SB 1489: Property owners’ group law at issue in Assembly, court :: Weekly Edition :: Virginia Lawyers Weekly: "Vogel says that she thinks all sides to the Lake Holiday dispute would agree that her legislation is “the right thing to do.” She disavowed any intent to try to influence the pending litigation. “There are lots of issues being litigated at Lake Holiday – let them go ahead. Those plaintiffs absolutely have the right to be heard,” she said.

“I hope to have a positive impact on Lake Holiday and other POAs where their underlying integrity is being threatened,” Vogel said. “It’s not meant to be a sweeping change. It’s a real modest legislative tweak,” she said.

The lawyer for the plaintiffs in the Lake Holiday lawsuit is not reassured. “The sweep of the proposed changes [is] stunning,” said Wayne Travell. The changes, he insisted, “are intended to affect the outcome of private litigation in Frederick County.”

Travell said that he told Vogel that “last-minute tinkering with the Act at the behest of a party to the lawsuit could have dire and unintended consequences.”"
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You tell me: is Vogel's denial convincing?

Another article later said, "Sen. Jill Holtzman Vogel’s (R-27) emergency effort to amend Virginia’s Property Owners’ Association Act has been tabled for the special session still going on in Richmond. Her bill, SB6016 (our link is to a PDF redlined version of her bill provided to us by her office), Virginia Property Owners Association Act; reformation of declarations, was originally introduced in the Senate on Monday 6/23, where it was quickly referred to the Committee on General Laws and Technology. At a vote of that committee on Tuesday, the bill was reported out, or sent to the full senate. On Wednesday 6/25, the first vote on the measure in the full senate failed, but after a recess, a second attempt narrowly approved the measure by a single vote.
Following approval in the Senate, SB 6016 made its way to the House of Delegates, where it ended up in the Committee on General Laws. The next stop: the Housing Commission. And that’s where it stopped. Both we and others raised a number of concerns about the proposed legislation, perhaps the biggest of which was a serious question of constitutionality at the state and federal levels. The Housing Commission unanimously decided to table the bill for the remainder of this special session.

According to the Winchester Star, “Vogel repeatedly has stated that her bill is not related to an ongoing lawsuit against Lake Holiday Country Club Inc.” She continues to maintain this position. Bob Diamond, an attorney from Reed Smith representing Miller & Smith, and an attorney from Rees Broome, who happens to represent LHCC, were among the very few attendees commenting to the commission. Given their Tyson’s Corner offices are about 2 hours from Richmond, it’s an odd coincidence that attorneys for 2 defendants in a lawsuit happen to be about the only ones showing up to champion a bill that its chief senate patron said is “not related” to that lawsuit. Start to nothing in 4 days. The legislative process is pretty quick in a special session."

Virginia’s HOA bill, SB1489: stands the constitution on its head « HOA Constitutional Government

Virginia’s HOA bill, SB1489: stands the constitution on its head « HOA Constitutional Government: "What SB1489 really appears to be is not a bona fide homeowner/member initiated homeowner rights reformation, but another example of the hypocrisy surrounding authoritarian HOA private regimes: a top-down state imposition of laws designed to further deny homeowner rights and freedoms in order to make the defective legal scheme of HOAs workable."
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George Starapoli weighs in with a detailed analysis of Virginia SB 1489.

WBBM 780 - Chicago's #1 source for local news, traffic and weather - Genson To Resign From Criminal Case

WBBM 780 - Chicago's #1 source for local news, traffic and weather - Genson To Resign From Criminal Case: "CHICAGO (AP) - Gov. Rod Blagojevich's lead attorney said Friday that he plans to resign from the impeached governor's criminal case.

``I have practiced law for 44 years. I never require a client to do what I say, but I do require clients to listen to what I say,'' Genson told reporters. ``I intend to withdraw as counsel in this case.''"
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Ed Genson has represented some of the worst mobsters the nation has ever seen, but he draws the line at the reckless, self-infatuated governor of Illinois. That ought to tell us something about how out-of-control he is. But imagine that millions of Illinois Democrats, and some Republicans, voted for this moron TWICE, the last time in 2006 after it was obvious he was a crook.

Then there are the Chicago media enablers of all this corruption. I was amazed that radio station WLS had Blago on this morning and Don Wade and Roma fed him marshmallow questions so he could rave and rant about how he is being railroaded. I guess they will do anything for ratings. The station even hired the shock jock Mancow Muller recently, and he is one of the worst vulgarians who ever sat in front of a microphone. This was once a respectable station, too.

Bill Tracking - 2009 session > Legislation

Bill Tracking - 2009 session > Legislation:SENATE BILL NO. 1489
Offered January 22, 2009 : "A. An association may petition a court of equity in the county or city wherein the development or the greater part thereof is located to reform a declaration where the association, acting through its board of directors, has attempted to amend the declaration using provisions outlined therein to resolve (i) inconsistencies in the declaration that are the source of legal and other disputes pertaining to the legal rights and responsibilities of the association or individual lot owners; (ii) scrivener's errors, including incorrectly identifying the association, incorrectly identifying an entity other than the association, or errors arising from oversight or from an inadvertent omission or mathematical mistake; or (iii) an ambiguity in the declaration with respect to an objectively verifiable fact."
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Shu Bartholomew sent me the link to a bill in the VA legislature that would allow the board of directors of an association to ask a judge to rewrite a declaration, if they can't get the members to make the changes after three attempts. I need to learn more about this bill, but it certainly undermines the industry rhetoric about local democracy in action.

Althouse: "Former French president Jacques Chirac was rushed to hospital after being mauled by his own 'clinically depressed' pet dog."

Althouse: "Former French president Jacques Chirac was rushed to hospital after being mauled by his own 'clinically depressed' pet dog."
But I thought you said your doog does not baht.
That is not my doog.

Gordon Brown brings Britain to the edge of bankruptcy - Telegraph

Gordon Brown brings Britain to the edge of bankruptcy - Telegraph: "The country stands on the precipice. We are at risk of utter humiliation, of London becoming a Reykjavik on Thames and Britain going under. Thanks to the arrogance, hubristic strutting and serial incompetence of the Government and a group of bankers, the possibility of national bankruptcy is not unrealistic."
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So says columnist Iain Martin, at least. I don't see how anybody can heap so much blame on the current Prime Minister for a problem that was years in the making. It's like blaming Bush for the housing market collapse that was building toward meltdown since the mid-1990s.

Narcissistic personality disorder - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
Rod Blagojevich and his attorney, Ed Gensen, let the deadline pass for responding to the impeachment allegations. That suggests either 1.) they know he is going to be convicted by the Senate no matter what, can't save his job, and are saving their ammo for the criminal trial, or 2.) they have paid off 1/3 + 1 of the Senate. Just kidding. Well, sort of not kidding. It is possible, this being Illinois.

But here is a great description of our governor, from the manual used by psychotherapists to diagnose mental disorder:


"Diagnostic and Statistical Manual criteria:

A pervasive pattern of grandiosity (in fantasy or behavior), need for admiration, and lack of empathy, beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts, as indicated by five (or more) of the following:[1]

1. has a grandiose sense of self-importance
2. is preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love
3. believes that he or she is 'special' and unique
4. requires excessive admiration
5. has a sense of entitlement
6. is interpersonally exploitative
7. lacks empathy
8. is often envious of others or believes others are envious of him or her
9. shows arrogant, haughty behaviors or attitudes"

WSJ.com: Trends in presidential job approval ratings
Presidents nearly always start with high approval ratings, but usually they begin to fall with divisive policy positions, wars, recessions, or scandals.
ps: I think President Obama understands the importance of these polls. High approval ratings from the public give presidents credibility with Congress. If he can keep his ratings high, he can make Congress follow his lead. But if his approval ratings fall below 50%, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Dick Durbin, and other members of Congress will make a move. If the President stays close to the center, he may be able to avoid the post-inauguration drop, and keep the political capital he needs to run the show.

Best wishes, Mr. President!

newsminer.com • Photo

newsminer.com • Behold the Great Ice Sculpture of Al Gore!

