Tax Prof lists the best and worst states for business, viewed from a tax standpoint. Washington is an unimaginable #9.
So get this. Seven of the top ten states are west of the Mississippi. Nine of the bottom ten are east of the great river.
After the Fed's creation, from 1913 to 2008 (95 years), the value of the dollar, relative to the Consumer Price Index, decreased by 95%. A dollar could buy 95% fewer goods in 2008 than in 1913. Thus, if in 1913, you sat on your savings pile of $1,000,000 for 95 years, it would then be worth only $50,000 in purchasing power (it will have depreciated in value by 95%). One would now need to pay about 20X more than J.P. Morgan for one's bread. Ask my mother how much the price of milk has increased just in the last ten years alone.Don't have to be a conspiracy theorist to see what the Fed has accomplished. If this isn't the intention then they are failing in their mission. If it is their intention, they are failing us. Which is it?
Whenever I feel compelled to read from the DLM (Dominant Liberal Media) these days I scroll to the end for the bits they really don't want to draw attention to. For example, in this article about Obama's declining approval is this gem:
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's ratings stand at 38 percent positive, 45 percent negative. The last time the Post-ABC poll asked about Pelosi was in April 2007. At that time, 53 percent said they approved of the way she was handling her job and 35 percent disapproved.
For everyone interested in a test for identifying a liberal, regardless of party affiliation, here it is.
1. Does it upset you or make you angry when other people behave in ways that are contrary to your beliefs?
Look, I could write a thousand words and not do better than the juxtaposition of these two clips.
In order to cleanse your mental palette, please follow up that drivel with the following:
Our country is in great hands and I don't mean the government.
(Thanks to Vanderleun)
Google is holding closed-door meetings with failing media companies over how their content should be ranked.
Many publishers resent the criteria Google uses to pick top results, starting with the original PageRank formula that depended on how many links a page got.
Rather than push legislation against gun ownership, the Obama administration is working to strangle the supply of ammunition.
Now it has come clear...now we know what they intend to do.It is an end-run around Congress. They don't need to try to ban guns--they don't need to fight a massive battle to attempt gun registration, or limit "assault" weapon sales.
Nope. All they have to do is limit the amount of ammunition available to the civilian market, and when bullets dry up, guns will be useless.
I was at a sporting good store on Saturday. The ammo shelves were nearly bare. Even reloading supplies showed significant holes in the inventory. Interestingly, there seemed to be plenty of shotgun rounds in all flavors.
Guess I will get that Remington 870. If I can find one.
The Obama Administration just released images of the first prototype 2010 GM car created with the "help" of the government car czar.
I'm calling for the nationwide Tea Party organizers to fund-raise to raise money to send Gordon Brown gifts in an attempt to mend fences with our UK cousins. Obama may hold the British in contempt but conservatives understand the vital importance of this historic alliance.
I'm sure the great wisdom of the blogosphere can come up with appropriate gifts to make amends. Let's show the British that the American people stand with them.
What would have a higher score: Stevie Wonder and Stephen Hawking playing soccer, or Helen Thomas and Joe Biden playing Scrabble?
Thanks, Jim. Now I have to clean up.
He shoots, he scores.
Donahue is and was a slimeball who turned my stomache whenever I watched his show.
Via The Corner.
The key players are now all in place in Washington and in state governments across America to officially label carbon dioxide as a pollutant and enact laws that tax we citizens for our carbon footprints.Only two details stand in the way, the faltering economic times and a dramatic turn toward a colder climate. The last two bitter winters have led tthe public to be skeptical that any runaway global warning. There is now awareness that there may be reason to question whether CO2 is a pollutant and a significant greenhouse gas.
How did we ever get to this point where bad science is driving big government? And how will we ever stop it?
Over the Christmas Holiday break I have a small essay assignment for you.
Write about the federal government programs that are effective and solve the problem they were intended to solve. You may not include programs that make things worse instead of better. A successful program is one that works to put itself out of a job.
See if you can find one.
Scipio writes:
It seems the ‘religion of peace’ has again done what it does best, the only thing it really does at all, the thing it has been doing since Mohammed hightailed it from Mecca to Medina. The singular area of expertise evinced by Islam for 1400 years is nothing more grandiose than killing. For Islam demands blood—lots of it, oceans of it—and any blood will do. If an American or a Jew is unavailable then the blood of a Moslem will suffice. The killing is the thing.
I again reiterate that Islam needs to be declared a terrorist organisation. My concern is that Lord Prince Emperor Jesus Obama is not the man to take the fight to the enemy. He is a coward of the first water and will do anything to avoid taking a stand. God help us all. God grant us the courage and the Smith & Wessons we will need to face the enemy that the cowards in DC capitulate to.
[thanks to Vanderleun at American Digest]
The holiday season is upon us and in the holiday spirit I am going to be doing little political blogging until January. There is plenty to be outraged at but it will still be with us next year and really always, so a few weeks away from the fray won't matter. Except that it will help me enjoy the season more.
In an attempt to put out the Palin fire Newt Ginrich has sealed his own fate.
But Gingrich, an architect of the Republican revolution of 1994, took Palin down a notch, asserting that she would not become the party’s leader, as some have predicted.“I think that she is going to be a significant player,” said Gingrich during an interview on CBS’s “Face the Nation”. “But she’s going to be one of 20 or 30 significant players. She’s not going to be the de facto leader.”
Palin crosses party lines without surrendering: she draws people from the other side. She was such a hit on the campaign trail that McCain didn't dare show up without her. He barely drew a crowd while she had people lined up around the block.
This weak attempt to put Palin in her place will backfire. People love Palin and don't care much for Newt (even less now). Who's got the power, Newt? You or that Alaskan Governor chick?
Editors are supposed to be a good thing. When they, you know, edit. One of the problems that junior journalists make is only hearing a sentence the way it sounds in their heads. Exhibit "A":
Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens (R) said Tuesday that he will not seek a pardon from President Bush for his recent conviction on federal charges of concealing gifts and home renovations from an oil executive.
I didn't know it was a crime to conceal anything from oil executives much less what one does with one's house and the presents one receives.
It brings me to my long standing (and perhaps self-answering) question: Are journalist stupid because they are journalists or are they journalist because they are stupid?
Yeah, I know I don't have an 'economics' category. Besides, all economics are political.
Now, read the wisdom of Rand Simberg:
When so-called “capitalists” who run the finance, real estate, insurance, and now automotive industries come to Washington, hat in hand, for taxpayer dollars, it’s laughably ludicrous to call them supporters of the free market. Moreover, the term “capitalism” doesn’t capture or connote the importance of property rights and the ability to exchange them freely that are at the base of human liberty in the way that the phrase “free market” does.
I'm a free market guy myself. Mr. Obama, tear down these (regulatory) walls!
Speculation is growing that Lord Prince Emperor Jesus Obama is trying to get Hillary on as Secretary of State.
Sources close to Clinton and Obama did not deny media reports that the former first lady met Obama in Chicago on Thursday and was in the frame to become the top US diplomat and fourth in line to the presidency.
I think this is a ploy by Obama to keep her out of sight so she won't interfere with his 2012 run and she will recognize it as such. If she takes SecState for four years she will not have a Senatorial job waiting when she steps down. What's she going to do until 2016, get a job?
