Nate Beeler over at The Washington Examiner nails the Middle East situation…
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.
May 21, 2009
May 20, 2009
Unintended consequences, envirowhacko edition
(H/T – The Lid, who is now on the roll of bloat)
Yes, I believe that this particular consequence of the envirowhackos’ agenda, unlike most of the consequences, is unintended. The National Post reports that a lot of reusable cloth bags, currently in vogue among the envirowhacko set, have bacterial, yeast, or mold contamination in tests conducted for the Environment and Plastics Industry Council in Canada. Specifically:
– 64% of the bags tested were contaminated with some level of bacteria
– 30% had bacterial levels higher than what Ontario considers safe for drinking water
– 40% had yeast or mold infection
– The most troubling – some bags had fecal bacteria on them.
Given that it takes hot water (or bleach) to disinfect the bags, and a heated clothes dryer to quickly dry the bags before contaminants that survive the laundering process can really take hold in the dampness left by the water, I’m waiting for the envirowhacko screams when they realize, like corn-a-hole, the “solution” is at least as bad as the problem.
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Roll bloat – taking the lid off
In a continuing quest to synchronize my overstuffed feed reader with the roll of bloat, it’s well past time to add The Lid to the latter.
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War on corporations holding back economic recovery
(H/T – Asian Badger)
Forbes publisher Rich Karlgaard notes something missing from the ingredients that are coming together for economic recovery – CEO confidence. Quoting Rich
The Fed has done its job. (Maybe too well, but that’s another story for another day.) Consumer sentiment and spending have bounced back. The headwinds that remain have less to do with bank stress tests and more to do with CEO mood. The Business Roundtable, which represents big business, reported “record low” CEO confidence in April:
–71% of CEOs plan more layoffs in the next six months.
–Most see declines in capital spending.
–The CEO Economic Outlook Index was negative for the first time.
Why is that so? History provides a guide (again quoting Rich):
In her book The Forgotten Man, Amity Shlaes wrote that the 1937–38 “depression within the Depression” occurred when capital went on strike. President Roosevelt’s willingness to “try anything” (including retroactive taxation, laws against discount pricing and an attempt at packing the Supreme Court) had businesses and their backers so confused over FDR’s rules that they simply withdrew.
This is the risk of President Obama’s willingness to “do what it takes.” Those words sound positive and action-oriented. They really mean “anything can happen.” The tearing up of legal contracts? That can happen. Limits to salary and travel? That can happen. Bullying by the Environmental Protection Agency? That can happen. Nationalization of General Motors and Citigroup? That can happen. Nobody knows for sure what will happen. Government is sorting it out day by day.
There are two things that can happen with a lack of investment from the CEOs and, as Dad29 points out in the comments over at Asian Badger, the corporate bond market, and neither of them are good: increased unemployment as business continue to shed workers, and increased inflation as more money (in this case, caused by an extremely loose Fed bolstered by consumer confidence) chases fewer goods (caused by a lack of capital investment). As they say, those who don’t remember history (or willfully ignore its painful lessons),….
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The line must be held here
(H/T – JammieWearingFool, who hasn’t had a Full Metal Jacket Reach-Around in a while)
The News Organization That Cannot Be Quoted™ reports that the Senate, not content with slapping a 3-cent-per-12-ounce tax on sugary drinks to pay for nationalized universal health care, is planning on massive increases in alcohol excise taxes to do the same:
– 17% on hard liquor, from $2.14 per fifth to $2.54 per fifth
– 233% on wine, from $0.21 per bottle to $0.70 per bottle
– 145% on beer, from $0.33 per six-pack to $0.71 per six-pack
Lest one thinks that they’re going to stop there, let’s run the numbers:
– It is estimated that nationalized universal health care will cost $1,500 billion over the first 10 years. We all know that’s a low-ball figure, but let’s run with it.
– The sugar tax would supposedly bring in $50 billion over that 10 years.
– The new alcohol tax would supposedly bring in $60 billion over 10 years.
That leaves, assuming the nationalized universal health care costs aren’t understated and the revenues aren’t overstated, a $1,390 billion hole. Need I remind the bipartisan Party-In-Government that California rejected tax increases yesterday? I seem to recall excessive taxation being the reason why we don’t bow to Queen Elizabeth II.
