In Gingrich Mold, a New Voice for Solid Resistance in G.O.P. - NYTimes.com: "As Republicans confronted President Obama in another budget battle last week, their leadership included another new face: Representative Eric Cantor of Virginia, who as the party’s chief vote wrangler is as responsible as anyone for the tough line the party has taken in this first legislative standoff with Mr. Obama. This battle has vaulted Mr. Cantor to the front lines of his party as it tries to recover from the losses of November."
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I was convinced the congressional Republicans were incapable of giving authority to anybody except chubby, jowly, inarticulate, insensitive dorks. It seems that I may have been wrong. Michael Steele, Eric Cantor...can it be that this party is regenerating itself?
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Friday, February 13, 2009
Selig could make Hank Aaron HR king again | ajc.com: "Christine Brennan of USA Today called on Selig to alter baseball’s record book and reinstate Aaron as the official record-holder for the most career home runs. Aaron hit 755 in 23 seasons. Bonds broke Aaron’s record in 2007, and with his career seemingly over, he has 762 in 22 seasons.
In a telephone interview with Brennan on Wednesday, Selig said of altering the record book: “Once you start tinkering, you can create more problems. But I’m not dismissing it. I’m concerned. I’d like to get more evidence.”"
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No way. This is not a bell that can be unrung. Besides, if you make Barry Bonds mad he will hunt you down and throw his head at you.
Pensions: the Polio of the 21st century | Pundit Review
Pensions: the Polio of the 21st century | Pundit Review: "A pension war is brewing — and it’s likely to pit state and municipal employees against citizens who foot the bill for government pension plans with their state tax dollars.
While employees of most companies have watched their 40l(k) plans — and their retirement hopes — shrivel in the bear market, public employees have been smiling."
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No doubt about it--this is coming, and it will be uglier than homemade sin.
While employees of most companies have watched their 40l(k) plans — and their retirement hopes — shrivel in the bear market, public employees have been smiling."
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No doubt about it--this is coming, and it will be uglier than homemade sin.
Hyatt and Stubblefield Blog: Keeping Homeowners Informed and Happy
Hyatt and Stubblefield Blog: Keeping Homeowners Informed and Happy: "During tough economic times, while it may prove necessary to reduce operating costs by, for example, limiting access to amenities or even shutting them down altogether, it is also imperative that the association keep homeowners informed throughout the decision-making process. Although excluding homeowners from decision-making may seem like the easiest, most conflict-free way to go, overlooking homeowner opinion may turn out to be the worst possible course of action, as angry homeowners may react very strongly and negatively to such lack of communication and involvement."
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Good advice from Wayne Hyatt's firm, I'd say. Too bad more association lawyers and managers don't see things that way.
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Good advice from Wayne Hyatt's firm, I'd say. Too bad more association lawyers and managers don't see things that way.
Maryland Officials Upset Homeowner Associations Over Clotheslines|NewsChannel 8
Maryland Officials Upset Homeowner Associations Over Clotheslines|NewsChannel 8: "FREDERICK COUNTY, Md. - Frederick County state representatives are promoting energy efficiency, asking residents to make use of their backyards to dry clothes, but it's a move that's stirring up controversy with homeowner associations.
'It is a community with a feeling of community, and this is why I feel for us to be told that we have to do away with what we agreed to is stepping on us,' said Worman's Mill housing association treasurer Cora Alter.
The Frederick community is responding to a bill that district delegates are pushing forward in Annapolis. If the bill goes forward, it will require homeowners associations to allow clothesline use - a way to promote and increase energy conservation.
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That's quite a sentence Cora Alter cranked off. If you try to break it down logically your brain will start leaking from your ears.
'It is a community with a feeling of community, and this is why I feel for us to be told that we have to do away with what we agreed to is stepping on us,' said Worman's Mill housing association treasurer Cora Alter.