I expect Hillary to snub pass on the offer so she can knife Obama in the gut in the run-up to 2012 if he is seen as having weak second-term chances.
Conservatives wanted a fight for the presidency in 2008. McCain proved he's no fighter. Sarah Palin, however, showed her mettle and won over the majority of conservatives in her Patton-like style:
It must have been just awful for John McCain to have been upstaged the way he was by Governor Sarah Palin. But McCain’s time is clearly past and Palin’s is just beginning.
Where have I heard that before?
Jim Treacher pointed me to this article but he missed the obvious explanation. That's not like him.
Click to enlarge.
Thanks to Batton Lash. Via Jim Treacher.
When will the US start taking care of matters closer to home? Perhaps we could solve a lot of the illegal immigration problem by helping Mexico become safe and prosperous?
Washington Post Ombudsman Deborah Howell (the third? Just wondering....) admits...
But Obama deserved tougher scrutiny than he got, especially of his undergraduate years, his start in Chicago and his relationship with Antoin "Tony" Rezko, who was convicted this year of influence-peddling in Chicago. The Post did nothing on Obama's acknowledged drug use as a teenager.How did this happen? It is a mystery! If only there were some mechanism for investigating presidential candidates. Perhaps the Post could look into that next time?
One gaping hole in coverage involved Joe Biden, Obama's running mate. When Gov. Sarah Palin was nominated for vice president, reporters were booking the next flight to Alaska. Some readers thought The Post went over Palin with a fine-tooth comb and neglected Biden. They are right; it was a serious omission. However, I do not agree with those readers who thought The Post did only hatchet jobs on her. There were several good stories on her, the best on page 1 by Sally Jenkins on how Palin grew up in Alaska.No, they weren't all hatchet jobs. A few weren't. They are hard at work to eliminate those.
Obama Win Causes Obsessive Supporters To Realize How Empty Their Lives Are
UPDATE: I was just realizing that the Onion has better production values than the local networks, but then they aren't saddled with 1970's technology.
As of today (at the latest) the United States is a single party political system. I don't say this because of the Demoncrats controlling the executive and legislative branches, although that is part of it. Today we have one party, which I will call the Looter Party.
There are two kinds of people in society: looters and producers. If you produce a good or service, or work for a company that does, or are the supported spouse/partner of someone who does, then you are a producer.
Looters are the parasites who steal from the producers. Like parasites, looters depend on the hard work of the producers to provide some of value worth stealing. The worst looters are the government because they can demand your money at the point of a gun. Unlike a street thug, however, they don't go to jail for this behavior -- they get reelected.
The House and Senate are now run by the Looter party. Their philosophy is to take ever increasing amounts of money from producers and hand that money out as favors so they can continue in power. Demoncrats have played this game for decades but the Clintons perfected it.
During a brief fling with sanity in the mid-90's, the Republicans were the party of the producers but the party was 'led' by cowards who could or would not fight against the looters in the Demoncrat party and their media pets. Republican 'leaders' abandoned the producers and joined the Demoncrats as a combined power in the Looter Party.
So long as the Republicans stay in the Looter Party they will continue to see their power and influence diminish. As of today the Elephants have no leaders with the strength and courage to break from the Looter Party and its ideals. The more the Republicans continue to align with the Looters the fewer people of character will be willing to participate under the Republican banner.
Mr. Obama has run an historic campaign. Did you know he was black? That's what I heard, anyway, but there's no way to verify it. Still, that is not the part of history I wish to address today. Based on the success of the campaign and keeping in mind the title of this post, here's what we can expect to see much, much more of in 2010 and 2012:
Jim Geraghty explains the reason why Obama is ahead in the polls:
Look, the real drama to this election is being provided not by the candidates but the polling community. By which I mean the decision they made to stake out — as Campaign Spot has noted — a remarkably bold position, that the Democratic Party turnout is not only going to exceed a recent historic advantage of 4 percent but go to 6.5 percent (Rasmussen) to 8 percent in many polls to even 12 percent in one.
So, the pollsters have their thumbs on the scales for Obama. Might explain the enthusiastic turnout, especially in battleground states, as reported to Instapundit.
CBS News is leaving it all on the field this time, no holds barred, no such thing as dirty play. Winning is the only thing that matters. They will do everything in their power to put their man in the White House, including discouraging the Republicans from voting as early as possible.
At least one broadcast network and one Web site said Monday that they could foresee signaling to viewers early Tuesday evening which candidate appeared to have won the presidency, despite the unreliability of some early exit polls in the last presidential election.
That's not accidental language. They intend to signal to the populace that the race is over at the earliest possible moment so that millions will stay home in the West.
I hope I'm not the only one this pisses off.
I was watching the epic adventure Troy last night. The cinematic absurdities aside (nobody comes out from behind their walls to fight on an even battleground) the movie got me thinking about the election.
In the 13th century Norway built an impressive fortress to defend against those nasty Swedes. The structure is called Bohus and it stands to this day. As I recall it has a fascinating design could be defended with a handful of men against thousands. Legend had it that it was never captured from without but like the walls of Troy could only be defeated by getting enemy soldiers inside.
So we stand today at this election with the Trojan candidate, the one who will open the gates of this country to our enemies and bring her down. Many want to give Obama the benefit of the doubt but we should take him at his word.
He has said he will raise taxes. He has said he will impose regulations on business. He has shown that he will actively work to silence critics. He has come out in favor of the Fairness Doctrine. He has said that he will cut our military spending and pull out of the fight against Islamic terrorists. His friends are terrorists and criminals. These are people who find Obama interesting. He has shown that he has no regard for public opinion. He wants carbon cap and trade regulations, national health insurance, the elimination of 401k accounts, and I can't even remember all the things he is for.
Obama is a small, weak man without any guiding principles. He is open to (even more) corruption. He has sold the White House already.
He is the Trojan candidate. The enemies of the United States have worked to tear this country down from the inside because it is unassailable from the outside. The dictators and socialists in the world cannot stand to have the US as a beacon of freedom and prosperity for their people to yearn for and so they and their agents bribe our legislators to weaken our government and our laws, then they exploit those laws to further tear down the country.
The rate of deterioration will be breathtaking with Obama, Pelosi, and Reid in charge. The leaders of the House and Senate have already shown a stunning disregard for public opinion while racking up the worst approval rating in the history of Congress. And they don't care, which is the most troubling aspect of all. For if public outrage has no effect on these people then what, pray tell, will?
Obama has promised to pull down the gates of this country and there are many, many people who want to bring him inside the walls and celebrate the victory.
Why isn't McCain running this ad?
And tonight Chris Matthews' doctors announced that his leg tingle has metastasized leaving his entire body like a vibrating cellphone whose ringtone is locked on "I'm In Love, I'm In Love, I'm In Love, I'm In Love, I'm In Love With A Wonderful Guy."
Nobody zings like Steyn.
New discoveries in the ancient writings known as the Very Dead Lake USB Drives reveal prophecies for our times. Perhaps the most shocking of all is this passage from the Book of Kevin, chapter 42:
12. And, lo, the days were fulfilled for the Prophet of the End of Days to come forth. Behold, he hath no father nor mother and of brothers none he need mention. His birth place is of no concern for he is the Bringer of Light.
