No Runny Eggs

The repository of one hard-boiled egg from the south suburbs of Milwaukee, Wisconsin (and the occassional guest-blogger). The ramblings within may or may not offend, shock and awe you, but they are what I (or my guest-bloggers) think.

Archive for posts by steveegg.

January 14, 2010

There’s no way out of TARP, part 243,129

by @ 12:51. Tags:
Filed under Business, Politics - National, Taxes.

I’ve done so many of these that I’ve lost count. Fox Business has the dirty details on a brand-new attax…er, attack…er, tax on the cream of the American financial sector:

President Obama will announce today a new “financial crisis responsibility fee” on the top 50 financial firms that is designed to recoup at least $90 billion in projected losses in the government’s bank bailout program, a senior Administration official said….

The official said the fee would be set at 0.15% and, if approved by Congress, would be assessed starting in June for at least a decade on firms with assets of more than $50 billion, including U.S. subsidiaries of foreign banks and large insurance companies with bank or thrift subsidiaries.

If you thought that the biggest vacuums of TARP, specifically the now-government-owned companies which will never repay the money, were going to be part of this, or that those institutions that managed to not get strong-armed into TARP will escape this, think again:

The fee would be paid not just by some firms that received investment capital from the government’s $700 billion Trouble Asset Relief Program (TARP) and by many banks that have already repaid their TARP funds, but also by some firms that did not take TARP money. “All of them have benefitted both from the stabilization (measures), as well as the exceptional, extraordinary Federal Reserve actions,” the official said.

But the two auto companies that the government bailed out last year, General Motors and Chrysler, would not pay the fee, the official said, and neither would mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which the government also took over in 2008. He said the fee “does not and cannot work for a more industrial company like an auto company” and that charging Fannie and Freddie would amount to moving taxpayer money “from one pocket to another.”

That’s right; this is another wealth transfer from responsible companies to the most-irresponsible, government-subsidized companies. But wait, there’s more. Do note the “at least a decade”. If the TARP losses are less than the $90 billion that it’s “likely” going to be, where’s the rest of that money going?

Backhand smashes – not quite in the groove edition

by @ 9:35. Filed under Miscellaneous.

I’ve been out of it all week, and I’ve still got the remnants of a major overnight sinus headache, but there’s a few items that need to be explored:

  • Sen. Russ Slim…er, Feingold has been running into a wee bit of Tea in his recent listening sessions over his support of PlaceboCare.
  • Robert Stacy McCain is not letting either a shoestring budget or an ugly knockdown of a credentialed journalist deter him from wearing out the shoe leather to bring reports from the “unexpectedly-hot” special election to fill the Senate seat held for ages by Ted “The Swimmer” Kennedy. Related, the shenanigans are beginning, with the Democratic Secretary of State saying that, if Republican Scott Brown completes the upset, he won’t certify the election for 32 days, and the Democratic-controlled Legislature looking to change the certification laws again to delay it even more.
  • The White House has doubled tripled down on Porkulus after getting smacked by just about every semi-reputable news organization over its 600K “created/sved” number, now claiming every job at an entity that received so much as a dime of Porkulus money as “saved” to get to the 2 million number touted.
  • There will be new TARP fees on banks to make up for what the government spent to save seize AIG, GM and Chrysler (which will be exempt from said fees).

January 12, 2010

If it’s the 2nd Tuesday of the month…

by @ 18:41. Tags:
Filed under Miscellaneous.

…you’ll find me at Papa’s Social Club (7718 W. Burleigh in Milwaukee) around 7 pm.

January 8, 2010

How the healthy banks were strongarmed into TARP

by @ 7:58. Tags:
Filed under Business, Politics - National.

(H/T – The Right Scoop via Ed Morrissey)

BB&T CEO John Allison spoke with Fox Business Channel’s John Stossel about how BB&T was forced to take TARP money despite being sufficiently capitalized…

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCEdy_yHkQE[/youtube]

To wit:

– The Bush-era regulators “kindly informed” BB&T that the capitalization rules would be changed for banks who did not succumb to TARP to levels that even BB&T could not meet.
– Fed chair Ben Bernanke, Time’s “Person of the Year” for being instrumental in the federalization of the economy, didn’t want we the people to realize which banks were in trouble.

Revisions/extensions (8:32 am 1/8/2010) – Had the hat-tip links reversed. OOPS!