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Yet another reason why I don’t do ads – your Federal government
(H/T – Robert Stacy McCain)
When I went to BlogWorld in 2007, I remember seeing something about pay-per-post, where companies would pay bloggers to write good stuff about their products. Apparently, the ninnies that can’t read the Constitution over at the Federal Trade Commission just discovered that (either that, or they got into power on 1/20 and got to this point in their checklist). BusinessWeek reports:
But such back-scratching endorsements could become tougher under a coming set of Federal Trade Commission guidelines designed to clarify how companies can court bloggers to write about their products. This summer, the government agency is expected to issue new advertising guidelines that will require bloggers to disclose when they’re writing about a sponsor’s product and voicing opinions that aren’t their own. The new FTC guidelines say that blog authors should disclose when they’re being compensated by an advertiser to discuss a product.
Don’t get me wrong; those that do accept items of value in return for raving about a particular product should disclose that. However, we don’t need the federal government mandating it.
For the record, no corporate entity has ever given me anything in exchange for blog-inches. Of course, the fact that I don’t do reviews has something to do with that.
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Bloggers To The NRSC: Stay Out Of Primaries (via Right Wing News)
I may not be a big blogger, but I wholeheartedly agree with what John Hawkins and Erick Erickson put together:
Dear Senator Cornyn,
We the undersigned believe that the National Republican Senatorial Committee should be committed to serving ALL the members of the Republican Party.
Additionally, the NRSC should be focused on defeating Democrats, not Republicans. Towards that end, we believe it was completely inappropriate for the NRSC to endorse a candidate in the Florida primary race.
Therefore, we request that both you and the NRSC alter your position on the Florida Senate race, maintain neutrality, and promise to spend no money directly or indirectly in that race.
Sincerely yours,
John Hawkins
Right Wing NewsErick Erickson
RedstateEd Morrissey
Hot AirJon Henke
The Next RightEric Odom
American Liberty AlliancePamela Geller
Atlas ShrugsR.S. McCain
The Other McCain, Right Wing News, Not One Red CentDan Riehl
Riehl World ViewJeff Goldstein
Protein WisdomKevin Aylward
Wizbang!Lorie Byrd
Wizbang!David Blount
Moonbattery, Right Wing NewsMelissa Clouthier
Melissa Clouthier, The Other McCain, Right Wing NewsJeff Vreeland
Tech Republican, President of VM Technologies and IT Chairman for the YRNFMatt Lewis
Politics DailyNed Ryun
The Madison ProjectJustin Hart
John Caldwell
Joshua Trevino
Co-founder of Redstate, founder of Treviño Strategies and Media.Chip Hanlon
Red CountyRobert Loewen
President of the Lincoln Club of Orange CountyRichard Wagner
Chairman of the Lincoln Club of Orange County
Allow me to add my signature to the list:
-Steve Eggleston
No Runny Eggs
Patients Choice Act announced
Reps. Paul Ryan (R-WI, and my Congressman) and Devin Nunes (R-CA) and Sens. Dr. Tom Coburn (R-OK) and Richard Burr (R-NC) unveiled the Patients Choice Act earlier today. As part of the publicity push, they wrote an op-ed piece carried by Real Clear Politics. From the beginning of that:
While President Obama may believe the stars are aligned for major health reform this year it is far from certain whether Congress will pass a bill that works. The groups that are most likely to unravel this effort are not the president’s opponents, but his allies. Nothing will rally ordinary Americans against the president’s plan more than his allies arguing too forcefully for a system run by politicians and bureaucrats in Washington – what we call the “public option” in the Obama plan.
It should come as no surprise that this ideologically rigid position is coming under fire. As the Washington Post recently wrote, “the fixation on a public plan is bizarre and counterproductive … It is entirely possible to imagine effective health-care reform – changes that would expand coverage and help control costs – without a public option.”
I’m still sifting through the long summary and the Q&A that Rep. Ryan’s office sent over, so I will be updating this post this afternoon. In the interim, you may as well enjoy them, as well as the short 2-page summary. I wish I could offer you the text, but the Library of Congress’ THOMAS system doesn’t have it up yet.