13. And it came to pass that He stood at the shores of the great seas and put forth his hands and the seas did retreat and no longer threatened His people. And the snows came again to the ends of the earth, and rains came to the desert places, and wars and famines did cease completely. And there was much rejoicing.
14. And on the second day did the Prophet outlaw mocking of His Greatness.
15. On the third day He did gather up the unbelievers, for there were many, and did teach them His word until their eyes did bleed and their ears did suffer greatly under the endless instruction of His disciples. And those who would not kneel before Him were cast into fires, or in some cases forced to pick up trash along the highways.
16. On the fourth day He cast down the towers of the unbelievers so that the Word might spread unopposed.
17. On the fifth day He did gather about Him His disciples and He said, Behold I am the One you have waited for. I will purge the land of the rich and the productive so that all may live equally in despair and poverty and none shall know the difference any longer.
18. Yea, I have come to lift the burdens of the people for they have been yoked to the Bush of Evil and I will free them so they may follow Me, like it or not.
19. And on the sixth day, He did sign all the crazy laws of Pelosi the Nasty and Reid the Simple and said it was good. And He did pardon the sins of His pals and He said it was good. And He did accept the gifts of world and confessed He would rule until the end of time.
20. And on the seventh day there was no more rejoicing.
I dunno, sounds like a lot of coincidences to me.
I've often wondered about how fascism became considered 'right-wing' instead of left. There's nothing right-wing about it. Apparently it was Lenin who pulled off that neat trick. From the comments to this post at Volokh:
Regardless, far more intriguing is the relationship between V.I.Lenin and Benito Mussolini, the intellectual, spiritual and political founder of fascism. Out of that relationship, together with Mussolini's break from his own deeply rooted Marxian past, Lenin managed what is arguably the single, most critical rhetorical coup of the 20th century when he decreed Mussolini's fascism to reflect an advancing stage of capitalist demise. That rhetorical foray, oft repeated by Lenin and picked up by the avante garde and then the more popular press, represents the root of the fundamental deceit that assigns fascism to the right rather than to the left, continuing to this day.For some reason I expect more of the same over the next four years.
Over at NRO, Rich Lowry argues that John McCain's own style has backfired on him.
McCain’s rapport with the media depended on snarky banter about his own party and about himself. That couldn’t continue in the general election, so McCain’s campaign cut him off. His lifeline to his former admirers denied to him, McCain became a demonstrably unhappy warrior.As a gadfly, McCain often attacked Republican campaign tactics. He denounced the Swift Boat vets in 2004. Still thinking like a gadfly, back in April he reprimanded the North Carolina Republican Party for running an ad featuring the Rev. Jeremiah Wright. In ruling Wright out of bounds, McCain had taken off the table Barack Obama’s most damaging association. McCain had gadflied himself!
Read the whole thing. I've not been a fan of McCain and have only thrown my support (tepidly) behind him to avoid the Marxist Utopia offered by Obama. It all stinketh. McCain is no conservative and, in fact, was only tolerated by the media because of that. Now he finds himself with one foot on the dock and one foot on the boat. He will find that doing the splits will only delay the fall.
I was appalled to learn that Daughter the First is voting Obama. I was good, though, and didn't raise my voice or throw things.
Her reasoning was this: John McCain is old, Sarah Palin is religious (and therefore stupid), and she doesn't want her to take over. This is the John Stewart factor.
A significant portion of the young voters get their 'news' from The Daily Show -- and why not? It has as much news content as CNN, only it tries to be funny. These young people don't hang out at InstaPundit or townhall.com. They get their opinions from YouTube and Stewart.
The Republicans have been weak at opposing the popular memes (if they even know that term) on the interwebs. The conservatives have a lot of ammo against He Who Shall Not Be Mocked but it is stuffed away on the conservative blogs and talk radio. Kids don't go there.
There is no reason for Zero to even be in this race, except that the incompetent RNC is playing by 1974 rules. New leadership (i.e., any actual leadership) is required if the Republican party is going to survive, much less regain a majority in any house in the country.
I'm going to take the weekend off from POTUS blogging. It is getting to be wearisome. Here's where I think things stand.
Megyn Kelly obliterates academic idiot Alan Singer.
When you're a hammer the whole world looks like a nail. Bear that in mind when you read about the economic nosedive at NY Times just for September:
Their every report is colored by this and it isn't just this one company. Every media outlet that has chosen partisanship over journalism is feeling the same pain. Remember that next time you watch the news.
This is a very, very big deal. Just go over and read here.
Unbelievable.
I love a good quote. Good quotes are little Reader's Digest vesions of complex thought and meaning. Here is an excellent one.
"When small men begin to cast big shadows, it means that the sun is about to set" - Lin Yutang
If you needed another sign that The Chosen One We've All Been Waiting For has either a) no clue on the economy, or b) actually does but it is a Marxist clue, then look no further than yesterday's WSJ editorial.
The EPA hasn't made a secret of how it would like to centrally plan the U.S. economy under the 1970 Clean Air Act. In a blueprint released in July, the agency didn't exactly say it'd collectivize the farms -- but pretty close, down to the "grass clippings." The EPA would monitor and regulate the carbon emissions of "lawn and garden equipment" as well as everything with an engine, like cars, planes and boats. Eco-bureaucrats envision thousands of other emissions limits on all types of energy. Coal-fired power and other fossil fuels would be ruled out of existence, while all other prices would rise as the huge economic costs of the new regime were passed down the energy chain to consumers.
The list of new regulations and back-door taxes planned by Congress and Obama grows daily. Lower income taxes for some? Sure, no problem. They'll just raise taxes through regulations, fees, and the nationalization of industry. And they'll do it in the teeth of a recession.
Speaking of recessions, every four years the media goes into full melt-down mode on economic reporting. Until mid-November when things magically aren't as bad as first thought. I'm marking down November 12 as the date of the first MSM report that the economy is in better shape than they thought the day before.
Now, regarding the Marxists in Congress and running for POTUS, how about for once we take them at their word?
UPDATE: The original title used the wrong Titanic metaphor. Corrected.
Tom Lowry reports for Business Week in this article that Obama's plan for a national Chief Technology Officer is the camel's nose in the tent for nationalizing the broadband industry.
Shortly after he launched his campaign, the Illinois Senator promised that if elected, he would create the first-ever Cabinet-level post of chief technology officer. The economic crisis has since made it certain that a White House CTO would become one of Obama's most important advisers, should he triumph in November. "Obama sees greater broadband penetration as an enormous economic engine, much like the railroads were a century ago," says Andrew D. Lipman, a veteran communications lawyer in Washington. "That is why the CTO will play such a critical role in any recovery plan."
Apparently the word 'recovery' is code for 'nationalization'. Our poor little fragile economy just can't limp along anymore without the guvmint 'taking charge' of every major industry.
And we all know how well they do running things into the ground. Just look at the mortgage industry, for one recent example.
Just in time for all you idiots living in King County, the Board of Elections has provided you with your vote ballot. Here it is. Please try to fill it in correctly this time.
From the Naked Loon.
The fine folks at Hot Air have provided a handy, one-stop compendium of reasons to not vote for Obama. With video!
