Is all right because Frank's championing of Fannie and Freddie it only cost the taxpayer's a couple of trillion dollarsU.S. Rep. Barney Frank admitted he helped his ex-lover land a lucrative post with Fannie Mae in the early 1990s while the Newton Democrat was on a committee that regulated the lending giant — but he called questions of a potential ethical conflict “nonsense.”
“If it is (a conflict of interest), then much of Washington is involved (in conflicts),” Frank told the Herald last night. “It is a common thing in Washington for members of Congress to have spouses work for the federal government. There is no rule against it at all.”
Frank said he helped his former longtime companion, Herb Moses, land a job at Fannie Mae in 1991 after Moses graduated with a master’s degree in business administration from Dartmouth College. Frank said he was approached by a Fannie Mae executive and vouched for Moses, who formerly worked as an economist in the Department of Agriculture.
Friday, May 27, 2011
Animal Farm II
Animal Farm I
Oh and how that pays lots of dividends, literally................
It’s no secret that members of Congress qualify as political insiders, but a new report strongly suggests that they also may be insiders when it comes to trading stocks.
An extensive study released Wednesday in the journal Business and Politics found that the investments of members of the House of Representatives outperformed those of the average investor by 55 basis points per month, or 6 percent annually, suggesting that lawmakers are taking advantage of inside information to fatten their stock portfolios.
“We find strong evidence that members of the House have some type of non-public information which they use for personal gain,” according to four academics who authored the study, “Abnormal Returns From the Common Stock Investments of Members of the U.S. House of Representatives.”
To the frustration of open-government advocates, lawmakers and their staff members largely have immunity from laws barring trading on insider knowledge that have sent many a private corporate chieftain to prison.
But I thought Tea Partiers were racist
This is indeed an amazing feat for the former Godfather's Pizza CEO, who many never heard of until he emerged from the South Carolina GOP debate as the Luntz poll group's winner. Mr. Cain still needs to convince the general public that he can beat President Barack Obama. Zogby reports, "Christie does best in a match-up with Obama, but trails, 45%-44%. Obama leads both Romney and Tim Pawlenty by 45%-40%. Obama is ahead of Cain, 46%-38%."
However, Mr. Cain is well on his way to show the United States he is indeed a serious candidate. The poll, in fact, shows Mr. Cain is polling outstandingly with tea party voters leading the pack and edging out Mr. Christie 25% to 18%.
How is that possible? Are these tea party folks so stupid they don't know this guy is black?
It gets better for John Edwards
ABC's James Hill reports: John Edwards, while facing looming criminal indictment, spent the afternoon in Upperville, Virginia, visiting one of the key players in the alleged scheme to cover-up his affair.Multiple sources at the estate of Rachel "Bunny" Mellon confirm to ABC News that the former North Carolina senator met Mellon today for lunch at her sprawling compound in Northern Virginia.
The purpose of the visit is unclear, but it is sure to raise eyebrows with federal investigators who have spent more than two years scrutinizing Mellon's contributions to Edwards and his presidential campaign. Attorneys for Edwards did not respond to requests for comment.
More......
When you stray from the liberal slave farm of thought
Is Adele the bravest, craziest, most downright wonderful star in the history of pop? After what she has just told Q magazine on the subject of tax, I think she might well be.
Here’s what she said: “I’m mortified to have to pay 50 per cent! [While] I use the NHS, I can’t use public transport any more. Trains are always late, most state schools are ––––, and I’ve gotta give you, like, four million quid – are you having a laugh? When I got my tax bill in from [her album] 19, I was ready to go and buy a gun and randomly open fire.”
The reaction from Guardian readers online has been typically unpleasant: “£4 million is nothing compared to the money the NHS needs for the psychological damage her painfully bad excuse for music has inflicted,” quips Ianl. “So not only a purveyor of boring mum soul, but a bloody Tory too?” says JohnnyVodka.
More.......
Maybe he was just "born that way"
Now for those who believe that we should stay out of people's bedrooms how do you feel about incest with consenting adults? Is that staying out of people's bedrooms? If these people love each other, shouldn't they be able to marry and procreate instead of being prosecuted?
I'm not trying to justify this guy's sexual perversions. I'm simply pointing out the complete hypocrisy of the pro gay marriage crowd. I'm guessing that many of those folks would have serious problems with this guy getting his freak on with his daughter. But why? How are your stereotypes of incestuous relationships any different from those of people who are repulsed by gay lifestyles? Yet one is considered more "evolved" than the other.
Finally, why should anyone object to anyone's sexual proclivities when we've established that people are just "born that way"?
Thursday, May 26, 2011
A divided Jerusalem
Yeah, I think I'll stick with the Jews on this one.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Highway Robbery In Tennessee
I just drove through yesterday. Fortunately, I still have my cash.
Thanks reader Jeremy for the link.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Reader Bernie RIP
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
It's a better use of federal funs to me.
As record rainfall continues in Cincinnati, city officials are scrambling to reallocate federal funds that were to be used for construction of a streetcar. The funds will be used to build an ark.More......
The plan to use federal money for a streetcar had come under fire by conservative anti-tax groups. These same groups are generally supportive of the ark building plan. “As long as there is no future burden on the taxpayers,” said anti-public transportation lobbyist Chris Flannery. “Saving our civilization from the destruction of an angry God via an ark may be a good use of this federal transportation money. Of course, we’re also going to have to insist that no union labor be used to build it. Other than that, let’s start lining up two by two.”