PCA Q&A
PCA long summary
PCA short summary
My immediate reaction is that this is a far sight better than what the Democrats have been cooking since 1993.
Hot Read Wednesday – RS McCain’s “Toward a More Cynical Theory of Politics”
How good is Robert Stacy McCain? He takes a perceived personal slight and turns it into an expose into what went wrong for the GOP. The payoff:
Like the corporate manager who loses sight of his responsibility to the customers and to the stockholders, the Republican elite have lost sight of whose interests the party was intended to serve. What is really at issue here is, “Whose party is this?”
Is this a party that belongs to Republican voters? Or is it a party that belongs to the hired consultants and strategists, the think-tank wonks and lobbyists, the Kathleen Parkers and David Brookses? And of these two groups, which is more responsible for the GOP’s recent defeats — the elite or the grassroots? On Election Night, I wrote an American Spectator column with the title, “You Did Not Lose,” which I think accurately answers that question.
Republican voters are more powerful than the Republican elite; the latter are dependent on the former, and not vice versa. If the elite no longer serves the interests of the voters, a new elite can be easily created. Ambitious young Republican political operatives are a dime a dozen in Washington. It is only because the grassroots don’t know their own power that they have put up with the elite’s abuse as long as they have.
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Roll bloat – let’s eat
I could’ve swore I put Doctor Dave on the oversized roll of bloat on the right side before now, but somehow I didn’t. Don’t be like me and keep on forgetting to add Feed Your ADHD to your rolls and readers.
May 19, 2009
Live-blogging the death of useful, roomy cars
I’ve got Fox News on now, and in the pre-show, Major Garrett noted that additional standards will be based on specific types of cars (i.e. bigger cars won’t quite be required to get 39 mpg). Unspoken, but assumed, is that smaller cars would be required to get more than 39 mpg.
It’s been a while since I did a live-blog the old-fastioned way. I don’t feel like firing up the CiL for this. Do hit refresh for the latest, as things are expected to kick off a bit after 11:15 am Central. BTW, I’m taking bets on how late Obama and company will be. I’ve got 9:13 after the appointed time.
11:19 – The captive and greedy automotive execs and the Gorebal “Warming” crowd is waiting. Tick. Tock.
11:20 – That was not a slip of the tongue by Jon Scott – Government Motors indeed.
11:22:44 – Obama finally shows up. Time for intros.
11:23 – First one is a shout-out to Plastic Pelosi (she’s going nowhere, folks). EPA chair, a near-snub of Ahnold in the governor’s intros (Granholm first). Senators missing because they’re screwing those that pay credit card bills on time.
11:24 – First “industry” shout-out to the head of the UAW. The rest of the cabinet now. Since when is HUD part of the “Green Team”? Oh, and where’s LaHood, the RepubicRAT who’s in charge of implementing CAFE?
11:26 – Another shoutout to the UAW before a general one to the cowed and craven. We are setting a national screw-industry-and-motorists standard.
11:27 – Amazing what a little Chicago Way Muscle can do to titans of industry. Oil is Teh Eeeeevil (side note – why not drill here, drill now, drill everywhere, dumbass?)
11:28 – “We’ve known since the oil crises of the 1970s” (and your fellow ‘Rats have been blocking all of the domestic production solutions since then).
11:29 – This is a harbringer of change – “We will not longer accept that government is too small”. (Them’s fighting words)
11:30 – Because of the tyrrany of the bipartisan Party-In-Government, each seeking to implement its own policy, we’re taking the worst of all possible policies. Because we’re giving in to the envirowhackos, they’re dropping their lawsuits.
11:32 – At a time when the domestic auto industry is in painful flux, we’re going to give it the certainty that it’s getting shoved off the cliff and under my bus.
11:33 – You can’t save money if you don’t spend (er, hybrids still don’t make sense).
11:34 – We’ll save 1.8 billion barrels of oil, equivalent to taking 58 million cars off the road (money says they’ll try to take 58 million cars off the road anyway).
11:35 – Mo’ spending money. Plug-in hybrids get a shoutout, as does electrical transmission (er, what about electrical production?)
11:36 – We’re going to break in 8 years what took 80 to build. Call to the ‘Rat version of bipartisanship (bull-fucking-shit)
11:37 – A third specific shoutout to the UAW. They bought the office.
