Saturday, October 30, 2010
Friday, October 29, 2010
Endorsement time
Ohio voters face a daunting choice on Nov. 2: Who should lead this recession-battered state for the next four years?
Incumbent Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland is a decent and honorable son of Appalachian Ohio who promises a steady, if unspectacular, course through the rough seas ahead. He is clearly the safe bet, unlikely to either make a big mistake or bring about big change.
His Republican challenger, John Kasich, is a former congressman from suburban Columbus given to Reagan-style optimism and bold, sometimes questionable, ideas. He is just as clearly the wild card, eager to shake up the status quo and even challenge his own party, but also capable of talking himself right off a cliff.
The easy option would be to endorse Strickland, a dutiful caretaker steeped in public policy minutiae. At least you know what you'd get. But therein lies the problem.
Strickland, 69, suffers from limited imagination and political timidity; at times, he seems almost shellshocked by the loss of 400,000 jobs on his watch. He told The Toledo Blade last week that his administration should have moved faster to prevent Ohio businesses from fleeing to other states. He has consistently mistaken talk for action, produced budgets held together with bubble gum and twine and allowed his team to adopt a siege mentality. He stumbled badly on gambling, treated Ohio's cities as stepchildren and, in a shameful kowtow to his union allies, waged war on effective charter schools.
Then I moved on to the Dispatch where I was certain to read the impending Strickland endorsement only read this.........
As Ohio copes with economic stagnation, unemployment of 10.1 percent and a looming $8 billion shortfall in the state budget, it needs a resolute leader in the governor's office. While Gov. Ted Strickland is admirable in many respects, leadership and executive ability have not been his strong suits. Therefore, The Dispatch endorses Republican John Kasich for governor.
Ohio's budget is facing a crisis unlike any in memory. A deficit of such magnitude speaks to the failure of Strickland even to begin the process of putting Ohio on a sustainable fiscal basis. He should have begun two years ago to make the fundamental structural changes needed to bring the state's spending into line with its income. Instead, he relied on federal handouts and other one-time money to put off the day of reckoning. Now that day is at hand, and he still has given voters no clue as to how he would bridge the budget gap.
Though Kasich, also, has not offered a detailed plan, he points to his nine terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, where he rose to be chairman of the powerful House Budget Committee, as proof that he has the experience to deal with tough budget issues. That experience will be invaluable.
Just as important though, Ohio needs a leader who can inspire hope and not simply cope. Ohio has suffered several decades of economic decline and then was knocked flat by the recent recession. The problem is not that the state lacks the talent and know-how to recoup, but that it is adrift and hobbled by uncertainty.
Then the Cincinnati Enquirer rolled out this endorsement of Kasich........
While the lead held by GOP gubernatorial candidate John Kasich has dwindled into a virtual tie with incumbent Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland, the latest poll also reveals perceptions among Ohio voters that we find telling.According to the new Ohio Newspaper Poll being released Sunday, 55 percent of Ohioans believe Strickland "will raise my taxes," while 27 percent think Kasich will. And by a 10-point margin, 49 percent to 39 percent, more Ohioans think Kasich would "bring needed change to Ohio."
That in part sums up why we continue to believe John Kasich is Ohioans' better choice for governor this year. He is the clear agent for change, particularly change that can shake Ohio's economy out of the doldrums and make its government more responsive for the future.
Strickland represents a status quo that we cannot continue to accept, and he offers more of the same - treading-water solutions restricted by old relationships and power structures. We urge Ohio voters to look forward by supporting John Kasich for governor.
I'm not a believer that people should follow endorsements of candidates. But for the three largest newspapers in Ohio (two of which are notoriously liberal) to endorse Kasich is probably a big deal.
Life in "Progress" City - Cincinnati edition
Earlier this week, I heard the mayor of Cincinnati, Mark Mallory claim that if the city pared all "non essential" services from it's budget, they could reduce it's deficit by only 10 million dollars.