Shoebox held hostage by the TSA – Day 5

by @ 7:22. Filed under Miscellaneous.

This video from ReasonTV (H/T – Eric Odom) explains everything you need to know about Shoebox’s situation…

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaHqD5OAYi0[/youtube]

January 7, 2010

Roll bloat – yet another Rule 2 addition

by @ 19:45. Filed under The Blog.

Since The Anchoress was kind enough to link to yesterday’s Social Security post, and since she has the gift of prolific prose, it’s definitely time to put The Anchoress on that gigantic roll to your right.

New Years’ Resolution from Rebecca Kleefisch to state government

by @ 17:39. Filed under Politics - Wisconsin.

Given that the GAAP deficit for FY2009 was larger than the amount of Porkulus used to try to plug the sucking chest wound black hole that is the Wisconsin state budget, Rebecca Kleefisch has a short message for the politicians in Madison, both now and those that will arrive next year…

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3pcMvb0SRk[/youtube]

Somebody has to be responsible around here.

January 6, 2010

Social Security crater – November 2009 edition

by @ 23:38. Filed under Social Security crater.

The Social Security Administration’s Office of the Chief Actuary finally got around to posting the detailed November numbers for Social Security, and things have only gotten worse:

  • The combined OASDI (Old-Age Survivors and Disability Insurance) “Trust” Funds posted a $5.858 billion primary (cash, non-“interest”) deficit for November, the worst monthly performance since monthly records began in 1987.
  • The 12-month OASDI primary surplus was only $9.598 billion, also the worst 12-month performance since monthly records began.

Since there won’t be an cost-of-living increase in Social Security benefits, the combined funds may yet avoid a 12-month primary deficit in 2010 by the skin of its teeth. However, that is dependent on an improvement in the wage situation, and specifically an improvement in the job prospects of those between 62 and 67 years old. Somehow I don’t see the trend of older and higher-earning workers losing their jobs disproportionately reversing.

If you think that’s bad, the DI (Disability Insurance) portion is even worse. I had not taken a very close look at it before, but perhaps I should have because it has entered the last stage of a fund collapse – cannibalization of principal:

  • For the 50th straight month, going back to October 2005, the DI Fund ran a 12-month primary deficit, this time hitting a new high of $21.399 billion.
  • Outside of the “double tax-collection” months of January and April (when it recieves both the quarterly estimated income tax payments, also received in June and September and the quarterly tax on benefits, also received in July and October), the last time the DI Fund posted a monthly primary surplus was September 2007 (which itself is a “tax-collection” month, specifically of the quarterly estimated income tax payments). One would have to go back to March 2007 to find a month outside of a “tax-collection” month with a monthly primary surplus, and all the way back to May 2003 to find a month outside both the “tax-collection” and “tax-season” months (January through April) with a monthly primary surplus.
  • A similar monthly situation with the overall DI Fund exists – outside of the “double tax-collection” months and the semi-annual interest-crediting months (June and December), the last time it posted an overall monthly surplus was September 2007; and outside of tax or interest “enhancements”, the last overall monthly surplus was posted in July 2003.
  • All that has led to the DI Fund entering a 12-month overall (which includes the effects of “interest”) deficit beginning in February 2009, which means it is redeeming more US Treasuries than it is buying. That 12-month overall deficit, which has existed since then, has now hit $10.525 billion, the first time it topped the $10 billion mark.

Allow me to repeat that – the DI Fund is now in the final stage of a fund collapse – the exhaustion of principal. In this case, that principal, as of November 30, 2009, was $202.265 billion.

If one thinks that December, and specifically the semi-annual interest crediting that happened last month, is going to be the saving grace, the OACT has bad news. While the detailed December numbers are not available, the investment holdings for December are. I cannot explain why the investment total in that time series is consistently somewhat higher than the time series of trust fund operations linked to above, but it is close enough for government work.

The first item of note is the DI Fund investment balance. It dipped from $202.531 billion in November to $199.760 billion in December. That would be the first overall monthly deficit in December for the DI Fund since 1993, just before a change in the percentage of the payroll/self-employment tax designed to prop up the DI Fund took effect.