11:39 – We’re not quite out – a shout-out for the only domestic SUV to make the 30 mpg grade – the Ford Escape Hybrid.
11:40 – Major Garrett pointing out that Congress has no role. Translation – the Goron won, and he’s going to ram it straight up the backside. Oh, and whatever we do will be overwhelmed by Red Chinese and Indian pollution.
NOW we’re done.
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Paul Ryan – Please be alarmed
Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI, and my Congressman) wrote the following for the Minneapolis Star-Tribune today regarding the entitlement crisis:
It has become a yearly drill: The Medicare and Social Security trustees sound a clear warning that, without reform, both of these programs will go bankrupt in the not-so-distant future. It has also become a yearly drill for those in Washington to respond to the alarm by hitting the snooze button.
This year’s trustees’ report makes clear the growing urgency of this problem — especially with the effects of the recession — and the severity of the repercussions should this avoidance habit continue.
Highlights of the report include:
SOCIAL SECURITY
- In just seven years, Social Security’s benefit obligation will exceed its cash income from tax revenues, thus other programs will begin to be tapped for resources.
- By 2037, the Social Security trust funds will be exhausted. As a result, future retirees will face an immediate across-the-board benefit cut of up to 24 percent.
- Over the next 75 years, the trust funds have an unfunded liability of $5.3 trillion.
MEDICARE
- This program, which finances health care for retirees, is also headed for bankruptcy, but at greater speed and with more severe consequences.
- According to the trustees, the entire program’s unfunded obligations have risen to $37.8 trillion.
- The Medicare Hospital Insurance Trust Fund, which is financed by a dedicated payroll tax, will this year begin running a cash deficit; by 2017, it will be bankrupt.
To his credit, President Obama has acknowledged the need to address these problems. But his budget actually makes the problem worse by expanding the already unsustainable growth of entitlement spending by $1.4 trillion over the next 10 years. The administration has also indicated it will ignore the trustees’ fourth consecutive Medicare funding warning (also included in the report), passing up the special procedure the warning provides: to force Congress to take action on critical Medicare reform.
We no longer have the luxury of waiting; with each year of delay, the problem gets exponentially worse, and the likelihood grows that Congress will be forced to react with deep cuts in benefits or increases in tax or debt burdens to intolerable levels. The programs will fail to meet their obligations, and in the process will put immense burdens on the economy and the budget, crippling our ability to compete in the global marketplace and shrinking future Americans’ standards of living.
We must steer a different course. If we act now, we can transform this problem into an opportunity — to make these important programs stronger, more responsive, more resilient, more sustainable and more in line with the way our economy really works.
That is why last year I introduced comprehensive legislation called “A Roadmap for America’s Future.” (Ed. link added) My bill not only addresses the Medicare and Social Security crisis, but also Medicaid, health care and our overly complex, anticompetitive tax code, to ensure America can regain its footing on the path to a secure, prosperous future.
Here are its key components:
- It fulfills the mission of health and retirement security for all Americans by rescuing and strengthening Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. These vital programs will be made permanently solvent under my plan.
- By reforming our tax code, it promotes solid economic growth and job creation here in America and puts the United States in a position to lead — not merely survive — in the international marketplace.
- It lifts the burden of debt from the shoulders of future generations by returning federal spending growth to sustainable levels.
This is a real plan, with real proposals, real numbers to back them and real legislation to implement it. It is ambitious, and not everyone agrees with every aspect of it. That’s fine; we must have this debate. Inaction is no longer an option.
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…And then they came for the radio ratings…
(H/T – Charlie Sykes, who stands to lose if the ObamiNation wins)
The Radio Equalizer reports that the same groups heavily invested in vote fraud and census fraud are attempting to get rid of an accurate measure of radio listening, Arbitron’s Portable People Meter, because it “…undercounts and misrepresents the number and loyalty of minority radio listeners.” The FCC, operating in the wishes of the group, which includes President Obama, has opened an inquiry into the use of the PPM.