MSNBC's Rachel Maddow: The Hoover Dam
Who are the people who would block construction of a project so large?
Hint, it ain't conservatives.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Life in "Progress" State - Michigan edition
A man who won $2 million on a Michigan lottery show has told a TV station that he still uses food stamps.
Leroy Fick of Bay County admitted he still swipes the electronic card at stores, nearly a year after winning a jackpot on "Make Me Rich!" He told WNEM-TV in Saginaw that more than half the prize went to taxes.
Fick says the Department of Human Services told him he could continue to use the card, which is paid with tax dollars. He told WNEM: "If you're going to ... try to make me feel bad, you aren't going to do it."
More......
Liberalism...... Killing the ones you love
Increases in the minimum wage — which rose
10 cents to $7.40 an hour in Ohio this year — have priced young black men out of the entry-level job market more than twice as fast as their white counterparts, according to the study, based on figures reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics from 1994 to 2010.
The study found that for each 10 percent increase in the minimum wage, employment for young black males without a diploma fell by 6.5 percent. By comparison, the drop in employment was 2.5 percent for white males ages 16-24 with no diploma, and 1.2 percent for
Hispanics.
Even blacks who remained on payrolls after minimum wage increases saw their hours cut back more than any other group in the survey, which concluded that for each 10 percent increase in the minimum
wage, hours were reduced by 6.6 percent for young black males, 3 percent for white males and 1.7 percent for Hispanics.
“Our study suggests that when the minimum wage goes up, it causes the difference between black and white unemployment rates to rise,” Even said.
More.....
Obama White House Hands Out 111 Obamacare Waivers- Hides It on Website
He proved he was a Kennedy at heart
Last week, it came out that Arnold Schwarzenegger and his longtime wife Maria Shriver were splitting up.
Today: the next shoe drops.
The LA Times reports that Arnold Schwarzenegger has had a love child with a member of his houshold staff for over a decade, and that up until recently, Shriver had no idea.
http://www.businessinsider.com/revealed-arnold-schwarzenegger-had-secret-love-child-for-years-with-member-of-household-staff-2011-5#ixzz1McPnpfl5
Just like a porn movie
Apparently, the French don't read porn, they live it........
Strauss-Kahn, meanwhile, says he didn't force himself on the chambermaid.
As he was deemed a flight risk and held without bail, his lawyer offered a hint at how he will be defended against the sex-assault rap.
"The forensic evidence, we believe, will not be consistent with a forcible encounter," big-shot attorney Benjamin Brafman said. "And we believe there is a very defensible case."
Prosecutor John McConnell described the accuser as a highly credible victim who "provided a very powerful and detailed account of the violent sexual assault."
So it looks like the French guy is going to use the Penthouse Forum defense........
"I never thought I would have a sexual experience to submit to the Forum until last night when a maid came into my hotel room.........."
More....
What am I missing?
I currently have a $20,000 credit card through your bank. In addition, I hold four other credit cards with credit limits of $20,000 each.
Currently, each of those cards are maxed out but I have a vacation scheduled for the next week and I have no available funds to take such a vacation.
Based on the financial wisdom of Timothy Geithner, I believe that my personal financial health would be in jeopardy if your company doesn't increase the limit on the card I hold with you.
Apparently, the only way to guarantee that I pay you back what I currently owe you is for you to loan me more money.
So I am requesting that you increase my credit limit by $10,000 and when I get back from vacation, I'll be happy to sit down with my family and work on a repayment plan.
Thank you for your time.
One of your best customers,
Mr. I.M. Progressive
Monday, May 16, 2011
Life in "Progress" State - CA edition
High pay and benefits for lifeguards in Newport Beach is the latest example of frustrating levels of compensation for public employees. More than half the city’s full-time lifeguards are paid a salary of over $100,000 and all but one of them collect more than $100,000 in total compensation including benefits.
When thinking about career options with high salaries, lifeguarding is probably not one of the first jobs to come to mind. But it apparently should. In one of Orange County’s most desirable beach destinations, Newport Beach, lifeguards are compensated all too well; especially compared with the county annual median household income of $71,735.
It might be time for a career change.
According to a city report on lifeguard pay for the calendar year 2010, of the 14 full-time lifeguards, 13 collected more than $120,000 in total compensation; one lifeguard collected $98,160.65. More than half the lifeguards collected more than $150,000 for 2010 with the two highest-paid collecting $211,451 and $203,481 in total compensation respectively. Even excluding benefits like health care and pension, more than half the lifeguards receive a total salary, including overtime pay, exceeding $100,000. And they also receive an annual allowance of $400 for “Sun Protection.” Many work four days a week, 10 hours a day.
Lifeguarding in Newport Beach is a pretty good gig, if you can get it.
When governments get involved
The government's recent $8,000 cash incentive for first-time home buyers has proved even more costly for recipients than for taxpayers, according to data released Monday. Typical buyers have lost twice as much to price declines as they received from the program.
