tonight, it's clear that The Billary could carry a number of states in a third party run against Obamania and McCain. Given the large number of democrats who claim they will not vote for Obamania, she could easily pull 40% in many states.
She would have a great natural constituency (bitter ex-wives, lesbians and Teamsters) and she has an already established campaign infrastructure.
In addition, it's not above a Clinton to sell out the party for their own glory. After all, they perfected triangulation.
Maybe Rush should consider dropping Operation Chaos.
Preakness 2008 - Running of the Urinals
Over at Marc Dann's condo they called this video "Wednesday night".
Isn't that first guy "Goose" Gutierrez.I think the woman at the end is Jessica Utovich.
This guy is an economist?
In fact, I was pissed that I couldn't watch the Spurs/Hornets game last night as it was on TNT.
Unfortunately, Mrs. Gekko is still burning off a Time Magazine (aka Obama campaign flyer) subscription from a year ago and every once in a while I'll read these Justin Fox columns (Fox is Time's alleged staff economist). Fortunately, I read it in the hopper so I can be green and use it in lieu of TP.
Last week, he had a column about the steps he would take to improve the economy. Due to time, I will only address two of these here.
BURNING FOSSIL FUELS AND MONEY ISN'T AN ENERGY POLICY. LET'S GET ONEOne of the biggest factors in making paychecks seem smaller in recent years has been the sharp increase in energy prices. There's very little a President can do to change this in the short term; the summer gas-tax holiday proposed by McCain and Clinton would put just a few dollars in the pockets of all but the biggest gas hogs. Where Presidents (and Congress) can have a big impact is in the long-term trajectory of energy prices and their effect on the economy. Elected officials can do this by steering Americans away from oil and toward other energy sources and conservation measures — or by failing to do so, which has been the laissez-faire policy of the past quarter-century and has helped land us in our current sorry situation.
What makes doing the right thing on energy difficult is that it would almost inevitably involve raising costs now, with higher taxes on oil, increased subsidies for other energy sources or higher energy-efficiency standards for vehicles and homes — or all three. Economists tend to prefer the first of these approaches because taxes on gas, oil or fossil fuels in general tamp demand and allow the market — rather than members of Congress — to sift out the best alternatives.
So to improve the economy, we need to RAISE gas prices? There's a reason democrats run the public schools... you'd have to be an imbecile to believe this.
In addition, what does an energy policy actually look like?
Let me throw this out to Justin and/or any of my readers. What energy technology would you invest in right now that the private sector isn't already on top of and yet would be viable in 20 years? No one knows; especially retarded, corrupt, weasels aka senators. This whole ethanol fiasco is a perfect example of what a government energy policy looks like; "let's turn food into fuel, what a great idea".
Riddle me this Batman, name one thing the government ever designed, created, or perfected. Nothing. The only thing the government can do is provide corporate welfare to companies like GE to come up with these energy technologies; something they would do on their own damn nickel.
Now that fuel is priced where it is, the private sector now has an incentive to spend their own R&D dollars to come up with energy alternatives. It won't need the government. In addition, the government is likely to waste valuable resources (time and money) on energy that will never have a long term use, like ethanol and solar.
Oh, by the way, what was the government's energy policy when we progressed from kerosene lanterns to the incandescent light bulb?
But aaaahhhh we're not done with Justin's magical economy fixes. Here's another great idea from an economist.
A HOUSE IS THE AMERICAN DREAM — BUT THE TAX BREAK IS COSTLYSome 1.5 million U.S. homes fell into foreclosure in 2007, and the number will probably be even higher this year. Congress is debating a bill aimed at slowing this tsunami, but the window to act is rapidly closing. Next year the focus is likely to turn to preventing a rerun of the real estate debacle. An exact repeat is already unlikely; bleeding banks have toughened lending standards, and the Federal Reserve is tightening its mortgage rules, squeezing out most of those "no doc" mortgage mills.