 

I took this photo on a trip to Beijing in 2007, on a frolic and detour from the conference I was attending on HOAs in China. The sign is in the Forbidden City. The wisdom of this sentence struck me, along with how inconceivable it is that any government in the US would make such a public statement.

newsminer.com • Al Gore ice sculpture unveiled in Fairbanks as invitation to discuss global warming: "Fairbanks — Al Gore can thank the Nobel Committee for honoring him with the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize.

He can also thank Fairbanks businessman Craig Compeau for what could be the farthest-north likeness of the former vice president: A 5-ton ice sculpture of a “shivering” Gore, created during a recent spell of bitterly cold weather in Alaska and aimed at confronting global-warming theories."
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At long last, Al Gore is cool.

Fugitives photographed in Chicago restaurant 

Mayor Sheila Dixon present at Obama's address, but not mentioned -- baltimoresun.com

Mayor Sheila Dixon present at Obama's address, but not mentioned -- baltimoresun.com: "At the start of Barack Obama's whistle stop tour to Washington today, the president-elect hailed the 'outstanding' mayor of Philadelphia, Michael Nutter. In Wilmington, he acknowledged Mayor James M. Baker by name.

Not so in Baltimore.

Mayor Sheila Dixon was one of thousands of Obama supporters braving hours of sub-freezing temperatures to greet him at War Memorial Plaza. 'It's an extremely huge deal for me,' she said in an interview before Obama's address. 'Words can't describe how ecstatic we are.'

But even as he gazed at City Hall, the man who will be the nation's first black president did not acknowledge that Baltimore's first black female mayor was in attendance.
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That seems a bit harsh.

WUSA9.com | Washington, DC | "Prostitution Free Zone" During Inauguration
But if it's free it isn't prostitution anymore.

From earning six figures to hoping for $7 an hour - CNN.com

From earning six figures to hoping for $7 an hour - CNN.com: "AURORA, Colorado (CNN) -- In her best year as a mortgage broker, Laura Glick says she made 'six figures.' This week she was one of more than 1,200 people attending a job fair and applying for one of 150 jobs paying between $7 and $12 an hour at a new Kohl's department store in a Denver, Colorado, suburb."
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I feel for these people. I really do. But my sympathy is tempered by my memory of that they did. I can't help pointing out that these folks poured gasoline on the housing crisis. Many of these people put their fellow human beings in financial situations so risky that eventual ruin was a foregone conclusion. Why? So they could make a fat commission. And if their fallback position is a minimum wage job, what does that say about their skill set and level of education? I say that because it seems to me a whole lot of people were taking advice from professionals who had a very limited understanding of what was really going on, and who gave not a single thought to the consequences of their behavior. It was just groupthink.

Quake vulnerability of 'soft-story' apartments in state still widespread - Los Angeles Times

Quake vulnerability of 'soft-story' apartments in state still widespread - Los Angeles Times: "Fifteen years after the Northridge earthquake exposed the dangers of certain 'soft-story' apartments, only about 800 of the 20,000 such structures in Los Angeles have been retrofitted, according to city records.

The pancake collapse of the Northridge Meadows apartment complex, which killed 16 people, was one of the most dramatic images of the Northridge earthquake on Jan. 17, 1994. But despite concern at the time that these multi-unit buildings with weak ground floors posed a critical risk, progress inspecting and fixing these older buildings has been slow."
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During the recent housing boom, many older apartment buildings were converted to condominiums. So that means that we probably have a whole bunch of condo buildings with soft ground floors--meaning that they are prone to collapse in the next quake. And guess who is stuck with that problem? If you said, "The unit owners," you win the steak knives.

Thanks to Fred Pilot for the link--and for the observation that this is one more reason attorney Tyler Berding is probably right about the physical obsolescence of many CIDs.

Bloomberg.com: Is Obama overdoing the Obama=Lincoln thing?: "“Everyone wants to be Lincoln,” says Harold Holzer, who has written or edited more than 20 books on Lincoln and the Civil War. “Is Obama overdoing it? Maybe.”"
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None of these academics dares to be perceived as criticizing The One. Let me wade right in. Is Obama overdoing it? Hell, yes.

The choo-choo train whistle-stop tour is the point where he jumped the shark. If he starts wearing a stovepipe hat I'm moving to Canada.

The Growing Foreclosure Crisis - washingtonpost.com: "The foreclosure crisis has become a wave, afflicting neighborhoods of every stripe -- but particularly communities created by the boom itself."
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This is a long and very detailed article that should chill the blood of anybody living in one of the new CIDs around the nation. It isn't a subprime crisis anymore. The new housing stock, full of CIDs, is next in line.

This housing market collapse is like one of those 1950s horror movies where as soon as you forget about him, the giant gila monster just sort of pops out of the mesquite and knocks a gas truck off the road. Then he crawls off, and you go back to watching the kids at the sock hop in the old barn. But guess where the giant gila monster just happens to be crawling?

The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan (January 16, 2009) - The Centrist

The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan (January 16, 2009) - The Centrist: "If Obama manages to leverage this crisis toward entitlement reform, he would become an historic president. It really would be Buchanan-Lincoln. I've spent too long in DC to believe it, but I can still hope can't I? And the key thing this time around is whether we can build a grass-roots movement to support Obama in this, just as we did in the campaign. Raise the retirement age, means-test social security, raise Medicare premiums for the affluent. After what has amounted to a generational war on the under-40s under Bush, re-balancing is actually a moral cause."
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The direction that the Obama Administration takes on the future of federal entitlement programs is as important as anything else on their plate.

Farkitrol® - It can help™ with Dangerous Playgrounditis.

Farkitrol® - It can help™ with Dangerous Playgrounditis.: "Every single year, the Mainstream Media reports on exactly how unsafe it is for a kid to go out and play on the grounds that have been designated 'playgrounds'. Farkitrol® works by helping the patient realize that they were once kids themselves, and that falling down and scraping an elbow or slamming their shins against the ladder for the monkeybars didn't kill them. It just made them learn how not do that the next time."
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This new drug would be good for those HOAs that are closing their playgrounds out of fear of litigation. But be sure to scroll down and read the possible side effects.

Canal ice helps Dutch rediscover national identity - International Herald Tribune

Canal ice helps Dutch rediscover national identity - International Herald Tribune: "NIEUWERKERK AAN DEN IJSSEL, Netherlands: For the first time in 12 years, the Netherlands' canals froze this month, bringing the Dutch, who like their tulips in neat rows, a heady mix of pandemonium and euphoria.

Hundreds of thousands of skaters, their cheeks as red as apples in the freezing temperatures, took to the ice, and hospital wards were filled with dozens of people with fractured arms, sprained ankles and broken legs."
---------------
Take a look at the photo of people skating on the canal with windmills in the background. Does that look like fun, or what? For our part here in the Chicago area, yesterday it was -18 F. The wind chill factor took it down to -36. A bit cold for skating on our frozen lake.

I guess Al Gore should basically lay low for the rest of the winter. He won't find a receptive audience in the general public at the moment.

CaliforniaCityNews.org: New Nationwide Study Reveals Low Civic Participation in California

CaliforniaCityNews.org: New Nationwide Study Reveals Low Civic Participation in California
Low indeed. The state is 45th in volunteering, 44th in "attending civic meetings," and 45th in "working on community problems."

I thought the great CID revolution in California was going to produce this huge outburst of communitarianism and local involvement.

Thanks to Fred Pilot for this link.

My Way News - Calif. tax refunds to be delayed starting Feb. 1

My Way News - Calif. tax refunds to be delayed starting Feb. 1: "SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - California's controller says he will begin a 30-day delay on tax refunds and other payments starting Feb. 1 because the state is running out of money.

Controller John Chiang said Friday he must delay $3.7 billion in payments next month because lawmakers have failed to address California's growing deficit."
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I wonder at what point the dysfunctional legislature will get the picture. Maybe never? And then the issue is whether the electorate will weigh in and replace the current crowd with people of a more fiscally conservative inclination. But that might mean voting for (gasp!) Republicans.