The Frederick community is responding to a bill that district delegates are pushing forward in Annapolis. If the bill goes forward, it will require homeowners associations to allow clothesline use - a way to promote and increase energy conservation.
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That's quite a sentence Cora Alter cranked off. If you try to break it down logically your brain will start leaking from your ears.
Baseball Crank: POLITICS: Barack Obama's Gift To Conservatives
Baseball Crank: POLITICS: Barack Obama's Gift To Conservatives: "If Republicans support the Democrats' economic agenda and the economy gets better, Democrats will get all the credit.
If Republicans oppose the Democrats' economic agenda and the economy gets better, Democrats will get all the credit.
If Republicans support the Democrats' economic agenda and the economy does not get better, the two parties will share the blame.
If Republicans oppose the Democrats' economic agenda and the economy does not get better, Democrats alone will get the blame.
In other words, as a strictly political matter, the only major risk for the Democrats, and the only possible upside for Republicans, is if Republicans can distinguish themselves from what the Democrats are doing. And by taking the 'I won' approach, Obama is allowing, even compelling, moderate Republicans to do just that. The result is an opposition that is energized and sees a path to recovery, rather than one that is divided, demoralized and outmaneuvered."
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Interesting analysis of the options facing the Republicans. I look at it from an electoral politics standpoint more than the rhetorical gamesmanship.
If the Republicans can't do something fast about their standing with young voters, Hispanic voters, and Asian voters, they are going the way of the Federalists and the Whigs. In the last election they scored about 1/3 of the votes from each of those three groups. A party of old white people has no future. If the Republicans can't turn this around before the next election--and I mean 2010--the Democratic Party may split and form a new second party that will replace the Republicans.
At this point I see a Republican Party with no leadership, little idea what it stands for, in total disrepute with most of the electorate, and no idea how to connect with emerging political forces and social groups. Bush built nothing the party could use, left no political heir, created no political infrastructure for them, and left no lasting accomplishments they can take credit for.
Instead, he rode the "War on Terror" horse into the desert until it died. Then he grabbed a helicopter to a gated community in Texas, leaving his party behind in the desert, with no food or water. The Republicans should be naming toxic waste dumps after him, but most of them still speak well of him...in public.
If Republicans oppose the Democrats' economic agenda and the economy gets better, Democrats will get all the credit.
If Republicans support the Democrats' economic agenda and the economy does not get better, the two parties will share the blame.
If Republicans oppose the Democrats' economic agenda and the economy does not get better, Democrats alone will get the blame.
In other words, as a strictly political matter, the only major risk for the Democrats, and the only possible upside for Republicans, is if Republicans can distinguish themselves from what the Democrats are doing. And by taking the 'I won' approach, Obama is allowing, even compelling, moderate Republicans to do just that. The result is an opposition that is energized and sees a path to recovery, rather than one that is divided, demoralized and outmaneuvered."
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Interesting analysis of the options facing the Republicans. I look at it from an electoral politics standpoint more than the rhetorical gamesmanship.
If the Republicans can't do something fast about their standing with young voters, Hispanic voters, and Asian voters, they are going the way of the Federalists and the Whigs. In the last election they scored about 1/3 of the votes from each of those three groups. A party of old white people has no future. If the Republicans can't turn this around before the next election--and I mean 2010--the Democratic Party may split and form a new second party that will replace the Republicans.
At this point I see a Republican Party with no leadership, little idea what it stands for, in total disrepute with most of the electorate, and no idea how to connect with emerging political forces and social groups. Bush built nothing the party could use, left no political heir, created no political infrastructure for them, and left no lasting accomplishments they can take credit for.
Instead, he rode the "War on Terror" horse into the desert until it died. Then he grabbed a helicopter to a gated community in Texas, leaving his party behind in the desert, with no food or water. The Republicans should be naming toxic waste dumps after him, but most of them still speak well of him...in public.