These treacherous leaches do the unthinkable and use The One's own words against him.
I don't mean to instruct a veteran of the Chicago polical machine but whatever dirt the Obama camp has filed away on Slow Joe it better be earth shattering. If Biden gets ahold of the real birth certificate he could (indirectly, of course) cause Obama's resignation shortly after the inauguration.
Of course he'd wait, otherwise the entire Democrat ticket becomes invalid and the election is thrown into chaos and he then has no leverage and nothing to gain, as he'd be out on his ear along with Obama.
Just sayin'.
This guy is anything but a Republican operative. He's not a crackpot, except in the sense that he puts the rule of law and the Constitution above Party politics. Listen to his arguments and then you'll understand. I don't know the truth behind these things (and neither do you) but an honest person has nothing to hide.
Look, it is a simple question: if they were alive today, to which party would the following belong?
For some reason the Republican party thinks the Democrats have a great strategy and they want their share. Were I in a generous mood (hint: I'm not) I might suppose the Elephants are simply trying to stave off legistaltive obliteration by getting some of the corruption going their way, otherwise the Donkeys will use their pork spoils to completely dismantle the two-party system.
Or, they could just want to line their own pockets while the getting is good. Yeah, that one.
Obama's recent unforced error with his share-the-wealth comment exposed more than his Marxist inclinations. If you lend a careful ear to The One True and Great Prophet Who Shall Not Be Mocked when he talks tax policy you can hear this subtext:
I have no idea how the economy operates. Businesses are magic money machines and if I, er, if the government needs more money it is the job of the productive people to work harder so that I, er, the government has it. It is up to the business owners and managers to figure out how to make it happen. They always have and they always will. It would be unpatriotic for a business to close just because it couldn't make a profit.
This is the kind of problem Americans get with a permanent ruling class. The time for term limits has come.
Dr. Helen (aka Insta-Wife) asks a question of her readers that is relevant to my earlier post about small business saving the economy:
Do you ever wonder after dealing with all that is going on with the economy and the upcoming election if it’s getting to be time to “go John Galt”?
The question is interesting but more so are the comments from small business owners. They are of one voice in their concerns for a viable future. They are united in their plans to scale back and most have already worked to limit their growth and resultant tax burden.
These businesses could be bigger and employ more people but the extra growth is not worth the regulatory and tax (and quite possibly liability as well) increases. Instead, they withhold their abilities from the market because the ability to produce is not rewarded. Damn markets, anyway.
In the late 70's I was living in Sweden. I spoke with small business owners there on occasion. One man I remember in particular owned a shoe repair shop and ran it by himself. I asked him about staying open later in the evening to earn more business. He replied it wasn't worth it because any extra he made would be taxed at 90%, so instead he closed up and went home.
Rand said, repeatedly, that people always operate in their own self interest. It freaks out the socialists to say that, which is why I like doing it, but it is none-the-less true. When it is no longer in your self interest to produce then you will stop. Simple as that and more people are expecting that threshold to arrive within months of an Obama administration.
I will now list the major (and minor) legislative accomplishments of Barack Hussein Obama during his service as a US Senator:
That is all. Thank you.
From Brian C. Anderson at IDB Editorials:
Conservative-friendly media better get ready. Should Barack Obama win the presidency and the Democrats control Congress, as now seems likely, they will launch a full-scale war to drive critics — especially on political talk radio — right out of legitimate public debate.
The Fairness Doctrine was an olde tyme law that required radio and TV political commentary to provide equal air time to opposing views. Since the Leftists can't run a successful talk radio/tv program without government subsidies (NRP, PBS) they are looking for a restoration of the Fairness Doctrine to force their views onto successful conservative programs.
Renewing the Fairness Doctrine will likely become a case study in unintended consequences.
First of all, this isn't 1968 anymore, in spite of the yearning of radicals for their glory days. There are just a few more media outlets available. Used to be three television stations and radio was for music, with news breaks on the hour.
A revived Fairness Doctrine will push conservative programming onto the web almost instantly. Broadcast radio will evaporate. TV news and opinion programs will be subject to an organized conservative backlash:
If they bring back the Fairness Doctrine, I think I'll start an organization to flood the FCC with complaints whenever there's media bias from any of the big networks.
The web will allow this type of campaign. The Leftist have no clue this is possible much less likely. They seem to believe their control will be absolute and they also appear to have forgotten that this is the land of the Boston Tea Party and Andrew Jackson. We aren't as accustomed to shackles as the Left wishes.
McCain is toast. It is so bad he might as well change his nickname from Maverick to Melba.
John McCain appears more interested in playing nice with Democrats than in winning the election. Obama is vulnerable on numerous fronts yet McCain is pulling his punches. Pallin wows the crowds where ever she goes while McCain is the ultimate cure for insomnia. No wonder he tags along on her appearances. McCain is the undercard in his own campaign.
The last debate was snooze-fest and there is no reason to expect otherwise this week. Yawn. I would (evidently, since I do) rather watch another Seahawks debacle than the McCain train wreck.
The fat lady is warming up the pipes and singing scales while standing in the wings before going on stage. It isn't over yet but McCain better start actually playing to win if he wants to, you know, become President.
UPDATE: The most excellent Mark Steyn nails it:
The Republican candidate's tragedy in this election is that he's chosen to fight on Obama turf, to share so many of his assumptions. At a McCain rally in Wisconsin, a fellow in the crowd announced he was mad as hell and got a standing ovation. What was he mad about"? Obama, Pelosi and "the socialists taking over our country." McCain listened politely and then pledged to get back to Washington to reach across the aisle to work on some gargantuan bipartisan cure-all. Not the answer that chap wanted to hear, I'll wager.
Kids these days, they have no idea what bad times are like. I mean seriously bad times, like double-digit inflation and unemployment, 20% mortgage rates and a Dow that has flat-lined. The recent financial 'crisis' is nothing, nothing I tell you.
I'll believe we are in a crisis when restaurants and Starbucks close their doors.
What may, in fact, come of the current situation is a realization that Wall Street and the Dow Jones Industrial Average are no longer accurate bell-weathers of the economy. Let me explain.
Continue reading "What If They Held A Depression And Nobody Came?" »
Say Uncle has a fun little picture of Sarah Palin shooting a military rifle in Kuwait. From the comments:
“Has she actually shot a moose herself, or just gone on moose hunts? Inquiring minds want to know.?”Sarah Palin does not go hunting. “Hunting” implies the possibility of failure. Sarah Palin goes killing.
From The Master:
Another day in the Land of Inversion, where the obvious is not an option. I heard more interviews with learned politicians informing me that “drilling for oil” will not affect anything, least of all the quantity of oil. We must apparently wait until 2015, when a magic engine that runs on unicorn flatulence is invented. I have to ask: why is anyone investing in unicorn flatulence today, when it won’t make any difference for several years? The answer’s simple: the engine will Appear at the chosen moment, borne from the clouds by starlings, but only if we have repented of our foul ways, and the last of the sinners has left the cul-de-sac to reside in a home located a sustainable distance from his or her place of employment. When the last suburban outlying development is empty, when the homes of whose size we disapprove has been abandoned, when the last citizen has been gathered unto the bosom of the urban center, where his profligate ways are sneered upon and the measure of his yard shall be no greater than the standard lot size decreed in 1902, then shall the magic engine appear. Until then, the wind and the sun will bear us onward.