Professional advice on dealing with home invasion robberies: In view of the fact that fire codes prohibit dead bolts on back doors, smart home invaders just kick them down, and they tend to be in groups. Solution?

"The only real way to counter this is to carry your gun with you everywhere you go inside of your home."
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Gee, that's helpful. I will just walk around the house strapped like Wild Bill Hickock. I'll get myself a waterproof rubber gun for the shower, too.

In Bush's Farewell, a Self-Portrait of Decisiveness With Few Apologies - US News and World Report

In Bush's Farewell, a Self-Portrait of Decisiveness With Few Apologies - US News and World Report: "He dealt only minimally with his mistakes and failures. 'Like all who have held this office before me, I have experienced setbacks,' he said. 'There are things I would do differently if given the chance. Yet I have always acted with the best interests of our country in mind. I have followed my conscience and done what I thought was right. You may not agree with some of the tough decisions I have made. But I hope you can agree that I was willing to make the tough decisions.'...Bush has said repeatedly that history will vindicate him and that he will eventually be seen as a wiser, more prescient leader than he is given credit for today. But his standing with the public remains very low. The latest Gallup Poll finds that 61 percent of Americans disapprove of his job performance, while 34 percent approve, mostly fellow Republicans. This is almost as grim as Richard Nixon's ratings after he resigned in disgrace in August 1974, when Nixon had 66 percent disapproval and 24 percent approval, Gallup said."
-------------------
I have never been a Bush hater. I think he made some enormous mistakes, but for the most part he was trying to do what he believed were the right things. The problem is that he has a limited frame of reference and quickly seizes on certain courses of action that he can't change. He is not an introspective or particularly curious man, and has lived a live of almost infinite privilege that has left him with an enormous sense of entitlement.

Clearly he is a stubborn man, and I don't think that is necessarily a bad quality in a leader as long as there is a point where a reality check kicks in. For example, Lincoln's determination to keep the Union together and win the Civil War showed stubbornness, but he changed his approach at various points when things weren't working, and eventually won the war and kept the Union.

But with Bush, sometimes I get the sense that he really doesn't want to hear contrary opinions or facts that undermine his fixed ideas. That makes it easy for people to manipulate him. Just tell him there is a crisis and he has to act and make a hard decision right now, and there is only one course of action open. He will do it every time. Then just keep telling him what he wants to hear--things are going well; we will find the WMD; the Iraqis love us and want democracy; the bailout will work; whatever.

He also trusts certain people and won't change his opinion. His trust in Cheney and Rumsfeld, and also the slimy George Tenet, undid his administration. Contrary voices were shut out and Bush's stubbornness took over. The rest is history--which will not vindicate Bush, as he continues to believe.

Foreclosure Filings Up 81% in 2008 - WSJ.com

Foreclosure Filings Up 81% in 2008 - WSJ.com: "WASHINGTON -- More than 2.3 million American homeowners faced foreclosure proceedings last year, an 81% increase from 2007, with the worst yet to come as consumers grapple with layoffs, shrinking investment portfolios and falling home prices. Nationwide, more than 860,000 properties were actually repossessed by lenders, more than double the 2007 level, according to RealtyTrac, a foreclosure listing firm based in Irvine, Calif., which compiled the figures. Moody's Economy.com, a research firm, predicts the number of homes lost to foreclosure is likely to rise by another 18% this year before tapering off slightly through 2011. Still, foreclosures -- which keep breaking records going back 30 years, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association -- are likely to remain well above normal levels for years to come, and that will continue to keep home prices from rebounding."
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I listen to talk radio when I am writing, and I hear people on investment shows and various ads (sometimes indistinguishable from each other) saying that now is the time to buy real estate. That seems to be the default position, no matter what the market conditions. I am not an economist, but despite the low prices I think buying real estate now is still a risky proposition. It may be a long time before prices go up again, and holding property for investment purposes costs money.

In court, Countrywide calls its ads ‘puffery’ - Mortgage Mess- msnbc.com

In court, Countrywide calls its ads ‘puffery’ - Mortgage Mess- msnbc.com: "In marketing, advertising and testimony before Congress, Countrywide Home Loans has said repeatedly that it is working hard to modify the mortgages of financially strapped borrowers caught up in the subprime meltdown. But in a New Hampshire court, attorneys for the lending giant are singing a different tune, describing such assurances as “mere commercial puffery.”

Saying the modification offers are “only Countrywide’s vague advertisements,” attorneys for the lender are asking the court to throw out a lawsuit alleging breach of good faith, fraud, negligence and misrepresentation, which was filed on behalf of a family that was refused a loan modification by the California-based company."
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Read this and tell me if it doesn't tick you off just a little bit.

Community Profile: Oak Brook IL Real Estate -- chicagotribune.com

Community Profile: Oak Brook IL Real Estate -- chicagotribune.com: "Although Oak Brook residents live in a collection of disconnected subdivisions, that suits professionals who appreciate the privacy they afford.

'Professionals, including lots of physicians, who work downtown or in other suburbs,' describes buyers of Oak Brook houses, says Bob Briant of Re/Max Elite in Hinsdale. 'They can get on a highway in any direction and get to work quickly.'

Buyers typically request one subdivision, Briant reports. 'They want one of the gated ones, the one with a pool and tennis courts or the one with the biggest lots,' he says. 'Each has different characteristics.'"
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I love the way the American press can talk and talk about a place without ever mentioning that most of these subdivisions have homeowners' associations.

Homeowner’s Association President indicted on charges of sexual abuse of a child | LOCAL NEWS | WHAS11.com | News for Louisville, Kentucky

Homeowner’s Association President indicted on charges of sexual abuse of a child | LOCAL NEWS | WHAS11.com | News for Louisville, Kentucky: "John Sheesley is the President of his neighborhood’s Homeowners Association, an organization that is supposed to notify residents about sex offenders in the community."
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Sounds like he may have failed to mention one offender to the police.
Thanks to Fred Pilot for the link.

Ricardo Montalban passes away: "Ricardo Montalban, the Mexican-born actor who became a star in splashy MGM musicals and later as the wish-fulfilling Mr. Roarke in TV's 'Fantasy Island,' died Wednesday morning at his home, his family said. He was 88."
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Not only Patrick McGoohan, but Ricardo Montalban as well. Montalban was another terrific actor and by all accounts a true gentleman...except when he was tormenting James T. Kirk, as Khan.

islandpacket.com | Polling places inside gates not an automatic problem

islandpacket.com | Polling places inside gates not an automatic problem, says opponent of bill to prohibit them: "Here in southern Beaufort County, we've been voting inside our gated communities for many years now. We can't recall any problems associated with that. Most people who vote at these locations live in the communities. Election officials don't seem to go out of their way to locate polling places behind private gates if a location outside the gates would work as well...One of the bill's sponsors says that when polling places are in gated communities, there's a chance voters who live outside the gates might not be able to get in to vote."
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That's Hilton Head, SC, which is basically wall to wall (pun intended) gated communities. How would a fellow who lives inside a gated community even be aware that voters were trying to get inside to vote, but being turned away? Flags, ambulances, ice cream trucks, process servers, realtors, and apparently voters have been excluded from these places. And if you look at the story below, all that security doesn't always prevent bad things from happening.

MyFox Washington DC | Double Murder in Upper Marlboro

MyFox Washington DC | Double Murder in Upper Marlboro: "The Oak Creek community is a quiet, gated community with a guard stationed at the entrance gate.

Police will not say if it was a random crime or if the couple was targeted, nor is it clear if anything was taken from the home."
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This is not just quiet. These are McMansions in Prince George's County.

Barack Obama: it is no longer essential to kill Osama bin Laden - Times Online

Barack Obama: it is no longer essential to kill Osama bin Laden - Times Online: "As recently as October 7, in a presidential debate, Mr Obama said: 'We will kill bin Laden. We will crush al-Qaeda. That has to be our biggest national security priority.'

Yesterday, the President-elect adopted far less aggressive language, saying his 'No 1 priority' was to protect America from further attack.

