Scroll down to the map. Starts out easy but then gets tough.
Link
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Railroad pension scandal unfolding
Link
In fact, the percentage of Long Island Rail Road union employees who end up getting disability benefits is so huge, it boggles the mind: up to 97 percent. That's almost all of them.
For instance, the New York Times investigation found: "The 12 highest-paid Long Island Rail Road engineers in 2006" were healthy enough to earn generous salaries, most "over $200,000." But just two years later, they've all retired and gone on disability. The same is true of "the top-earning conductors."
The U.S. Railroad Retirement Board was started in the 1930's as a sort of social security and disability program for rail workers. But unlike regular Social Security, it approves nearly all occupational disability requests, and doesn't require rehab or medical re-evaluations.
Two Britains, One public, one private
Link
So middle Britain has been doubly betrayed. First, all those stealth taxes since 1997 didn't give us properly reformed public services. Our schools still under-perform: expensive new buildings are no substitute for tackling outdated working practices and LEA bureaucracy. Classes are closed in term-time for staff training. My local NHS Trust diverts cash from beds and drugs to employ a "Director of Civic Engagement". Only half of Britain's fire engines carry a defibrillator while half a billion pounds is wasted on regional fire control centres, announced in 2000 but now not ready until 2011.
But second, we're now told that all this isn't in fact sustainable. In Monday's mini-budget we learnt that we must pay even more; in fact, half of all taxpayers will have to pay more in two years' time to bail out our bankrupt public finances. New Labour's contract with middle Britain has been truly shattered. Hard-working families struggling in a recession must pay higher National Insurance to fund bureaucrats who can't be sacked, however inefficient, whose pay is index-linked and whose pensions are worth three times as much as theirs.
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Michigan Liquor lobby fights back, will ban all shipments
A Michigan judge recently ruled that Michigan can not ban out of State retailers from shipping to Michigan consumers. Big Liquor, ever resourceful, is now lobbying for a bill that will ban ANYONE from shipping wine, period....in OR out of State.
Link
Link
On Nov. 11, Lansing lawmakers introduced a bill to solve the problem by banning all direct wine shipments by retailers, whether they're Michigan merchants or those in another state. The bill was approved in committee the next day and could sail through the Legislature in the lame-duck session beginning Tuesday and be on the governor's desk before Christmas.
"That's crazy," Chess said last week. "The state loses a lawsuit, and they respond by punishing consumers and retailers. It seems to me Michigan can ill afford to be hurting businesses right now."
Americans Mistrust Politicians on Economy
You mean to tell me that most people don't think the geniuses in Congress are smarter than the rest of us? Hardly.....the problem, of course, is identifying the few people that serve in Congress who want to give us back the power so WE can make those decisions. The politicians are well aware of their own incompetence and the level of uncertainty involved, they simply don't want to give up the enormous power they have to effect the economy.
Link
Link
Polling Data
When it comes to addressing the nation’s current economic problems, how confident are you that U.S. policy makers know what they’re doing?
Very confident
4%
Somewhat confident
22%
Not very confident
45%
Not at all confident
25%
Not sure
4%
Source: Rasmussen Reports
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,000 likely American voters, conducted on Nov. 15 and Nov. 16, 2008. Margin of error is 3 per cent.
Friday, November 28, 2008
68% prefer "Merry Christmas" over "Happy Holidays"
Link
Only one-quarter of adults (25%) favor signs that say “Happy Holidays.” Those figures are virtually unchanged from our survey conducted this time last year.
Men (71%) favor “Merry Christmas” slightly more than women (65%).
From a politically partisan perspective, Republicans (84%) overwhelmingly prefer “Merry Christmas” more than Democrats (51%). Far more Democrats (43%) wish for “Happy Holidays” signs than Republicans (13%).
In terms of age, men (73%) and women (68%) over 40 want signs to say “Merry Christmas” slightly more than men (63%) and women (55%) under 40.
Regardless of what the signs say, 53% will be attending a Christian church service on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day this year. That’s down four points from last year. One-third (32%) do not plan to go to a service.
Adults over 40 are much more likely to attend a Christmas service than those under 40. Also, married adults (59%) will go to a church service on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day more than those who are not married (42%). In addition, Republicans (68%) are more likely to go to a Christmas church service than Democrats (45%).
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Almost never enforced but you still owe the sales tax
on groceries bought out of State.
AP trying to take the fun out of Black Friday.
Link
AP trying to take the fun out of Black Friday.
Link
Farr said the tax can be paid with forms that can be obtained online or at department offices."You can file it as regularly as you would like, but at least once annually," he said.
He said "people are surprised" when they are told that out-of-state purchases require a tax filing.
"We do perform use tax assessments and investigations," he said. "Most people's defense is 'I didn't know.'"
He said that although grocery purchases "may not be an area of focus" for the department but failing to pay it becomes a tax liability and "should they ever be audited that could be something that is looked at."
The Revenue Department has programs in place to share information with other states about the sale of aircraft, boats, ATVs and jewelry, according to Joan Cagle, tax audit supervisor for Tennessee. The department also has worked with several furniture and carpet dealers in other states to help track out-of-state sales.
Academic/Scholarly Journal Search Sites
Link
Sub-titled 'Your Life Science Magazine Rack', this site delivers the most recent life science literature as it is published direct from RSS feeds. You can browse for over 100 journals within life science by subject, see the most recently updated TOCs, search the content of TOCs (it's a bit slow), see the most 'popular' articles, and if you register, you can do a lot more. There are links to the full text of articles.ticTOCs - Tables of Contents Service
http://www.tictocs.ac.uk/
Also based on scholarly journal Tables of Contents (TOCs), ticTOCs is a user friendly service that covers all subjects - over 11,000 journal TOCs are included from more than 300 publishers. You can Search for Tables of Contents, view the latest TOC for each journal, link to the full text of around 250,000 articles (where institutional or personal subscription allows), export TOC feeds to popular feedreaders, and select and save (by ticking them) journal titles in order to view future TOCs ( Register to ensure your MyTOCs are permanently saved). And more! ticTOCs is where researchers can now keep-up-to-date. Heriot-Watt University is one of the partners involved in developing this service, which was funded by JISC.CiteULike Current Issues
http://www.citeulike.org/journals/
CiteULike currently has over 11,000 journals online. You can browse all the recent articles in these journals.FeedNavigator
http://www.terkko.helsinki.fi/feednavigator/
From the University of Helsinki, FeedNavigator downloads medical RSS feeds published by websites and aggregates their content into a single feed, latest news first. This gives access to over 4,000 medical sources, including numerous journal Tables of Contents, which are updated continuously.MyJournals.org
http://www.myjournals.org/
The latest issues of popular science journals on one page. You can select from various subject areas.Zetoc RSS
http://zetoc.mimas.ac.uk/rssjnllist.html
Find journal TOC RSS feeds by name, keyword or subject. Zetoc produces its own feeds but has more than the other services mentioned above. Requires some knowledge of how RSS works.
55% to 27% favor more nuclear power plants
Link
Polling Data
Should more nuclear power plants be built in the United States?
Yes
55%
No
27%
Not sure
18%
Source: Rasmussen Reports
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,000 likely American voters, conducted on Nov. 12 and Nov. 13, 2008. Margin of error is 3 per cent.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Which Country has the most Progressive Tax?
The US. HT: Andy Roth| Percent of total income | Percent total taxes paid | |
|---|---|---|
| OECD Average | 28 % | 32 % |
| Germany | 29 % | 32 % |
| Czech R. | 29 % | 34 % |
| Netherlands | 28 % | 35 % |
| U.K | 32 % | 39 % |
| Italy | 36 % | 42 % |
| Ireland | 31 % | 39 % |
| U.S. | 33 % | 45 % |
Advice for Bailout Applicants-How to Pandhandle
All of these suggestions will be helpful to corporate fat cats sucking up to Congress.
Link
Link
- Swallow your pride. Most people find it difficult to quietly beg for money from friends or relatives; it’s even harder to beg from complete strangers where everybody can see you. Still, you’re going to have to suck it up and be humble. If you've already exhausted the alternatives (see Tips) and begging is your last resort, it may help to keep in mind that in many countries, begging does not hold the stigma it does in most of the Western World, and in some places asking for alms is considered an honorable profession.
- Remember what you're offering. People who give you money do so because it makes them feel good. A person is more likely to help you if they can identify with you, and if they feel their contribution will make a significant difference in your situation. Sometimes, people give alms for religious reasons, and other times because they feel guilty for having been born with so much more than others without having necessarily earned it. The more you learn about why people give, the better you'll be at receiving.
- Clean up. Before you begin, make an effort to look presentable. You certainly don’t want to be smelling of alcohol, for example, but you also should comb your hair, practice overall good hygiene, and dress in clean, but cheap clothes. If you stand out, people are more likely to give you money. Wear comfortable shoes and dress in layers so you don’t get too warm or cold. You want to present an image of a hard-working, normal person who is just like the people from whom you are asking for money, except that you’re a little down on your luck.
The 15 Most Valuable Paintings
Here is a picture of the most valuable painting at $147 million. Its 1948 by Jackson Pollack. What????Link
We are all middle class now
LinkFor example, four-in-ten Americans with incomes below $20,000 say they are middle class, as do a third of those with incomes above $150,000. And about the same percentages of blacks (50%), Hispanics (54%) and whites (53%) self-identify as middle class, even though members of minority groups who say they are middle class have far less income and wealth than do whites who say they are middle class.
Salvation Army goes High Tech-Text Your donation
Link
Instead of giving cash to the popular bell-ringing volunteers who collect donations at shopping locations, Memphians can donate $5 to The Salvation Army in Memphis by texting the word RING to 90999. After confirming the donation, the $5 donation will be applied to the user’s cell phone bill.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Poll: "sick" relationship between Fed Govt and Public
Link
Poll results released on Monday by the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service and Gallup highlighted what the Partnership's president, Max Stier, characterized as a "sick relationship" between the federal government and the American public.
"We do not have the kind of support from the public the government needs to accomplish its mission," Stier said. "But these numbers describe what needs to take place to fix that relationship."
Survey respondents had a slightly higher regard for government workers than for agencies, but neither fared too well. Thirty-seven percent of respondents said they thought federal employees did a good or excellent job, and 27 percent said the same of federal departments and agencies.
Teaching Geeks to make Eye Contact
Link
Only in Japan would you find a DVD designed to help nerds practice making eye contact with other humans.
"I think the Japanese are shy people compare to Americans," says Yosuke Ito, creator of Miterudake (literally, "just looking"). "I'm not 100 percent sure you can overcome shyness with this DVD but I hope it helps somehow."