The median home value fell to about $170,000 in March from $185,000 a year earlier, according to Zillow.com. That means a buyer who closed on a house just before the tax-credit program expired in April 2010 collected $8,000 but has since lost $15,000 in value. Those who bought earlier in the program have done worse; the median price is down $20,000 from March 2009.
"The $8,000 first-time home buyers tax credit . . . has brought many new families into the housing market," the White House boasted in November 2009 upon announcing an extension and expansion of the program. Judging by sales declines since, that seems beyond doubt. Over the past year, the pace of existing home sales has fallen more than 6% and that of new home sales has fallen 22%.
The credit wasn't great for taxpayers, either. IRS says it paid $26 billion in home buyer credits in 2009 and 2010, enough to cover the maximum $8,000 credit for more than 3 million buyers. (It says at least $513 million went for fraudulent claims. Some claimants hadn't bought houses. Some filed twice. Some were under age 18 or incarcerated.)
In October 2009, when the extension of the $8,000 credit for homebuyers was under consideration, I outlined five reasons the U.S. didn't need more housing perks. These included already-high prices and an abundance of benefits, the questionable stimulus value of home subsidies and a gaping budget deficit. In January 2010, with the extension passed, I recommended that eager buyers wait at least nine months and purposely miss the $8,000 tax credit deadline to take advantage of price declines after. The median price fell about $8,000 over the next nine months and another $8,000 since.
So now let's work through this. Who really made out on the credit? Was it poor people who were able to buy a first time home, or those home owners who were able to sell their homes at inflated prices?
All this program did was bastardized a housing market that needs to hit rock bottom sooner rather than later.
Where have we seen this before?
If the name cash for clunkers means anything, start there.
More...
Boomerang Kids - NTTV Nightly News
Oh, by the way, for all you soon to be college grads who supported that "hope and change".........
Welcome home.
What do we nicknames these people?
It's been only two weeks since President Obama reported on national television that an American commando team in four military helicopters had killed Osama bin Laden in his Pakistan bedroom. Within literally minutes, word of the terrorist's death by gunshot prompted seemingly spontaneous street celebrations outside the White House and elsewhere.More....Now comes word from noted pollster John Zogby that while an overwhelming majority buys the administration's account, a surprising almost one-in-five likely American voters believes the Al Qaeda founder is not dead at all, nor buried at sea, as Obama officials have stated.
How could this possibly be?
1 out of 3 ain't bad
So far so good. Then the bottom drops out. Krauthammer: "I count myself among those who really do mean it. I have little doubt that most Americans would be quite willing to regularize and legalize the current millions of illegal immigrants if they were convinced…that the border is under full operational control…" noting that Americans "are a generous people" and that "[U]pon receipt of objective and reliable evidence that the border is secure…the question would be settled and the immigrants legalized."Americans are indeed a "generous people," Mr. Krauthammer. But they are not utterly stupid. Nor do they have amnesia. The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 granted amnesty to 2.7 million illegal aliens then, ostensibly in return for stricter control of the border and harsher penalties on businesses who hired border-busters. What did we get? One-for-three, which is precisely why we now have an exponential increase in the number of illegals residing in America, who along with their enablers, are demanding, not requesting, amnesty.
And I use the word "exponential" instead of a hard number because Americans are also not buying the "conventional wisdom" that we currently have 11 million illegals in the country. That number is nothing more than another lie perpetrated by those on both sides of the aisle with a vested interest--as in cheap votes for Democrats, and cheap labor for Republicans--in satisfying the bankrupt desires of people who would toss America itself over the cliff to enhance their political power or satisfy their financial greed.
Question, Mr. Krauthammer. Do numbers matter? Does your sense of American generosity remain unperturbed if we're talking about 30 million illegals--or more? Does it include "chain migration" or "family re-unification" by which those granted amnesty could bring their extended families to America as well? Perhaps these are inconvenient questions in Washington, D.C., but they're substantially less inconvenient to millions upon millions of unemployed and under-employed Americans. They're substantially less inconvenient to people whose communities are under assault, or those who have been directly victimized by illegals' criminal activity, or those disgusted by politicians who grant privileges to illegals unavailable to American citizens.
Once again my take on immigration. We have a border for a reason. The federal government has a duty to secure that border and to ensure that anyone who comes in is someone we desire to come in.
I have clients from at least the following countries Jamaica, Mexico, Columbia, Kuwait, Canada, Costa Rica, Pakistan, France, Great Britain. I wouldn't care if we allow 30 millions of these immigrants to become citizens because all of them have the following
1) criminal background checks
2) screenings for infectious diseases
3) sponsors who have jobs waiting for them
4) went through the legal process as it exists today
I hate amnesty programs of any type. The city of Cincinnati recently approved an amnesty program for delinquent parking tickets. What does it communicate to the people who received a ticket and paid it promptly?
It says "you are a dumbass!"
Seriously, why have any respect for the law when there's no penalty for not following it.
The demogoging of this issue by democrats to accuse strong border proponents of being racist is losing it's wind.
Read the whole piece.
Animal Farm
The arrest of Dominique Strauss-Kahn on charges of sexually assaulting a hotel cleaning woman in New York City is a personal humiliation for the French politician, but it is also a black mark on the International Monetary Fund that chose to overlook his previous sexual behavior. It will be fascinating to see how the grandees of French and international financial politics handle this one.