'I think that we have to so weaken [bin Laden's] infrastructure that, whether he is technically alive or not, he is so pinned down that he cannot function,' he said. 'And I'm confident that we can keep them on the run and ensure that they cannot train terrorists to attack our homeland.'"
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"Technically alive"? Isn't it interesting how quickly campaign rhetoric becomes inoperative?

Calif fire officials mull over stay-defend policy - cbs13.com

Calif fire officials mull over stay-defend policy - cbs13.com: "Modeled after a concept in Australia, where homeowners in rural areas fight fires on their own, the program would teach people how to make their homes more fire-safe and how to save their property if firefighters are unable to respond."
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I call this the ultimate in privatization.

City of Madison, Wis. Eyes Draconian Zoning Ordinances to 'Adapt to Climate Change'

City of Madison, Wis. Eyes Draconian Zoning Ordinances to 'Adapt to Climate Change': "Call this a case of liberalism via central planning gone wild. In one of the most politically left-of-center cities east of Berkeley, Calif., ideas put forth at city hall in Madison, Wis. would dramatically limit free enterprise and personal liberty, all in the name of environmental sustainability."
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Among other things, if you cut down one tree on your property, you have to plant two.

Feces-throwing monkey on the loose in Tampa Bay

Feces-throwing monkey on the loose in Tampa Bay: "Wildlife officials said a rhesus monkey known to throw feces when mad is on the loose in Tampa Bay. Authorities have been trying to capture the primate since Tuesday afternoon, but it managed to evade a bucket truck and tranquilizer dart."
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Probably just Al Franken celebrating his election to the US Senate.

U.S. military report warns 'sudden collapse' of Mexico is possible - El Paso Times

U.S. military report warns 'sudden collapse' of Mexico is possible - El Paso Times: "EL PASO - Mexico is one of two countries that 'bear consideration for a rapid and sudden collapse,' according to a report by the U.S. Joint Forces Command on worldwide security threats.

The command's 'Joint Operating Environment (JOE 2008)' report, which contains projections of global threats and potential next wars, puts Pakistan on the same level as Mexico. 'In terms of worse-case scenarios for the Joint Force and indeed the world, two large and important states bear consideration for a rapid and sudden collapse: Pakistan and Mexico."
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Maybe they should hit up the TARP program for a bailout.
Seriously, political correctness keeps the American press from saying much about how bad things are in Mexico. There are few places in the world where drug gangs deliver baskets of heads as warnings to the government not to get too frisky. The border area is chaotic, the Mexican military and federal police have always been corrupt and are now heavily infiltrated by the drug gangs, and the Mexican judiciary, prosecutors, and local governments are running scared with good reason.

Law.com - Solicitor General Pick Has One Glaring Gap on Resume

Law.com - Solicitor General Pick Has One Glaring Gap on Resume: "If confirmed, Elena Kagan will soon walk into this club as solicitor general, without a single Supreme Court oral argument to point to in her past -- or, it appears, any other appellate experience. President-elect Barack Obama said last week he would nominate the Harvard Law School president to the position."
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The Solicitor General is the #3 official in the Dept. of Justice and represents the US government before the United States Supreme Court. And Elena Kagan has no appellate experience, it seems. Interesting choice.

Pantagraph.com | News | Blagojevich ally Emil Jones urges caution on impeachment

Pantagraph.com | News | Blagojevich ally Emil Jones urges caution on impeachment: "Senate President Emil Jones, who has stood with Blagojevich throughout his battles with the General Assembly, ends a 36-year career in state government when he retires Tuesday.

On Monday, Jones urged his colleagues to be cautious when they take up the issue of Blagojevich's impeachment Jan. 26.

'Maybe all the evidence may point in one direction, but it may be the wrong person,' Jones said. 'We don't have all the facts.''"
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Here's one thing we know for certain. Emil Jones is a clown who has been the key enabler of the worst governor in the nation for six years. Without Jones, Blagojevich wouldn't have been able to tie the state government in knots. It will take a long time to undo the harm this unholy duo have caused.

Just leave, OK? Shut up and leave.

Pajamas Media » Ex-Cop Arrested in Oscar Grant Shooting

Pajamas Media » BART Cop Arrested in Oscar Grant Shooting: "In one of the videos, Mehserle can be seen rising from his knees over Grant, drawing his weapon and firing downward. The bullet struck Grant in the back and passed through his body, then ricocheted upward and lodged in his lung. Grant was taken to a local hospital but died from his wounds."
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I watched a video of the incident and I don't see how this can have been a justified shooting.

BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Prisoner star McGoohan dies at 80: "Emmy-winning actor Patrick McGoohan, best known for starring in cult 1960s TV show The Prisoner, has died at the age of 80."
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One of my all-time favorite actors. The Prisoner was good, but Secret Agent was great. If he had taken the role of James Bond, he would have been better than Sean Connery. And his performances in Braveheart and a host of other films were top-notch.

The fix for HOAs won't come from government - Tuesday, January 13, 2009 - The Goldwater Institute

The fix for HOAs won't come from government - Tuesday, January 13, 2009 - The Goldwater Institute: "Government policies have caused developers to oversupply HOAs to meet artificial demand for HOA communities. When HOAs are created to satiate government bureaucrats, rather than homeowners, it shouldn't be surprising that many HOA communities are neither well-crafted nor homeowner-friendly. But, the solution to the HOA problem is not more government intervention. It is less. The first step is for government to stop mandating and subsidizing the creation of HOAs."
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From Nick Dranias. Thanks to Fred Fischer for the link.

California nightmares « For What It’s Worth

California nightmares « For What It’s Worth: "Under a California law enabling people to sue for violations of the disabilities act, here’s a wheelchair-bound cripple who makes “in the low six figures” by suing companies for, say, having an outside towel dispenser too high off the ground. Each suit is for a few thousand dollars - to small to make it worthwhile defending against, to expensive to pay and stay in business."
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The author of the blog post says this is a perfect example of why California is going down the drain. I found the link on Instapundit.

Father and son try to cut to front of line, go to jail | thestarpress.com | The Star Press

Father and son try to cut to front of line, go to jail | thestarpress.com | The Star Press
This is one of those stories that just warms the heart. The mug shots tell the whole story.

Don't throw away leftovers, warn "food police" - Telegraph: "Householders are to be visited by officials offering advice on cooking with leftovers, in a Government initiative to reduce the amount of food that gets thrown away.

Home cooks will also be told what size portions to prepare, taught to understand 'best before' dates and urged to make more use of their freezers.

The door-to-door campaign, which starts tomorrow, will be funded by the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), a Government agency charged with reducing household waste."
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Shu Bartholomew sent this along. The British seem to have lost the notion of limited government somewhere along the line as they make the UK into a literal "nanny state." Can't have a gun, can't hurt a burglar, can't even cook your own food without some bureaucrat telling you to make better use of your leftovers. The amazing thing is not that government officials are running amok and wiping out the entire concept of privacy. It is that the public doesn't put a stop to it. I guess that's why they call them "subjects" instead of "citizens."

Extreme Mortman » A Coup D’état For Crudités - Just When You Thought it Was Safe to Take Politics Seriously Again

Extreme Mortman: Obama Dines With Conservative Opinion Leaders.
: "
It’s true.

He motorcaded to a house in Maryland this evening, and if the press pool report is accurate, he is breaking bread with William Kristol and David Brooks. (If Brooks and Kristol seem to be unusually briefed about Obama’s thinking, you’ll know why.)

CBS News’s Dan Raviv tells the pool that the house, on Grafton Street in Chevy Chase, belongs to George Will. (Unless he’s moved.)"
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This is impressive. He is also meeting with the House Republicans, who he could completely ignore if he wanted to. Maybe he meant it when he said he wanted to be everybody's President...

Chicago Boyz » Blog Archive » Why California is No Longer a Paradise

Chicago Boyz » Blog Archive » Why California is No Longer a Paradise: "California has followed the grim path of the Great Lakes states. As I wrote before, those states where once the industrial dynamo for the entire Earth, yet they destroyed that enormous economic dominance by political policies hostile to economic creativity. Likewise, California had a golden era as an economic and cultural dynamo. Well up until the late 1980s California was the place to go to make it big. People moved from other states to California. Now, internal migration has reversed. California looks less like a dreamland and more like basket case waiting to happen."
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Interesting post, and it makes a lot of sense, but I think it is oversimplified, both with regards to the upper midwest and California. Chicago is a booming city, Detroit is a dump. There are other things going on besides politics.