The second item is the OASDI Fund investment balance. It rose only $24.153 billion between November and December to $2,518.541 billion, less than half of last year’s November-to-December increase of $52.37 billion and the lowest November-to-December increase since 1997, when the OASDI Fund investment balance was $655.449 billion. I hope for this country’s sake that it’s just an anomaly. If not, then it is almost certain that the combined funds have gone into a 12-month cash deficit mode because the “interest”, which is credited on both the redeemed securities and the ending balance, should be somewhere north of $58 billion.

Revisions/extensions (7:45 am 1/7/2010) – Added the significance of the very-disappointing December OASDI Fund increase.

R&E part 2 (3:04 pm 1/7/2010) – Thanks again for the link, Ed. For those of you not coming here from Hot Air, Ed reposted charts of the last 23 months’ performance of both the OASDI and the DI “Trust” Funds.

For those of you coming here from there, stick around and enjoy the hospitality.

R&E part 3 (9:16 pm 1/15/2010) – I found at least a partial explanation of the December “anomaly” courtesy the Treasury Department – the January 3, 2010 Social Security payments were “acclerated” into 2009. A longer explanation is over here.

Roll bloat – WTF took me so long edition

by @ 15:47. Filed under The Blog.

And that’s the blog name of Chris from Racine – Whiskey. Tango. Foxtrot. I just hope she doesn’t hit me at the next Drinking Right for taking 2 months to notice she headed out on her own.

January 5, 2010

Pinning them back up – the Confidential version

by @ 20:55. Filed under The Blog.

Pin-up model and crack shot Phelony Jones has reopened The Confidentials. Trust me; it is a good read.

Free Shoebox!

by @ 19:45. Filed under Miscellaneous.

In case you missed the travails of Shoebox’s attempts to travel the last couple days, he somehow got slapped onto one of TSA’s watch lists. Until they straighten things out, there will be a new counter on the site.

Hey hey, ho ho. Shoebox should be free to go.

$2.7 billion GAAP deficit is just the tip of the iceberg

by @ 17:38. Filed under Politics - Wisconsin.

Some people have been all over the revelation from Wisconsin Taxpayer Alliance president Todd Berry that Wisconsin ended the 2009 fiscal year with a $2,712 million general fund GAAP deficit, a brand-new record and an increase of $209 million over FY2008. A quick, untrained look at the actual report from the state controller is actually scarier:

  • The “unreserved fund balance” deficit in the general fund was $3,121 million, which was $269 million higher than it was in 2008. From page 28 of the report, “A deficit unreserved fund balance represents the excess of the liabilities of the General Fund over its assets and reserved fund balance accounts. Reservations of fund balances of governmental funds represent amounts that are not available for appropriation. Examples of fund balance reservations reported in the General Fund include reserves for encumbrances, inventories, prepaid items, and the Budget Stabilization Fund.”
  • The net asset situation is also not good (see page 22). While the total net assets for the state was $11,831 million, it represents a drop of $970 million (or 7.6%) from FY2008.
  • Continuing on that theme, the largest portion of the net assets, capital assets, was a net $17,142 million. You may have noticed that it is significantly higher than the net assets. Allow me to explain this.
  • Once the $17,142 million in capital and $3,600 million in “restricted” (by either the state Constitution or statute, and not available for day-to-day operations) assets are subtracted from the net assets, the “unrestricted” net assets, which the report notes would be available for day-to-day operations if it were a surplus, ran a deficit of $8,910 million, an increase of $817 million from last year. Again quoting the report, “Therefore, based on this measurement, no funds were available for discretionary purposes.”
  • Because for accounting purposes, long-term obligations are recognized at the time they are incurred, two items weigh heavily on that negative “unrestricted” net asset number – the $2,712 million general-fund deficit, and $16,328 million in long-term obligations. The latter number, which includes $975 million that is due by June 30, 2010, is a $17 million increase, due entirely to a $462 million (5%) increase in “governmental activity” long-term debt.

And then they came for Michael Yon

by @ 13:42. Filed under Law and order, Politics - National.

If Shoebox was wondering who the TSA would flag after him, he need not wonder any longer. Ed Morrissey reports that Homeland Security agents detained Michael Yon as he returned to the US from Afghanistan via Hong Kong because he refused to tell them how much money he makes. Quoting from Yon’s Facebook page:

Got arrested at the Seattle airport for refusing to say how much money I make. (The uniformed ones say I was not “arrested”, but they definitely handcuffed me.) Their videos and audios should show that I was polite, but simply refused questions that had nothing to do with national security. Port authority police eventually came — they were professionals — and rescued me from the border bullies.