His disc features 50 people standing in front of a blank white background. They're all women, which Ito swears is just a coincidence. They stare into the camera and occasionally say stuff like "I want to leave" or "That's enough."
There are elderly ladies, pretty girls, foreign women, children and even twins to gaze at. The idea is that once geeks build up confidence by making eye contact with the 2-D ladies on the DVD, they can then venture into the meatspace world.
South Carolina Sales Tax Holiday for Guns
Link
Columbia, SC—Most people are probably unaware of it, but on the Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving, handguns, rifles and shotguns will be sales tax free in South Carolina. State lawmakers passed a bill in June that includes the sales tax holiday on firearms. They called it the Second Amendment Recognition Act.
Rep. Mike Pitts, R-Greenwood, was the sponsor of the original bill. He said he got the idea after talking to the owners of a hunting outfitters shop in Clinton about the late summer sales tax holiday for back-to-school supplies and clothing. The store owners said they could use the stimulus, too. “It was to help dealers,” Rep. Pitts says. “Another point was to bring recognition to the 2nd amendment.”
Kent Parsons, manager of Barron’s Outfitters hunting and fishing store in Columbia, says the days after Thanksgiving are typically busy sales days anyway. He’s hoping that even more people than usual will be buying shotguns and rifles from his store since they’ll be sales tax free. Sales tax will still be charged on ammunition and accessories.
68% to 20% Favor offshore drilling
Link
Source: Rasmussen Reports
Polling Data
Should drilling be allowed in offshore oil wells off the coasts of California, Florida, and other states?
| Yes | 68% |
| No | 20% |
| Not sure | 12% |
Source: Rasmussen Reports
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,000 likely American voters, conducted on Nov. 12 and Nov. 13, 2008. Margin of error is 3 per cent.
Kisber wants a bailout for VW bribery
This is so contorted and twisted that its hard to follow. But lets try: Matt Kisber secretly negotiated a deal with Volkswagen to give away hundreds of millions in taxpayer money. Now he wants those same taxpayers (Hey Matt, the same taxpayers who pay State taxes also pay Federal taxes) to bailout...err, themselves.
Link
Link
NASHVILLE — The state’s top economic recruiter says he hopes any federal stimulus package for states next year would allow Tennessee to use some of the money to help pay part of its commitments to the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga.
“We’ve conveyed to members of the congressional delegation that having it broad enough to cover the types of infrastructure that are required for things like VW and the other types of large projects would be very helpful,” Economic and Community Development Commissioner Matt Kisber said.
Mr. Kisber said it would be “a great partnership between the federal and state governments in supporting these job-creating opportunities — which is what stimulus is all about.”
Volkswagen announced in July it would locate a $1 billion assembly plant employing 2,000 people at Enterprise South industrial park in Chattanooga. Tennessee’s incentive package for the company includes agreements to spend $229.7 million on plant-related investments, including $80 million to get the site ready for the plant, roads, upgrading and relocation of rail lines.
Monday, November 24, 2008
CNN...Unionbuster?
Link
The workers were employed by a former CNN subcontractor Team Video Services (TVS). TVS provided technical work at CNN's D.C. and New York bureaus for more than 20 years. In 2004 CNN terminated its subcontract with TVS and announced they would hire their own employees to provide the video and audio services. The complaint was filed in April, 2007.
Judge Amchan found that CNN was a joint employer with TVS and therefore the network was obligated to recognize and bargain with NABET. (CNN's employees in the bureaus were not part of NABET).
"CNN disagrees with the recommended decision and denies that it violated the National Labor Relations Act," a CNN statement emailed to TVNewser concludes. "CNN plans to appeal this decision to the full NLRB. Because an appeal will be filed, the Judge's recommended decision is not enforceable and is not binding."
New Super Fast High Definition CT Scanner
So fast that you don't even have to hold your breath.Link
A scan of the entire heart can be performed in only 250 milliseconds, which is less than half a heart beat. In addition, it is possible for physicians to reliably display a heart with a fast pulse or an irregular heart beat without using beta blockers, thus simplifying the workflow and yielding clinical and financial advantages. Owing to its high scanning speed, the Somatom Definition Flash also features new possibilities for performing CT examinations of the heart in the sub-mSv range. This represents a much lower radiation dose than is obtainable with conventional systems, which require doses ranging from 8 mSv to more than 40 mSv. For the first time ever, the heart can thus be examined at a radiation exposure level that is three times lower than the background radiation a person naturally absorbs in a year.
25 Best Cities to find a job
Link HT: J Walk
The top 10 are:
- Sioux Falls, South Dakota
- Rapid City, South Dakota
- Idaho Falls, Idaho
- Bismarck, North Dakota
- Houma, Louisiana
- Morgantown, West Virginia
- Logan, Utah
- Fargo, North Dakota
- Casper, Wyoming
- Billings, Montana
TN Family with 16 children, all Homeschooled and
the father is self-employed and they refuse welfare.Link HT: Michael
They get by on Gil Bates' income from his small family business, Bates Tree Company.
They're eligible for welfare subsidies but refuse to take them. "We want to be on the giving end," said Kelly Bates.
Still, she says, "We love yard sales and thrift stores."
[...]
Here's the lineup: Zachary, 19; Michaela, 18; Erin, 17; Lawson, 16; Nathan, 15; Alyssa, 14; Tori, 12; Trace, 11; Carlin, 10; Josie, 9; Katie, 8; Jackson, 6; Warden, 5; Isaiah, 4; Addallee, 2; and 18-month-old Ellie.
An Obama supporter gives good Edu-advice
Unfortunately, he doesn't mention Home schooling but otherwise he hits the nail.
Link HT: Jay P Greene
Link HT: Jay P Greene
If children were their sole concern, Democrats would be the champions of school choice. They would help parents put their kids into whatever good schools are out there, including private schools. They would vastly increase the number of charter schools. They would see competition as healthy and necessary for the regular public schools, which should never be allowed to take kids and money for granted.
The Democrats also need to get serious about the downside of collective bargaining. They have long looked the other way as labor contracts impose page after page of onerous work rules -- basing teacher assignments on seniority, for example, or making it virtually impossible to dismiss anyone. These rules fundamentally shape -- and distort -- the organization of schooling. Because of them, schools are organized to promote the interests of adults, not children. This needs to change.
It just keeps growing..now $7.4 Trillion
Link
Nov. 24 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. government is prepared to lend more than $7.4 trillion on behalf of American taxpayers, or half the value of everything produced in the nation last year, to rescue the financial system since the credit markets seized up 15 months ago.
The unprecedented pledge of funds includes $2.8 trillion already tapped by financial institutions in the biggest response to an economic emergency since the New Deal of the 1930s, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The commitment dwarfs the only plan approved by lawmakers, the Treasury Department’s $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program. Federal Reserve lending last week was 1,900 times the weekly average for the three years before the crisis.
Congress to bailout the Detroit Lions
Link (satire) HT: Tax Foundation
Items being discussed include giving the Lions a four touchdown lead prior to kickoff in all remaining games, forcing Lions’ opponents to play at least one half of each game wearing blindfolds, and taking the best players from teams enjoying a bye week and adding them to the Lions’ roster.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Charlie Rangel is a tax criminal...not once but
many times over apparently. This is waaay beyond absurd. This man is responsible for writing OUR tax legislation.Link HT: Insty
Harlem Rep. Charles Rangel took a "homestead" tax break on a Washington, DC, house for years while simultaneously occupying multiple rent-stabilized apartments in New York City, possibly violating laws and regulations in both cases.
The situation raises a number of potential problems for the congressman, including:
* New York City law requires that tenants use rent-stabilized apartments as their primary residence.
* DC's real Property Homestead Deduction Act also requires that a property receiving the benefit be a primary residence.
* Tax lawyers told The Post that a property owner cannot have two primary residences - or take advantages provided to primary residences at two different addresses simultaneously.
* DC's law also requires that the owner of a property benefiting from the tax break be a personal-income taxpayer in DC. District law exempts members of Congress from paying personal DC income tax, but they must pay property tax.
Government Pay Databases around the US
Tamara Thompson at PI Buzz has compiled a list HERE. Her entries for TN are:
Federal Employees in Tennessee
Government Salary Database
Knoxville/Knoxville public employees, top 10% earners
She also points to an effort to consolidate all govt employees in a single database:
HERE
Federal Employees in Tennessee
Government Salary Database
Knoxville/Knoxville public employees, top 10% earners
She also points to an effort to consolidate all govt employees in a single database:
HERE
Should School districts have taxing authority? No
In very liberal Oregon, with a poll commissioned by the Oregon School Board Association the answer is: No.Link
A Libertarian Defense of Social Conservatism
Link
I'm still searching for the mythical creature that is the "financially conservative, socially liberal" politician. In virtually every case, the pro-abortion or pro-gay marriage politician is the first to vote against a tax cut, the first to vote for more spending and quick to compromise principles on any issue there is.
Using the National Journal's ratings of Senators in 2007, the correlation coefficient between "economic" scores and "social" scores is 90%. That means they almost always go together; financial conservatives are social conservatives and vice versa. Every Senator scoring above 60 in economic issues, scored above 50 in social ones. Every Senator scoring below 40 in economic issues, scored below 50 in social ones. If there is such an animal as a "financial conservative, social liberal", it does not exist in the US Senate.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
NYC Churches ordered to stop serving homeless
The arrogance and insanity of bureaucrats has reached a new low.
Link
Link
NEW YORK (CBS) ― City officials have ordered 22 New York churches to stop providing beds to homeless people.
With temperatures well below freezing early Saturday, the churches must obey a city rule requiring faith-based shelters to be open at least five days a week -- or not at all.
Arnold Cohen, president of the Partnership for the Homeless, a nonprofit that serves as a link with the city, said he had to tell the churches they no longer qualify.
He said hundreds of people now won't have a place to sleep.
Poll: Most consider Web most reliable News source
Link
A Zogby Poll, commissioned by IFC, found 37.6% of those asked consider the Internets the most reliable source of news. 20.3% consider national TV news most reliable and 16% say radio is the most reliable source.
Also revealed:
• 39.3% of those surveyed trust FOX News most for the issues they consider most important, followed by CNN with 16% and MSNBC with 15%.
• 72.6% believe the news they read and see is biased.
• 88.7% Republican and 57.5% Democrat respondents describe the news media as biased.
Friday, November 21, 2008
Obamas CHOOSE private school
HERE is the article and here is the tuition page from the school web site.
Link
Tuition and Fees
Link
Tuition and Fees
| Tuition for 2008-2009 | |
|---|---|
| Lower School | $28,442 |
| Middle and Upper Schools | $29,442 |
Tuition includes a daily hot lunch, curriculum fees, and Lower School textbooks.