There is nothing to add that will not result in a diminishing of these hallowed words. Amen!
Think Watermellon (green on the outside, red on the inside) energy policies are a good idea? Look at what is happening in South Africa right now and how the domino effect could cripple the entire world economy.
For an exceptional look at what happens to countries where the overall energy policies are dictated by imbeciles, lackwits, and lawyers (although I may be redundant in listing all three), look to South Africa, formerly an economic and industry powerhouse (pun intended) on the African continent. The country is now in a deepening economic crisis because they let all of the released inmates from the environmental asylum dictate policy, didn't build new power plants or maintain the existing ones appropriately, and so now they can't mine gold, platinum, and palladium at anything near normal production rates. A good part of the recent run ups on those metals' prices is because of the reduced production. There are rotating power outages around the country for everyone, and SA industry is being reined in significantly, obviously reducing the quality of living for the ordinary person.The reductions in platinum and palladium production, BTW, will start to really sting the energy industry soon. Platinum and palladium are essential catalysts in the petroleum industry, and while acting catalytically, are depleted from their substrates or poisoned, requiring replacement of the overall substrate and catalyst periodically. Refineries typically do this at "turnarounds" where pretty much the entire refinery is shutdown for major maintenance, including such things as catalyst switchouts. The increasing costs on rare metals will cause the coming rounds of turnarounds to be much more expensive.
But why are turnarounds important ? Well, here in the United States, certain imbeciles, lackwits and suchlike folk consider that refineries shutting down for major maintenance is all part of a conspiracy to keep distillate (read - gasoline and diesel) prices high. The fact that the refinery capability vs. demand is balanced on a razor's edge in many places (California and greater Chicago area being two fine examples) and that shutdowns are postponed until the last possible moment means that when a refinery goes to turnaround or "crashes", it's a pretty significant event.
And failures at refineries are both spectacular and deadly.
The Spousal Unit recieved this bit of good news regarding Senate Bill 6900:
This bill never even got out of committee, and I wouldn't have supported it, if it did. But it's been curious that this round of emails heated up a couple of weeks after the bill died. Anyway, thanks for writing ... proved that my assessment was correct.
debRep. Deb Eddy
48th District
Bellevue, Kirkland, Redmond, Issaquah and the Points Communities e eddy.leg.wa.gov p 360.786.7848
The State of Washington is using the Great Climate Change Hoax to justify getting around the vehicle tax limitations voted into law by the citizens (known in Olympia as "revenue generators"). Here is the table showing the proposed tax scale, which will run from 1/1/2009 until new(er) rules take effect on 1/1/2012:
Engine Size (liters) Rate Schedule
Up to 1.9 $0
2.0 - 2.9 $70
3.0 - 3.9 $225
4.0 - 4.9 $275
5.0 - 5.9 $325
6.0 - 7.9 $400
8.0 or over $600
On January 1, 2012 the tax will be base on CO2 emissions according to this table:
CO2 Emissions (grams/mile) Rate Schedule
Up to 161 $0
162 - 193 $70
194 - 241 $225
242 - 266 $275
267 - 298 $325
299 - 362 $400
Over 362 $600
Of course, the State will not actually measure how much C02 comes out of your tailpipe (or your car...) but will rely on whatever source will generate the most revenues:
For the purpose of administering this section, the department shall rely on the grams of carbon dioxide (CO2) emission per mile as provided by vehicle manufacturers, or other sources defined by the department, to determine the grams of carbon dioxide (CO2) emission per mile of each vehicle.
Emphasis mine. For those who think this really is a climate issue, think again. The Ruling Class in Olympia has had it's collective knickers in a wad ever since the Revenue Generators began objecting to the tax gouging taking place in this state. And the masses have been not just objecting but doing annoying things about it, like voting for repeals. Of course Those Who Know What's Best For Us will seek any excuse to ratchet up taxes and in this case Glow Ball Wormening suits their purposes nicely.
Complain to your "Representative" here.
Apparently I was too preocupied with the fine weather this weekend to notice this:
Put simply, society has collapsed, and with it, many people's sense of connection to others, and their ability to see themselves as an active force in their own world.
It would be helpful if future societal collapses are announced beforehand so that people who are busy living their own lives won't feel so left out of the discussion when they get to work the next day.
Highly skilled workers fleeing Britain? Imagine that. However, I concur with the commenter who labels this ambition drain. Over the course of history has there been any (free) country better at creating a hostile environment for it's most valuable citizens? The success and vibrancy of the U.S. is owed largely to Britain's chasing out the ambitious, the restless, and the non-conformists who built this nation.
The amazing part is the Brits just keep doing it.
It should be noted that not all of these emmigrants will find happiness in the wider world. I worked with a U.K. ex-pat at Microsoft for a while, helping him in his move from a tester to a test developer. This poor guy was in over his head but he liked to blame his failings on terrible competitive forces in the US. He felt we all worked too hard and too long and if we (the entire United States of America) would just slow down a bit he'd be able to keep up.
After a few months he moved on to slower pastures.
And Iraq will have a decentralized, federal system of government.
So says Fred Barnes. Wish we had that here but the Democrats running for POTUS have other ideas.
Do you think Environmentalism is about science? Think again. It always has been about the destruction of Democracy.
At least these guys have the guts to come out and say it.
Watch for a public denunciation from many Warmenistas, while internally agreeing and working towards the same ends.
John McCain is not my first choice for the Republican nomination. Or second. Or third.
He appears, however to have taken a commanding lead in the delegate count as of yesterday's Super Tuesday voting. McCain will probably lock up the nomination in the next few weeks.
But he can't win the Presidential election against Obama. Hillary can be beat by, well, anybody not named Clinton. I hope he takes Rudy as his running mate but that's unlikely even if it is smart.
So it turns out that Hillary is the Republican's best hope for 2008. Who would have thought?
According to the P-I, Mike Holmgren will play out his contract in Seattle. With Jim Mora eschewing the Redskin's overtures to remain in Seattle it is even more clear that he will succeed the Big Show next year.
Look for Mora to take on a bigger role for the Seahawks this year.
Background here. It is obvious the purse-lipped interrogator is not used to being answered in such a manner. She truly has no idea how to respond.
I've been reading about the sins of Google and within the past month decided to abandon Google in favor of Ask. Glenn Reynolds tallies the problems then summarizes with:
So what, exactly, does Google have that will protect it from a sudden shift in consumer sentiments?
Answer: not a blessed thing. Unless they get some grown-ups to put the kiddies in line, Google may well go down as the most colossal corporate bungle of all time. The Chinese have a symbol called the Yin and Yang. You know what it is, the circle with the black and white slugs chasing each other. You will note that the "eye" of each of the colored areas is the color of the other slug.
The best explanation I've heard for the symbology of the "eyes" is this: within every success lies the seeds of failure and within every failure lies the seeds of success. Google may very well prove the validity of that philosophy.
I'm perfectly happy with Ask.com, including the maps. I won't go back.
...you think Stalin was a pansy.
...you agree with totalitarianism, as long as your guy is in charge.