The PPM system uses signals encoded into a radio signal and played back through a radio’s speakers to record to what stations a particular panelist is exposed on a portable device, which then transmits via landline the results. It currently complements the traditional diary system in select markets, including New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, with implementation in Milwaukee/Racine scheduled for spring 2010. Its main advantage over the diary system is that it is harder to lie about how long one actually listens to a program. Its main disadvantage is that it must be carried around, though its cell-phone size makes it easier.
In early results, talk radio, particularily conservative talk radio, has “gained” a lot of listenership compared to the diary system, while urban radio has “lost” a lot. This just won’t do for the usual suspects.
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Funny read of the day – Doctor Dave
The man has done it again with Car Whores Episode IV: A New Dope. An excerpt cannot do it justice, and I’m not in the business of just swiping, so you’re going to have to trust me on this one. After all, it is “(i)n a galaxy all too present, all too friggin’ near…”.
RIP useful, roomy vehicles
(H/T – Sister Toldjah)
The Detroit News reports that, under a proposal by the Obama administration to be unveiled later today, not only will the CAFE standards increase above the 2020 mandate 4 years early, but that the proposed California emission standards will become the new nationwide standards. Specifically with regard to the CAFE standards, passenger cars (which will, as of 2011, include most 2WD SUVs) will be required to get 39 mpg by 2016 (up from 27.5 mpg this year), light trucks will be required to get 30 mpg by 2016 (up from 23.1 mpg this year), and the combined fleet will be required to hit 35.5 mpg by 2016.
Before I continue, I need to explain CAFE a bit, and deliver a good news-bad news combo. First, the good news is it is not based on the EPA estimates you see on the sticker. Rather, it is a laboratory number using testing methods set in the 1970s.
In fact, there is not a “CAFE mileage” number available from either the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (the entity that lords over the CAFE numbers) or the EPA. However, based on published reports that the CAFE mileage is roughly 30% higher than the EPA numbers, the unadjusted combined mileage in the datasets from the EPA appear to be close enough to the CAFE numbers for my purposes.
The bad news is that the average uses the harmonic mean based on the CAFE mileage and the number of each type of vehicle produced. That is because what is actually being measured is the number of gallons being burned over a set distance.
So, what 2009 models would cut it in a 2016 world? That’s the ugly news. Here are the 34 passenger car models (which, effective 2011, will include most 2WD SUVs/CUVs) and 12 light-truck models that will meet the standards:
- Toyota Prius
- Honda Civic – hybrid, 1.8L manual, and 1.8L gas automatic only
- Nissan Altima – hybrid only
- Toyota Camry – hybrid only
- Volkswagen Jetta – TDI manual and TDI 6-speed automatic only
- Volkswagen Jetta Sportwagen – TDI 6-speed manual and TDI 6-speed automatic only
- Ford Escape – hybrid 2WD (car) and hybrid 4WD (light truck) only
- Mazda Tribute (corporate twin to the Escape) – hybrid 2WD (car) and hybrid 4WD (light truck) only
- Mercury Mariner (corporate twin to the Escape) – hybrid 2WD (car) and hybrid 4WD (light truck) only
- Mini Cooper – naturally-aspirated manual only
- Mini Cooper Clubman – naturally-aspirated manual only
- Toyota Yaris – both manual and automatic
- Toyota Corolla – 1.8L manual and 1.8L automatic only
- Honda Fit – all three engine/transmission combinations
- Kia Rio – both manual and automatic
- Hyundai Accent – manual only
- Chevrolet Aveo – manual only
- Pontiac G3 (corporate twin to the Aveo) – manual only
- Chevrolet Aveo 5 – manual only
- Pontiac G3 5 (corporate twin to the Aveo 5) – manual only
- Chevrolet Cobalt – XFE only
- Pontiac G5 (corporate twin to the Cobalt) – base manual, XFE, and GT manual only
- Scion XD – manual only
- Toyota Highlander – Hybrid 4WD only (light truck)
- Jeep Compass – 4WD manual only (light truck)
- Jeep Patriot – 4WD manual only (light truck)
- Mazda 5 – both manual (light truck) and automatic (light truck)
- Toyota RAV4 – 2.5L 4WD only (light truck)
- Nissan Rogue – AWD only (light truck)
- Ford Ranger – 2.3L 2WD manual only (light truck)
- Mazda B2300 (corporate twin to the Ranger) – 2.3L 2WD manual only (light truck)
I remember Car and Driver doing a 40-mpg CAFE special way back when. I wonder if they’re ready to revisit that.