Mr. Strauss-Kahn is entitled to the presumption of innocence, and his attorney says he will plead not guilty. Some in the French press and even a French government minister are suggesting that the 62-year-old Socialist Party panjandrum may have been set up by his rivals. The charges are stunning enough—and French politics is strange enough—that we suppose anything is possible, but such a conspiracy would have to include a large number of players.
The facts of the case as reported by New York police so far do not look promising for the IMF managing director. The woman who entered to clean the Frenchman's $3,000-a-night Sofitel suite at midday on Saturday reported the incident immediately. She told police that Mr. Strauss-Kahn emerged naked from the bathroom, pursued her down a hallway and pulled her into the bedroom. She escaped and he then chased her again and dragged her into a bathroom.
I guess for this clown "sharing the wealth" has a different meaning.
Since he's French, let's call him Napolean.
More......
Life in "Progress" State - CA edition
California's much-vaunted high-speed rail project is, to put it bluntly, a train wreck. Intended to demonstrate the state's commitment to sustainable, cutting-edge transportation systems, and to show that the U.S. can build rail networks as sophisticated as those in Europe and Asia, it is instead a monument to the ways poor planning, mismanagement and political interference can screw up major public works. For anti-government conservatives, it is also a powerful argument for scrapping President Obama's national rail plans, rescinding federal funding and canceling the project before any more money is wasted on it.
In other words. It's just another liberal boondoggle.
But that's not what's hilarious here. check this line out.............
We pointed out back in 2008, before voters approved nearly $10 billion in state bonds to fund the project under Proposition 1A, that it would be more expensive and difficult to build than its backers were letting on. But we endorsed it anyway because of the economic and environmental benefits the train could bring.
In other words, "we don't care what the costs.... we want a pony"
More.....
Who did they vote for? #51
Meet Gloria and Whitney. Why are they in the news?
Deputies say a Fort Myers woman arrested last week on more than a dozen charges was also hiding a knife in her vagina.Gloria Esther Perez, 28, is facing eight counts of possession of a controlled substance without a prescription, four counts of possession of drug paraphernalia, two counts of carrying a concealed weapon and a count of disturbing the peace.
Deputies said the arrest stemmed from an altercation in the street between Perez and Whitney Noelle Krimmel, 26.
Krimmel is also facing several charges including 25 counts of drug possession, 11 counts of possession of drug paraphernalia, one count of battery, one count of domestic violence and a count of giving false identification to a law enforcement officer.
So when these ladies voted during the last presidential election, did the cast their ballots for The One or The Maverick?
More.....
Thanks reader Jeremy for the salacious details.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Life in "Progress" Country - Ireland edition
The Irish government plans to institute a tax on private pensions to drive jobs growth, according to its jobs program strategy, delivered today.Anyone want to lay money that this doesn't go away in four years?Without the ability sell debt due to soaring interest rates, and with severe spending rules in place due to its EU-IMF bailout, Ireland has few ways of spending to stimulate the economy. Today's jobs program includes specific tax increases, including the tax on pensions, aimed at keeping government jobs spending from adding to the national debt.
The tax on private pensions will be 0.6%, and last for four years, according to the report.
Life in "Progress' State - California edition
High pay and benefits for lifeguards in Newport Beach is the latest example of frustrating levels of compensation for public employees. More than half the city’s full-time lifeguards are paid a salary of over $100,000 and all but one of them collect more than $100,000 in total compensation including benefits.More....When thinking about career options with high salaries, lifeguarding is probably not one of the first jobs to come to mind. But it apparently should. In one of Orange County’s most desirable beach destinations, Newport Beach, lifeguards are compensated all too well; especially compared with the county annual median household income of $71,735.
It might be time for a career change.
According to a city report on lifeguard pay for the calendar year 2010, of the 14 full-time lifeguards, 13 collected more than $120,000 in total compensation; one lifeguard collected $98,160.65. More than half the lifeguards collected more than $150,000 for 2010 with the two highest-paid collecting $211,451 and $203,481 in total compensation respectively. Even excluding benefits like health care and pension, more than half the lifeguards receive a total salary, including overtime pay, exceeding $100,000. And they also receive an annual allowance of $400 for “Sun Protection.” Many work four days a week, 10 hours a day.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Life in "Progress" City - Detroit edition
What customers do "Progress" City stores attempt to attract........?
Be careful of what’s being sold under the counter.
Crack pipes are being sold at neighborhood stores from Detroit to the suburbs.That’s according to former Detroit police officer David Mahalab, who says the pipes are disguised as novelties.
“To avoid police detection and to try to avoid the law, they put a pen insert – (in) a glass tube, and try to evade the law, which talks about paraphernalia and stuff that has a second use,” says Mahalab.
Mahalab says they’re also disguised as a ballpoint pen or small glass vases with a rose sticking out of them.
Mahalab says people may be surprised where the pipes are being sold.
“Dollar stores, gas stations, liquor stores, virtually every store in the 6th Precinct that I did enforcement with, were given a ticket and found guilty. I’ve seen them in Allen Park, Dearborn Heights and Garden City,” says Mahalab.
Mahalab says the pipe sales are lucrative, but bring crack addicts and crime to neighborhoods.
Now I'm thinking that at my local "Redville" gas stations by the flashing red lights they don't sell crack pipes because there's no demand.