When they handcuffed me, I said that no country has ever treated me so badly. Not China. Not Vietnam. Not Afghanistan. Definitely not Singapore or India or Nepal or Germany, not Brunei, not Indonesia, or Malaysia, or Kuwait or Qatar or United Arab Emirates. No county has treated me with the disrespect can that can be expected from our border bullies.

I would say that it’s un-fucking-believable, but given that the immigration/customs/security apparatus is interested in everything BUT stopping illegal aliens and terrorists, it’s entirely fucking believable.

Revisions/extensions (8:45 pm 1/5/2010) – There’s more from Michael Yon from Big Government, including the fact that it was TSA goons that accosted him.

January 1, 2010

Roll change – Full Metal Jacket Reach-Around edition

by @ 7:48. Filed under The Blog.

Robert Stacy McCain and his sidekick Smitty have gone full-bore into the WordPress business, moving The Other McCain over to http://theothermccain.com. Even though all I get is the occassional reach-around, I will take the time to ask you to hit Stacy’s tip jar because running a self-hosted WordPress blog is not free and Smitty forgot to put the tip jar on the new place.

December 29, 2009

Re: Coming Out

by @ 19:59. Filed under Health Care Reform, Politics - National.

Shoebox and Birdman have been having a spirited debate on the future of PlaceboCare. While I hope that Birdman is right that this can still be scuttled, I’m of even a more sour opinion than Shoebox. Allow me to put in my 2-cents’ worth:

  • There are actually three versions of PlaceboCare out there: the version that passed the Senate on a party-line vote (the hijacked H.R. 3950), lacking any sort of public option but financing abortion-on-demand; the version that barely passed the House (H.R. 3962), lacking financing for abortion-on-demand but having a public option; and H.R. 3200, still lurking in the shadows and having both the public option and financing for abortion-on-demand. Of the three, only H.R. 3200 and a completely-unamended version of H.R. 3950 would not have to go through a 60-vote test in the Senate.
  • The limited debate on H.R. 3950 strongly suggests that there would be 50 votes (plus Biden) in the Senate for H.R. 3200.
  • If Nancy Pelosi can get a majority to support an nearly-unchanged (from the Senate-hijacked) version of H.R. 3950 (or even a completely-unchanged version), it is likely that she would also be able to get a majority for H.R. 3200. After all, the bigger stumbling block in the House has been abortion-on-demand funding.
  • If Scott Brown pulls off the upset in Massachusetts and wins next month’s special election to permanently fill Ted Kennedy’s Senate seat (and if the ‘Rats seat him), the Democrats would not be able to get to 60 votes for either an amended H.R. 3950 or a Senate-considered H.R. 3962 (at least without the defection of one of the Maine Wonder Twins).
  • As Shoebox said, Pelosi doesn’t much care about losing 40 ‘Rats, especially if they’re Blue Lap Dogs. I’ll add to that by saying Harry Reid and company aren’t at all worried about losing a majority in the Senate. Indeed, given the lack of NRSC/NRC support for Brown, I have my doubts about the Republicans’ desire to pick up even one net seat in 2010.
  • However, I disagree with Shoebox that just “anything” will mollify the moonbats’ anger that full-out Communism hasn’t broken out yet. If the Dems lose control of the House in 2010, it will be in large part because the ‘bats stayed home to protest “nothing” being done, much like how the Republicans lost control in 2006. That is the threat that Pelosi will respond to.

Damn, I hope I’m wrong. I REALLY hope I’m wrong.

How much for no daytime lane closures?

by @ 18:59. Filed under Politics - Wisconsin.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that the only entity to bid on the replacement of three compromised bridges in the Zoo Interchange, a consortium of Edward Kraemer & Sons Inc., Lunda Construction Co. and Zenith Tech (which also was a prime contractor for the rebuild of the Marquette Interchange), won the contract with a $11.3 million bid to relocate the bridges and adjust the traffic patterns accordingly. During “negotiations” with the Department of Transportation to actually meet the terms of the bid (one and only one weekend full closure per structure, with all remaining shoulder/single-lane closures limited to overnights), that amount rose by $4 million to $15.3 million.

Given that the bid request stated that any bid that contained more than the alloted amount of full closures would be considered “non-responsive”, and that all single-lane/shoulder closures be done during the overnight hours under pain of penalty, why would the cost go up by over 35% to ensure that would happen?