Revisions/extensions (6:50 am 5/18/2009) – I did the post last night, so there were a few typos. Also, there’s a couple of additional thoughts.
If one takes out the different engine/transmission combinations (which I did above) and the corporate twin duplicates, there are 25 distinct models. That leaves three midsized cars (the Prius, Altima and Camry), five different compact cars (Jetta, Corolla, Aveo/G3, Rio and Accent), two small station wagons (Jetta Sportwagen and Fit, though the latter probably fits better into the subcompact category), six different subcompact cars (Civic, Yaris, Clubman, Aveo 5/G3 5, Cobalt/G5, and XD), a minicompact (Mini), five SUVs (Escape/Tribute/Mariner in both 2WD and 4WD form, Highlander 4WD, Compass 4WD, Patriot 4WD, RAV4 4WD and Rogue AWD, with all but the Highlander compactl-to-micro-sized), one micro-minivan (Mazda 5), and one compact pickup (Ranger/B2300). That also leaves only 15 automatics in the bunch.
All I can say is I’m glad I’m single and know how to drive a stick.
R&E part 2 (8:41 am 5/19/2009) – Welcome readers of The Other McCain.
R&E part 3 (11:00 am 5/19/2009) – Truesoldier asked a very good question over at Michelle Malkin’s post on this:
Ok that is on new vehicles, but what about the cost of retrofitting old vehicles to meet the “California” emission standards? I know when I used to live in California back in the 90’s if you brought a car from out of state you had to pay a fee , I believe it was around $500, if your car did not meet California’s emmision standards to get your car retrofitted. So is there going to be forced retrofit to meet the testing standards?
I believe that requirement is to retrofit out-of-state cars to the level of emissions required of that model year in California, not to retrofit older cars to current standards. Still, I wouldn’t put it past Obama’s EPA to pull that stunt to get the current crop of cars off the road.
Housekeeping item – I will be liveblogging the self-congratulatoin up above, so if you came directly to this post, please click the big “No Runny Eggs” at the top of the blog to get there.
May 18, 2009
Roll bloat – let there be war edition
Robert Stacy McCain (or as Dad29 calls him, “The Winning McCain”) started up a new place in the wake of the NRSC decision to repeat its mistakes of 2004, 2006 and last month by endorsing Charlie Crist literally 15 minutes after he announced he was going to challenge Marco Rubio for the open 2010 Florida Senate Republican primary. The title of Not One Red Cent ought to tell it all.
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May 15, 2009
Hot smashes – Lazy Friday edition
No, the Scramble has not returned, and probably won’t return in its previous form. However, since I’m feeling a bit lazy on a cloudly Friday, I feel the need to take a trip through the oversized feed reader for some ideas. Let’s start with an ObamaCard commercial from my sometimes-allies at the RNC (who seem to have “borrowed” from Fausta and me)…
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJHKtLnT0Ak[/youtube]
- (H/T – Charlie Sykes – Gallup found that for the first time in the 15 years it asked the question, more people call themselves pro-life than pro-choice. While that’s encouraging, I have to throw some cold water on this. First, they’re not exactly voting their beliefs (see Obama, Barack). Second, the “secular powers-that-be” among the right-of-center crowd want to remove the difference between the two halves of the bipartisan Party-In-Government by adopting the death-on-demand ‘Rat position.
- Related to the first point immediately above, James T. Harris explains the problem – dependency.
- President Obama said that the long-term debt load is “unsustainable”. Somehow, I doubt he’s going to be cutting anything other than defense. Indeed, Robert McCain (who, IMHO, should have been the McCain on the ballot last year) explains why it’s a signal for massive tax hikes to make Rep. Paul Ryan’s (R-WI, and my Congresscritter) predictions of a 40%-of-GDP federal spending rate true. Along the same lines, Stephen Green has the translation of the day – “I’m going to tax you bastards back to the Stone Age.”