Maybe the store's are going to their customers and not vice versa.......
More....Life in "Progress" City - Cleveland edition
The Cleveland Municipal School District, scratching for every penny, could use the nearly $5 million paid to employees who have retired since last summer.Records show that 269 employees cashed in that amount of accumulated vacation and sick leave since the fiscal year started July 1. Topping the list are two administrators who each collected about $83,000, one after working in the system for four years.
Nearly 70 percent of the employees picked up at least $10,000 in what the district calls severance; more than 40 percent received $20,000 or more.
All redeemed the time based on their final pay rates, no matter when during their careers the leave was accumulated. At least 24 employees who retired were rehired, a practice popularly known as "double dipping."
More.....
Life in "Progress" State - Illinois edition
First, State Farm locating jobs out of Illinois........
State Farm plans to close two-dozen field offices in Indiana, Illinois and Michigan where 1,300 people work to save $8 million over the next five years.While about 530 workers in Chicago-area offices will be commuting to a different facility in suburban Downers Grove, about 250 workers elsewhere in Illinois would have to transfer to Indianapolis......
Second, Sears looking to relocate........
Sears Holdings Corp. is researching a possible move outside the state of Illinois.Sears spokesman Chris Brathwaite said Monday that the retailer has had preliminary discussions with the Chicago suburb of Hoffman Estates, where it is located. Sears also has comissioned an economic impact study. The Daily Herald newspaper reports state and local incentives that Sears receives will expire in 2012.
What's so "Progressive" about companies leaving your state?
Life in "Progress" State - California edition
Chances are, the last time you flopped down on one of those lush hotel beds, replete with a pillow-top mattress, high thread-count sheets, down comforter and mounds of fluffy pillows, you weren’t wondering, flat — or fitted.Yet, that’s at the core of a debate that will consume state legislators beginning next Monday when a committee will ponder a labor union-backed bill mandating the use of fitted bottom sheets in all hotel rooms.
The way union leaders see it, such sheets – common in households across America but far less so in hotels – will help ease the backbreaking work that defines a housekeeper’s job. Hoteliers, who say the mandate could cost the industry $20 million statewide, call it a ridiculous, unnecessary piece of legislation that is sidetracking politicians from far more pressing work like balancing the state budget.
Thanks reader Jeremy for the heads up.
More...
Monday, May 09, 2011
Life in "Progress" City - San Francisco edition
Just look at what it's done to San Francisco...........
Source: The Bay Citizen (http://s.tt/12lM2)
Source: The Bay Citizen (http://s.tt/12lM2)
Friday, May 06, 2011
What your tax dollars fund
Of particular interest is the section titled
How to Integrate Social Justice into Math Class
Seriously, are we teaching or indoctrinating kids?
Life in "Progress" City - Cincinnati edition
Brenda Raines pointed at a crack in her windshield.That happened about a month ago, she said, as she drove on River Road under the Sixth Street Viaduct.
Raines' frustration only deepened after news broke this week that a $66.5 million project to replace it would have been pushed back because of political wrangling over a proposed rail-to-river barge terminal.
That issue was resolved Thursday after an amendment that would have blocked funding was nixed by the Ohio House.
The 53-year-old bridge, also called the Waldvogel Viaduct, is a main thoroughfare between Cincinnati's West Side to Downtown, carrying 28,000 vehicles a day. It is the city's worst bridge, officials said, and is in dire need of repair.
For years the viaduct has held the unsavory title of being the only bridge maintained by the city that is rated in "poor" condition. On a scale of 0-9, with nine being the best condition, it was rated three this year, said Michael Moore, director of Cincinnati's Department of Transportation and Engineering.
So no one has 65 million to fund crumbling infrastructure but in "Progress" City there's plenty of city money to throw around for a rail line that won't service 28,000 people for an entire year!
Here's the proposal for how the city plans to fund their Thomas the Tank Engine boondoggle............
What We Have
Urban Circulator Grant $ 25 million
OKI CMAQ Grant $ 4 million
City Bond Financing$ 64 million
Private funding (Duke)$ 6.5 million
Total $ 99.5million
So the city has the ability to borrow 64 million to fund "Gordon" Mallory's pet project but will not do anything to fund a vital artery into town unless someone else pays for it.
Now that's "progressive"!
Life in "Progress" City - Chicago edition
Chicago last week surpassed 100 homicides for 2011, a RedEye analysis of preliminary police data found.The 100th homicide victim was a 25-year-old man shot to death April 27 in the 3900 block of West Thomas Street in Humboldt Park, RedEye determined, based on police data. A 26-year-old man was fatally shot in the 3600 block of West Harrison Street in East Garfield Park later that evening, police said.
Just how is it that nearly everyone in little "Redville" enclave is a gun clinging red neck and yet we have had no shootings in years?
More....
A lib confronts reality
“All of us in the environment movement, in other words – whether we propose accommodation, radical downsizing or collapse – are lost. None of us yet has a convincing account of how humanity can get out of this mess. None of our chosen solutions break the atomising, planet-wrecking project. I hope that by laying out the problem I can encourage us to address it more logically, to abandon magical thinking and to recognise the contradictions we confront. But even that could be a tall order.”
More....