Additional annual fees are:
| Lower School Parents Association Fee | $50 |
| Middle School Parents Association Fee | $55 |
| Upper School Parents Association Fee | $75 |
| Middle School Textbooks | $250-$300 |
| Upper School Textbooks | $500-$600 |
| Bus Transportation (Optional) Daily trips between Washington, DC and Bethesda, MD campuses | $695/$995 |
| Lower School Aftercare (Optional) 1 to 5 days per week | $1,485 to $5,250 |
| Middle School Aftercare (Optional) | $650 per trimester |
A Big MTSU College cheer for NO FEE HIKE
Matthew has the story. Whats wrong with these kids...don't they want to spread their wealth??
Link
Link
MTSU students handily defeated the proposed activity fee increase this week via PipelineMT. Over 5000 students voted on the referendum - more students than voted in the last SGA Election, and the vote totals looked like this:
Yes - 974
No - 4034
The Doc will Webcam you now
LinkAmerican WellTM is a new healthcare marketplace. With American Well, consumers interact with physicians immediately, from home, using Web-based videoconferencing, secure chat and telephone. Physicians offer electronic consultations for a fee, at a time and place of their choosing, supporting a more balanced practicing lifestyle.
Argentina Nationalizes Private Pensions
"nationalizes" = using the power of government to steal.
Link
Link
Argentina’s Senate on Thursday night comfortably passed a bill to nationalise the country’s private pension funds in the final congressional hurdle for the government’s controversial plan.
A month ago, investors and financial markets were shocked by President Cristina Fernández’s announcement that she planned to nationalise the 14-year-old pension system, and saw the move as an ill-concealed asset grab designed to plug a hole in the government’s $21bn debt servicing requirements next year. The government denied this, saying it was simply rescuing a flawed system that had never worked well.
The private pension funds, known as AFJPs, were widely criticised for charging high commissions but the sudden way in which the president announced the nationalisation plan, and its speedy course through Congress, have done nothing to calm fears among investors that the government will flout property rights and take any measures it considers necessary to keep public finances flush.
The Senate approved the bill by 46 votes to 18 with one abstention. Under the new regime, the AFJPs’ $26bn in assets and annual contributions of up to $5bn will pass to the state social security administrator, Anses, which will be responsible for all retirees under the state’s pay-as-yo-go system.
Now we know things are REALLY bad!!
Link
Rolls-Royce plans to cut up to 2,000 jobs worldwide, including 140 in the UK, after reviewing the impact of the current economic "uncertainties", the aerospace giant announced today.
The firm said it had started consulting unions about the proposed job losses at its assembly and test facility in Derby, part of the group's civil aerospace business.
Rolls-Royce, which employs 39,000 workers globally, 60 per cent of whom are based in the UK, said the announcement was the first stage in a more general programme aimed at matching the group's capacity more closely with the expected load in its facilities.
Silly Taxpayers, its not $700 Bil, its $4.28 Tril
What???? You thought that you were on the hook for only $700 billion....riiiiight! We're talking the US Congress here folks.....its already $4.28 Trillion and counting.
Link
Link
Financial Crisis Balance Sheet |
| Government Entity | Sum in Billions of Dollars |
| Federal Reserve | |
| (TAF) Term Auction Facility | 900 |
| Discount Window Lending | |
| Commercial Banks | 99.2 |
| Investment Banks | 56.7 |
| Loans to buy ABCP | 76.5 |
| AIG | 112.5 |
| Bear Stearns | 29.5 |
| (TSLF) Term Securities Lending Facility | 225 |
| Swap Lines | 613 |
| (MMIFF) Money Market Investor Funding Facility | 540 |
| Commercial Paper Funding Facility | 257 |
| (TARP) Treasury Asset Relief Program | 700 |
| Other: | |
| Automakers | 25 |
| (FHA) Federal Housing Administration | 300 |
| Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac | 350 |
| Total | 4284.5 |
Note: Figures as of Nov. 13, 2008 |
Hypocrisy beyond belief
Teacher Union President says it's ok for Barack and Michelle to CHOOSE the school which is best for their children...even if its a private school.
Link
Link
Clarksville Taxpayer ALERT: costs double
for internet fiber to home project. This looks like a boondoggle in the making. Its very strange that the Leaf-Chronicle headlines this story in a way that completely misses the most important issue, the $50 million deficit for the fiber to home project.
Link
Link
At Wednesday's Power Board meeting, new Clarksville Department of Electricity President Rick Ingram told the board the utility needed about $50 million — in addition to an original $55 million bond issue — to complete the original fiber-to-the-home network envisioned by the utility.In proposing a potential escape route, Ingram invited in representatives of the Community Communications Authority, which proposed building a $35 million wireless network to complete the utility's telecommunication project.
CCA officials said the utility could recoup its costs by increasing its current telecom offerings — including TV, Internet, and soon, phone — to include cellphone plans.
"We've not decided to get into the wireless," board member Wayne Abrams said. "This is something we're going to study."
"You don't just let somebody come in and do a presentation and sign a contract for $35 million," he said.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Can Drug Labels/Health Anxiety make you sick?
Yes, apparently they can.
Link HT: John Goodman
Link HT: John Goodman
Nocebos can even be fatal. In one classic example, women in the multi-decade Framingham Heart study who thought they were at risk for heart attacks were 3.7 times as likely to die of coronary conditions as women who didn't have such fears -- regardless of whether they smoked or had other risk factors.
Research deliberately causing nocebos has been limited (after all, it's kind of cruel). But in one 1960s test, when hospital patients were given sugar water and told it would make them vomit, 80% of them did.
Studies have also shown that patients forewarned about possible side effects are more likely to encounter them. In a study last year at the University of Turin, Italy, men taking finesteride for enlarged prostates who were informed that it could cause erectile dysfunction and decreased libido were three times as likely to experience such side effects as men who weren't told.
"People's expectations play a very important role in how they react to all medications," says Richard Kradin, a physician and psychoanalyst at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, and author of "The Placebo Response and the Power of Unconscious Healing." He notes that about 25% of patients who get completely inert placebos in clinical trials complain of side effects -- typically headaches, drowsiness and dizziness.
Pictures of all New Members of Congress
Here is Phil Rowe from the TN 1st District. All other pictures HERE.
Home schoolers are a political force
Home schooling parents continue to assert themselves politically with great effect...this is one of the great untold political stories of the last 10 years. People like Kay Brooks, for example, have made a huge difference in the political landscape in Tennessee.
It is sad that parents must assert a right to control the education of their children but the lesson is clear, freedom must be defended everyday.
Link
It is sad that parents must assert a right to control the education of their children but the lesson is clear, freedom must be defended everyday.
Link
By the 21st century, state laws were well established and uncontested, though nearly every year state legislators or judges, especially in the most permissive states, seek to increase regulations on home-schooling families in the name of accountability. Such initiatives nearly always fail due to the astonishing grass-roots organization and political mobilization of home schoolers. The most recent challenge to home schooling arose when a California court cited a 1929 state law that ostensibly requires home tutors to be state-certified. After several months of protests and concomitant uncertainty for the 160,000 home-schooled children in the state, the court reversed the ruling to permit home schooling as a “species of private school education” and came surprisingly close to finding in the federal Constitution a right to home school.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Auto workers paid to do crossword puzzles
From a 2005 Detroit News article via Ace. Why do the auto workers put up with this crap from their union...looks like this would be an insult.
Link
Link
WAYNE -- Ken Pool is making good money. On weekdays, he shows up at 7 a.m. at Ford Motor Co.'s Michigan Truck Plant in Wayne, signs in, and then starts working -- on a crossword puzzle. Pool hates the monotony, but the pay is good: more than $31 an hour, plus benefits.
"We just go in and play crossword puzzles, watch videos that someone brings in or read the newspaper," he says. "Otherwise, I've just sat."
Pool is one of more than 12,000 American autoworkers who, instead of installing windshields or bending sheet metal, spend their days counting the hours in a jobs bank set up by Detroit automakers and Delphi Corp. as part of an extraordinary job security agreement with the United Auto Workers union.The jobs bank programs were the price the industry paid in the 1980s to win UAW support for controversial efforts to boost productivity through increased automation and more flexible manufacturing.
Bailout Polls overwhelmingly say allow them to fail
HT: Andy Roth
SurveyUSA has been surveying various cities on whether or not the federal government should bailout out the auto industry. Here are a few:
Portland, OR: 60% say "allow them to fail"
Boston, MA: 64%
Tampa, FL: 54%
San Diego, CA: 54%
Seattle, WA: 60%
Oklahoma City, OK: 63%
Bredesen says taxpayers do have limits??
Phil Bredesen, after giving away hundreds of millions in taxpayer funded corporate welfare as Mayor of Nashville and Governor...now says that there is a limit to the number of taxpayer dollars he is willing to give away. Wow, I am glad Phil's benevolence with OUR money does have its limits.
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Bredesen, a Democrat, says the state has offered incentive packages to attract two major projects, and to a series of VW suppliers. He declined to name the companies, but said the offers of tax breaks will stand despite a growing budget shortfall and a dire economic outlook.
Bredesen says if the state is successful in landing either or both of the unnamed projects, it will be a good time for what he calls ‘‘a breather’’ on incentive packages.
Unconstitutional Special Favors for VW
The financial incentives for Volkswagen are just the beginning. All sorts of other unconstitutional (see below) favors are promised to VW in the memorandum that I posted yesterday (Thanks to Danny Newton for wading through this monster to point out some these outrageous conditions.)Here is an excerpt from page 22 of a memorandum of agreement. Volkswagen wants special tax breaks on all their company owned vehicles from TN and AL and GA, a promise that other car manufacturers will not be able to get the same tax breaks etc. etc.
Article XI, Section 8 of the Tennessee Constitution says in part:
No corporation shall be created or its powers increased or diminished by special laws but the General Assembly shall provide by general laws for the organization of all corporations, hereafter created, which laws may, at any time, be altered or repealed and no such alteration or repeal shall interfere with or divest rights which have become vested.
1/3 of federal employees "fully engaged"
Link
The survey found that about one-third of federal workers considered themselves to be fully engaged, while almost one-half are somewhat engaged and 17 percent are not engaged.
The report noted a connection between levels of employee involvement and specific outcomes, though the cause and effect were not always clear. Higher levels of employee engagement correlated with higher scores on the results and accountability portion of the Office of Management and Budget's Program Assessment Rating Tool.