...you endorse free speech when it agrees with you.
...you think communism never got a fair shake.
...you despise the people who pay your salary via their taxes.
Honestly, how far gone do you have to be to believe this?
"...most national media tilt so far to the right as to parody themselves...."
Via Insty
Reduced air pollution causes global warming. So says new research. Keep driving that SUV and fire up the wood stove.
From a BBC article::
The decline in Soviet industry and clean air laws in western countries apparently reduced concentrations of aerosols, tiny particles, in the atmosphere. These aerosols may block solar radiation directly, or help clouds to form which in turn constitute a barrier; or both effects may occur.
The reversal of "global dimming" has been proposed in some circles as an alternative explanation for climatic change, removing the need to invoke human emissions of greenhouse gases.
-Godshatter
Normally, I like Borders and often find their tech sections to be particularly well-stocked. According to SamizData they are yanking the next issue of "Free Inquiry" because the issue will carry the super-lame motoons. This is cowardice on a level that requires a committee. Sorry but until they earn back their white feathers of cowardice, they get no more of my hard-earned cash. OK, I'm not sorry except in sense that it should not have come to this.
More at Whizbang.
The Perfesser mentions the HBO show about polygamy in Utah. When Cathy Seipp argues that "legalized polygamy is legalized slavery" it might sound over-the-top. It is not.
A friend of mine lost five years of her life to a polygamist cult, not to mention a great deal of her sanity and self-worth. It took a brave and daring escape from an isolated Mexican community to get the remnants of her life back. That HBO finds this entertaining is just awful. What's next? A show about the joys of 18th century plantations?
Just in case the concept of Religion of Peace has taken hold in your brain, a not-so-gentle reminder of the historical nature of The Enemy of All Civilization.
From Roger Simon
... or do others, when they see the word intifada, hear the word infantile in their heads?
People who believe the Constitution would break if it didn't change with society are "idiots," U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia says.
I find the tenor of the article akin to "you won't believe what this guy said!" even though I do believe it because I've read some of Scalia's writings, which I doubt Jonathan Ewing has done.
"That's the argument of flexibility and it goes something like this: The Constitution is over 200 years old and societies change. It has to change with society, like a living organism, or it will become brittle and break.""But you would have to be an idiot to believe that," Scalia said. "The Constitution is not a living organism, it is a legal document. It says something and doesn't say other things."
Radical!
Via Common Sense Junction. Hey, Frank, when did sense become common? Seems pretty scarce around these parts.
OK, this is so tastelessly funny. WARNING: Not PC safe.
The Spousal Unit was filling out a survey from the RNC when she came across this question:
"Do you think Social Security needs to be strengthened, or should Congress leave it alone?"
Possible answers: yes, no, no opinion. No place to check off, "Ummm..."
With the confirmation of Alito the O'Conner era has come to a conclusion. Her bizzare opinions will take decades to clear up but the work is in capable hands.
I look forward to reading some great words from Justice Scalia in other-than-dissenting opinions.
I am normally diametrically opposed to everything Sheets Byrd has to say but I find myself agreeing with him for once. Apparently he got an earful from his constituents because he has come out 1) for Alito and 2) against the Democratic tactics.
Here are some choice quotes:
http://bench.nationalreview.com/archives/088390.asp
All of these issues should be debated but the battle line should not be drawn on the Judiciary. It should be debated by the peoples' representatives right here in the legislative branch. However, too many Americans apparently believe that if they cannot get Congress to address an issue then they must take it to the Court. As the saying goes: "if you can't change the law, change the judge."
This kind of thinking represents a gross misinterpretation of the separation of powers. It is the role of the Congress, the role of the legislative branch to make and change the laws. Supreme Court justices exist to interpret laws and be sure that they square with the Constitution and with law.
-Godshatter
The idea that Iraq didn't have WMD before the war has been pretty much accepted as fact. Is it though? Saddam's #2 air force official says it isn't:
The man who served as the no. 2 official in Saddam Hussein's air force says Iraq moved weapons of mass destruction into Syria before the war by loading the weapons into civilian aircraft in which the passenger seats were removed.
-Godshatter
This is insane. Mexican TROOPS armed with machine guns trapse over our border to deliver drugs, and the Border Patrol is afraid of causing an 'incident' by defending our country.
"It's been so bred into everyone not to start an international incident with Mexico that it's been going on for years," Doyal said.
Put the US Military on the border. Build a wall. Why the hell should we be afraid of offending Mexico? It by God should be the other way around.
Thanks to Michele Malkin, who has much, much more on these not-infrequent incursions.
This one got left in the dustbin of unpublished posts. Sorry for the delay.
Interview of Gary Sinise, one of the (very few) classy men in Hollywood.
James C. Bennett quotes an article from The Australian that shows the Lebanese community where the riots took place had a significantly lower assimilation rate than other communities.
Studies by Monash University's Bob Birrell of the most revealing test of immigrant integration, the marriage rate, showed that by the end of the '90s less than 10 per cent of second-generation marriages of people of European descent were to someone from their parents' country. Much the same was true of immigrants from south and east Asia. Only 6 per cent of Indians married within their ethnic group, as did only 18 per cent of Chinese. In short, most immigrants, whatever their race, married Australians of other nationalities.
However, for the Lebanese, of whom most of marriageable age were Muslims, these figures were reversed. No less than 74 per cent of Lebanese brides and 61 per cent of Lebanese grooms married within their own ethnic group. Moreover, these figures had increased since the early '90s, when they were about six percentage points lower. This pattern may have fulfilled the community-building objective sought by Lebanese political and religious leaders, but it has been a disaster for their constituents' relationship with the rest of Australia.The effectivenss of cultural assimilation was proven here in the US over the course of a couple centuries, so of course certain people feel it must be stopped at all costs. The same people who think the US (and the entire Anglosphere) must be stopped to make way for the People's Paradise (or the new Caliphate, take your pick).
Via Insy
I have noted before that the comfortable marriage between the political Left and the Islamists is one of convenience. The Left has purged itself of the capacity for violence so they are hoping the terrorists will do their dirty work but leave them in power.
Dr. Sanity doesn't quite expand on that theme but spends a great deal of energy exposing the frail underpinnings of Modern Liberalism. I like what she said a lot better.
Someday, it will occur to someone that the Left has not had a single new idea for over half a century and that none of the "great" programs they have created have actually worked. Yet they guard those programs jealously, afraid of any new ideas or approaches that might make them have doubts in their precious ideology.Instead of reducing poverty, they have created a class of people dependent on the government for their survival and thus they ensure continuing poverty--even through the generations. Motivation is destroyed. Self-respect is trashed. Victimhood and passivity become a way of life whose worse aspects are glorified in the music and culture of the newly created welfare class.
Read. It. All.
Thanks to Malkin again.
Tony Snow on the radio this morning: "Sometimes Scalia reminds his collegues that he's smarter than they are, and they're a bunch of dopes."
It can be argued that we are in the darkest days of the Bush (43) presidency. We are still in Iraq and losing troops three years after the initial war. The economy is being rocked by hurricane after hurricane and high fuel prices. The President's pick for the Supreme Court is killed by members of his own party. High ranking White House staffers are under threat of indictment. It's a pretty dark day. The Presidency is in danger of becoming a lame duck.