McClatchy Washington Bureau | 02/12/2009 | Will the stimulus actually stimulate? Economists say no
McClatchy Washington Bureau | 02/12/2009 | Will the stimulus actually stimulate? Economists say no: "WASHINGTON — The compromise economic stimulus plan agreed to by negotiators from the House of Representatives and the Senate is short on incentives to get consumers spending again and long on social goals that won't stimulate economic activity, according to a range of respected economists."
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Not being an economist, I don't pretend to know whether the Obama/Pelosi/Reid stimulus bill will work or not. However, I am struck by the pretend certainty all three of them display. Clearly there is disagreement among economists, so how can these three be so sure they are doing the right thing? One possibility is they don't know if it will stimulate the economy, but they are dead certain it will shower money on their supporters, and that's the main goal. I heard one Democrat senator the other day saying they can always come back for more money later, if this bill doesn't do the trick. How can that be possible? I get the sense that we are in the hands of people who have no concept that this is not their money they are spending.
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Not being an economist, I don't pretend to know whether the Obama/Pelosi/Reid stimulus bill will work or not. However, I am struck by the pretend certainty all three of them display. Clearly there is disagreement among economists, so how can these three be so sure they are doing the right thing? One possibility is they don't know if it will stimulate the economy, but they are dead certain it will shower money on their supporters, and that's the main goal. I heard one Democrat senator the other day saying they can always come back for more money later, if this bill doesn't do the trick. How can that be possible? I get the sense that we are in the hands of people who have no concept that this is not their money they are spending.
States Recruit Worried Californians - WSJ.com
States Recruit Worried Californians - WSJ.com: "Several Western states are launching aggressive efforts to poach jobs, talent and industry from California, sensing an opportunity to capitalize on the Golden State's current political and financial woes."
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Pretty heavy irony, California having been the destination state of dissatisfied easterners and midwesterners for the better part of the 20th century. It was a place of unlimited opportunity for people with ideas, creativity, ambition, or just the willingness to work hard. No outside forces can be blamed for the crash of the Golden State. The place has been bankrupted by its own politics and policies. What a tragedy.
There is a moral to the story: the working, striving, middle class is the key to prosperity and social stability. If government treats them like dirt--taxing them to death, making businesses miserable, mocking middle class social values--it is the beginning of the end.
There is also a lesson for the folks running the US right now. They may want to take a few minutes off from their fantastic spending orgy, and their planned anti-carbon and anti-business environmental policies, to think about the tax impact on the middle class a few years from now. This much borrowing will lead to inflation. A loaf of bread will cost ten bucks. Social security, medicare, and every single pension fund will be overloaded with baby boomers--that is just inevitable. At some point the Chinese won't want to lend us any more money. And that's when the federal government will be asking us for huge tax increases. The US will have become California.
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Pretty heavy irony, California having been the destination state of dissatisfied easterners and midwesterners for the better part of the 20th century. It was a place of unlimited opportunity for people with ideas, creativity, ambition, or just the willingness to work hard. No outside forces can be blamed for the crash of the Golden State. The place has been bankrupted by its own politics and policies. What a tragedy.
There is a moral to the story: the working, striving, middle class is the key to prosperity and social stability. If government treats them like dirt--taxing them to death, making businesses miserable, mocking middle class social values--it is the beginning of the end.
There is also a lesson for the folks running the US right now. They may want to take a few minutes off from their fantastic spending orgy, and their planned anti-carbon and anti-business environmental policies, to think about the tax impact on the middle class a few years from now. This much borrowing will lead to inflation. A loaf of bread will cost ten bucks. Social security, medicare, and every single pension fund will be overloaded with baby boomers--that is just inevitable. At some point the Chinese won't want to lend us any more money. And that's when the federal government will be asking us for huge tax increases. The US will have become California.