Is TN caving to "Big Content"? EFF says YES
Link
While the entertainment industry failed to get "hard" requirements for universities in the Higher Education Act passed by Congress earlier this year, the RIAA succeeded in Tennessee (and is pushing in other states) with this provision that gives Big Content the ability to hold universities hostage through the use of infringement notices. Moreover, the new rules will cost Tennessee a pretty penny -- in the cost review attached to the Tennessee bill, the state's Fiscal Review Committee estimates that the new obligations will initially cost the state a whopping $9.5 million for software, hardware, and personnel, with recurring annual costs of more than $1.5 million for personnel and maintenance. Not a penny of this will go to artists, nor to any of the record labels RIAA represents.
I wonder how many other State Depts are "saving"
WPLN is reporting the Tennessee Department of Human Services has been receiving more than they have been spending so they have some left over from previous years. I wonder how many other State Departments money left over and how much? And where can you find this information?
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“We have been saving that money to make sure we had enough to get us through one or maybe two years of a bad economy with a caseload growing without having to come back to the state for additional funds.”
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
VW Memorandum of Agreement with State, Local
Govts and the Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce. This is the agreement referenced in this Times Free Press article.
50 page pdf file (3 megs)
50 page pdf file (3 megs)
Volkswagen is getting a variety of perks, in addition to sizable state and local tax breaks and financial incentives, to build its $1 billion, 2,000-employee plant in Chattanooga, a memorandum shows.
The state is committing $2 million, for example, for marketing and public relations for VW and the project, while the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce is creating an “ambassadors program” to help integrate VW workers into the city.
VW even can rename the portion of Enterprise South industrial park where it will locate the facility, according to a memorandum of understanding between the automaker, local and state governments and the Chamber.
The more-than-50-page memorandum is a detailed list of commitments each of the parties are expected to carry out in the future.
TV Investigation: John Ford's GF appointed to Library
LinkNow, Action News 5 has learned Memphis Mayor Willie Herenton - one of Ford's former political colleagues - has hand-picked Mathews to run an important post at the Memphis Central library.
[...]
For Mathews, that may be a real problem. Her job application, obtained by the Action News 5 Investigators, is chock-full of spelling and grammatical mistakes.
Click here to review the application.
66 cold medicine cases in Hardin County
Link
Most of the approximately 66 cases resulting from September’s first-ever major round-up of Hardin County suspects accused of violating the Meth Free Tennessee Act of 2005 are still working their way through the local court system.
Four cases have now been dismissed after the defendants produced documentation from their physician that explained their alleged purchase of more sinus medication containing ephedrine than allowed by the law. Most recently, on Nov. 4, charges were dismissed against Felica F. Allsup and Tracey D. Sisk, according to Hardin County General Sessions Court records.
Culturally Appropriate Healthcare
Donald Boudreaux is Chairman of the George Mason University Department of Economics. His blog, Market Correction, is a compilation of his letters to the editor. Here is a great one on "culturally appropriate healthcare."
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6 August 2008
Editor, Washington Post
1150 15th St., NW
Washington, DC 20071
Dear Editor:
La Clinica del Pueblo's Mauricio Silva boasts that his clinic supplies "culturally appropriate health care" (Letters, August 6). I love this idea! And I presume that in this age in which diversity is celebrated and all cultural preferences are equally respected and protected, I can receive my own culturally appropriate health care.
In my culture - call it individualist - I am not forced to pay for anyone else's health care and no one else is forced to pay for mine. I'm free to choose to buy health-care insurance as long as it isn't forcibly subsidized. And persons in my culture are mortally offended at the prospect of being forced to participate in any collective scheme of health-care financing or provision.
I call upon all persons respecting diverse cultures to stand up for mine, which today is endangered - to help me and my fellow individualists protect our culture from forcible assimilation with the dominant one that is arrogantly trying to strip us of our unique cultural folkways.
Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux
Chairman, Department of Economics
George Mason University
Monday, November 17, 2008
Tennessee Newspapers Online
Barack's Letters to a Govt Union President
Letters1
Letters2
Letters2
On October 20, just weeks before the election, Sen. Barack Obama sent six letters to John Gage (National President, American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO.) These letters address concerns, apparently raised by Mr. Gage with then Candidate Obama. We have not seen Mr. Gage's letters, but Mr. Obama's stand alone. They address issues in six agencies: the Dept. of Veterans Affairs, Environmental Protection Agency, Housing and Urban Development, Social Security Administration, Transportation Security Administration and the Labor Department.
New Yorkers Loud and Clear: Cut Spending
Link
Seventy-five percent of voters think the state budget gap of $2 billion for this fiscal year should be closed by cutting spending, while 10 percent support increasing taxes and nine percent favor borrowing money.
Tennessee Major Market TV Station Links
Nashville
WKRN
WSMV
WTVF
WZTV
Knoxville
WATE TV
WVLT TV
WBIR TV
Memphis
WPTY
WREG
WMC
FOX
Chattanooga
WTVC
WDEF
WRCB
WDSI
Jackson
WBBJ TV
Tri-Cities
WJHL
WCYB
WKRN
WSMV
WTVF
WZTV
Knoxville
WATE TV
WVLT TV
WBIR TV
Memphis
WPTY
WREG
WMC
FOX
Chattanooga
WTVC
WDEF
WRCB
WDSI
Jackson
WBBJ TV
Tri-Cities
WJHL
WCYB
Sunday, November 16, 2008
More Change we can believe in..agenda pages restored
to Obama's Change.gov.
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As of 12:30pm Alaska time, 11/16/2008, Change.gov appears to have restored agenda pages to http://www.change.gov/agenda/. No explanation and still copyrighted. But progress.
Unbelievable quote by Barney Frank
Barney Frank is about to vote to spend billions of taxpayer money on an auto industry bailout that is quite likely to be a complete disaster and his thought: ''There's no downside to trying.'' Hey Barney, if this is risk-less, how about we use YOUR money.
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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said over the weekend the House would aid the ailing industry, though she did not put a price on her plan. ''The House is ready to do it,'' said Democratic Rep. Barney Frank of Massachusetts, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee. ''There's no downside to trying.''
Frank's committee has scheduled a Wednesday hearing on an auto bailout.
Obama Action Figure Collection
LinkG. I. O., the real American hero? Jailbreak Toys and Brooklyn music and design store Halcyon the Shop asked prominent contemporary artists like Suckadelic and Mars-1 to make their own customized, handmade toys. Here's what they came up with for our next President.
Ace is right...if Bush had suggested this policy
the left would have gone completely, certifiably bonkers. And, of course, they should have condemned it if Bush had proposed it as they should now condemn Obama.
Are you an idiot to keep paying your mortgage?
Link
But what about the moral obligation to pay off a debt?
Elected officials have been chipping away at that by blaming the foreclosure crisis largely on predatory lenders. In a campaign fact sheet, President-elect Barack Obama says he "recognizes that the real victims in the subprime mortgage crisis are not the lenders, but the millions of borrowers who followed the rules and whose only crime was taking out mortgages that lenders told them they could afford."
Last year, Congress started removing some financial hazards of default when it passed a bill that temporarily waives the income tax on mortgage debt that is canceled when a homeowner is foreclosed upon, sells a home for less than the remaining debt (a short sale) or gets a loan modification that reduces the principal balance.
Global warming: "which may actually not exist"
Environmental zealots will still try to convince relevancy-starved politicians to "do something" but the mass hysteria that is the modern environmental movement is beginning to lose some of its momentum. However, their tyranny of good intentions will be a huge threat for some time.
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Dr Pachauri, a former railway engineer with no qualifications in climate science, may believe what Dr Hansen tells him. But whether, on the basis of such evidence, it is wise for the world's governments to embark on some of the most costly economic measures ever proposed, to remedy a problem which may actually not exist, is a question which should give us all pause for thought.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
$7 mil Book Deal for Sarah Palin
Link
With Barack Obama’s election victory certain to generate dozens of volumes from politicians, strategists and journalists – and with another shelfload of memoirs expected from members of President George W Bush’s administration – Palin’s personal account of her tumultuous introduction to national politics is widely regarded as the book most likely to repay a multi-million-dollar advance.
“She’s poised to make a ton of money,” said Howard Rubenstein, New York’s best-known public relations adviser.
“Every publisher and a lot of literary agents have been going after her,” added Jeff Klein of Folio Literary management.
Hey Lamar and Bob...Govt can make things worse!
REALLY. Being elected to the US Senate does not transform you into intellectual and moral supermen who possess unworldly powers...NO, you actually have more ability to royally screw up OUR lives than you do to make them better. There are NO decisions about my life and property, NONE!!, that you can make better than I can make, so ENOUGH with the egomania. It is your job to preserve my freedoms, not to usurp them.
Economist Russell Roberts tells us why Government can make the economy WORSE!!
Link
Economist Russell Roberts tells us why Government can make the economy WORSE!!
Link
When no one knows how the rules of the game are going to change — and they seem to change from week to week — who wants to take a risk? Who wants to borrow money? Who wants to invest? Business and consumers are hunkering down, waiting for the storm of change to pass.
The problem isn't liquidity.
It's uncertainty.
Paulson doesn't realize that his erratic attempts at creating liquidity are creating the uncertainty that makes liquidity meaningless.
Channel 4 I-Team: Salaries of Metro Principles
Jeremy Finley amd Nancy Amons do a great job at Channel 4 with their I-Team investigative reports. This report is on Metro Schools salary policy for principles of failing schools.Link
The last four years of performance evaluations and salaries for principals who worked at Metro schools that repeatedly failed to meet federal benchmarks show that principals have been financially rewarded while their schools continued to fail: They have received raise after raise, and none of their raises was based on performance.
"You don't get a bonus for a lack of performance," said Connie Smith, the assistant commissioner and state official who led the charge to take over the district.
"It's annoying, and it's an outrage," said parent Joshua Stump.
Blogger search cost Memphis Taxpayers $88k
Link
Levy said the lawsuit never should have happened and that the blogger, who operated under the name of Dirk Diggler -- the name of the porn star in the movie "Boogie Nights" -- would have removed the picture of the undercover officer if he or she were asked via the e-mail address displayed on the blog.
"One of the first things you learn in law school is that not every wrong that your client may perceive can be resolved by litigation," he said. "Any lawyer worth his salt has to be willing and able to tell a client that no, you cannot file suit for that."
TN Rep. Brown: "I suspect God might be a socialist."
I understand this is just a bit of political rhetoric from Rep. Brown but I hope she doesn't fall into the trap of thinking socialism = compassion. There are millions of people in Cuba and North Korea that would strongly disagree.