Bloomberg.com: Worldwide

Bloomberg.com: State pension funds lose $865 billion: "Jan. 13 (Bloomberg) -- State governments from Rhode Island to California have run up estimated pension-fund losses of $865.1 billion, forcing some to cut benefits for new hires.

Assets for 109 state funds declined 37 percent to $1.46 trillion over the 14 months ended Dec. 16, according to the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index of stocks fell 41 percent in the period."
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This is grim--the baby boom retirements are just starting.

McClatchy Washington Bureau | 01/13/2009 | The other dark meat: Raccoon is making it to the table: "In five minutes, Montrose, Mo., trapper Larry Brownsberger is sold out in the lot at 39th Street and Kensington Avenue. Word has gotten around about how clean his frozen raccoon carcasses are. How nicely they’re tucked up in their brown butcher paper. How they almost look like a trussed turkey … or something."
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Time to write a "Depression 2009 Cookbook," with a whole chapter on raccoon. Maybe one on pigeons, another on squirrel, and of course nothing satisfies like edible roots and shrubs from the back yard.

Let homeowners control HOAs

Let homeowners control HOAs: "Across Arizona, there are over 100 developments in financial trouble. Most have homeowner associations that remain under the control of a failed developer or lender. Because of this, hundreds of homeowners live among vacant lots filled with debris and weeds, little or no maintenance for common areas and decreased property values because of the blight. These homeowners want to clean up their neighborhoods but often can't because the developer or bank maintains control of the homeowner association, the common area and the HOA treasury.

Legislation that would allow homeowners to take control of their neighborhood and HOA would be smart and practical for these situations. This is a matter of protecting property rights and home values.

Let's allow those who bought and are living in these new neighborhoods with completion delays make the decisions for the HOA instead of a bank or financially distraught developer"
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So says Sam Wercinski, Arizona's Real Estate Commissioners.

Obama, Blago flip sides of Bizarro plotline :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Carol Marin

Obama, Blago flip sides of Bizarro plotline :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Carol Marin: "As ferociously as we march like villagers with torches against Blagojevich, we have been, in the true spirit of the Bizarro universe, the polar opposite with the president-elect. Deferential, eager to please, prepared to keep a careful distance.

The Obama news conferences tell that story, making one yearn for the return of the always-irritating Sam Donaldson to awaken the slumbering press to the notion that decorum isn't all it's cracked up to be.

The press corps, most of us, don't even bother raising our hands any more to ask questions because Obama always has before him a list of correspondents who've been advised they will be called upon that day."
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It has been obvious for a long time that the press corps loves Obama. Now he has succeeded in turning them into little lap dogs, according to Carol Marin, who is no critic of Obama herself.

The Next Catastrophe: Think Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were a politicized financial disaster? Just wait until pension funds implode. - Reason Magazine

The Next Catastrophe: Think Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were a politicized financial disaster? Just wait until pension funds implode. - Reason Magazine: "State, local, and private pension plans covering millions of government employees and union workers with “defined benefit” accounts are teetering on the brink of implosion, victims of both a sinking stock market and investment strategies influenced by political considerations.

From January to October 2008, defined benefit funds—those promising a predetermined amount of retirement money to the payee—averaged losses of 26 percent, according to Northern Trust Investment Risk and Analytical Services, making it the worst year on record for corporate and public pension funds. The largest public pension fund in the United States, the California Public Employees Retirement Security System (CalPERS), lost a staggering 20 percent of its value in just three months last year. In May 2008, Vallejo, California, became the largest city in the state ever to file for Chapter 9 bankruptcy, thanks largely to unmanageable pension obligations. The situation in San Diego looks worryingly similar. And corporations with defined benefit plans are seeking relief in Washington as part of a bailout season that shows no sign of slowing down."
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Oh, why worry. Let's just wait until it happens, like we do with everything else.

Dems accept Burris into the Senate - Manu Raju and John Bresnahan - Politico.com

Dems accept Burris into the Senate - Manu Raju and John Bresnahan - Politico.com: "The Roland Burris saga is over, as Democratic Senate leaders have accepted his credentials, clearing the way for him to be sworn in as the junior senator from Illinois by the end of this week.

The decision ends an embarrassing chapter in Democratic politics and allows the Senate to move on after the Burris spectacle dominated the opening week of the 111th Congress

In a statement issued after a 45-minute meeting between Senate officials and Burris’ lawyers, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said Burris is the senator-designate from Illinois now that the secretary of the Senate has approved his latest credentials."
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If you look at this situation from start to finish, from when Blagojevich started thinking about filling Obama's seat to the imminent seating of Burris, it is hard to retain any faith in the competence or integrity of our politicians, and particularly the Democrats who are now in charge of the country. It is as though nobody has any concept that their office is a public trust with limited power and a specific governmental purpose. Instead, everybody acts like the office belongs to them, they can do whatever their party will let them get away with, and to hell with any limits. I think the situation would be improved if Illinois voters had the recall power, and I wouldn't mind seeing that at the national level, either. Maybe it is time to amend the Constitution.

Flu shot mismatched on B virus, early data suggests

Flu shot mismatched on B virus, early data suggests: "It appears there may be a partial flu shot mismatch again this year, with early data from Canada, the United States and Britain suggesting the vaccine component meant to protect against influenza B is not a match for the flu B viruses causing the most disease.

Predicting which family of influenza B viruses will dominate in a coming year — and therefore should be covered by the flu shot — is a challenge that has defied the experts in five of the last seven flu seasons, at least so far as disease patterns in North America are concerned."
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On top of everything else, this. And Al Franken is a Senator.

Plan for Christian community clears hurdle - Fall River, MA - The Herald News

Plan for Christian community clears hurdle - Fall River, MA - The Herald News: "Freetown — Proponents of a proposed 100-acre Christian community off East Chipaway Road in East Freetown moved one step closer toward becoming a reality last week.
Attorney Frank MacLean, engineer John Robinson, and the Rev Jose Moniz, pastor of the Calvary Pentecostal Church of New Bedford, met with the Planning Board on Wednesday to discuss bylaw proposals that would make such proposed communities even possible in town."
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I guess if the Massachusetts Bay Colony was OK, you can't say no to a Christian gated community, can you?

The Volokh Conspiracy - -

The Volokh Conspiracy - first Second Amendment case post-Heller?-
Meet US v. Arzberger.

Economic downturn pounds commercial real estate market - USATODAY.com

Economic downturn pounds commercial real estate market - USATODAY.com: "Contractors, investors and developers are bracing for what could be the worst real estate crunch since the early 1990s, when the industry built a small city's worth of speculative office buildings that later went begging for tenants. Commercial property sales plunged 73% last year, according to Real Capital Analytics. Vacancy rates are rising, and hundreds of large properties are in default. The American Institute of Architects' billing index, a leading indicator of construction six months ahead, is at a record low. Unemployment in the construction industry is 15.3%, well above the average 7.2% jobless rate."
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This is a second wave, coming after the housing market collapse. The article says we will have more business bankruptcies, more unemployment, and a drain on any recovery of economic growth.

It's a dog fight! Obamas narrow down pup pick to Labradoodle and Portuguese water hound
If Barack Obama chooses the labradoodle, I may have to revise my opinion of him. That would be a sign of potential greatness. That's Tucker, our labradoodle, playing in the snow with my son Hunter. Great dog.

Bush Says He Refused to Bail Out Republicans With Iraq Withdrawal - FOXNews.com Transition Tracker: "President Bush exudes serenity as he prepares to leave office, content that the war in Iraq is nearly won and he had the fortitude to buck his party despite incredible pressure to withdraw."
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How nice that Bush feels wonderful about himself. Now, if he could just get out of town.