I have some questions for the mayor.
1) If there are, in fact, non essential services, why haven't they already been cut?
2) I decided to compare the City of Cincinnati's directory of department's with the departments in the "Redville" community I live in (Hamilton Twp., Warren County, Ohio).
Here's how they compare.............
Cincinnati
Departments and Divisions
- Cincinnati Recreation Commission
- CitiCable
- Citizen Complaint & Internal Audit
- City Planning and Buildings
- Community Development
- Economic Development
- Enterprise Technology Solutions
- Finance Department
- Fire Department
- Fleet Services
- Greater Cincinnati Water Works
- Health Department
- Human Resources Department
- Law Department
- Metropolitan Sewer District
- Office of Environmental Quality
- Parking Facilities
- Parks Department
- Police Department
- Public Services
- Transportation & Engineering
| PUBLIC SERVICES | ||
| Roads | ||
| Police | ||
| Fire | ||
| Parks | ||
What's funny is my township has no income tax (we fund out of real estate tax), unlike Cincinnati's 2.1% income tax (they also get real estate tax funding). Yet somehow our roads are always plowed and maintained, our garbage is always picked up, & you can get a cop and/or a firetruck whenever you need. What else is a local municipality to provide?
But I'm trying to figure out what does the department of "Office of Environmental Quality" actually do? or "Enterprise Technology Solutions"? How about "Citizen Complaint and Internal Audit Department"? Geez, you would think with all those city services, you wouldn't have too many complaints. At least not enough to have a whole department for them.
Of course your average "progressive" will be quick to point out that city's have particular problems in which to address; like homelessness. But maybe, if the city quit dealing with homelessness , they would have less of it.
Afterall, in my little "Redville" enclave, I've yet to be hit up by a panhandler.
Naw, all of the services in "Progress" City are essential. Afterall, how could a society exist without a "Citicable" department?
Going broke with "essential" city services?
Now that's "Progressive"!
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Who will she vote for? #1000
Geez, I wonder if all these moms hang at the same PTA meetings?
None the less, meet Nichole Lattimore. Why is this mom of the year in the news?
A mother was arrested today after police found her two sons living in filth in an Avondale apartment and one of them unconscious from drinking rum.Now next Tuesday, Nichole will fill in the dots for which of the following candidates........
Nichole Lattimore, 32, was charged with two counts of endangering children. Her 15-year-old son was taken to a hospital after police found him drunk, court documents say. Her 12-year-old son told investigators that he and his brother live in a Van Buren Street apartment while their mother stays elsewhere.The apartment floor was covered in dirty clothes and dog and cat feces and there was no food in the refrigerator, according to the court documents.
Lattimore also was charged with possession of marijuana, which officers said they found in her pants pocket.
Governor
Ted Strickland (D) or
John Kasich (R)
Senate
Rob Portman (R) or
Lee Fisher (D)
For the record, you know what I don't see in any of the articles on these moms?
Dads!
Who will she vote for?#100
To date, we don't have a photo of another mother of the year candidate but from these details, do you think you can figure out her politician of choice?
As jail inmate January Newport was preparing to give birth last month via Caesarian section, nurses found something else inside of her that could send Newport to prison - drugs.
The very pregnant Newport, 24, of Dayton, Ohio, was arrested Sept. 23, on allegations she stole a $957 personal computer from the Fairfax Walmart. She was charged with theft and booked into the Hamilton County Justice Center.The next day, she was rushed to the hospital where she was being prepared for a Caesarian section - a surgical procedure where the child is delivered by cutting the woman's abdomen open. During a routine examination moments before the procedure, though, nurses found pills in Newport's vagina - apparently placed there the day before by Newport so they wouldn't be found as she was booked into the jail.
"She had shoved pills in there," Assistant Prosecutor Jocelyn Chess said.
Now did January complete her absentee ballot before her bust and vote for........