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Rep. Tommie Brown, D-Chattanooga, a House Finance Committee member, said that as cuts come, “I will be there doing battle for children and poor and middle-class families.
“We have to try to protect them,” she said. “Maybe that’s socialism, but I suspect God might be a socialist, particularly Jesus Christ when he stopped to feed the multitudes.”
Friday, November 14, 2008
Who has HUMILIATED whom, Hank?
Hank Paulson says we have humiliated ourselves as a nation? At least he has the humiliation part right. I am pretty damn disgusted with the conduct of the Congress and the Treasury.
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"We have in many ways humiliated ourselves as a nation with some of the problems that have taken place here," Paulson said in an interview with CNBC television.
A Czar for every purpose...tyranny on demand
Link
The communists that dethroned Czar Nicholas II were the first to implement “central planning” but President-elect Barack Obama is doing his best to match both the czar’s and the communist’s commitment to autocratic style. Just this week alone there have been reports of an auto czar, an energy czar, and a technology czar. God forbid a sector of our economy should be allowed to operate without orders from theWinter PlaceerKremliner White House.
The Monster Convention Center that ate Nashville
Nate Rau is reporting that the convention center business ain't so hot. Back in 2007 a CityPaper poll indicated that by a 51% to 37% margin the citizens of Nashville opposed the building of a convention center...wonder what that same poll would show today?
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San Jose saw its convention business in October drop 66 percent from a year ago as the sagging economy has taken a bite out of business travel.
San Jose’s answer? Up the ante on its convention center, as city officials consider a $300 million upgrade. And San Jose is not the only city considering an upgrade during the current travel business nosedive. Tampa Bay has renewed the discussion on a publicly funded convention center.
In the San Diego area, Gaylord’s delay on a new hotel convention center project has officials wondering if it will ever get built. As of earlier this year, Gaylord Opryland had extended its preparation phase of a $400 million expansion into next year, but would keep a close eye on the economy, making a delay possible.
In short, convention business is taking a serious hit but many of these projects turn into an unstoppable force that ignores market trends and tries tooth-and-nail to keep up with the Joneses.
Congress not very good at "helping" homeowners
A grand total of 42 people have applied for this new housing relief program designed to help 400,000 renegotiate their mortgage? Why so low? Nobody knows...probably because many are waiting for an outright grant...why renegotiate your mortgage when you might get cash to pay it off?
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In its first two weeks of existence, the Federal Housing Authority’s HOPE for Homeowners program, meant to help as many as 400,000 homeowners avoid foreclosure, has fielded a grand total of 42 applications.
The program set aside $3.9 billion to help people in "neighborhoods hardest hit by foreclosures" renegotiate their loans, but as Rep. Steve LaTourette (R-OH) noted in yesterday’s congressional hearings on the financial crisis, the effort appears to have fallen flat and now expects to receive only a fraction of the applications it was designed to manage.
"The regulators are saying that by next fall, it will only be 20,000 -- far short of the 400,000 that we envisioned when we passed that legislation," LaTourette said.
The program, launched by the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, would allow homeowners who took out mortgages before the beginning of 2008 and can’t afford their loans to apply for a new 30-year mortgage – up to a value of $550,440 – backed by the Federal Housing Administration.
"If we don't (stop handing out bailout money)..."
then I am afraid the American people will simply rise up and stop us."
Thursday, November 13, 2008
TN Appeals Ct says Polk Cnty can't Tax Rafting
The Tax Foundation has the story. The Ocoee River is a Federal waterway and as such watercraft on the river can't be taxed by the State.Link
From April to October 2001, High Country Adventures, Inc. paid $30,598.84 in privilege tax under protest and sought a refund. The lower court correctly rejected High Country's argument that exclusion of whitewater rafting from the state sales tax prohibited local governments from taxing the activity, since that permission came from an explicit grant of power from the state. However, the tax fell afoul of the federal law prohibiting taxes and tolls on watercraft or their passengers using the navigable waters of the United States, 33 U.S.C. § 5(b).
Consequently, the tax was held to be pre-empted by federal law and Polk County has been instructed to refund the tax revenue collected. The tax had raised some $700,000 per year, and the county is considering appealing to the state supreme court.
Phil Williams catches another Judge chronically late
Link"I'm not going to tell you I don't have issues with being late," Dumas admitted to Williams. "I'm not going to tell you I haven't all my life had issues with being late. It is something that I have problems with, always have had problems with."
In fact, while she leaves everyday working folks waiting, we discovered Dumas often doesn't leave her elegant Oak Hill home until well after she's supposed to be in court.
Usually, she arrives at the courthouse at least 30 minutes late, taking another 30 minutes or more to get on the bench.
Ark Gov proposing further cut in grocery tax
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LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (WHBQ FOX13 myfoxmemphis.com) – -- Gov. Mike Beebe is calling for a 1-cent cut in the state's sales tax on groceries next year as part of his balanced budget proposal.
State finance officials unveiled Beebe's budget for the upcoming fiscal year and the revenue forecast for the next two years at a legislative hearing Thursday. Beebe's office said cutting the tax from 3 cents to 2 cents will cost the state about $30.1 million.
George Bush, stand up comedian
Link
George W. Bush today will “urge leaders of the world’s biggest industrial and developing economies not to abandon principles of free-market capitalism as they seek an escape from the international financial crisis, calling it the ‘best system’ for delivering growth” (Bloomberg).
That’s not a joke. I swear. Really. Stop laughing. Please. (Is there anything left of the free market to dismantle?)
Economic Stabilization my as%
Link
Lately, we have heard endless claims that the government is seeking to stabilize the financial markets. One might wonder, however, how propping up enterprises that, absent a large, permanent stream of subsidies, are doomed to ultimate failure qualifies as stabilization. (Not that we can expect government decision makers to worry about the long run, of course; if these men and women suffer any disability at all, they suffer extreme myopia, never seeing beyond the next election.)
The whole song-and-dance is a fraud. The government isn’t stabilizing the financial markets. It is robbing taxpayers for the benefit of privileged beneficiaries with the political clout and connections to put themselves at the head of the line when the Treasury hands out the loot. Because people have been led to fear that another Great Depression will occur unless the government “does something,” the circumstances are ideal for pulling off this sort of heist. Previous crises have operated in similar circumstances to similar effect: each has become a carnival of opportunism. Ever was it thus.
Obama to continue campaign via Web
Link
"He's going to be the first president to be connected in this way, directly, with millions of Americans," Trippi said.
The nucleus of that effort is an e-mail database of more than 10 million supporters. The list is considered so valuable that the Obama camp briefly offered it as collateral during a cash-flow crunch late in the campaign, though it wound up never needing the loan, senior aides said. At least 3.1 million people on the list donated money to Obama.
Millions more made up the volunteer corps that organized his enormous rallies, registered millions of voters and held countless gatherings to plug the senator to friends and neighbors. On Election Day, they served as the backbone of Obama's get-out-the-vote operation, reaching voters by phone and at the front door, serving coffee at polling stations and babysitting so parents could stand in line at voting precincts.
After Obama declared victory, his campaign sent a text message announcing that his supporters hadn't heard the last from the president-elect. Obama conveyed a similar message to his staff in a campaignwide conference call Wednesday, signaling that his election was the beginning, and not the culmination, of a political movement.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Its NOT an auto co bailout, its a UAW bailout
The auto companies are in trouble because their labor costs are so high. The Congress will bailout the auto companies but only because the Dems are so beholden to the unions.Congress will require a cap on auto executive pay but will not require a cap on auto worker union wages which average $73/hour.
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Bloomberg sues Govt to get bailout info
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Nov. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Bloomberg News asked a U.S. court today to force the Federal Reserve to disclose securities the central bank is accepting on behalf of American taxpayers as collateral for $1.5 trillion of loans to banks.
The lawsuit is based on the U.S. Freedom of Information Act, which requires federal agencies to make government documents available to the press and the public, according to the complaint. The suit, filed in New York, doesn't seek money damages.
"The American taxpayer is entitled to know the risks, costs and methodology associated with the unprecedented government bailout of the U.S. financial industry,'' said Matthew Winkler, the editor-in-chief of Bloomberg News, a unit of New York-based Bloomberg LP, in an e-mail.
The Fed has lent $1.5 trillion to banks, including Citigroup Inc. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc., through programs such as its discount window, the Primary Dealer Credit Facility and the Term Securities Lending Facility. Collateral is an asset pledged to a lender in the event that a loan payment isn't made.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
8,000 jobs waiting for Obama Dems aka Plum Book
Link
The 2008 Plum Book, the eagerly anticipated guide to more than 8,000 leadership positions in the executive and legislative branches, will be ready Nov. 12. The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee is publishing this year's tome officially titled "United States Policy and Supporting Positions." Aspiring political appointees and ambitious career executives can purchase the guide for $38 at the Government Printing Office's bookstore. For the more frugal and environmentally conscious, the book also is available for free at GPO's Web site.
Sounds like bribery to me? Arnold offers jobs for votes
Arnold wants to give outgoing Republicans legislators a job in return for a yes on the tax hike? How is that not bribery?Link
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger may be offering state jobs as incentives to get outgoing Republicans to vote his way on a temporary state tax hike.
Schwarzenegger said raising taxes is the only way to combat the state's $11.2 billion deficit.
Several Republicans have voted against tax hikes in the past, but the governor hopes they will change their minds as their terms come to an end.
In addition to the current deficit, California still leads the nation in home foreclosures and had the fourth highest unemployment rate last month.
What do you call Global warming when it gets cool?
Link
First, it was called “global warming.” But then it stopped warming, so alarmists changed it to “climate change.” But that’s insufficiently scary: The much more ominous sounding “financial crisis” has relegated global warming/climate change to the backburner.
Obviously, a new, more frightening label was needed. Cue Al Gore, who wrote an oped in the Sunday New York Times in which he never referred to global warming/climate change, but instead to the “climate crisis.”
Still, that’s pretty weak. After all, earth supposedly hangs in the balance. What alarmists need is a phrase that really grabs you. I suggest “Killer Climate Catastrophe Coming Your Way.”
Finland banning text message loans after 11?
New technology means government nannies have many new ways to impose their moral "superiority" on their fellow citizens.
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Nov. 11 (Bloomberg) -- Finland should ban paying out loans received via text message in the middle of the night to curb irresponsible borrowing, the Justice Ministry said.
SMS loans applied for after 11 p.m. shouldn't be paid before 7 a.m., a Justice Ministry working group said in a statement today. Text message lending started in Finland three years ago and has led to increased indebtedness among users of the service in the Nordic nation.