December 27, 2009

Tiebreak THIS!, AFC 8-way 8-8 edition

by @ 22:58. Filed under Sports.

NBC Sports’ Gregg Rosenthal challenged the Twittersphere to tiebreak a hypothetical 8-way 8-8 tie between the Miami Dolphins (7-8), New York Jets (8-7), Pittsburgh Steelers (8-7), Baltimore Ravens OldBrowns (8-7), Houston Texans (8-7), Jacksonville Jaguars (7-8), Tennessee Titans (7-8) and Denver Broncos (8-7) for the two AFC wild-card playoff spots. The NFL tiebreaking procedures state that ties within the division get broken first.

Let’s start with the easiest division, the AFC West. Denver would be the only team at 8-8, so they go on to the first wild-card tiebreaker

Next, let’s go to the AFC North. Baltimore split their season series with Pittsburgh, but they have a better division record (3-3 versus 2-4). Baltimore would go on to the first wild-card tiebreaker.

The AFC East is a bit easier as Miami swept New York, and they would go on to the first wild-card tiebreaker.

Finally, we get to the wild division, the AFC South. Jacksonville has the best head-to-head-to-head record of the three teams (3-1 versus 2-2 for Tennessee and 1-3 for Houston), so they would go on to the first wild-card tiebreaker.

Now, we can go to the conference-level tiebreakers between Denver, Baltimore, Miami and Jacksonville:

  • No team either beat or lost to all of the others, so the first tiebreaker (head-to-head sweep/swept) is out.
  • Each team would have a 6-6 conference record, so the second tiebreaker (conference record) is out.
  • The four teams do not have 4 games against common opponents (sharing only Indianapolis and New England), so the third tiebreaker (record against common opponents, minimum of 4 games apiece) is out.
  • That devolves to the 4th tiebreaker, strength of victory. Between the games through tonight and the games necessary to create the 8-8 tie, Denver would have a SoV of 66-59, Baltimore would have a SoV of 58-67, Miami would have a SoV of 55-69, and Jacksonville would have a SoV of 46-80.

Denver would get the first wild-card spot based on strength of victory (none of the other 3 teams can make up the 10+ games). If either Baltimore or Miami has the 2nd-best strength of victory outright, that team would get the second wild-card spot since Jacksonville would not be able to catch either team. However, a difference of 2 1/2 games going into tomorrow night’s game means that it is possible they would tie. In that case, they would go to a two-team tiebreaker:

  • Baltimore and Miami did not play each other this year, so the first tiebreaker (head-to-head) is out.
  • Once again, they would have identical 6-6 conference records, so the second tiebreaker (conference record) is out.
  • They would have identical 2-3 records against common opponents (Indianapolis, New England, Pittsburgh and San Diego), so the third tiebreaker (record against common opponents, minimum of 4 games apiece) is out.
  • We already stipulated that strength of victory would be identical, so the fourth tiebreaker is out.
  • Between the games through tonight and the games necessary to create the 8-team 8-8 tie, the two teams’ strength of schedule is an identical 138-111. If one team pulls ahead, they would get the last wild-card spot. Otherwise…
  • …Things devolve to best combined ranking among conference teams in points scored and points allowed. Miami has scored 336 points (8th in the AFC) and given up 360 points (14th in the AFC), for a combined 11th. Baltimore has scored 370 points (4th in the AFC) and given up 248 points (2nd in the AFC) for a combined 3rd, easily favoring Baltimore.

    • Revisions/extensions (11:20 pm 12/27/2009) – Things only start over if a tie remains after breaking up a 4-way tie. The post has been shortened to reflect that.

    R&E part 2 (11:25 pm 12/27/2009) – Corrected a rather-embarrassing typo. I originally listed Houston twice in the list of 8.

    December 25, 2009

    Have a blessed Christmas

    by @ 0:01. Tags:
    Filed under Miscellaneous.

    Once again, we celebrate Jesus Christ’s birth, with St. Luke’s account (Luke 2:1-12, NIV):

    In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to his own town to register.

    So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem, the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

    And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

    December 24, 2009

    Al Qaeda in Arabia decimated by delivered presents, falling bombs, but mostly…well, both

    by @ 9:02. Filed under War on Terror.