Wednesday, May 04, 2011
Life in "Progress" City - Detroit edition
According to a new report, 47 percent of Detroiters are ”functionally illiterate.” The alarming new statistics were released by the Detroit Regional Workforce Fund on Wednesday.WWJ Newsradio 950 spoke with the Fund’s Director, Karen Tyler-Ruiz, who explained exactly what this means.
“Not able to fill out basic forms, for getting a job — those types of basic everyday (things). Reading a prescription; what’s on the bottle, how many you should take… just your basic everyday tasks,” she said.
“I don’t really know how they get by, but they do. Are they getting by well? Well, that’s another question,” Tyler-Ruiz said.
Some of the Detroit suburbs also have high numbers of functionally illiterate: 34 percent in Pontiac and 24 percent in Southfield.
“For other major urban areas, we are a little bit on the high side… We compare, slightly higher, to Washington D.C.’s urban population, in certain ZIP codes in Washington D.C. and in Cleveland,” she said.
More.....
Obamanomics 101
Growth in the food stamp program appeared to reach a plateau in February — with 14.3% of the population relying on the safety net program.More....
The number of food stamp recipients was essentially flat in February, the most recent month available, with 44.2 million Americans receiving benefits, according a new report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. (See a sortable breakdown of the data here.)The food stamp program ballooned during the recession as workers lost their jobs or saw their hours and income reduced. The rise in recipients has begun to flatten in recent months, which may mean that as the economy is improving fewer Americans are seeking to join the program. Enrollment in the program is still high though, with 11.6% more people tapping benefits in February than the same month a year earlier.
Tuesday, May 03, 2011
Obama's greatest hits
Thoughts on killing terrorists
1) If you are against capital punishment, how do you justify the assassination of a movement without a trial or even an arrest? Shouldn't those SEAL teams read some rights?
2) It appears that much of the intelligence to take this clown out came as a result of "enhanced interrogation techniques" or as you liberals came to call it..... torture. Was this torture worth it or are you going to give your leader a pass you wouldn't give his predecessor? If they had read these detainees their "rights" how much of that information do you think we would have received.
3) Remember the cries of how we invaded a sovereign nation (Iraq) who had nothing to do with 9/11. Remind me of what Pakistan's role in 9/11 was? In fact, the last I checked, I believe Pakistan was considered an ally.
4) Now that we've cut off the head of a snake, will the Code Pink, anti-war types show up at the White House in protest of the war(s).
Once again, this whole thing is a display of how liberal policies are some child like, fantasy land that cannot function in the real world. It actually took conservative policies to save the ass of another liberal. In other words.......... conservatives once again saving liberals from themselves.
Tis the season
Here are my predictions for today's holiday...........
1) probably 90% of the levies will go down in flames.
2) Despite the fact that Ohio's school funding formula has been ruled unconstitutional three times, liberals across the state will condemn people who vote against the levies.
3) Not one of those liberals who voted for a failed levy will donate a dime of their money to the cause they allegedly believe in.
While I'd like to think of myself as a prophet, it's a tried and true formula.
Monday, May 02, 2011
Can your government pension say this?
Over the weekend, I received a letter from my former employer indicating that my defined benefit pension plan is well funded and my benefit is safe.
How many people getting a public pension can say the same thing?
No celebration here
Forgive me if I'm not in the streets celebrating but frankly, that's what this multinational terrorist would want and I'm not really interested in giving him what he wants.
He loves the fact that he died in glory and now get to spend time with all his virgins.
Seeing all those people celebrate at ground zero looks as hideous to me as watching people in Islamabad celebrate the downing of the towers.
Actually, what I would like to have seen was this multinational terrorist's casket filled with his body and the boots of our dead soldiers and dumped into the ocean.
In addition, I'll give the president his due on this one. Good job and good riddance to that pile of crap.
Sunday, May 01, 2011
Obamanomics 101
In addition to skyrocketing rent and gas prices, New Yorkers are being nickel and dimed to death, shelling out 21 cents more for a box of Corn Flakes, 29 cents more for a six-pack of beer, and about a buck extra to go to the movies. It even costs more to treat a headache than it did in 2010.
Costs are creeping upward for everything from a coffee-cart cup of Joe to a carton of milk to a TV dinner.
A Post analysis found that rent has risen 5 percent and a sampling of New Yorkers’ common purchases have jumped about 14 percent.
The average price of a regular gallon of gas in New York City was $4.21 Friday, compared with $3.08 a year ago, according to the American Automobile Association.
Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/big_apple_gets_price_clubbed_BYF1ApF3ol3i4CuiQbDEoM#ixzz1L861P7oT
Saturday, April 30, 2011
1974 Tornado Outbreak - Xenia Ohio - Narrated by William Conrad
Friday, April 29, 2011
Animal Farm
When the lefties take over, who are the first people they go after? Usually those same groups.
Can you imagine the outrage if this happened under Bush.........
The hip, transparent and social media-loving Obama administration is showing its analog roots. And maybe even some hypocrisy highlights.
White House officials have banished one of the best political reporters in the country from the approved pool of journalists covering presidential visits to the Bay Area for using now-standard multimedia tools to gather the news.
The Chronicle's Carla Marinucci - who, like many contemporary reporters, has a phone with video capabilities on her at all times - pulled out a small video camera last week and shot some protesters interrupting an Obama fundraiser at the St. Regis Hotel.