To get a loan, Finns currently send a text message containing the amount requested, their address, personal identity number and bank account number. The lender checks an online credit database, transferring the cash if the details check out and the applicant has a clean credit record. No security is required and loans can be taken out at any time.
Under the proposal, lenders would also be required to include the annual interest rate of the loan in their marketing, and identify applicants using secure procedures, such as web bank logins, the working group said. The government must now decide whether to send the legislation to the parliament for approval.
The average amount of a text message loan during the second quarter was 170 euros and was paid back in 28 days, according to Statistics Finland data. The number of court orders to repay text message loan debt rose 8.7 percent to more than 113,000 in the first nine months of the year, Suomen Asiakastieto Oy, a company that maintains Finland's credit data register, said last month.
Makes $800 million look good, CA deficit: $28 billion
Link
Projected Budget Shortfall of $28 Billion. Even at the time the 2008–09 budget was signed, policymakers acknowledged a multibillion dollar shortfall was expected for the upcoming 2009–10 budget. Combined with the steep revenue drop and some spending increases, that shortfall has grown dramatically to over $19 billion. When combined with the current–year deficit, we project that the state will need to close a $27.8 billion gap over the next 20 months.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Phil Williams investigates judges who are awol
The first in a series of reports on Davidson County judges.Link
One of those judges, Gale Robinson, is the presiding judge of Davidson County's General Sessions Courts. Come to Robinson's courtroom late, and the judge just may lay down the law.
"The good citizens of Davidson County don't need to be sitting around here all day long," Robinson lectured attorneys in his courtroom.
Still, that's exactly what we found, day after day. And our investigation discovered it's sometimes the judges themselves who are late -- or don't even show up -- keeping victims, police and others waiting for justice.
But just try to question Robinson about why he was a no-show.
"Judge, we'd like to get your side," NewsChannel 5's chief investigative reporter Phil Williams called out as Robinson walked away. "Haven't you put people in jail for not showing up in court?"
The judge walked into an office and slammed the door.
Hugo Chavez subtly mentions "tanks" when asked
what might happen if an election doesn't go his way.
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CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela's increasingly bellicose President Hugo Chavez warned that he may put tanks on the streets if a former television star running for his Socialist Party loses a state election this month.
Chavez is expected to lose control of some key states and cities in the November 23 nationwide elections for governors and mayors.
In Carabobo, where a Chavez loyalist and former late-night talk show host risks losing the governorship, Chavez told party activists he might use the tanks to "defend the people."
"If you let the oligarchy return to government then maybe I'll end up sending the tanks of the armoured brigade out to defend the revolutionary government," he said late on Saturday.
Maybe Volkswagen will give us back some of
our money? The Gov says that the deficit may reach $800 million this year.
Maybe corporate welfare isn't such a good idea?
Maybe corporate welfare isn't such a good idea?
Pay Hike for Az pols: 700k For, 1.2million Against
Link
The salaries of state legislators in Arizona have stayed the same for a decade: $24,000 a year. A bipartisan commission placed a proposal on last Tuesday's ballot to increase the salary to $30,000.
The good news for Arizona legislators: nearly 700,000 Arizonans voted for the idea.
The bad news: more than 1.25 million voted against it.
Of course Barack Obama favors School Choice...
for his own children. He doesn't want to "spread around" the teaching competence. Nope, he would prefer to have excellent teachers for his own children.
BUT, when it comes to those "middle income" types, which he professes to care about, he thinks they should only be able to "choose" schools whose teachers are from the teachers unions.
He wants excellence for his own children but he also wants power for his political party, thus the mind bending hypocrisy.
BUT, when it comes to those "middle income" types, which he professes to care about, he thinks they should only be able to "choose" schools whose teachers are from the teachers unions.
He wants excellence for his own children but he also wants power for his political party, thus the mind bending hypocrisy.
Jim "Blue Dog" Cooper, No Bark, No Bite
This is damn disappointing. Jim Cooper has shown great courage on spending restraint and earmark issues....no more, apparently.
Link HT: ACK
Link HT: ACK
As Congress gears up to pass another spending "stimulus" bill, there's one political silver lining: Democrats are being forced to abandon the pretense of fiscal conservatism known as "pay as you go" budgeting.
Late last week the leader of the House Blue Dog Coalition, Tennessee Democrat Jim Cooper, announced that with Barack Obama about to enter the White House, "I'm not sure the old rules are relevant anymore." Why not? Because, Mr. Cooper said, "It would be unfair to the new President to put him in a budget straitjacket."
Democrats ran on "paygo" in 2006, promising to offset any new spending increases or tax cuts with comparable tax increases or spending cuts. Once in charge on Capitol Hill they quickly made exceptions, waiving paygo no fewer than 12 times to accommodate some $398 billion in new deficit spending -- not that the press corps bothered to notice. That didn't stop Majority Leader Steny Hoyer from announcing in May that "We're absolutely committed to paygo. Speaker [Nancy Pelosi] is committed to paygo. I'm very committed to paygo. Our caucus is committed to paygo."
There are Banks that don't want to be "helped"? Yup
Link
The head of the Kansas Bankers Association says the state's banks are reluctant to take part in the capital injection program included in the financial bailout.Association president Chuck Stones said "banks are very wary of the program" that Congress approved last month as part of the $700 billion bailout. The Troubled Asset Relief Program injects capital in the form of preferred stock.
The Topeka Capital-Journal reported that Capitol Federal Financial of Topeka and UMB Financial Corp. of Kansas City, Mo., have both declined to participate.
Capitol Federal CEO John Dicus said the bank already has sufficient resources to continue lending money to home buyers. Dicus said the program's preferred stock requires payment of a 5 percent dividend rate, and that his bank would have to lend at 8 percent to cover the required rate.
Connecticut passed a State Income Tax in 1991
Connecticut passed a State Income Tax in 1991. Their State Tax Burden Rank moved from 28th, two years before passage, to 3rd, two years after passage. Tennessee's rank stayed at 44th. Both States are still at 3rd and 44th in 2008.
State Tax Burden Rank
State Tax Burden Rank
| CT | TN | |
| 1989 | 28 | 44 |
| 1990 | 17 | 44 |
| 1991 | 18 | 47 |
| 1992 | 5 | 46 |
| 1993 | 3 | 44 |
Obama's change msg: Tax cuts good, tax hikes bad
Link
Obama, as it happens, won by offering voters the same thing Reagan promised: tax cuts. Most of those who supported him did so on the assumption that they would not fall in the class of people who will have to cough up more to the IRS.
Not only that, but many voted against McCain partly because Obama successfully branded his health-care program as a tax increase. Americans are willing to embrace a bigger and more expensive federal government on one condition: that it doesn't cost them anything.
Karl Dean may take over Metro Nashville Schools
If so, he will do so at the direction of Phil Bredesen.
This is waaay beyond ironic. Both of these men live in Nashville. Both were presented with the choice to send their children to Metro Nashville Public Schools. Both of these men love their children as much as any parent. Both considered the choice of a school for their children as profoundly important. Both of these men wanted their children to succeed academically.
Both chose NOT to send their children to Metro Public schools.
This is waaay beyond ironic. Both of these men live in Nashville. Both were presented with the choice to send their children to Metro Nashville Public Schools. Both of these men love their children as much as any parent. Both considered the choice of a school for their children as profoundly important. Both of these men wanted their children to succeed academically.
Both chose NOT to send their children to Metro Public schools.
Its a great time to own a home in TN, not so in CA
Year over year loss in value for CA Homes.
Link HT: NewsAlert
Link HT: NewsAlert
BEL AIR 6 $952,500 $2,654,386 -64.12%
BELLFLOWER 35 $340,000 $499,000 -31.86%
BEVERLY HILLS 11 $930,000 $1,800,000 -48.33%
BRENTWOOD 18 $766,500 $1,390,000 -44.86%
BURBANK 59 $455,000 $610,000 -25.41%
CALABASAS 22 $875,000 $1,485,000 -41.08%
CANOGA PARK 42 $357,500 $576,000 -37.93%
Sunday, November 09, 2008
Hey Bob, Lamar, Zach, Lincoln, John, Steve, Jim, Bart
You said this bailout was just a temporary thang...kind of like a temporary tax...and we believed you. You told us the lobbyists and bureaucrats and corporate welfarists would not move in and make the bailout a permanent part of the DC landscape...and we believed you. You said there wouldn't be any unintended consequences like, oh, say, Amtrak or Fannie Mae....and we believed you. (not really)
Hey, look on the bright side...you guys will receive a TON of money from these bailout guys in the next election cycle and half of your staffers will probably end up working for the bailout lobby so there is a silver lining.
Link
Hey, look on the bright side...you guys will receive a TON of money from these bailout guys in the next election cycle and half of your staffers will probably end up working for the bailout lobby so there is a silver lining.
Link
AIG is asking the US government for a new bail-out less than two months after the Federal Reserve came to the rescue of the stricken insurer with an $85bn loan, according to people close to the situation.
AIG’s executives were on Friday night locked in negotiations with the authorities over a plan that could involve a debt-for-equity swap and the government’s purchase of troubled mortgage-backed securities from the insurer.
Knox County Schools go completely insane
How do you prevent a score of zero? Why you simply give everyone a 60 no matter how badly they scored...even if they didn't turn in the assignment. This is educational brilliance!!
Teacher: Lets review class...what did we learn today?
Little Johnny: Oh, call on me Ms. Smith, I know!!
Teacher: Ok, little Johnny, tell us what we learned.
Little Johnny: We learned that hard work and diligence are for suckers. We learned that when we go out the in real world and get a job employers better not expect too much of us because we don't know that decisions have consequences. Oh, and I almost forgot...we also learned why Barack Obama and Phil Bredesen and Karl Dean, when faced with one of the most important decisions of their lives, i.e., where to send their own precious children to school, they chose NOT to send their children to a public school.
Teacher: Why, thank you Johnny, you are so mediocre, but that's not a bad thing.
Link
Teacher: Lets review class...what did we learn today?
Little Johnny: Oh, call on me Ms. Smith, I know!!
Teacher: Ok, little Johnny, tell us what we learned.
Little Johnny: We learned that hard work and diligence are for suckers. We learned that when we go out the in real world and get a job employers better not expect too much of us because we don't know that decisions have consequences. Oh, and I almost forgot...we also learned why Barack Obama and Phil Bredesen and Karl Dean, when faced with one of the most important decisions of their lives, i.e., where to send their own precious children to school, they chose NOT to send their children to a public school.
Teacher: Why, thank you Johnny, you are so mediocre, but that's not a bad thing.
Link
Besides allowing make-up time during the day, Bearden Middle School officials also are trying a controversial grading policy that ensures students can't receive a grade below a 60. So, for example, where a failing student might in the past have scored a 10, 20 or 30, under the new method they're ensured of getting at least a 60.