The mess has also caused some economists to question why we subsidize housing so heavily in the first place. The tax deduction for home-mortgage interest alone costs the government about $80 billion a year, and most of that benefit flows to the wealthiest 16% of taxpayers, according to the Tax Foundation. It also means we're subsidizing bigger houses and home-equity loans, possibly at the expense of other investments that might deliver a bigger economic bang. Money spent on a factory, a piece of equipment or a software program can pay off in higher growth and productivity. A house just sits there.
So we're going to improve the economy by getting rid of a deduction (aka raising taxes). Why didn't I think of that?
Look, I'm not a fan of the mortgage deduction. I'd eliminate the deduction but only as part of a comprehensive tax overhaul ie a flat tax or national sales tax. But how does just eliminating the deduction do anything for the economy?
Think of it this way, I come to your house and demand that you give me the $100.00 a month that you save as a result of your mortgage deduction. Since I took that money from you, I promise to provide you with a $100.00 a month subsidy for your health care. Are you better off?
Actually it's not even that good because the way the government operates, you give them the $100.00/month they turn around and spend it on mohair subsidies for Sam Donaldson.
So this is the brain trust of "progressive" economics. If you ever wonder why our inner cities, run by "progressives", are arm pits, you need look no further than the non sequitur logic of a "progressive" economist.
This is what we have to look forward to under an Obamania presidency. Start buying wool futures because wool cardigan sweaters are going to be fashionable again.
You might want to buy into arugula futures as well.
Why you should not be a democrat #1352
Here's what you get to look forward to
Fried shrimp on a bed of jasmine rice and a side of mango salad, all served on a styrofoam plate. Bottled water to wash it all down.
These trendy catering treats are unlikely to appear on the menu at parties sponsored by the Denver 2008 Host Committee during the Democratic National Convention this summer.
Fried foods are forbidden at the committee's 22 or so events, as is liquid served in individual plastic containers. Plates must be reusable, like china, recyclable or compostable. The food should be local, organic or both.
And caterers must provide foods in "at least three of the following five colors: red, green, yellow, blue/purple, and white," garnishes not included, according to a Request for Proposals, or RFP, distributed last week.
The shrimp-and-mango ensemble? All it's got is white, brown and orange, so it may not have the nutritional balance that generally comes from a multihued menu.
"Blue could be a challenge," joked Ed Janos, owner of Cook's Fresh Market in Denver. "All I can think of are blueberries."
The national nominating convention Aug. 25-28 will bring about 50,000 people to Denver, and many will scarf loads of chow served at catered parties.
The prospect of that business windfall has tantalized caterers since Denver was named host city for the convention more than a year ago.
Caterers praise the committee and the city for their green ambitions, but some say they're baffled by parts of the RFP.
"I think it's a great idea for our community and our environment. The question is, how practical is it?" asks Nick Agro, the owner of Whirled Peas Catering in Commerce City. "We all want to source locally, but we're in Colorado. The growing season is short. It's dry here. And I question the feasibility of that."
Monday, May 19, 2008
Iran: Just A Tiny Country
"Iran is just a 'tiny' country. Iran, Cuba, Venezuela, these countries are tiny compared to the Soviet Union. They don't pose a serious threat to us the way the Soviet Union posed a threat to us..."
"Iran, they spend 1/100th of what we spend on the military. If Iran ever tried to pose a serious threat to us, they wouldn't stand a chance."
Pork
Here's some guys I would actually consider contributing to, atleast based of their remarks on the joke of a farm (pork) bill.
Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, at age 38 and having served less than five terms, did not leap over a dozen of his seniors to become ranking Republican on the House budget Committee by bashing GOP leaders. But an angry Ryan last Wednesday delivered unscripted remarks on the House floor as the farm bill neared passage: "This bill is an absence of leadership. This bill shows we are not leading."
Ryan's fellow reformer, 45-year-old Jeff Flake of Arizona, in his fourth term, is less cautious about defying the leadership and has been kept off key committees. On Wednesday, he said of a $300 billion bill that raises farm subsidies and is filled with non-farm pork, "Sometimes, here in Washington, we tend to drink our own bath water and believe our own press releases."