    Jake Tapper reports on an air strike delivered to the leadership of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula in Yemen by undisclosed forces this morning. Among the 30 believed to be killed (H/T for the number – Ed Morrissey):

    • Anwar al-Awlaki, who offered advice to Hasan Nidal on whether he should murder his fellow US Army soldiers.
    • Nasser al-Wahayshi, the leader of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.
    • Saeed al-Shehri, the #2 guy of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. As Jake noted, al-Shehri was transferred from Guantanamo Bay to Saudi custody in November, 2007 to go through the “Prince Mohammed bin Nayef Centre for Care and Counseling”, a “12-step” plan to rehabilitate terrorists, but instead returned to Al Qaeda.

    Whether it was the US Air Force, the US Navy, the US Marines or the Yemeni Air Force (I don’t think the US Army is operating in Yemen) that delivered justice to the clan, it is a welcome early Christmas present.

    Revisions/extensions (9:24 pm 12/24/2009) – DrewM notes that this is the second strike on Al Qaeda in Yemen in the past week. I seem to recall these being a regular occurrence between late 2001 and early 2004, and I missed these over the last 6 years.

    Also, thanks for the link, Ed.

    December 22, 2009

    Tuesday Hot Read Part Deux – Scott Gottlieb’s “Obamacare – No Exit”

    by @ 9:00. Filed under Health Care Reform, Politics - National.

    This piece from the American Eneterprise Institute could also be titled, “You can have any health insurance plan you want, as long as it’s black Communist Red.”:

    All of which brings us to the question of whether you’ll be able to spend extra money to add benefits that exceed the government’s basic package or opt out of that plan entirely. The bill doesn’t address this question directly–yet I can say with great confidence that it will be costly and in some cases impossible.

    The bill leaves these issues in the hands of the bureaucracies that will write the law’s enabling regulations. And it’s clear both what the spirit of the Obama plan and the habits of these bureaucracies will produce.

    I’ll temporarily stop the quote to remind you that under the current version of PlaceboCare, anything that the bureaucrats write will essentially not be reviewable by Congress. Let’s continue.

    The overriding goal of this reform is to turn health insurance into a more “egalitarian” benefit that’s the same for everyone, regardless of income, personal preference or need. So rules written under President Obama to implement the Obama plan are a sure bet to intentionally curtail anyone’s ability to wrap around this national coverage with a supplemental policy or to contract privately with doctors to pay your way out of its limitations.

    This is exactly what the bureaucracy’s done with Medicare. Doctors accepting Medicare can’t contract privately with Medicare patients to bill for services that Medicare doesn’t cover. Nor can patients buy added coverage to help plug Medicare’s gaps. (The “Medigap” that many seniors now buy are tightly regulated by the government to limit how much they expand on Medicare’s basic benefits; they mostly just help defray co-pays.)

    In short, beneficiaries are trapped inside the Medicare insurance scheme, just as they’ll soon be trapped inside the ObamaCare exchanges. Doctors can’t offer benefits not covered by the government plans, and patients can’t buy extra insurance to make up for many gaps….

    The very rich, of course, will be able to buy their way out of ObamaCare. Many of the best doctors will go cash only, opting entirely out of the Obama program, to cater to a wealthy clientele. But only the truly affluent will have the cash to escape.

    Testing a fix for scheduled posts bug in WP 2.9

    by @ 8:10. Filed under The Blog.

    It seems that something broke with cron jobs in WordPress 2.9, which meant that, among other things, posts scheduled for a future publish date would not publish and trackbacks and pingbacks would not happen. The WordPress team put together what they tested to be a fix, and scheduled it for WP 2.9.1, but since Shoebox uses post-dating, and we both use trackbacks/pingbacks, I couldn’t wait to implement it.

    That means, if you see this, it works.

    Coming in January – the NRE 2009 Awards

    by @ 7:45. Filed under NRE Awards.

    Shoebox, the guest-bloggers, and I will be announcing our choices in several categories for the best and worst of 2009 starting January 1. The reason why we’re breaking with the usual “name them at the end of the year” meme is that there’s still time for some big things to happen. In fact, I’ve already had to change my mind on one of the categories since I ran this up the flagpole.