Such a mark is still considered failing. But under the new scale, the student isn't penalized nearly as much for a poor mark when that is averaged with other, presumably improved work, said Bearden Middle assistant principal David Bailey.
"For those kids who are doing the work and are really trying … they can't recover from a zero, but they can recover from a 60," he said. "It gives them hope."
How to help New Orleans recover from disaster?
Why you raise taxes of course...but wonder of wonders, the Times-Picayune is editorializing against Mayor Ray Nagin's proposed tax hike...its a miracle of editorial enlightenment!!
Link
Link
The city has wasted millions in a program to install crime cameras that have had limited success and often don't work. And City Hall also failed to supervise a home remediation program that apparently paid contractors for work they did not perform and is now under federal investigation. With that record, the administration can hardly expect taxpayers not to be skeptical of its request to pay more taxes.
The executive is not the only branch of city government that has bloated expenses, though. The City Council's proposed budget is $15.1 million. That's 50 percent more than the $10.5 million their predecessors spent in 2004, before Katrina shrank the city's population.
In addition, tax collections are already almost at pre-Katrina levels, and officials expect them to keep growing as recovery work expands and tourism rebounds.
All this shows that there's room in the budget to avoid a tax increase. And there are additional reasons why higher property taxes should be avoided.
Tax hike gets crushed by voters...what next?
in Blount County, apparently, you don't accept the will of the people and govern accordingly, you immediately talk about putting it back on the ballot because, "The tax money would be nice."
Link
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“We’re going to sit on it for awhile — it’s a tough call,” he said. “We wanted to see what the will of the citizens would be, and (the referendum) was beat everywhere. With money as tight as it is, we’ll have to give (another referendum) a long hard thought.
“The tax money would be nice, but it doesn’t make sense to call (a referendum) this early because of the expense to conduct an election.”
Saturday, November 08, 2008
Mark Steyn: The Death of the American Idea
Link
‘Give me liberty or give me death!”
“Live free or die!”
What's that? Oh, don't mind me. I'm just trying out slogans for the 2012 campaign and seeing which one would get the biggest laughs.
[...]
In 2012, the least we deserve is a choice between the collectivist assumptions of the Democrats, and a candidate who stands for individual liberty — for economic dynamism not the sclerotic “managed capitalism” of Germany; for the First Amendment, not Canadian-style government regulation of approved opinion; for self-reliance and the Second Amendment, not the security state in which Britons are second only to North Koreans in the number of times they're photographed by government cameras in the course of going about their daily business. In Forbes this week, Claudia Rosett issued a stirring defense of individual liberty. That it should require a stirring defense at all is a melancholy reflection on this election season. Live free — or die from a thousand beguiling caresses of nanny-state sirens.
Bloomberg and Aaahnuld, sittin in a tree
Link
Both Bloomberg and Schwarzenegger risk devastation of the already beleaguered economies under their care by enacting massive new taxes. It comes at a time when the ill effects of such measures might well end up being falsely blamed on outside forces — rather than on these two shameless tax hikers.Bloomberg, who intends to bulldoze over the city's now-rescinded term limits law and run for a third term, is reneging on a $400 property tax rebate and asking the city council to raise homeowners' already astronomical property taxes by 7%. He has been accused by Democratic legislators of cooking the books regarding a two-year $4 billion budget shortfall and may be sued to force the mailing of those rebate checks. He will face a fight with members of the council who are fed up with his infamous arrogance.
The mayor is also planning a 5-cent enviro tax on plastic grocery bags in hopes of adding $16 million to Big Apple city coffers. The city's chief of environmental affairs told the New York Daily News that since the city already collects a huge sales tax, "There's not some massive new overhaul or bureaucracy that's needed" to collect the new tax, designed in the hope "people would change their behavior" and start bringing cloth bags to the grocery store.
Three thousand miles away, Schwarzenegger plans a big sales tax hike to deal with a budget gap that may reach $24 billion by mid-2010, just as he tried to do earlier this year against fierce Republican resistance in Sacramento. In Los Angeles alone, the plan will raise sales taxes to 10.25%, well above the 7.25% state rate.
Obama web site removes "require"
Link
Earlier today we posted about Barack Obama’s plan to require community service from middle school, high school, and college students. This is how it read at the time:
The Obama Administration will call on Americans to serve in order to meet the nation’s challenges. President-Elect Obama will expand national service programs like AmeriCorps and Peace Corps and will create a new Classroom Corps to help teachers in underserved schools, as well as a new Health Corps, Clean Energy Corps, and Veterans Corps. Obama will call on citizens of all ages to serve America, by developing a plan to require 50 hours of community service in middle school and high school and 100 hours of community service in college every year. Obama will encourage retiring Americans to serve by improving programs available for individuals over age 55, while at the same time promoting youth programs such as Youth Build and Head Start.
Lo and behold. Tonight, after the plan was publicized, Obama has quietly thrown that “requirement” part down the memory hole.
You make $151k and you want a bailout?
Link HT: EconopunditLabor cost per hour, wages and benefits for hourly workers, 2006.
Ford: $70.51 ($141,020 per year)
GM: $73.26 ($146,520 per year)
Chrysler: $75.86 ($151,720 per year)
Toyota, Honda, Nissan (in U.S.): $48.00 ($96,000 per year)
According to AAUP and IES, the average annual compensation for a college professor in 2006 was $92,973 (average salary nationally of $73,207 + 27% benefits).
"Free" music means artists get the 360
Link
360 Music deals give labels their standard cut of CD and digital download sales, but also give them a percentage of event ticket profits, merchandise sales, endorsement deals and anything else that uses the artist’s brand or music.A year ago they were still seen as controversial and experimental. Labels defended them as justification for investing in an artist in a time of decreasing CD sales.
Today, though, those deals are becoming mandatory. Warner Music Group CEO Edgar Bronfman told the Web 2.0 Summit audience that his label now requires all new artists to sign 360 Deals, and that about a third of their signed artists are under those contracts.
Bronfman argued to a hostile crowd that it doesn’t make sense for labels to pour money into artist development when CD sales, their primary source of revenue, continue to decline (although he did say that digital sales now make up 20% of their revenue). Without other ways to make money from an artist, he said, they wouldn’t continue to promote artists.
Melissa Etheridge won't pay $500k of Calif Taxes
because of prop 8.
Link
Link
Okay, cool I don't mean to get too personal here but there is a lot I can do with the extra half a million dollars that I will be keeping instead of handing it over to the state of California. Oh, and I am sure Ellen will be a little excited to keep her bazillion bucks that she pays in taxes too. Wow, come to think of it, there are quite a few of us fortunate gay folks that will be having some extra cash this year. What recession? We're gay! I am sure there will be a little box on the tax forms now single, married, divorced, gay, check here if you are gay, yeah, that's not so bad. Of course all of the waiters and hairdressers and UPS workers and gym teachers and such, they won't have to pay their taxes either.
Friday, November 07, 2008
Obama will "require" voluntary service?
Link
Obama is now planning to require students to perform unpaid community service every year. “Obama will call on citizens of all ages to serve America, by developing a plan to require 50 hours of community service in middle school and high school and 100 hours of community service in college every year.” Community organizers will welcome all the unpaid labor this makes available to them.
It is unclear if any federal power authorizes such a requirement: the Supreme Court’s decision in United States v. Lopez (1995), which struck down the Gun-Free School Zones Act as unconstitutional, made clear that private citizens and education are not inherently commercial enterprises subject to federal regulation under the Commerce Clause. (That decision was reaffirmed in United States v. Morrison (2000), which dismissed a federal lawsuit alleging violence between college students, as beyond federal jurisdiction).
Lamar won't give away one more dime of our money
Now that Republicans have absolutely NO power to affect anything Lamar gets "brave." Go get'em tiger, let us hear you roar.
Link
Link
“Well, we’ll be back in Washington in two weeks, and I think it’s time to stop bailing people out with other people’s money and start making fundamental investments in the long term which help all taxpayers."
Barack: 3.1% Scottish Ancestry, Gets Irish Invite
Link
Link
First Minister Alex Samond has invited Barack Obama to come to Scotland during the Year of Homecoming.
Admittedly, it was on Tuesday before the result and he hedged his bets and invited both presidential hopefuls on the grounds that they both have Scottish ancestry.
But how much Scottish ancestry does the new American president have?
Bruce Blacklaw at the National Library of Scotland was keen to find out and asked the organisation's genealogy unit to run a few checks.
Early research suggests Barack Obama has 3.1% Scottish ancestry - the detail relating to a relation on his mother's side of the family.
They also said there was substantially more English ancestry in his background than Scots, but I'm guessing the Year of Homecoming organisers don't want to hear that particular detail.
Link
Records show Barack Obama's maternal ancestors lived in the Moneygall area of County Offaly more than 150 years ago.
In a statement, Mr Cowen said he was looking forward to "building on the existing deep and cherished ties between our two countries."
20 Great T-Shirt websites
Link
Threadless
BustedTees
NerdyShirts
Woot! Shirt
Imaginary Foundation
NoiseBot
T-Shirt Hell
GMtee
Enclothe
Snorg
Rumplo
80's Tees
Uneetee
DesignByHumans
SpreadShirt Bountee
2KTShirts
ShirtCity
TeeFury
CrazyDogTshirts
RoadKillTShrits
CA Republicans burning the furniture?
Aaaahnuld has lost his mind. He is proposing a general sales tax increase in California.
Link
Link
"It's very interesting for the governor to put some different variations on the table," said Assemblyman Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael. "But the question remains, can he deliver any Republican votes when he couldn't deliver any three months ago? They would burn the furniture before they'd raise taxes."
The eBay of Tutoring - Eduwizards.com
Link
At our website you select the tutor you want! You can find tutors for all academic subjects, and you can browse student/parent feedback, hourly charges and other details before choosing a tutor. Our tutors give half-hour trial sessions -- absolutely free with no strings attached. So you have nothing to lose by giving us a try.
Thursday, November 06, 2008
Yikes, Rahm Emanuel is CREEPY
This sounds like a really bad high school dramatization of 1984, "united in common purpose."
Link
Link
John Kennedy was right: A nation is defined not by what it does for its citizens but by what it asks of them. If your leaders aren't challenging you to do your part, they aren't doing theirs. We need a real Patriot Act that brings out the patriot in all of us by establishing for the first time an ethic of universal citizen service. All Americans between the ages of 18 and 25 should be asked to serve their country by going through three months of basic civil defense training and community service. This is not a draft, nor is it military. Young people will be trained not as soldiers, but simply as citizens who understand their responsibilities in the event of a natural disaster, an epidemic or a terrorist attack. Universal citizen service will bring Americans of every background together to make America safer and more united in common purpose.