Governor
Ted Strickland (D) or
John Kasich (R)
Senate
Rob Portman (R) or
Lee Fisher (D)
Who will she vote for? #10
Meet Valerie Cecil. Why is Valerie in the news?
25-Year-old Valerie Cecil from Madisonville is in custody for forcing her 3 children to smoke marijuana. The children ages are 7, 4, and 1. Cecil's father told police that the 7-year-old told a school counselor that she was forced to smoke marijuana.
After testing the children, results showed that there was indeed marijuana in their systems. One of Cecil's neighbors said that she also tried giving alcohol to underage kids in the apartment complex. Cecil was released on her own recognizance.
With the election next Tuesday who will mother of the year here vote for?
Governor
Ted Strickland (D) or
John Kasich (R)
Senate
Rob Portman (R) or
Lee Fisher (D)
OH 1
Steve Driehaus (D)
Steve Chabot (R)
More.......
Who would they vote for? 2010 election edition
Consider the following groups of people and their respective voting blocs. Then consider who would you rather..... Live in your neighborhood? Teach your kids? Work at your workplace?
Wouldn't it stand to reason that you'd want those same people to run your government?
| War Protesters | Active Military | |
| 20 year olds | 60 year olds | |
| Larry Flynt | Pat Robertson | |
| Criminals | Cops | |
| Union Heads | Corporate executives | |
| Drug Dealers | Convenience store owners | |
| Alec Baldwin | Kelsey Grammar | |
| Welfare Queens | Working women | |
| Michael Stipe | Ted Nugent | |
| Planned Parenthood | Right to Life | |
| Sharon Stone | Bo Derek | |
| ACORN workers | NASCAR Fans | |
| Joy Behar | Elisabeth Hasselbeck | |
| Atheists | Born again Christians | |
| Madonna | Martina McBride | |
| Vegans | Hunters | |
| Non repentant terrorists | FBI agents | |
| Homeless | Homeowners | |
| College professors | Small business owners | |
| Urbanites | Suburbanites | |
| Any network news anchor | John Stossel |
One of the reasons that I do these "Who would they vote for?" posts is to get people thinking about who they are aligning their political vote with. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that convicted felons overwhelmingly support democrats. Why do you think democrats continue to fight for their right to vote? Hey, even Black Panthers are free to block polling stations in order to keep "whitey" from voting.
So why would you vote in a manner consistent with your average armed robber? or an arrogant college professor? or Whoopi Goldberg? or Andy Stern?
So when in polls next week you can choose to hang with the people on the left hand column or the right. Ultimately, that will be the world you choose to reside in.
It seems like a pretty clear choice to me.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
What party is he?
For the past couple of years, I've voted using an absentee ballot. But now I'm clear that this a rampant invitation for fraud. For instance, assume you have an elderly resident of a nursing home. How hard would it be for a nurse to request absentee ballots for all the residents, fill them out and send them back. If a resident says anything, the nurses would probably just tell the resident that they forgot completing the ballot.The arrest of Henry and Genesis Robinson comes a little more than two months after Volusia County Supervisor of Elections Ann McFall requested an investigation into irregularities in absentee ballot requests coming into her office.
McFall brought her concerns to the Volusia County Sheriffs Office in August, prompting the Sheriffs Office and the State Attorneys Office to immediately launch a joint investigation that ultimately led to the filing of a dozen felony charges against both defendants.
The investigation revealed that Henry and Robinson devised a strategy to boost Henrys re-election bid by obtaining absentee ballots for numerous people, most of whom never requested the ballots. By law, residents are only allowed to request absentee ballots for themselves, immediate family members or for someone for whom they’re acting as legal guardian.
McFall filed the complaint on August 11 after her office received a large number of requests for absentee ballots that were all initiated from the same e-mail address. Based on the e-mail address, it appeared that the requests came from someone with an interest in the Daytona Beach City Commission Zone 5 race. Henry, the Zone 5 incumbent who was locked in a three-way primary, was re-elected on August 24.