Earth on the Brink of an Ice Age - Pravda.Ru

Earth on the Brink of an Ice Age - Pravda.Ru: "The earth is now on the brink of entering another Ice Age, according to a large and compelling body of evidence from within the field of climate science. Many sources of data which provide our knowledge base of long-term climate change indicate that the warm, twelve thousand year-long Holocene period will rather soon be coming to an end, and then the earth will return to Ice Age conditions for the next 100,000 years."
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This is in Pravda, and that means "truth" in Russian, so I guess it must be true.

Why does Obama think he is Abraham Lincoln?: "On Inauguration Day, not only will President-elect Obama be sworn in using the Bible that was used to swear in President Abraham Lincoln, he will dine like Lincoln as well.

The luncheon that will be served in Congress's Statuary Hall to the president-elect and vice president-elect and their families -- as well as congressional leaders, justices of the Supreme Court and pending members of the Obama Cabinet -- will be modeled after foods that Lincoln ate and enjoyed.

The first course will even be served on replicas of the china picked out by then-first lady Mary Todd Lincoln at the beginning of her husband's term in office."
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I notice Obama left out the oysters and substituted scallops, shrimp, and lobster. That doesn't cut it. You can add in as many kinds of "seafood" as you like, but the bottom line is, if you want to be Lincoln II, you have to eat the oysters with gusto.

I happen to love oysters, but I don't think I'm Abraham Lincoln and I don't want to be President.

Unanticipated relief for anxious homeowners - The Boston Globe

Unanticipated relief for anxious homeowners - The Boston Globe: "Homeowners in fear that payments on their adjustable-rate mortgages will shoot up this year can relax. Their monthly costs will probably be the about the same, or even less, because interest rates have fallen to historic lows."
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"Relax" might be too strong a word. Perhaps "take the pistol barrel out of their mouths" might be closer to the truth.

FT.com / Weekend columnists / Tim Harford - Dear Economist: What should I charge China for Michigan?

FT.com / Weekend columnists / Tim Harford - Dear Economist: What should I charge China for Michigan?: "Here in Michigan we have a problem: the automobile industry. Thanks to foreign competition and the doubtful management of the Big Three, the state’s economy is in serious trouble. Should we just sell the state to the Chinese? There is a history of this in Michigan – we once traded the city of Toledo to Ohio in exchange for the upper peninsula. So perhaps it would be a good idea. But what would be a good price?
Mrs J, Michigan"
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That's one down, 49 to go.

Munibond racketeering rife - Feds have multi-agency investigation | Toll Roads News

Munibond racketeering rife - Feds have multi-agency investigation | Toll Roads News: "Bid rigging, tax evasion and other forms of racketeering are rife in the municipal bond business and a huge multijurisdiction criminal investigation has been underway for several years now, the New York Times reports in its business pages. Public toll agencies base almost all their longterm financing on the municipal bond markets so it is of great interest within the US toll industry.

The criminal investigation started as an IRS affair but has ballooned to involve FBI, USDOJ, SEC, and several state law enforcement agencies.

'“It’s rare to sell a Senate seat, but it’s not rare to sell a bond deal. Pay-to-play in the municipal bond market is epidemic. It looks as if there has been price-fixing and bid-rigging on a major scale,' a recently retired IRS manager Charles Anderson told the Times. Anderson was manager of tax-exempt bond operations at the IRS.

The Times report also quotes Michael Hausfeld an anti-trust lawyer in Washington who represents some of the state and municipal governments caught up in the federal dragnet as saying the munibond investigation is 'one of the longest-running, most economically pervasive antitrust conspiracies ever to be uncovered in the US.'"
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Well--when this turns from an investigation into an indictment, it will cause another huge disruption in the fiscal environment of state and local governments, and probably universities as well.

Politics in Northeast Pennsylvania: Dunmore Bankrupt?

Politics in Northeast Pennsylvania: Dunmore Bankrupt?: "The Borough of Dunmore is considering going bankrupt. According to the Scranton Times, Dunmore’s sadistic 36% tax increase simply will not be enough to cover the financial mismanagement of the Borough.

While not entirely ruling out Act 47 (Distressed Municipality) protection, Democrat Melanie Naro seems to be favoring the idea of bankruptcy. It is her opinion that Dunmore might find a more favorable position in bankruptcy instead of Distressed City Status.

Sine inception of Act 47 in 1987, no municipality has filed for bankruptcy. Neighboring municipality Scranton, has been operating under Act 47 protection. Democrat Mayor Chris Doherty has not been able to escape Act 47 during his tenure.

Regardless of the decision council makes, the situation looks bleak in Dunmore."
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This is another blogspot post from a blog called "Politics in Northeast Pennsylvania" that tells of a possible municipal bankruptcy.

Unpaid fees put Florida condo owners in foreclosure - St. Petersburg Times

Unpaid fees put Florida condo owners in foreclosure - St. Petersburg Times: "Sitting in her small condo in one of Tampa Bay's biggest retirement communities as her hands tremble, a 75-year-old woman reads a letter threatening to put her out of her home. Like so many other Floridians, Ann Studen is facing foreclosure. But in her case, it has nothing to do with her mortgage. She's four months behind on her $280 monthly maintenance fees, and her condo board has put a lien on her $70,000 unit.

It happens more often than you might think. While no one tracks foreclosures prompted by homeowner boards and associations, there are a rising number of people in Studen's situation, according to civil court judges and condominium officials."
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It happens a lot, and not more than I think.

Rust Never Sleeps | Anthony Bourdain

Rust Never Sleeps | Anthony Bourdain: "I don't know what the Chamber of Commerce will think of the Baltimore segment—or the city fathers of the other cities we're visiting on what we're referring to privately as the 'Rust Belt' show, but I can tell you that I am already a big fan of pit beef, the wonders of 'lake trout' (neither trout—nor from a lake as it turns out), and the heavy but wonderful, vodka soaked charms of Detroit Polish food and Macedonian pastries. And I wonder what my Russian friend and sidekick, Zamir is making of all this, the bombed out, half deserted inner cities, the abandoned Ford plant, the funny, tough-as-nails hard working people we're meeting whose jobs are either gone or under threat. I told Zamir I'd show him America and that's what I'm doing."
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Food of the Rust Belt Cities? Sounds enticing.

Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon indicted on perjury, theft charges -- baltimoresun.com: "Baltimore Mayor Sheila A. Dixon was charged today by the state prosecutor in a 12-count indictment.

Dixon was charged with four counts of perjury and two counts of theft over $500, as well as theft under $500, fraudulent misappropriation by a fiduciary and misconduct in office. The charges stem in part from gifts she received from former boyfriend and developer Ronald H. Lipscomb, who was also charged earlier this week.

A grand jury indicted Dixon on 12 counts, including four counts of perjury and two counts of theft over $500. She was also charged with theft under $500, fraudulent misappropriation by a fiduciary and misconduct in office.

Dixon, a Democrat, has been the target of a nearly three-year probe by State Prosecutor Robert A. Rohrbaugh into corruption at City Hall, an investigation that has centered on allegations that Dixon has used her office to award lucrative contracts to various people including her sister, her then-boyfriend and her former campaign chairman."
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This non-Illinois public official indictment interlude is brought to you by a vigorous local prosecutor.

Microsoft's Ballmer: Windows 7 is nearly final

Microsoft's Ballmer: Windows 7 is nearly final: "The new operating system—which could be available for purchase on PCs within a year—uses much of the same underlying technology as its predecessor, the much-maligned Vista. But Windows 7 aims to resolve many problems PC users had with Vista. For instance, Microsoft pledges to make it easier to install peripheral devices and to have the software pump out fewer annoying warnings and notifications.

Ballmer also pledged that Windows 7 will boot faster and drain laptop batteries more slowly.

'I believe Windows will remain at the center of people's technological solar system,' Ballmer said. 'We're putting in all the right ingredients: simplicity, reliability and speed, and we're working hard to get it right and to get it ready.'"
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To me, Windows is the life-destroying, energy-sucking black hole at the center of our technological galaxy, and I am trying to get my little Millenium Falcon moving at light speed in the opposite direction. Unfortunately Microsoft has successfully metastasized this monstrosity--and the even more execrable Microsoft Word--throughout the institutions of higher education, law, and government. That makes a full blown escape impossible.