Dems may stimulate with a tax cut
Link
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told the Wall Street Journal today that her party, fresh from capturing the White House and adding to its numbers on Capitol Hill, is considering a two-staged effort to boost the shaky U.S. economy.
The outlook right now is for a $60 billion to $100 billion stimulus package, followed early next year by a companion measure that would include a "permanent tax cut."
Internet Privacy a thing of the past in UK
Link
Internet "black boxes" will be used to collect every email and web visit in the UK under the Government's plans for a giant "big brother" database, The Independent has learnt.
Home Office officials have told senior figures from the internet and telecommunications industries that the "black box" technology could automatically retain and store raw data from the web before transferring it to a giant central database controlled by the Government.
Plans to create a database holding information about every phone call, email and internet visit made in the UK have provoked a huge public outcry. Richard Thomas, the Information Commissioner, described it as "step too far" and the Government's own terrorism watchdog said that as a "raw idea" it was "awful".
Federal Unions looking for Payback fm Obama
Link
Early in the election season, Obama met with AFGE leadership on several occasions, during which he signified his support for organized labor and federal workers. Obama has been vocal in his commitment to fully fund and staff the Social Security Administration, Bureau of Prisons, and the Department of Veterans Affairs; allow for collective bargaining rights at TSA;Link
(WASHINGTON)—The American Federation of Government Employees today congratulated Senator Barack Obama on being elected president of the United States, and re-launched a nationwide effort to recruit tens of thousands of TSOs into the union.Link
Here are the goals Federal unions have espoused at one time or another and those that appear likely targets.
What credit crunch?
LinkAccording to the most recent weekly banking data from the Federal Reserve, the Total Bank Credit of All Commercial Banks exceeded $10 trillion for the first time during the week of October 22 (see chart above, click to enlarge). Compared to mid-October 2007, total bank credit in October 2008 increased by almost 11%, and is almost $1 trillion higher ($977 billion). Compared to mid-2000, total bank credit has doubled from $5 trillion to $10 trillion.
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
Tax Referenda Results Statewide
Montgomery County - Wheel Tax defeated - 28,483 Against, 15,563 For
Putnam County - Wheel Tax defeated - 20,418 Against, 5,723 For
Lawrence County - Wheel Tax Defeated - 10,143 Against, 5,548 For
Johnson County - 1/2 cent sales tax defeated - 53% Against, 47% For
Blount County - 1/2 cent sales tax defeated - 30,871 Against, 18,124 For
Carter County - 1/2 cent sales tax approved - 6,392 Against, 9,590 For
Hamblen County - 1/2 cent sales tax defeated - 8,316 Against, 5,556 For
Humphreys County - 1/2 cent sales tax defeated- 2,326 Against, 1,701 For
Putnam County - Wheel Tax defeated - 20,418 Against, 5,723 For
Lawrence County - Wheel Tax Defeated - 10,143 Against, 5,548 For
Johnson County - 1/2 cent sales tax defeated - 53% Against, 47% For
Blount County - 1/2 cent sales tax defeated - 30,871 Against, 18,124 For
Carter County - 1/2 cent sales tax approved - 6,392 Against, 9,590 For
Hamblen County - 1/2 cent sales tax defeated - 8,316 Against, 5,556 For
Humphreys County - 1/2 cent sales tax defeated- 2,326 Against, 1,701 For
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
Labor Unions Card Check in...but not out
If elected, the first legislative push by Barack Obama and the Dem Congress is likely to be the so-called card check where labor unions can organize by simply by having workers sign a card...no more secret ballot. (BUT, under proposed legislation, unions could NOT be decertified with card check.) The anonymous union guy below says card check would take away any credibilty that unions have left...I agree.
Link
Link
That is of course why the union-drafted EFCA has no provision for de-certification by card check. But how likely is it that labor would be able to hold off a push, sooner or later, to re-even the scales by including it? And even if the Democratic sweep is big enough today to get EFCA passed as it stands, the loss in legitimacy for unions will be devastating.
Most Americans think of labor unions as legitimate voices for workers, even though few belong to unions. That level of legitimacy will be lost if the House of Labor becomes a kind of Roach Motel where workers can check in but they can’t check out.
No more Christmas, now Winter Lights Festival
Link
(UK) Oxford city council confirmed the events in the city would be renamed 'Winter Light Festival' to make them more inclusive, provoking outrage among shoppers in the city who called for a return to tradition.
The idea has come from the charity Oxford Inspires, the cultural development agency for the county, which runs the celebrations.
Sabir Hussain Mirza, chairman of the Muslim Council of Oxford, said: "I am really upset about this. Christians, Muslims and other religions all look forward to Christmas."
Monday, November 03, 2008
1,800 public banks plus thousands of private banks
Thats how many more will be applying to get some taxpayer funded bailout booty.
Want to be successful in business? Find the nearest elected official who can vote you some taxpayer money, locate their rear end and start kissing.
Want to be successful in business? Find the nearest elected official who can vote you some taxpayer money, locate their rear end and start kissing.
TVA has gone completely insane...certifiable
Ok, here is the deal, if your business is in the TVA region all you have to do is threaten to cut jobs...TVA will then knock on your door and beg you not to...you say OK, and then they write you a check...a check which will have to be cashed with ratepayer dollars.
TVA has lost its collective marbles.
Link
TVA has lost its collective marbles.
Link
The Tennessee Valley Authority will begin handing companies cash to keep their business in the region next year. Last week the TVA board approved a program to make grants to companies that don’t cut jobs through this economic downturn.
The program has a name – Valley Investment Initiative – but TVA officials haven’t decided how much they’ll spend.
Sunday, November 02, 2008
Goldman-Sachs bonuses = taxpayer bailout
This report must be a mistake? This is just too outrageous.
Link
Link
Goldman Sachs is on course to pay its top City bankers multimillion-pound bonuses - despite asking the U.S. government for an emergency bail-out.
The struggling Wall Street bank has set aside £7billion for salaries and 2008 year-end bonuses, it emerged yesterday.
Each of the firm's 443 partners is on course to pocket an average Christmas bonus of more than £3million.
The size of the pay pool comfortably dwarfs the £6.1billion lifeline which the U.S. government is throwing to Goldman as part of its £430billion bail-out.
As Washington pours money into the bank, the cash will immediately be channelled to Goldman's already well-heeled employees.
Yikes, Thomas Sowell lets loose on Barack
Thomas Sowell is an extraordinary thinker and economist. I hope that if Barack is elected he will take a quiet moment to consider Thomas Sowell's words, however harsh. A whole heap of humility is in order. The federal government already has far, far too much power over our lives.
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For someone who has actually accomplished nothing to blithely talk about taking away what has been earned by those who have accomplished something, and give it to whomever he chooses in the name of "spreading the wealth," is the kind of casual arrogance that has led to many economic catastrophes in many countries.
The equally casual ease with which Barack Obama has talked about appointing judges on the basis of their empathies with various segments of the population makes a mockery of the very concept of law.
Breaking: Suspicious Pkg in Chick Filet Drive-thru
Micro local news coverage from Bradley County. The bomb squad was called and blew up the package and said they were 99.9% sure that the package did not represent a threat. My guess is that Zach Wamp will soon be working on a $1,000,000 earmark to fund expanded bomb squad capability so we can rule out the 0.1%. They blow up the package at the end of the video so be sure not to miss the good part.
Best part of the video: guy yells "hell yeah!!" as the package is blown up.
Will these terrorists stop at nothing???
Link (scroll down)
Best part of the video: guy yells "hell yeah!!" as the package is blown up.
Will these terrorists stop at nothing???
Link (scroll down)
A bona fide, ad hominem Govt attack on dumbing up
Link
Local (UK) authorities have ordered employees to stop using the words and phrases on documents and when communicating with members of the public and to rely on wordier alternatives instead.
The ban has infuriated classical scholars who say it is diluting the world's richest language and is the "linguistic equivalent of ethnic cleansing".
Bournemouth Council, which has the Latin motto Pulchritudo et Salubritas, meaning beauty and health, has listed 19 terms it no longer considers acceptable for use.
This includes bona fide, eg (exempli gratia), prima facie, ad lib or ad libitum, etc or et cetera, ie or id est, inter alia, NB or nota bene, per, per se, pro rata, quid pro quo, vis-a-vis, vice versa and even via.
Its list of more verbose alternatives, includes "for this special purpose", in place of ad hoc and "existing condition" or "state of things", instead of status quo.
If we mandate it, they will come (and then leave)
The geniuses in Congress thought it would be just peachy to mandate that banks lend money to people who could NOT afford to pay it back. Result: sub-prime meltdown.
The geniuses in Congress thought it would be just peachy to mandate ethanol production. Result: ethanol producers are going bankrupt.
Maybe we should stop listening to the geniuses in Congress????
Link
The geniuses in Congress thought it would be just peachy to mandate ethanol production. Result: ethanol producers are going bankrupt.
Maybe we should stop listening to the geniuses in Congress????
Link
The most prominent ethanol energy company in the US, Verasun (VSE), is filing for Chapter 11. Among other things the firm has been pinched by falling oil prices, which make ethanol less attractive, and rising corn prices, which makes production more expensive.
When oil was at $147 a barrel, ethanol was a savior for car and truck drivers everywhere.
The ethanol industry built tremendous production and transportation infrastructure. It was a "if we build it, the will come" strategy. Then, the world fell apart. Prices for gas at the pump are back down well below $3 instead of being headed toward $5 as they were in August.
Boozing pregnant Moms good for baby boys
Link
Boys born to mothers who drank lightly during pregnancy are better behaved and score more highly in tests at the age of three than the sons of women who abstained, according to a study published today.
Researchers found there was no link between light drinking in pregnancy - defined as one to two units a week, or on occasion - and any behavioural or cognitive problems in children at the age of three.
Surprisingly, the University College London study found that some of the children of light-drinking mothers appeared to be doing better than the babies of those who abstained.
Govt study delayed on crisis that is already over
Link
A government study to track the health of children who lived in FEMA trailers after Hurricane Katrina is still stuck in the planning stages, three years after families first began complaining about health problems related to formaldehyde in their temporary homes. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention hasn’t figured out how it will find the children, many of whom moved out of the trailers months or even years ago. It also hasn’t settled on a scientific methodology or obtained funding or the necessary White House approval. It does not plan to publish results until 2015, according to interviews and documents obtained by ProPublica, a nonprofit investigative newsroom.