    The full schedule is:

    Jackass of the Year – January 1
    Thank You for Existing – January 2
    Dumbest Thing Said – January 3
    News Story of the Year – January 4
    Person of the Year – January 5

    Tuesday Hot Read – Erick Erickson’s “We Are No Longer a Nation of Laws. Senate Sets Up Requirement for Super-Majority to Ever Repeal Obamacare”

    by @ 7:26. Filed under Health Care Reform, Politics - National.

    Yes, folks, you read the headline right – The Dingy One has, as part of the Dingy version of PlaceboCare, made it “out of order” for either House of Congress to overrule any decision rendered by the Death Panels (aka the Independent Medicare Advisory Boards) (emphasis in the original):

    To change the rules of the United States Senate, there must be sixty-seven votes.

    Section 3403 of Senator Harry Reid’s amendment requires that “it shall not be in order in the Senate or the House of Representatives to consider any bill, resolution, amendment, or conference report that would repeal or otherwise change this subsection.” The good news is that this only applies to one section of the Obamacare legislation. The bad news is that it applies to regulations imposed on doctors and patients by the Independent Medicare Advisory Boards a/k/a the Death Panels.

    Section 3403 of Senator Reid’s legislation also states, “Notwithstanding rule XV of the Standing Rules of the Senate, a committee amendment described in subparagraph (A) may include matter not within the jurisdiction of the Committee on Finance if that matter is relevant to a proposal contained in the bill submitted under subsection (c)(3).” In short, it sets up a rule to ignore another Senate rule.

    Senator Jim DeMint confronted the Democrats over Reid’s language. In the past, the Senate Parliamentarian has repeatedly determined that any legislation that also changes the internal standing rules of the Senate must have a two-thirds vote to pass because to change Senate rules, a two-thirds vote is required. Today, the Senate President, acting on the advice of the Senate Parliamentarian, ruled that these rules changes are actually just procedural changes and, despite what the actual words of the legislation say, are not rules changes. Therefore, a two-thirds vote is not needed in contravention to longstanding Senate precedent

    And that motherfucker had the balls to say that he hoped the Senate would return to civility once he finishes fucking everybody over. Well, FUCK HIM AND THE HORSESHIT HE SPEWS OUT!

    Revisions/extensions (8:40 am 12/22/2009) – With a tip of the hat to Ed Morrissey, here is the video of Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) questioning the Parliamentarian of the Senate on this:

    [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnmvVo_itT0[/youtube]

    December 21, 2009

    NFC playoff picture – after week 15

    by @ 22:47. Filed under Sports.

    There’s two weeks left, and things really tightened up in the NFC, where a 9-7 record and a 7-5 conference record is required for wild-card consideration. Four of the six spots are now locked up, including two more division crowns, and three teams remain in contention for the last two spots:

    • The Dallas Cowboys knocked out the remaining teams that could have finished 8-8 going into the weekend (the Seattle Seahawks and Carolina Panthers) as well as the Atlanta Falcons by defeating the previously-unbeaten New Orleans Saints.
    • The Minnesota Vikings failed to take advantage by losing to those same Panthers, but backed into the NFC North crown as the Green Bay Packers choked against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
    • The Philadelphia Eagles got into the playoffs by beating (and knocking out of wild-card contention) the San Francisco 49ers.
    • The Arizona Cardinals finally seized the opportunity to take the NFC West crown by knocking off the Detroit Lions.

    In the playoffs

    New Orleans Saints (13-1, 9-1 NFC, won the NFC South) – The Saints, who have already claimed the NFC South crown and a first-round bye, are still in the driver’s seat despite losing to the Dallas Cowboys. However, if they and the Minnesota Vikings tie, the Vikings would win the tiebreaker for home-field advantage based on a better conference record. The good news is that since the Vikings also lost, the magic number to clinch is 0.5 (or a tie by either the Saints or the Vikings). Given the schedule of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-12) on Sunday and the Carolina Panthers (6-8) on the road on 1/3, it is very likely they will get home-field advantage.

    Minnesota Vikings (11-3, 8-2 NFC, won the NFC North) – The Vikings backed their way into the NFC North crown as they swept the Green Bay Packers. They would hold the tiebreaker against the New Orleans Saints (conference record) for home-field advantage, but would not hold any tiebreakers involving the Arizona Cardinals (who beat the Vikings, and would have a better conference record), Philadelphia Eagles (conference record) or Dallas Cowboys (conference record). Their magic number to get a bye is still 1.5 against the Eagles, and 0.5 against the Cardinals and Cowboys. They have the Chicago Bears (5-9) on the road Monday, and the New York Giants (8-6) at home on 1/3.