Or is he? The 2000th soldier was lost this week and no one other than Cindy Sheehan seemed to notice. Certainly not the mainstream public. Iraq just overwhelmingly voted in favor of a new constitution and appears to be on its way toward better days. Despite three hurricanes, the economy grew at a brisk 3.8% last quarter. The DOW is up 107 points as I write. Sure, Miers was nixed for SCOTUS but if the next pick is chosen carefully, it could be a rallying point for the base right before a critical election year. Karl Rove dodged a bullet and was not indicted. The Vice President's chief of staff was indicted but I suspect that not 1 in 500 Americans outside the beltway knowns his name.
If, as the press would have us believe, these are the darkest days, I'll take them. From where I'm sitting, this looks more like overcast, not dark. Dark is when you need a lantern to see any light. Right now, I doubt that my pupils are even dilated.
-Godshatter
When the Miers nomination for SCOTUS was announced, I winced. I had flashbacks to the Seuter and Kennedy nominations. Still, I was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt. Bush had not let us down before. He had nominated great candidates to the federal judiciary, the UN, the federal reserve, etc.
After running across this speech of hers though, I'm glad that she withdrew her nomination. Hugh Hewitt says the speech isn't significant but I disagree. Bush tells us that she is a conservative but everything about her past says she is a conservative in the Seuter mold. She has given to Democrats, advocated racial set-asides, advocated judicial activism (see speech), etc. She may be conservative right now, but if she wasn't just 12 years ago, who is to say she won't flop again. Without a readily established judicial philosophy her chances of succumbing to pressures on the court increase.
I think we dodged a bullet here. She would have been a disaster. That's not to say we've averted disaster though. The next nominee will have to be a conservative and that could spell deadlock. We could be in trouble here. Still, I'd rather have the possibility of a bad situation to a guaranteed one.
-Godshatter
Like the combined IQ of the hosts, the listenership of Air America is undetectable. If a radio station broadcasts but nobody listens, is it still vaccuous?
Air America, the liberal talk network carried on WWRC-AM (1260), went from bad to nonexistent. After WWRC recorded a mere fraction of a rating point in the spring with syndicated shows from the likes of lefty talkers Al Franken, Janeane Garofalo and Stephanie Miller, Arbitron couldn't detect a measurable listenership for the station this time around.
Via VodkaPundit.
Gotta love that Scrappleface guy:
"The Bush foreign policy continues to be fatally-wounded by clarity of purpose, dogged persistence and a pathetic failure to capitulate in the face of opposition," the source said. "At a time when a real leader would be paralyzed with self-doubt over the meaningless deaths of 2,000 American troops, Bush continues to act as if freeing 25 million Iraqis from decades of oppression, torture and death is somehow worth the price paid by those who volunteered to fight."
I just read this over at the Volokh Conspiracy [if you don't read it--you should]. The house just passed S.397, the "Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms" act. The gist of it is that gun manufacturers cannot be found liable for the proper use of their products. Anti-gun bigots--having a hard time winning at the ballot box--were trying to win in the last refuge of the elitest left. They were attempting to circumvent the 2nd amendment by suing gun manufacturers when someone used a gun in a crime. If you've seen the movie, The Runaway Jury*, you understand what I'm talking about here. If successful, this could have the de facto effect of banning guns. The bill was previously passed by the Senate and it now on the way to the President's desk where he is sure to sign it. It's a good day for the Constitution.
-Godshatter
* Don't hold this against John Grisham. His book of the same name was about Tobacco. Hollywood decided to make evil gun manufacturers the target. I suspect that had something to do with its poor showing at the box office.
This article from the Blogfather is more ominous than the population at-large will be able to grasp.
On the other hand, it may hasten us to a new internet standard since it won't take long for the EU/UN to strangle the golden goose. They see the threat to their monopoly and they fear the freedom the internet fosters.
"The state has grown used to treating its taxpayers as a farmer treats its cows, keeping them in a field to be milked. Soon, the cows will have wings.
"Like an angry farmer, the state will no doubt take desperate measures at first to tether and hobble its escaping herd. It will employ covert and even violent means to restrict access to liberating technologies."
London cops blast fleeing terror suspect. Muslims are afraid.
"We are getting phone calls from quite a lot of Muslims who are distressed about what may be a shoot-to-kill policy."
More such distress would seem like the right direction. Better to distress potential bombers than innocent citizens.
Via Roger L. Simon
I'm glad to see that Bush picked a winner for the court. I was really worried that he'd go wobbly on us but it appears he didn't. He picked a man who is reportedly one of the smartest lawyers in DC. Someone who has argued 49 cases before the Supreme Court. Someone who was brave enough to let stand a really stupid law making it a crime to eat french fries on the subway in D.C. because, while inane, it wasn't unconstitutional. This man is John Roberts. Hugh Hewitt has mentioned him in the past in glowing terms. If the guy is good enough for Hugh, he's good enough for me.
The Dem's seem confused about how to respond. They want to go nuclear but aren't sure the country will buy it. There are polls of late showing that 60+ % of the country think the President should get his pick. This guy doesn't look to provide a big target. We can only hope that they are full of bluster and won't actually block the nomination. Stay tuned...
-Godshatter
RevoteWa.com has an online survey covering potential reforms to the completely broken elections system in Washington State.
Go here to participate in the poll.
Opponents of the new 9 cents-per-gallon tax increase turned in 420,570 signatures yesterday, almost 200,000 more than required. The Seattle P-I reports that supporters of the new tax are "shocked."
I bet. 420,570 citizens (not "subjects", or "assets", btw) struck back at the ruling class in Washington State with such a thunderous voice that most within the echo chamber of Olympia must be wondering what that sound is.
It is the sound of many elected officials hunting for new jobs come election day, 2006.
It is the sound of citizens breaking their silence on neo-marxist government spending.
It is the sound of status quo crumbling under the weight of free-flowing information.
Have some fun with the Gitmo Terro-Gator if you dare! Not for the faint-of-heart.
A fascinating interview with Kenyan economics expert James Shikwati by Der Spiegel:
SPIEGEL: Mr. Shikwati, the G8 summit at Gleneagles is about to beef up the development aid for Africa...Shikwati: ... for God's sake, please just stop.
SPIEGEL: Stop? The industrialized nations of the West want to eliminate hunger and poverty.
Shikwati: Such intentions have been damaging our continent for the past 40 years. If the industrial nations really want to help the Africans, they should finally terminate this awful aid. The countries that have collected the most development aid are also the ones that are in the worst shape. Despite the billions that have poured in to Africa, the continent remains poor.
SPIEGEL: Do you have an explanation for this paradox?
Read the whole thing for the insider's view on the crippling effects of foreign aid.
Here is part of an email I received today from my long-time (daren't say "old"!) friend in London:
Its awful but at least the casualties weren’t as high as yours. I worry about the muslims here, the Brits are far less tolerant than the Americans and far quicker to hurt people. Those that will do this will not be intelligent enough to realise the muslims as a people are not responsible but a few madmen and there will be those looking for someone to blame and unfortunately they will be it. No doubt somewhere along the line the blame will be levelled at Israel, it usually is, just like 911 was.London was deserted last night so goodness what this will do to small businesses. Public transport is crap at the best of times, now it will be a bigger problem because people will use their cars and Livingston the mayor has spent years trying to cut down on the cars! Mind you he is anti-jewish and says the suicide bombers have a point, I wonder what his opinion will be of suicide bombers now they did it in his back yard!!!