Six Meat Buffet » Blog Archive » The Revolutionary War Was Started Over Less: "Who can mobilize enough people for a March on Washington against the porkulus bill? It is clear by Harry Reid’s addition of an $8+ Billion light rail from Las Vegas to Los Angeles that the wish list keeps growing and there is no standard for Arlen Spektre or the RINOs in name that reign mainly from Maine to ever oppose it.
I would argue that this bill is so large that it demands consent from the public in the form of a special election. San Fran Nan’s grin has had more cuts made to it than the bill has.
It’s pitchfork and torch time. If Congress doesn’t listen to us then it should be burnt to the ground. It would still be exponentially cheaper to rebuild than our entire economy after this legislative abomination wrecks it."
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What time is it? According to this fellow, "It's pitchfork and torch time." Second time in two days I've run across this imagery. Some folks are feeling that the Obama/Reid/Pelosi regime is running amok.
Obama: My plan means rehires here. CEO: Actually, more layoffs first | Top of the Ticket | Los Angeles Times
Obama: My plan means rehires here. CEO: Actually, more layoffs first | Top of the Ticket | Los Angeles Times: Speaking in East Peoria, President Obama says: "Yesterday, Jim, the head of Caterpillar, said that if Congress passes our plan, this company will be able to rehire some of the folks who were just laid off. And that's a story I'm confident will be repeated at companies across the country.'
Jim Owens, chief executive officer of Caterpillar who announced 22,000 layoffs recently and supports the president's plan, was asked if he agreed with that re-hiring assessment:
'I think, realistically, no. The truth is we're going to have more layoffs before we start hiring again.'"
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I wonder is there is a point where the press starts to acknowledge that they helped elect somebody whose lack of executive experience is a significant problem for this country.
Jim Owens, chief executive officer of Caterpillar who announced 22,000 layoffs recently and supports the president's plan, was asked if he agreed with that re-hiring assessment:
'I think, realistically, no. The truth is we're going to have more layoffs before we start hiring again.'"
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I wonder is there is a point where the press starts to acknowledge that they helped elect somebody whose lack of executive experience is a significant problem for this country.
CNN Political Ticker: All politics, all the time Blog Archive - In Ford’s Theater, Obama invokes forbidden word « - Blogs from CNN.com
CNN Political Ticker: All politics, all the time Blog Archive - In Ford’s Theater, Obama invokes forbidden word: "Macbeth": "On a trip to Ford’s Theater, site of President Lincoln’s assassination, Obama paid tribute to the 16th president’s ability to recall passages of Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Macbeth. And with that reference, he unwittingly ventured into what many theater hands believe to be dangerous territory: any mention of the name of the doomed Scottish king in a theater outside of a performance is considered verboten by many actors, who believe it will result in a cursed production — including a greater possibility of injury, bankruptcy, even death."
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Oops. And just as the stimulus package is about to pass. Watch out for Banquo's ghost.
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Oops. And just as the stimulus package is about to pass. Watch out for Banquo's ghost.
Apartment complex wants to snuff out smokes - PennLive.com
Apartment complex wants to snuff out smokes - PennLive.com: "Heffelfinger recently got a letter from the property management firm at the Woodlayne Court apartments in Middletown where she lives imposing a no smoking policy beginning March 1 everywhere in the building, including inside individual apartments. Existing tenants will face the ban at the end of their leases. Heffelfinger has a month to month lease.
'I've lived there five and a half years. I mind my own business,' Heffelfinger said. 'I don't think it's right I have to move out because I choose to smoke a cigarette.'"
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Begun, the smoking wars have.
'I've lived there five and a half years. I mind my own business,' Heffelfinger said. 'I don't think it's right I have to move out because I choose to smoke a cigarette.'"
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Begun, the smoking wars have.