    Philadelphia Eagles (10-4, 9-2 NFC, 1st in the NFC East) – The Eagles already swept the New York Giants, so they’re in the playoffs. They would hold any tiebreakers involving the Minnesota Vikings (conference record) or the Arizona Cardinals (conference record or common opponents). The magic number to clinch the NFC East crown is 1.5 over the Dallas Cowboys (who already beat the Eagles once); they also would win the NFC East if there were a three-way tie at 10-6 (the Cowboys would be out on division record, with the Giants out on the head-to-head sweep). Their remaining games are against the Denver Broncos (8-6) Sunday and at the Cowboys (9-5) 1/3.

    Arizona Cardinals (9-5, 7-3 NFC, won the NFC West) – They hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Minnesota Vikings (by victory) and the Dallas Cowboys (common opponents), but would lose any tiebreaker to the Philadelphia Eagles (conference record/common opponents). Their remaining games are both at home – against the St. Louis Rams (2-12) Sunday and against the Green Bay Packers (9-5) 1/3.

    Scrambling to get in

    Green Bay Packers (9-5, 7-3 NFC, 1st in the wild-card race) – The Packers hold the tiebreakers against the Dallas Cowboys (by win) and the Atlanta Falcons (conference record), but lose the head-to-head tiebreaker to the New York Giants (common opponents). Their magic number is 2 over the Cowboys or 1.5 over the Giants. Their remaining games are against the Seattle Seahawks (5-9) Sunday and at the Arizona Cardinals (9-5) 1/3.

    Dallas Cowboys (9-5, 7-3 NFC, 2nd NFC East, 2nd wild-card) – The formula is deceptively-simple – win out and they’re in as NFC East champs by virtue of sweeping the Philadelphia Eagles (10-4). Unfortunately, not only do they have a horrid December record over the last several years, they also don’t have the head-to-head tiebreaker against the Green Bay Packers (lost to them) or the New York Giants (got swept by them), or the three-way tiebreaker against the Eagles and Giants at 10-6 (they would have the worst division record). They did, however, beat the Eagles once, with the rematch in Dallas on 1/3, and would have the tiebreaker against the Arizona Cardinals (common opponents), the Minnesota Vikings (conference record), and the Atlanta Falcons (conference record). Their magic number is 1.5 over the Giants. Besides the Eagles to close the season, they get the Washington Redskins (4-9) on the road Sunday.

    New York Giants (8-6, 6-4 NFC, 3rd NFC East, 3rd wild-card) – They can no longer win the NFC East as the Philadelphia Eagles swept them. However, they do hold the tiebreakers over the Green Bay Packers (common opponents), the Cowboys (swept them) and Atlanta Falcons (conference record). Their remaining games are against the Carolina Panthers (6-8) Sunday and at the Minnesota Vikings (11-2) 1/3.

    The AFC is just too crowded to summarize. Besides, my allegiance is to the Pack, and they’re in the NFC.

    Cash for Cloture worked – PlaceboCare now greased in the Senate

    by @ 0:45. Filed under Health Care Reform, Politics - National.

    Michelle Malkin has the sordid details, as well as the newest catch-phrase. We know what Mary Landrieu’s and Ben Nelson’s prices were. The question is, what was Joe Lieberman’s?

    Time for a start of another PlaceboCare carol:

    On the first day of PlaceoCare, Dingy Harry took from me
    My right to not pay for your health care.

    On the second day of PlaceboCare, Dingy Harry took from me
    Two Senators’ bribed votes,
    And my right to not pay for your health care.

    On the third day of PlaceboCare, Dingy Harry took from me
    Three trillion dollars,
    Two Senators’ bribed votes,
    And my right to not pay for your health care.

    On the fourth day of PlaceboCare, Dingy Harry took from me
    Forty Republicans’ Sunday,
    Three trillion dollars,
    Two Senators’ bribed votes,
    And my right to not pay for your health care.

    On the fifth day of PlaceboCare, Dingy Harry took from me
    All the nation’s gold,
    Forty Republicans’ Sunday,
    Three trillion dollars,
    Two Senators’ bribed votes,
    And my right to not pay for your health care.

    It’s late, so I’ll leave this unfinished, at least for now.

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