She was part of a "print pool" - a limited number of journalists at an event who represent their bigger hoard colleagues - which White House press officials still refer to quaintly as "pen and pad" reporting.
But that's a pretty Flintstones concept of journalism for an administration that presents itself as the Jetsons. Video is every bit a part of any journalist's tool kit these days as a functioning pen that doesn't leak through your pocket.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Welcome to loserdom
We get to share a birthday with a number of hotties, Ann Margaret, Penelope Cruz, Jessica Alba etc.
Unfortunately, we also share a birthday with Saddam Hussein so that take some of the fun out of it.
But what makes our birthday most significant is that it always lines up with the loserdom anniversary...... The NFL draft watchers.
When an accountant is able to call you out as a loser, what does that say about your geekdom? Guys who watch the draft, the combines, read draft newsletters are the epitome of a jock sniffing dorks.
What makes the draft so stupid is that all the "experts" spend all this time and energy to discuss players who may or may not be able to play. Seriously, look at the number one draft picks and note the number of guys who barely got a cup of coffee in the league. These were all supposedly "can't miss" players.... KiJana Carter, Steve Emtman, Aundray Bruce, Kenneth Sims.....
So if you know the 40 time of any draft pick and plan to watch this crap tonight just know that there's an accountant out there making fun of you. And if you plan to tune into the royal wedding this weekend, just know there's a group of Dungeon and Dragon players out there laughing hysterically at you as well.
Obamanomics 101
Two summers ago I bought some Krugerrands at $935 an ounce plus $50 a piece for a handling fee.
Maybe I should be thanking The One since it's the best investment I have now.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Obamanomics 101
That morning cup of coffee is going to cost you more.Coffee prices are at a 34-year high — $3 a pound.
Yet coffee drinkers plan on grinding out the extra cash because they need that cup of Joe, CBS 2’s Pamela Jones reports.
I guess Obama's going to bring those polysilk/rayon shirts back in style. Or maybe big bell blue jeans, or gas lines, or mutton chop sideburns or disco music......
Monday, April 25, 2011
Who did they vote for? #100
Now, in this past presidential election, did these two idiots vote for Obama or McCain?
It's only fair
Now if you had $800k, would you spend it on this guy's heart transplant...........
An Auburn man who is serving an 18-to-40-year state prison sentence for raping and sodomizing a 13-year-old female relative in 1996 is being evaluated for a possible heart transplant.
Mercy Flight flew Kenneth Pike, 55, from Coxsackie Correctional Facility to Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester last week, where 49 patients are awaiting heart transplants.
If doctors approve the procedure for Pike, he would be the first inmate in New York State to receive a heart transplant. It would cost taxpayers around $800,000, according to a report by the ABC television station in Rochester.
"He's doing his time, but he's still a human being. He still has rights," Pikes' sister Sharon Cardinal said in an interview with The New York Post. "He should be treated as much as any other person...And these people complaining about the taxpayers' cost -- well, we are taxpayers, too. We're paying for it."
Yeah, he still has "rights". He totally has the "right" to pay for his own damn transplant.
In a deeper context, this is why I detest government programs like this. It creates a whole new paradigm of fairness.
For instance, why should I pay "X" amount in taxes to support this derelict's heart transplant when I believe I have a better purpose for that money (frankly, injecting a kilo of heroin would be a better purpose than to fork it out to this guy).
Seriously, if you walked around your neighborhood and asked people to donate to this guy's predicament you probably wouldn't even get a lint ball for a donation and yet some nanny state says that this is "fair".
So I can understand why people want to cheat on their taxes. If they believe they have a more 'fair" purpose for their money, they're not going to be inclined to "donate" to a child molester's organ transplant.
In fact, this story makes me less inclined to donate an organ.
More.....
Obamanomics 101
Silver rallied to an all-time high as investors sought to protect their wealth against accelerating inflation and a weaker dollar with holdings in a metal that also benefits from economic growth.
Immediate-delivery silver climbed as much as 5.4 percent to $49.79 per ounce, surpassing the previous peak, which according to research company GFMS Ltd was $49.45 in January 1980. The metal traded at $49.2563 at 1:15 p.m. in Singapore, up for a ninth day and set for the longest winning run since an 11-day increase in March 2008. Spot gold also reached a record.
Precious metals have rallied on investor concern that central-bank programs to revive economic growth with record-low interest rates and increased supply of money will reignite inflation and hurt currencies including the dollar. Silver has more than doubled over the past year.
Those damn speculators.
More......Royal snubs
Newspapers pointed out that Labour ex-premiers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown were snubbed on the list, which was released on Saturday, while former Conservative leaders Margaret Thatcher and John Major were invited.
"Labour MPs will not be alone in thinking it odd the two former occupants of Number 10 (Downing Street) have not been invited to the wedding," the Sunday Telegraph commented.
Royal officials said Blair and Brown were not invited because unlike Major and Thatcher they are not Knights of the Garter, Britain's highest honour.
Hey you guys should have invited our President. He would have showered you with such gifts as leftover inaugural plates with his likeness on them. And a CD mixed with all his favorite songs by The Carpenters.
More.....
Our Petulant and Chief
None the less, I can't let this one slide by.