The subsequent investigation revealed that between the two of them, Henry and Robinson had requested a total of 92 absentee ballots through the elections offices web site. Four of the absentee ballots were found at Henrys house when investigators searched it on Sept. 23. Investigators also recovered absentee ballot applications and receipts for some of the absentee ballots along with handbooks outlining Florida election laws. The four absentee ballots were found under a computer keyboard.
And then you have a situation like the Lovely Mrs. Gekko who rarely votes. How hard would it be for a Board of Election employee to see who hadn't voted in previous elections and just request absentee ballots for those residents knowing the voter probably wouldn't notice.
It goes on and on.
None the less, the article makes no mention of political affiliation of the d-bags here. Use your imagination as to the party affiliation.
More.....
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Life in "Progress" City - Covington KY edition
About 15 police officers responded to a large fight in the City Heights housing complex Tuesday morning.
At about 10 a.m. officers were called to the 2600 block of Todd Court because several people were reportedly armed with stun guns and bats.'It started as a juvenile altercation and progressed to a melee of sorts," said Covington Police spokesman Spike Jones.
Five people were fighting armed with a hammer, a stun gun and a knife, Jones said.
One woman reported that she had been hit with a stun gun. At least one juvenile was transported to St. Elizabeth Covington.
There were no other injuries, Jones said.
Several people were taken into custody, he said. Police were still sorting out how many people would be arrested and what charges they would face.
You know why we don't have these "melees" in Redville? Because we're all at work.
More....
If you have to say it.......
Amid growing dissatisfaction with federal employees, a group of younger, web-savvy feds are planning to march on Saturday in defense of their coworkers on the sidelines of Jon Stewart's "Rally to Restore Sanity."More........Organizers of the "Government Doesn't Suck March" (their choice of words, not ours) were inspired in part by last week's Washington Post poll that revealed widespread negative perceptions of federal workers.
Four more years of Bush
More.....Gasoline prices haven't gotten much attention amid all the other bad economic news for Democrats heading into a final week of campaigning, but the price per gallon has climbed nearly 15 cents since Labor Day - a surprising jump, given that prices usually plummet before an election.
The cost of a gallon of gas has eclipsed the $3 mark in several parts of the country and clocks in nationally at $2.82, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA). That's up from $2.68 on Sept. 6, and overall about $1 higher than the week of Jan. 26, 2009, when President Obama took office and the per-gallon price was $1.81.
Analysts say the surge in pump prices defies historical trends that call for a drop-off after the Labor Day holiday, which signals the end of the summer driving season and the traditional dip ahead of the November election season.
What the hell! Do we live in Afghanistan?
Some voters in Boulder City said they are concerned about fraud at the electronic ballot box.Voter Joyce Ferrara said when they went to vote for Republican Sharron Angle, her Democratic opponent, Sen. Harry Reid's name was already checked.Ferrara said she wasn't alone in her voting experience. She said her husband and several others voting at the same time all had the same thing happen."Something's not right," Ferrara said. "One person that's a fluke. Two, that's strange. But several within a five minute period of time -- that's wrong."Clark County Registrar of Voters Larry Lomax said there is no voter fraud, although the issues do come up because the screens are sensitive. For that reason, a person may not want to have their fingers linger too long on the screen after they choose their candidate.
More....
Another
A Craven County voter says he had a near miss at the polls on Thursday when an electronic voting machine completed his straight-party ticket for the opposite of what he intended.
Sam Laughinghouse of New Bern said he pushed the button to vote Republican in all races, but the voting machine screen displayed a ballot with all Democrats checked. He cleared the screen and tried again with the same result, he said. Then he asked for and received help from election staff.
“They pushed it twice and the same thing happened,” Laughinghouse said. “That was four times in a row. The fifth time they pushed it and the Republicans came up and I voted.”