What party are they? Part III
Today we'll make an exception.
This is life in a Cincinnati Public School ELEMENTARY school.
On a hot August day last summer, children from some of Cincinnati's poorest neighborhoods filed into the just-completed, $12.8 million Hays-Porter Elementary School for the first time.Over the next two months, the luster tarnished quickly - and violently.
Documents recently obtained by The Enquirer tell a story of a school where fights landed at least one student in the hospital, while a slew of other incidents of intimidation and bullying led parents to repeatedly tell Cincinnati Public Schools administrators they feared for their children's safety.
Meanwhile, teachers were targets of student outbursts, and low-level misbehavior was ubiquitous, records say.
One student needed surgery to fix a "severe" eye injury after getting punched in the face during gym class, and another had "partial amputation of the fatty side of her finger" in a classroom incident.
A brawl erupted in the main office. Another student told a teacher, "Get the f - - - out of my face" before hitting her with a belt, and the student's punishment was never imposed, according to records.
By mid-October, CPS assigned a two-person security team full time.
There's a lot of people here to address so let's go through them one by one.
Are the citizen's served by this school republicans or democrats?
Is the school board made up of republicans or democrats?
Are the school administrators largely republicans or democrats?
Are the teachers largely republicans or democrats?
Are the parents of these "students" democrats or republicans?
Will the students themselves turn out to be a large republican or democratic voting bloc?
Here is the truth. You couldn't find a republican in this mess with a search warrant, a pack of blood hounds and Dog the Bounty Hunter.
This is a totally en capsuled life in an America run by democrats. It's been over a year since I made my initial challenge to "progressives" to give me an example of one thing run by "progressives" that is actually run better than anything run by conservatives. To date, NO ONE has been able to provide me with one place where life run by "progressives" is better than a place run by conservatives.
In fact, no place actually exists.
When will our elected conservative leaders point this out? When will "progressives" finally own that this is what life looks like in a welfare state?
I guess on the positive side, the children have a whole brand new school to tear up.
Am I missing something?
After sticking with Odell Thurman through a two-year NFL suspension, the Bengals announced this morning that they've waived the the second-year linebacker.
In a statement, Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis said the team has "not seen the right steps taken by (Thurman)."
“With our offseason work in progress and new talent added at our linebacker position, we’ve determined it’s best to keep moving in a direction that does not include Odell,” Lewis said.
Thurman was in his native Monticello, Ga., last week to attend his grandmother’s funeral and take care of family matters, Lawson said. Thurman’s parents are dead, and the woman who brought up Thurman had died, Lawson said.
Let me make sure I've got this correct. The Beagles stood by Thurman for over two years because of off the field problems yet couldn't manage to hang with him so he could attend his grandmother's funeral. What am I missing?
For the record, I've talked to a guy who knows Thurman fairly well. He tells me Thurman wasn't a problem child as much as he was a young guy with a lot of money & liked to party.
There's got to be something more here than this article reports.
Don't make him mad
Republicans seem to have come to the same conclusion and a GOP Internet campaign in Tennessee has an ad featuring Michelle Obama's comments during the long Democratic campaign that "for the first time in my adult life, I am proud of my country."Michelle Obama was asked about the ad on "GMA," but her husband said, "Let me just interject on this."
"The GOP, should I be the nominee, I think can say whatever they want to say about me, my track record," Obama said. "I've been in public life for 20 years. I expect them to pore through everything that I've said, every utterance, every statement. And to paint it in the most undesirable light possible. That's what they do."
"But I do want to say this to the GOP. If they think that they're going to try to make Michelle an issue in this campaign, they should be careful. Because that I find unacceptable," he said.
First, if she's on the campaign trail, she's fair game. I've said that about Chelsea and prominent political family members, if they campaign they're fair game. If they don't campaign they are off limits. Michelle's actively campaigning for her husband. What she says matters.