Pajamas Media » The Bizarre Withdrawal of Commerce Secretary Nominee Judd Gregg
Pajamas Media » The Bizarre Withdrawal of Commerce Secretary Nominee Judd Gregg: "But in the last 72 hours, a development occurred that may have started Gregg thinking that being in the Obama administration wasn’t all that it was cracked up to be. The issue of the Census director reporting directly to the White House means that Gregg, as commerce secretary, would lose control of one of the major programs in the department. By, in effect, politicizing the Census, the Obama administration is throwing down the gauntlet and risking an all out war with congressional Republicans over the fruits of the national head count; redistricting the 535 congressional districts to reflect changes in population and the allocation of billions in federal spending.
The stakes are enormous. And given complaints against the Census by Democrats over the years regarding the undercounting of African Americans, Hispanics, and other minorities, we can expect the Obama White House to “find” as many of these grateful voters as is legally possible.
The potential for a true political realignment based on the gerrymandering of district lines in big states to favor more Democrats is now within the reach of the Obama White House. Is this the real reason that Gregg decided to withdraw? Perhaps he felt he was being set up to be the front man for a Census that could cripple the Republican party for years to come and wanted no part of it."
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Like I said.
The stakes are enormous. And given complaints against the Census by Democrats over the years regarding the undercounting of African Americans, Hispanics, and other minorities, we can expect the Obama White House to “find” as many of these grateful voters as is legally possible.
The potential for a true political realignment based on the gerrymandering of district lines in big states to favor more Democrats is now within the reach of the Obama White House. Is this the real reason that Gregg decided to withdraw? Perhaps he felt he was being set up to be the front man for a Census that could cripple the Republican party for years to come and wanted no part of it."
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Like I said.
US lawmaker injects ISP throttle into Obama rescue package • The Register
US lawmaker injects ISP throttle into Obama rescue package • The Register: "US Senator Dianne Feinstein hopes to update President Barack Obama's $838bn economic stimulus package so that American ISPs can deter child pornography, copyright infringement, and other unlawful activity by way of 'reasonable network management.'"
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Is this a backdoor way of creating government control of internet content, or am I just being paranoid?
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Is this a backdoor way of creating government control of internet content, or am I just being paranoid?
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Sen. Gregg Withdraws as Commerce Secretary Nominee, Citing Conflicts - First 100 Days of Presidency - Politics FOXNews.com
Sen. Gregg Withdraws as Commerce Secretary Nominee, Citing Conflicts - First 100 Days of Presidency - Politics FOXNews.com: "Republican Sen. Judd Gregg withdrew his nomination to be President Obama's commerce secretary on Thursday, citing 'irresolvable conflicts' over issues like the economic stimulus package and the census."
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If he had stayed on he would have gone down in history as the ultimate stooge for the Democrats. Not only was his defection moving perilously close to a 60 vote Democrat filibuster-proof majority. Add the fact that Obama took the Census away from him, which would have set up the Democrats to control national and state politics for ten years. Gregg saved himself from making Benedict Arnold look like George Washington--at least in Republican Party lore.
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If he had stayed on he would have gone down in history as the ultimate stooge for the Democrats. Not only was his defection moving perilously close to a 60 vote Democrat filibuster-proof majority. Add the fact that Obama took the Census away from him, which would have set up the Democrats to control national and state politics for ten years. Gregg saved himself from making Benedict Arnold look like George Washington--at least in Republican Party lore.
Spaceflight Now | Breaking News | Two satellites collide in orbit
Spaceflight Now | Breaking News | Two satellites collide in orbit: "In an unprecedented space collision, a commercial Iridium communications satellite and a defunct Russian satellite ran into each other Tuesday above northern Siberia, creating a cloud of wreckage, officials said today."
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My brother put me onto this story. And I say to myself, this is one amazing coincidence. All that space out there, and two satellites just happen to run into each other. Not only that, but one is Russian and one is US. Why, it's enough to make you think that...maybe it wasn't an accident.
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My brother put me onto this story. And I say to myself, this is one amazing coincidence. All that space out there, and two satellites just happen to run into each other. Not only that, but one is Russian and one is US. Why, it's enough to make you think that...maybe it wasn't an accident.