M. Ray Wood, Craven County Board of elections chairman, issued a written statement saying that the elections board is aware of isolated issues and that in each case the voter was able to cast his or her ballot as desired.
Chuck Tyson, chairman of Craven County GOP, remains skeptical. He has been communicating with Wood about the issue and was invited to a meeting Wednesday with state elections officials. There were no further details about that meeting.
“Something is not right here,” Tyson told the Sun Journal. He said he “got two or three calls” from people describing the same problem while they were voting.
More.....
It's George Bush's fault!
It's a classic liberal v conservative and a total laugher.
Some reminders before voting
Monday, October 25, 2010
Per The One
“My cabinet has been working very hard on trying to get it done, but ultimately, I think somebody said the other day, I am president, I am not king. I can’t do these things just by myself. We have a system of government that requires the Congress to work with the executive branch to make it happen. I’m committed to making it happen, but I’ve gotta have some partners to do it,” Obama said.
Once again, what is it this guy wants to do that he, 59 senators and 255 house members didn't or couldn't get done in the past two years?
More......
It's all about the narrative
None ever respond, nor will you ever read a post on a liberal blog making the economic case for liberal policies. What you normally get is this........
ON HIS FIRST DAY back from summer vacation, President Obama appeared in a sweltering Rose Garden to talk about the economy. The latest numbers were disheartening—growth slow, consumer spending weak, housing sales down, unemployment near 10 percent. Obama reported that he'd just met with his economic team. He pointed out that his administration had already taken "a series of measures" to boost the economy, and that his aides were "hard at work" looking for more. He offered no specific proposals, and after five minutes he went back inside, taking no questions from the sweating reporters.
One natural query would have been: Mr. President, how did you lose control of the economic message?
How did he lose control of his economic message? Let me count the ways.
First, spending time demonizing Sarah Palin, Fox News, Christine O'Donnell, The Chamber of Commerce, Fox News, Tea Partiers, George Bush, Fox News, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and Fox News instead of actually making the economic case for your policies has a way of creating a distraction from"your message".
Second, exactly how much control can you have on your economic message when it's not consistent with reality. Cover more people for more stuff and insurance premiums come down? Even your average teenage paper carrier gets that economic reality. It's the equivalent of convincing the American people that Santa Claus really exists.
Third, people are living in reality, not Fantasia. Voters actually talk to friends, families, employers, etc. They also have bills to pay..... with or without jobs. They know the reality of our economy. They also see a president more than willing to bash business rather than clearing the way for businesses to create wealth.
But for the David Corn's of the world it's all about how you sell it; not what merit it has. He'd be the kind of guy who would spend all his energy selling you a Prius when you want an SUV and then blame you when you walk off the lot.
The economy is stable
".....our economy is more stable........"
For the first time in a while, I agree with a democrat. Consistently shitty qualifies as stable.
Birthday party "progressive" style
A 21-year-old man who was attending a Pacoima birthday party was shot to death early Sunday morning by someone who approached him demanding to know his gang affiliation, authorities said.
Francisco Leon Jr. was attending a party that was wrapping up about 3 a.m. when a young man approached and asked what gang he belonged to, police said. The man then allegedly pulled out his gun, shot Leon and left. Leon was pronounced dead at the scene.
Leon had no known or apparent gang ties, police said.
Happy Birthday!
Good news?
This is pretty impressive.
The Hamilton County Board of Elections has done a good job of providing detailed early voting numbers for this election and referencing back to previous elections so we can properly compare where we're at.
So far this year, 16,309 Republicans have returned their absentee ballots. 13,019 Democrats have returned theirs.
In 2008 with the same number of days to go before the election, 15,772 Republicans had submitted their ballots and 20,432 Democrats had submitted theirs.
In other words, at this point in time, more Republicans are turning out in Hamilton County this year than turned out for the presidential election at the same point of time.