Second, what's big tough Barry going to do if they bring her up, make us all eat arugula? Make us talk about our feelings? Force us to shop at Whole Foods?
Finally, I thought Obamania was all about bringing us all together? How is it he can reach out to Hamas but not republicans?
Another take on Obamania appeasement
More....Obama could have wisely ignored the comment, or brushed it off with a comment about Bush's foolish warmongering, but instead he proved that he was as naive as Bush accused him of being by reacting in a defensive way which made it clear he assumed the comments were about him, and that he believed there were legitimate grounds for accusing him of being an appeaser. Even if Bush may have very well meant to target the Democrats or Obama with his comments, he didn't explicitly do so. Obama did that for him.
As a politician, when someone lays out a sign-board which says fool and traitor, you don't want to pick it up and put it on, and that's what Obama essentially did. He fell into the simplest trap imaginable and basically colluded with Bush to make himself look unqualified to lead the country.
It doesn't help that his response was a blatant lie, of course. Claiming that he did not endorse unconditional negotiation with terrorist regimes when the video of him making that statement is available on YouTube isn't going to fly with anyone. In his responding speech Obama categorically denies having ever said what we all saw him say in a public debate and then goes on to volunteer to apply Bush's accusation of being an appeaser to himself and to all Democrats, doing more to hurt his and his party's reputation than Bush ever did.
The Billary in No. KY
One thing was pretty clear from the crowd wearing The Billary stickers. She's got the lesbian vote down cold. I never saw so many sensible shoes and haircuts on women in my life. Needless to say, the Mary Kay booth saw almost no action.
Unfortunately for The Billary, based on my readings of Andrew Sullivan, Obama has the gay male vote locked up, so it's about a push.
So I guess in the gay community your vote boils down to who you'd rather date.
Where's the cardigan?
Pitching his message to Oregon's environmentally-conscious voters, Obama called on the United States to "lead by example" on global warming, and develop new technologies at home which could be exported to developing countries.Oooops, sorry that was Obamania at his Mecca in Oregon. What should have caught my attention was use of the word "crowd"."We can't drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times ... and then just expect that other countries are going to say OK," Obama said.
"That's not leadership. That's not going to happen," he added.
Here's a clue for Obamania, no one I know keeps their thermostat at 72 degrees you a-hole. See, most people were conserving long before you liberal a-holes were buying arugula at Whole Foods. It's called saving money.
Now leave us alone.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Kyoto Krap
The United States leads the world in both energy efficiency per unit of GDP and control of CO2 emissions. According to the 2008 Index of Leading Economic Indicators, U.S. emissions grew by only 6.6% from 1997 to 2004 vs. 18% for the world as a whole and 21.1% for those nations that signed the Kyoto Protocol.
Go Cincinnati
This collaboration of Jesus nuts performed jobs such as building Habitat for Humanity homes, clearing out debris from parks, to doing maintenance for faith based groups around the city.
I have to admit, my day started on a sour note when I had to look at some anti christian bumper sticker in the drive thru as I headed to my project.
After my assignment (exterior painting of the Job's Plus office), I went inside and read the mission of the Job's Plus organization.
Jobs Plus is a non-profit organization that helps break cycles of poverty and unhealthy dependencies for individuals in low-income communities by providing job opportunities and a network of support and accountability leading to healthier lifestyles.
Exactly what is it about people of faith who perform these services has the atheists like Plunderbund gang hating on Christians.
I've never seen a group of atheists do anything like Jobs Plus does. In fact, when I googled charitable atheist organizations, you can't find many. Most of what you get is lots of blogs "talking" about being charitable. You see few actually doing.
So what is it with the atheist? Do you think you're charitable because you have compassion for your fellow man or because you actually get off you ass and do something about it.
Instead of criticizing your fellow man for trying to make a difference, why don't you join 4,000 other people on a Saturday morning and put your money where your mouth is.