Mosquitoes match wing beats before mating - Yahoo! News: "Researchers at Cornell University have discovered that Aedes aegypti mosquitoes — the ones that spread diseases like yellow and dengue fever — alter their wing vibrations in a mating signal.

The good news is that the finding could lead to better ways to control mosquitoes, according to Ronald R. Hoy, an author of the report published Thursday in the online edition of the journal Science."
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So it appears that the way to prevent diseases is...to release sterile male mosquitoes who are terrific dancers. Call it the disco strategy.

Thanks to Fred Pilot for this fascinating story.

Yard Junk Prompts Indictment - washingtonpost.com

Yard Junk Prompts Indictment - washingtonpost.com: "For a decade, Mount Rainier officials tried to get Wade Dunston Jr. to clean up the tires, TV sets and other debris that littered his yard. Cited dozens of times for code violations, Dunston usually cleaned up on days he was due in court, only to fall back to his old ways, authorities said.

Yesterday, prosecutors in Prince George's County announced that Dunston and his mother, Lillie M. Dunston, who owns the property, have been indicted on misdemeanor charges of illegal dumping. The offense carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $30,000 fine."
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Tom Skiba sent this link along. What a mess. I am surprised the place hasn't burned down already.

Extinct animals could be brought back to life thanks to advances in DNA technology - Telegraph: "The idea of resurrecting extinct animals moved a step closer to reality last year when scientists announced that they had decoded almost all of the genome of the woolly mammoth, from 60,000-year-old remains found frozen in Siberia.

Now New Scientist magazine has named the 10 other beasts most likely to rise again, including the Irish elk deer whose antlers measured 12 feet across, the dodo and Neanderthal man."
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Seems to me we have plenty of Neanderthals. Try to watch a movie in a theater sometime.

I think we'd be better off trying to decode the genome of James Madison or Abraham Lincoln so we can get some decent politicians.

U.S. companies face $409 billion pension deficit: study - Yahoo! Finance

U.S. companies face $409 billion pension deficit: study - Yahoo! Finance: "NEW YORK (Reuters) - Volatile markets have saddled U.S. companies with a $409 billion deficit on pension plans, reversing a $60 billion surplus a year earlier, and will cut into earnings in 2009, consulting firm Mercer said."
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The scariest thing about the economy is not the indices--the Dow, the NASDAQ, etc.--because they go up and down all the time. They will go up again. It is the shockingly precarious financial situation of so many institutions, and at a time when the big daddy bank, the US government, is massively in debt with no end in sight. We have states hovering near insolvency, cities and counties bleeding money, major corporations going belly up, and on and on. This means that many people will be hit hard when particular companies or governments...or hoas and condo associations...go under.

Top Scams of 2008

Top Scams of 2008: "10. Mortgage Foreclosure Rescue Scams
Mortgage foreclosures in Wisconsin are on the rise – up 18 percent from August to September 2008, and up 13 percent from September 2007. And, since troubled properties are public record and easily accessible to the public, mortgage “rescue” scams are on the rise, too. These scams play out in one of two ways: the homeowner pays a large, upfront fee to the rescue company to work with his lender to renegotiate the mortgage, but the rescue company takes the money and is never seen again. Or, the rescue company takes advantage of the homeowner by buying the house below market value, and rents the property back to the homeowner at the same price (or higher) as the homeowner’s original mortgage. In either scenario, the homeowner has not only lost his house, but also loses the money he paid upfront – money which would have been better spent if he’d applied it to his mortgage."
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Nasty. But a person would have to be a bit gullible to fall for either of these, it seems to me.

Lawmakers dream up a condo and homeowner law wish list -- South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com

Lawmakers dream up a condo and homeowner law wish list -- South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com: "As president of Cyber Citizens for Justice, a statewide group that represents condo unit and home owners, Jan Bergemann says he hears lots of complaints about the precarious situation those who pay their cable and utility bills are left in when others in the association do not.

'We have to stop these bulk contracts,' said Bergemann. 'If some people don't pay their bills, that often means other owners have to pay more' to avoid being cut off. 'I talked to a guy last week who says he is paying [the equivalent] of four cable bills because about one in four of his neighbors are not paying their bill.'

Bergemann favors a law that would allow unit owners to pay individually for their TV, electricity, garbage and water bills."
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Check out the various proposals. The article says HOA/condo law reform will be a major issue in Florida this year.

Homeowner's priority: Cut crime, not grass -- dailypress.com

Homeowner's priority: Cut crime, not grass -- dailypress.com: "In 2008, the association budgeted $116,000 on its contract for landscape maintenance. The budget for security patrols was $43,680. The figures in 2009 will be approximately $120,000 on landscape maintenance and $50,000 for security, according to the association."
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With 9 break-ins in a 6-week period, I think the complaining owner has a good point here.

Pa. man opens neighbor's door with chain saw - Yahoo! News: "SCRANTON, Pa. – An eastern Pennsylvania man may face up to 37 years in prison for tearing open a neighbor's door with a chain saw. Police say 34-year-old Robert Kane began sawing through the front door of Jamie Zaleski's apartment in Scranton while Zaleski and several friends ran out the back.

Kane was angry because a friend of Zaleski's parked in front of his house across the street."
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I think this takes the defense of property a bit far, especially considering that Kane didn't own the street. He actually took this all the way to a jury trial. I wonder what his defense was. "Hey, I knocked, I rang the bell...What is a chainsaw wielding maniac to do?"

Thanks to Fred Pilot for this insight into Joe Biden's home town.

Democrats misstepped in handling Burris matter

Democrats misstepped in handling Burris matter: "WASHINGTON (AP) - Senate Democrats who thought they could push away Roland Burris misjudged the racial fallout, underestimated public reaction and wound up on shaky legal ground.

The blunders began when the Democrats, including President-elect Barack Obama, insisted they would not seat Burris as the Senate's only black member because the appointment came from a governor accused of trying to sell Obama' former seat.

On Wednesday, they all but admitted being outflanked by Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, praising Burris and suggesting he soon will be a senator.

Eight days ago, Obama and Senate Democratic leaders saw Blagojevich as so politically damaged that they announced they would reject anyone he appointed to finish Obama's term. Every Democratic senator signed a letter to the same effect.

Privately, key Democrats now admit they miscalculated from the start. They spent this week trying to backtrack and save face."
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This is the first article I have seen that states clearly what happened, and puts the President-elect right in the middle of it, where he really was. Now the Democrats are scurrying in all directions. The senators are trying to blame Jesse White, as though we are all so stupid that we don't remember what they said a week ago. Obama is pretending he never got involved, never took a position, and didn't see nuttin--which is so typical of his behavior as an Illinois politician that I am sure it is hard-wired into his brain. And no doubt Jesse White will come up with a different excuse in a day or so when he signs the certification of Burris' appointment.

Firedoglake » I Want to Play Poker with Harry Reid: "A seventy-one year old dude who hasn't held office for 14 years, appointed by a crook, takes the Senate Majority Leader to the cleaners."
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Pithy analysis of the way Blago and Burris easily managed to pants Harry Reid.

French TV claims photos from 2005 showed damage from Israel's Gaza operation - Haaretz - Israel News

French TV claims photos from 2005 showed damage from Israel's Gaza operation - Haaretz - Israel News: "French public television network France 2 on Tuesday revealed they had aired photographs that allegedly showed destruction caused by the Israel Air Force during Operation Cast Lead, which were in fact taken during a different incident in 2005, one in which Gaza civilians were killed by an explosion caused by militants in the Strip."
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Other than being 4 years out of date and showing the other side's handiwork, I'm sure it made for great journalism.

Real-Estate Executive Found Dead in Apparent Suicide - WSJ.com

Real-Estate Executive Found Dead in Apparent Suicide - WSJ.com: "CHICAGO -- Real-estate executive Steven L. Good was found dead of an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound Monday in his Jaguar in a forest preserve outside Chicago, said the Kane County Sheriff's Department."