Here's what I don't know about this news. Keep in mind that in Ohio, a number of registered republicans switched their party affiliation during the 2008 election to vote for the Billary. I'm certain that many of them switched back this past election. So are the number of those people significant in the totals noted above? I don't know.
None the less, it's definitely not bad news.
More.....
Stuff liberals run - College textbooks
The unsustainable "higher education bubble" has received some well-deserved attention lately - watch Glenn Reynolds talk about it in detail here. A direct partner in the "higher education bubble" is the unsustainable "college textbook bubble," captured graphically in the chart above - notice how it totally dwarfs the "real estate bubble." Since 1980, educational books have risen annually at more than twice the rate of overall inflation, 6.7% vs. 3.3% respectively. "When students pay more for new textbooks than tuition in a year, then something's wrong," says Rand S. Spiwak, executive vice president at Daytona State in the article below.
More...
My thoughts from a previous post.........
One of the things they don't mention in the piece is the number of professors who "contribute" to the text you're buying. I've always suspected that their contribution to the process is to force you to buy the book for their brother in arms with a nice little kickback. It's a win situation for everyone.........except the student.
In addition, don't you love the 24th edition of that psychology book that has about four pages different from the original edition?
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Life in "Progress" City - San Francisco edition
I don't know why
You call some place Paradise
Kiss it Goodbye
You would have to admit, by any standards, San Francisco has to be the "progressive" utopia. Unfortunately, utopias are like unicorns..... they don't exist in reality. And neither will San Francisco in a few years................
"Infinite" is not a word you expect to find in a report on municipal spending. It's more of a science fiction–type term — Tremble, Earthling, before the infinite might of Galaxor! But there it was, in a recent report on San Francisco's finances: Spending on the city's employee retirement system in the past decade had grown at an "infinite" rate.
Naturally, that's an exaggeration. If you do the math, the city's retirement costs for employees in the past 10 years actually grew only 66,733 percent.Still, you might call that a Galaxor-sized number.
In fiscal year 1999-2000, the city spent about $300,000 on its retirement system. In fiscal year 2009-10, it was $200.5 million. Benefits alone — not salaries, just benefits — for current and retired employees this year are budgeted at $993 million. Spending on retirees' health care and pensions is conservatively projected to triple within five years.
And after that? Infinite.
I'm old enough to remember when jobs in the public sector were not that lucrative but secure. I'm also old enough to remember the old saying "good enough for government work" identifying something half ass. But apparently, if you want wealth, half ass, and security, the government is your ticket to the big time.
Seriously, are you "progressives" so devoid of basic math skills you cannot grasp the impending implosion of our governments at all levels? Or do you not care?
I've got a hint for all you folks. When these entities declare bankruptcy, the rich are going to continue to be quite well off. The poor? Not so much.
Looting a city via pension liabilities?
Now that's "progressive"!
More.....
Where's Tony Soprano when you need him?
The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees is now the biggest outside spender of the 2010 elections, thanks to an 11th-hour effort to boost Democrats that has vaulted the public-sector union ahead of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the AFL-CIO and a flock of new Republican groups in campaign spending.So let me make sure I have this right.The 1.6 million-member AFSCME is spending a total of $87.5 million on the elections after tapping into a $16 million emergency account to help fortify the Democrats' hold on Congress. Last week, AFSCME dug deeper, taking out a $2 million loan to fund its push. The group is spending money on television advertisements, phone calls, campaign mailings and other political efforts, helped by a Supreme Court decision that loosened restrictions on campaign spending.
"We're the big dog," said Larry Scanlon, the head of AFSCME's political operations. "But we don't like to brag."
AFSCME represents employees paid by our tax dollars. Those very tax dollars used to pay dues and subsequently lobby for more of our tax dollars to the employees?
How is this any different from a mobster coming into your bodega and demanding money for your "protection" against the people extorting you for money in the first place?