What This Country Needs Are More Pitchfork Moments Like These | Crooks and Liars: "Hundreds of people trying to save their homes from foreclosure flocked to Connecticut's wealthy Gold Coast this weekend to give financial kingpins a piece of their mind.
Homeowners are fed up – and many are frustrated that those who lead the companies that gave them their subprime mortgages live in luxury while they struggle so hard to meet their loan payments and not fall behind.
On Sunday, hundreds of angry homeowners and volunteers traveled in vans and minibuses and protested outside Morgan Stanley CEO John Mack’s multi-million-dollar mansion to tell the wealthy finance czar how they really feel."
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Mystery Reader captures the zeitgeist of the moment.
Daily Herald | Dispute over Palatine subdivision unsettled; will come up again April 20
Daily Herald | Dispute over Palatine subdivision unsettled; will come up again April 20: "The Palatine Village Council has pushed back the vote on the proposed changes for the Maison Du Comte subdivision near Harper College to April 20.
Despite a council chamber full of residents Monday night, the board reasoned without a homeowners association representing the residents, they didn't want to take a vote.
'I can't go from door to door and meet with every husband and wife and find out what they want,' Councilman Mike Jezierski said."
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Welcome to Palatine, Illinois, where only HOAs have standing to represent the interests of home owning residents of the community. Homeowners, go home. I keep telling people that HOAs have become an extension of local government. Now do you believe me?
Despite a council chamber full of residents Monday night, the board reasoned without a homeowners association representing the residents, they didn't want to take a vote.
'I can't go from door to door and meet with every husband and wife and find out what they want,' Councilman Mike Jezierski said."
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Welcome to Palatine, Illinois, where only HOAs have standing to represent the interests of home owning residents of the community. Homeowners, go home. I keep telling people that HOAs have become an extension of local government. Now do you believe me?
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Daily Kos: State of the Nation
Daily Kos: State of the Nation: US was 3 hrs away from economic collapse: "According to Rep. Paul Kanjorski (D) (PA-11), in mid-September of 2008, the United States of America came just three hours away from the collapse of the entire economy. In a span of 2 hours, $550 billion was drawn out of money market accounts in an electronic run on the banks.
Rep. Kanjorski: 'It would have been the end of our economic system and our political system as we know it.'
Kanjorski's bombshell begins to detonate at roughly 2:10 into the video."
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This C-SPAN interview with Kanjorski is absolutely astounding. I'd like to know just how a gigantic run on the banks of this nation occurred. Who started it?
Rep. Kanjorski: 'It would have been the end of our economic system and our political system as we know it.'
Kanjorski's bombshell begins to detonate at roughly 2:10 into the video."
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This C-SPAN interview with Kanjorski is absolutely astounding. I'd like to know just how a gigantic run on the banks of this nation occurred. Who started it?
Rip up a house in repo, go to jail - Huntington Homes - OCRegister.com
Rip up a house in repo, go to jail - Huntington Homes - OCRegister.com: "Last week a fellow Realtor mentioned that a neighbor held a “demolition sale” on their soon-to-be foreclosed home. She said the owner sold everything he could even including the bathroom fixtures! Any and everything was for sale. I let her know that was a very serious situation and lenders were beginning to prosecute people for doing so."
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Fred Pilot sent this link. The thing is, I don't think people really go to jail for this. The article just says some lawyer pointed out vandalism is illegal. Fine. But are banks, local governments, and HOAs actually calling the cops after they repo the home and see that the fridge is gone? Or do they just sell it for whatever it fetches and take their money out of it?
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Fred Pilot sent this link. The thing is, I don't think people really go to jail for this. The article just says some lawyer pointed out vandalism is illegal. Fine. But are banks, local governments, and HOAs actually calling the cops after they repo the home and see that the fridge is gone? Or do they just sell it for whatever it fetches and take their money out of it?
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