FT.com / Companies / Pharmaceuticals - Billionaire Merckle commits suicide

FT.com / Companies / Pharmaceuticals - Billionaire Merckle commits suicide: "Adolf Merckle, one of Germany’s wealthiest men, committed suicide after weeks of talks with creditors designed to save his businesses from being consumed by disastrous investments and the global financial crisis.

The billionaire, 74, was said by his family to have been “broken” by the sight of his business empire, which ranged from pharmaceuticals to cement, crumbling. He died on Monday evening, apparently hit by a train a few hundred metres from his home in southern Germany."

Porn Bailout: Larry Flynt, Joe Francis Seeking Government Money

Porn Bailout: Larry Flynt, Joe Francis Seeking Government Money: "An article in next month's Atlantic asks, 'Is porn recession proof?' According to porn magnate Larry Flynt and 'Girls Gone Wild' king Joe Francis, the answer is no.

TMZ reports that the pornographer pair is heading to Washington to ask for a $5 billion porn bailout:

'With all this economic misery and people losing all that money, sex is the farthest thing from their mind,' Flynt says. 'It's time for Congress to rejuvenate the sexual appetite of America.'"
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This gives the term "economic stimulus package" new meaning.

Obama refuses to take stand on seating Burris

See? Nobody will ever pin The One down on anything that smells bad. Not ever.

Senate Democrats Plan To Accept Burris For Obama's Vacant Seat - cbs2chicago.com

Senate Democrats Plan To Accept Burris For Obama's Vacant Seat - cbs2chicago.com
What did I tell you last week?

I was listening to Dick Durbin as he followed the pathetic Harry Reid, who made an ass of himself at the mike and then shambled off as he turned it over to the former ambulance chaser. Durbin then began to lay a vast slime trail as he attempted to rewrite history and provide some sort of cover for the Democrat's disgraceful and illegal behavior, culminating in their sudden reversal of position and full-blown capitulation.

Now they claim they are waiting for Jesse White, the Democrat Illinois Secretary of State, to be ordered to do his job by the Illinois Supreme Court. I once had great respect for White, but his role in this travesty is so inexcusable, so blatantly illegal, that if there were any semblance of justice in this thoroughly corrupt state, White would be impeached even before Blagojevich.

Make no mistake--these morons have lost to Blagojevich, just as I predicted last week. Chump that he is, Blago nonetheless made complete fools of all of them.

Senate Majority Leader? Assistant Majority Leader? These are two of the most powerful legislators in the greatest nation on earth, buffaloed and embarrassed by the likes of Blagojevich. And of course The One, as usual, is nowhere to be found. Get used to that, because he is a genius at avoiding responsibility, having practiced the art for his entire adult life.

This country is badly led at a time when it is in desperate need of wise and responsible guidance.

California may delay tax refunds amid budget impasse - Los Angeles Times

California in deep, deep trouble : "Reporting from Sacramento -- State officials on Tuesday braced for the possibility of delaying tax refunds to millions of Californians, along with student grants and payments to vendors, as the latest round of budget negotiations between Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Democratic legislators collapsed.

With little more than a month's worth of cash left in the state treasury, the governor and lawmakers have been unable to agree on how to erase a budget gap projected to reach $41.6 billion by the middle of next year. Democrats announced Tuesday that two weeks of discussions had ended in an impasse and sent Schwarzenegger the $18-billion fiscal package they passed last month. The governor vetoed it, as he had promised to do."
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Fred Pilot sent this along. At $42 billion, California is deeper in the hole than any other state, but this isn't just an economic problem. I think the state may well go bankrupt because they are unable to manage their own economic affairs. Underlying the deficit is a breakdown of the political system, and underlying that are some demographic issues that may make it impossible to solve either the political or economic problems.

The middle class has been fleeing the state for some time now, headed for parts east where they get a better deal on taxes, schools, public safety, traffic, home prices, and the other things that matter to them. And the state is the preferred destination for poor people from other nations, for whom it remains a great place to live when compared with where they came from.

The demographic shifts in the state have pushed politics to the far left, except The Governator. But he won't be there forever. LA has a socialist mayor who will likely become the socialist governor pretty soon. And look at the policies that emanate from the People's Republic of San Francisco these days, where there are a million dogs but no children, unless I take mine to visit my sister.

The farmers can't leave because the land is still in that state, but if I were a landowner in the Inland Empire I'd be pushing to cut the state up into three parts and try to salvage one third. That would leave an economy that leads the world in producing movies, music, and litigation, and not much else.

Carnegie Corporation - News

Leading Public Educators Issue Open Letter to President-Elect Obama Urging Investment in Public Higher Education to Rebuild America's Economy: "The higher education leaders who signed the open letter applauded President-elect Obama's commitment to make college more affordable and accessible and to sustain equal opportunity for students to obtain a college education by increasing Pell grants, increasing access to student loans, and extending the grace period for their repayment. In addition, they urged the next administration to make a direct investment in the range of $40 to $50 billion that would support both higher education teaching and research facilities, in partnership with the states."
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Public universities hop into the bailout line.

L.A. water cops get muscle to fight drought - Weather- msnbc.com

L.A. water cops get muscle to fight drought - Weather- msnbc.com: "The green thumbs who keep lawns lush and flora flourishing in the city have found a new foe among the aphids, white flies and other yard pests — the water police.

Just as some scofflaws keep an eye out for black-and-white patrol cars, gardeners have learned to spot the white Toyota Priuses driven by Los Angeles water cops out to fight waste as California struggles with an extended drought."
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Here's a plot for a movie. The LA Water Police go to war with the HOA boards that are fining people for not watering their lawns. SWAT teams, shootouts, drownings...kind of a Chinatown meets Snowcrash. What do you think?

Empty homes create new challenges: "A number of challenges face neighborhoods with the higher concentrations of foreclosures. Homeowner associations could find themselves having to raise fees as they struggle to stay on top of maintenance of common areas. Traditional neighborhoods face similar problems as they struggle to stay attractive to potential buyers without a mechanism in place to keep properties well maintained."
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The Arizona Republic study cited in the article says the "traditional neighborhoods" were hit harder by foreclosures in Chandler than the newer ones, where the CIDs were. But I would point out that "traditional neighborhoods" are full of individual property owners who don't get hit with a a special assessment followed by a lien. In other words, they are not chained to each other like galley slaves who have to go down with the ship. Remember that scene from Ben Hur?

Brookside Square now has both neighborhood and homeowners' associations - Columbia Missourian

Brookside Square now has both neighborhood and homeowners' associations - Columbia Missourian: "Cantin said that for the past few months, the council has been looking at its policy on neighborhood associations to update it from the 1977 version. The council will decide whether neighborhood associations will have more of a role in city government and will receive funding from the city.

The council is also considering how homeowners’ associations fit into city government. Currently, only neighborhood associations are recognized, meaning the council and staff contact these entities with questions and city planning issues. The situation with the Brookside Square Neighborhood Association has caused the council to start looking at whether homeowners' associations should receive more recognition from the city and whether neighborhood associations are needed in areas where homeowners’ associations are already in place, Cantin said."
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So they have a mandatory membership HOA and a voluntary neighborhood association, and the city is trying to figure out how to relate to either/both of them.

Canyon Courier News, Sports, Entertainment and information for Evergreen, Colorado: "A homeowner and experienced hunter on Bergen View Trail woke up New Year’s Eve morning about 7 a.m. and spotted three, never-before-tagged young mountain lions on his property.

One was trapped in the chicken coop behind his house, and another one was stalking around the front of the house. A third lion was keeping track of the one in the cage."
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We are on yur lonn, eatin yur chikenz.

Fayette schools to teachers: Please donate your raises | ajc.com

Fayette schools to teachers: Please donate your raises | ajc.com: "School board members say if the county’s teachers would return their 2.5 percent raises, it could keep the 24,000-student system afloat. Should they all return the raises, it would add roughly $4 million to the system’s coffers.

In Monday night’s meeting, board members decided they had nothing to lose by writing a letter to Fayette’s roughly 1,800 contracted teachers asking them to voluntarily “make a donation” to the system’s financial well-being."
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Prediction: this tree will fail to bear much fruit.