This video seems appropriate. Rated R for union language.............
If you have to say it.........
Jamie's just working it because he wants the part.
Who will they vote for? #18819
Meet the Quaids, Randy and Evi.
You may remember Cousin Eddie from the Vacation movies.
Why are they in the news today?
Randy Quaid and his wife are still creating a buzz in Vancouver where they were picked up by police on outstanding warrants in the U.S.A shopworker in the upscale neighbourhood where the Quaids were arrested says the Hollywood couple made quite a scene on Friday.
Debbie Pfeifer says she initially had no idea who the bearded man police questioned for two hours was.
It was of course Quaid, who was picked up with his wife after the couple reportedly tried to get a mortgage at a nearby bank.
Pfeifer says several plain-clothes officers stood by as Quaid spoke with a man believed to be his lawyer, while his wife Evi “popped in and out of a police car.”
The Quaids are wanted in California on charges they vandalized a home they once owned.
They’re seeking refugee status in Canada, claiming they need asylum from so called “Hollywood star-whackers.”
Seriously, they may be the first actors to leave the country when republicans take over the House.
More....
By the way Cousin Eddie, the reason Heath, Chris and David are dead is because they were all drug addicted freaks, which is why they were probably liberal.
Why do liberals hate other liberals?
Using the metaphor of Michael Vick for the Democratic party leadership implies they are people with a capacity for moral redemption who want to call good plays on the legislative gridiron. They aren’t. They don’t. The reason is simple. They hate our guts.They don’t just hate our Republican, conservative, libertarian, strict constructionist, family values guts. They hate everybody’s guts. And they hate everybody who has any. Democrats hate men, women, blacks, whites, Hispanics, gays, straights, the rich, the poor, and the middle class.
Democrats hate Democrats most of all. Witness the policies that Democrats have inflicted on their core constituencies, resulting in vile schools, lawless slums, economic stagnation, and social immobility. Democrats will do anything to make sure that Democratic voters stay helpless and hopeless enough to vote for Democrats.
More......
Who would you like to see go?
My List
1) Harry "The Weasel" Reid
2) Barbara Boxer
3) Barney Frankengang
4) Jim Moran
5) Steve "I'm a conservative" Driehaus
It's like a box of chocolates.....there are just so many to choose from.
Put your choices in the comment area.
Just how much trouble is the White House in?
Sound familiar?
STEVE COOGAN, a British comedian, once told a joke about David Beckham, a footballer who is unlikely to win a Nobel prize for physics: “They say, ‘Oh, David Beckham—he’s not very clever.’ Yeah. They don’t say, ‘Stephen Hawking—shit at football.’” Successful corporations are like Mr Beckham. Both excel at one thing: in Mr Beckham’s case, kicking a ball; in the corporations’ case, making profits. They may also be reasonably adept at other things, such as modelling sunglasses or forming task forces to solve environmental problems. But their chief contribution to society comes from their area of specialisation.Ann Bernstein, the head of a South African think-tank called the Centre for Development and Enterprise, thinks that advocates of corporate social responsibility (CSR) tend to miss this point. In her new book, “The Case for Business in Developing Economies”, she stresses the ways companies benefit society simply by going about their normal business. In a free and competitive market, firms profit by selling goods or services to willing customers. To stay in business, they must offer lower prices or higher quality than their competitors. Those that fail disappear. Those that succeed spread prosperity. Shareholders receive dividends. Employees earn wages. Suppliers win contracts. Ordinary people gain access to luxuries that would have made Cecil Rhodes gasp, such as television, air-conditioning and antibiotics.
These are not new arguments, but Ms Bernstein makes them fresh by writing from an African perspective. Citizens of rich countries often fret about the occasional harm that corporations do, yet take for granted the prosperity they create. People in developing countries do not have that luxury.
I would offer that in the year 2010, even rich economies no longer have that luxury.
Read the rest.