This lady has traveled extensively, especially to the States. She thinks, for example, that the U.K. is twenty years behind the USA in certain technologies. So, to note that the bigotted, racist America (according to certain segments) is more tolerant than our British cousins is quite a statement.
I'm working up a concept in my mind: all the billions spent on public transportation and it turns out to be a huge safety risk. Wonder what the socialists will say about that?
Dino Rossi will not appeal the court decision upholding the Washington Gubernatorial election of 2004. This is a good move on the part of Rossi in spite of the fighting spirit of many people in the state.
First of all, the court challenge was unwinable with the current state laws. The Republicans did manage to showcase the at-best incompetence in King County and the terrible way the election was handled. There was almost no chance of the election being set aside but the citizens of the state saw Rossi make a good fight and bow out gracefully.
Second, it will leave some fire in the bellies of many people throughout the state which can be turned towards election reform initiatives, county realignment, and ousting the King County political machine.
When the next election roles around King County residents will remember who lied, who covered up, and who was responsible for this fiasco. The Democrats won't be able to survive this win.
Via SoundPolitics
I'm listening to the Rossi trial decision. This judge needs to learn some basic logic before he renders his decisions. Here is an example of his fallacious logic (not a direct quote): "The only evidence we have of the real intent of the illegal voters were those who voted for Rossi or Bennet. Yet the petitioner's proportional deduction standard would have attributed their votes in part to Gregoire." Umm, yeah. It also partially attributed their votes to Bennett and Rossi. By this judge's logic, if I can find *any* single ballot that goes against the majority, it proves you can't trust the statistics. A single data point can disprove the overall data. Dumbass.
Update: The judge also made the brilliant decision to remove the illegal votes from the total count. However, he didn't change the votes for Rossi, Gregoire, or Bennet. So now we have an election where Total Votes < Rossi + Gregoire + Bennett. What a fitting ending.
I'd laugh if this didn't make me cry. The Brit's are seriously calling for a ban on kitchen knives to stop stabbings. I wonder if we should start by simply registering them. Then maybe banning the cheap ones. I mean those $20 knife sets at Target are clearly made just to kill people. I mean, look at how they display the stabbing knife so prominently. Why not the paring knife? If a person really wanted to cook, they would buy Wusthof.
Hat tip to Drudge.
DIRECTOR ADDS: Sharp rocks are pretty dangerous, too. To paraphrase a line from Jurassic Park, death will find a way. Humans have been killing each other from the beginning using the best available technology of the day. Rolling back technology will not alter human behavior one whit.
In an article discussing Al Franken's contemplated move to Minneapolis as preparation for a possible senate run, there is this note:
Franken, 53, also plans to relocate his Air America radio show to Minnesota early next year.
Via Malkin
Excellent article from YAFLtm (Yet Another Former Liberal): Leaving the Left. Here are some of the many good quotes.
In short, I became a card-carrying liberal, although I never actually got a card. (Bookkeeping has never been the left's strong suit.)
And:
When I casually offered that the surviving relatives of the more than 20 million people murdered on orders of Joseph Stalin might not find "evil'" too strong a word, the room took on a collective bemused smile of the sort you might expect if someone had casually mentioned taking up child molestation for sport.
Plus:
A left averse to making common cause with competent, self- determining individuals -- people who guide their lives on the basis of received values, everyday moral understandings, traditional wisdom, and plain common sense -- is a faction that deserves the marginalization it has pursued with such tenacity for so many years.
Via PowerLine
I've been neglegent in mentioning the good works over at No New Gas Tax. Get your butt over there and pitch in.
Look, the Liberals in the state house (on both sides of the aisle) don't ask whether or not to create a tax or increase an existing one. The only debate is over how much.
Whacking them over the head with the initiative bat, again, will help get the point across: the Legislature does not have a blank check on citizens' money. Admittedly a bizarre concept to most in Olympia.
I don't think tossing gas cans into Elliot Bay is feasible so supporting the initiative is the best equivalent of the Boston Tea Party.
The left has been trying to years to make the energy task force headed by Cheney into a problem for the White House. Cheney met with, get this, people in the energy industry. Gasp! The horror! How dare he get advice from anyone other than a blowhard Washington lawyer. The claim was that this was some illicit meeting and showed a conflict of interest or some such. Today the D.C. Court of Appeals said unanimously that the White House had a right to do what it did. Good for them.
Some parts of me pity the left. They are trying so hard to find a scandal in this White House but, well, there just isn't one. So far (knock on wood) they have played everything straight up.
I happened to be watching MSNBC this afternoon. I don't frequent that channel (perhaps because of stories like this) so I don't know which show it was. The hosts were Ron Reagan and some woman I didn't recognize. Anyway, the subject was reality television. They talked about the American Idol expose tonight on ABC and then began to complain about how the media was wrong to cover things like reality TV instead of real news, "especially today with the news regarding Al Quaeda" (in case you didn't see the memo, we caught the 3rd highest ranked Al Quaeda member today). Pot...Kettle...Black. How can you, with a straight face, impugn the media for doing something that you--a member of the media--are doing at that very moment?
Moral of the story: Watch Fox News. When I flipped the channel I found John Gibson interviewing former secretary of state Lawrence Eagleburger about the Al Quaeda capture.
I'm all for the idea of privatizing social security. I'd be for a Chilean system where the whole thing is privatized but I would settle for at least some of my money in my control. The return on investment of Social Security is terrible and will be much worse by the time I retire in over three decades. There may be trouble in paradise, however. This article from Econopundit (if you don't read them, you are missing out) tells of the trouble. It turns out that private accounts may be an administrative nightmare. Then again, so are taxes and we live with them. If Chile can do it with their whole system, I'm sure the U.S. can do it with part of ours.
Common Sense Junction links to an article at Tapscott's Copy Desk about more Lily Tomlin reporting (her little brat-girl character Edith Ann said, "I don't lie. I make up the truth."). The question is raised why the number MSM reporters caught in lies seems to be growing -- or a least failing to subside.
The answer is as simple as this: blogs. In years past, a reporter could write whatever the hell he/she wanted. At the worst the reporter would have to endure a few angry letters to the editor. Today there are literally millions of editors and fact-checkers and they are all connected via little wires.
Apparently some haven't gotten the memo that the gig is up. They still operate under the old ROE, marching out in straight lines wearing red tunics while the bloggers hide behind rocks and trees. The war is over the truth and they are losing.
From Born Fighting by James Webb:
"...[He] represented the best which the new West could breed in the way of capable and self-reliant individualism, and the backwoodsmen loved him for the enemies he made, and backed him loudly in his fight against the aristocratic East."
The quote refers to Andrew Jackson but reminded me a great deal of Dubya, especially in the aught-four election.
Perhaps most frightening to the Eastern blue-nosed socialists is just how out-numbered they are, now that the Web has given an outlet for all those formerly-bottled-up voices.