President Petulant says that there's no silver bullet that could end the spike in oil prices. So like anyone else who doesn't want to deal with an issue, our sage president decides to have a meeting.
Now on this one I agree with this d-bag. There isn't one thing that's going to ease these energy spikes but there are a thousand little ones. Like this.............
Now class, let's pretend that you are an evil speculator. In fact, let's assume you're not an evil speculator but a poor black South Chicagoan who has to drive 30 miles one way to his job. Do you think this news will drive the price of gasoline in your tank up or down?Shell Oil Company has announced it must scrap efforts to drill for oil this summer in the Arctic Ocean off the northern coast of Alaska. The decision comes following a ruling by the EPA’s Environmental Appeals Board to withhold critical air permits. The move has angered some in Congress and triggered a flurry of legislation aimed at stripping the EPA of its oil drilling oversight.
Shell has spent five years and nearly $4 billion dollars on plans to explore for oil in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas. The leases alone cost $2.2 billion. Shell Vice President Pete Slaiby says obtaining similar air permits for a drilling operation in the Gulf of Mexico would take about 45 days. He’s especially frustrated over the appeal board’s suggestion that the Arctic drill would somehow be hazardous for the people who live in the area. “We think the issues were really not major,” Slaiby said, “and clearly not impactful for the communities we work in.”
The closest village to where Shell proposed to drill is Kaktovik, Alaska. It is one of the most remote places in the United States. According to the latest census, the population is 245 and nearly all of the residents are Alaska natives. The village, which is 1 square mile, sits right along the shores of the Beaufort Sea, 70 miles away from the proposed off-shore drill site.
The EPA’s appeals board ruled that Shell had not taken into consideration emissions from an ice-breaking vessel when calculating overall greenhouse gas emissions from the project. Environmental groups were thrilled by the ruling.
Now if you are a person who believes that democrats are the party of the poor and down trodden who do you think gets hurt by the price of oil more? Some rich dude who spends $100 to fill up his evil SUV or the poor South Chicagoan who spends 5% of his take home pay for gasoline and another 30% on food and clothing (directly impacted by the cost of energy)?
More......
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Friday, April 22, 2011
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Obamanomics 101
A federal subsidy program with consistently poor marks on transparency and accountability has just announced its largest ever award: a $2.1 billion loan guarantee to a German-owned solar power company.
The Solar Trust of America, the U.S.-based joint venture of two German companies, says the subsidized project will create 1,000 construction jobs and 220 permanent jobs in the desert where the new solar power plant will be built. Maybe so, but there are plenty of reasons to question the efficacy of this government job creation project -- including the fact that the key components of the plant will be built by robots.The 2005 energy bill authorized the Department of Energy to guarantee private bank loans for "innovative energy technologies." President Obama's 2009 stimulus bill expanded the subsidies and removed the requirement that the beneficiary provide a "down payment" of sorts to cover the risk. But the program has consistently received harsh critiques from the Government Accountability Office and the DOE's inspector general.
More....
Obamanomics 101
The dollar fell against most major currencies Wednesday, hitting a 15-month low against the euro, after solid earnings from major U.S. companies and a healthier reading on the housing market fueled investors' appetite for currencies linked to higher benchmark interest rates.
Higher interest rates tend to support investor demand for a currency, since it can generate a bigger return on investments denominated in that currency. The Federal Reserve has kept its key rate near zero since December 2008, while most of the world's other central banks are raising interest rates.
The euro jumped to $1.4514 in afternoon trading Wednesday from $1.4340 late Tuesday. Earlier, the euro hit $1.4547, its highest point since January 2010.
Just keep doing what you're doing. It seems to be working so well.
More.....
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Why I hate the Ohio Department of Taxation
That would not be true of any of my interactions with the Ohio Department of Taxation.
Yesterday, one of my clients received a notice that part of her tax refund would be offset from a tax assessment from 1988!
Nevermind, that my client has had refunds prior to this date that the state did not offset. But how is it that it's taken 23 years to notify my client of this issue?
Of course they note the assessment number on the notice so you can call and find out what it's actually for. But how do you dispute something from 23 freakin' years ago?
The amount is relatively small ($193.77 which is probably a $50 tax plus penalty and interest for the past 23 years ).
But this is not an exception but the rule for ODOT. The state makes assessments all the time without notice. If they do send you a notice, it often lacks any detail for what it's about. Would you pay a $50.00 bill site unseen for something you believe you've paid.
In addition, when I've responded to the state on behalf of my clients, they never respond back; even when requested. As a result, you have no idea whether they've accepted your challenge or not to just have a refund snatched up 23 years after the fact.
I personally ran into this same issue. ODJFS filed a lien on my property in 2002 for taxes not paid in 2003. I never knew about it until I needed to refinance my property when the title company picked it up. I called a guy I knew at ODJFS and he told me that he didn't see anything due to ODJFS. My quote was "well there must be something due, ODJFS filed a lien on taxes that weren't even due when they filed the lien. Clearly some clairvoyant must have seen something coming."
So when voters get to vote on supporting public unions this is the kind of bullshit that sits in their crawl. Consider it 23 years of hostility that residents of this state will be able to unleash on the public unions this November.
I'm convinced that ODOT is run by unemployed mobsters and Teamsters from the Youngstown area.
My property is probably in jeopardy now.