- (H/T – Purple Avenger) The Washington Post found that
Smoot-Hawley IIPorkulus has kicked off a trade war, one that is even shuttering American factories because they use foreign raw materials that are not in general domestic supply. Those who don’t remember history, let me do the math for you – major economic downturn plus hyper-protectionism plus massive government spending equals a decade-long depression. - The Heritage Foundation ran the numbers on the Waxman-Markey cap-and-
trade-tax scheme between 2012 and 2035. Let’s see – an cumulative inflation-adjusted reduction of GDP by $7.4 trillion, a yearly job loss of 844,000 (with peaks of nearly 2,000,000), an inflation-adjusted increase in electric rates of 90% (how’s that plug-in car looking, GM?), an inflation-adjusted increase in gasoline prices of 74%, an inflation-adjusted increase in natural gas prices of 55% (how’s that CNG bus looking?), and an inflation-adjusted increase in the federal debt of 29% (which just speeds up the unsustainability of the debt). All this for a fraction of a degree in temperature change (and that’s using the faulty models that, had we stuck the numbers from 25 years ago into them, would get today’s climate wrong)? - (H/T – Sister Toldjah) Speaking of liberals killing an economy, Dana Furchtgott-Roth, former chief economist at the Labor Department explains how a massive raise in the minimum wage in American Samoa, mandated by Congress 2 years ago, is killing the economy there. That just demonstrates the Law of (Un)Intended Consequences.
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May 14, 2009
Open Thread Thursday – 5/14/2009
If it’s Thursday, it’s time for another try at an Open Thread. I’ve even dug up a deep cut for you…
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hYBgpZdbKM[/youtube]
The reason there’s the blues today is that new jobless claims are up more than they were expected to rise, while continuing jobless claims continue to set brand-new records.
I beg you – find something positive for me.
May 13, 2009
May 12, 2009
I hear $6.6 billion – do I hear $7 billion?
(H/T – WisPolitics via Charlie Sykes)
The Legislative Fiscal Bureau released some new tax projection numbers yesterday, and despite (or is it because of?) $1.4 billion in new taxes in Wisconsin’s budget repair Porkulus out to the end of June 2011 (the end of the FY2011 year), the projected tax take of Wisconsin is expected to be $1.603 billion less than it was estimated to be in January. In a state where the 3-year tax take was originally estimated to be $37.691 billion, that’s a rather big haircut, to the tune of 4.25%.
So, what are the politicians and AFSCME doing in the face of losing all that revenue? I’m glad you asked. WLUK-TV in Green Bay is reporting (H/T – Fred over at the MacIver Institute) the unions are balking at a proposal asking them to forego a 2% pay hike. To compare, the entity that the Legislative Fiscal Bureau used in their estimate, IHS Global Insight, estimated that personal income would drop by 0.8% this year, and climb by only 1.8% next year.
I guess they’re counting on the Obama administration doing to Wisconsin what it is doing to California. It has threatened $6.8 billion of stimulus Porkulus money slated for California unless it reverses $74 million of scheduled reductions of subsidized pay for unionized health care workers.
Meanwhile, the first order of business for the Dems on the Joint Finance Committee was to increase the number of revenuers. I guess they haven’t heard of that it’s impossible to get blood out of a dehydrated turnip.
Drill here, drill now Tuesdays – 5/12/2009 (and a new NRE poll)
The original concept started with Jessi Olson back when oil was at $140/barrel and gasoline was over $4/gallon
Even though the economy shows very few signs of restarting, the price of oil is back up over $60/barrel after hitting a low of nearly $35/barrel, and gasoline in Milwaukee is already tickling $2.60/gallon after a couple months of being well below $2/gallon. Somehow, I don’t think it’s a coincidence that in that time frame, the Democrats in Congress and the Obama administration have restored every last roadblock to oil exploration and exploitation that resulted in the record prices last summer.
With that in mind, I’ve started up a new poll. It’s rather simple – when will gas prices in Milwaukee lead with a “1” again?
When will the number 1 once again lead the price of regular unleaded gasoline in Milwaukee?
Up to 1 answer(s) was/were allowed
- When it climbs above $9.99/gallon. (75%, 66 Vote(s))
- When it dips below $2.00/gallon. (25%, 22 Vote(s))
Total Voters: 88
Loading ...May 11, 2009
Doyle policy price sheet, part (I lost count)
Dan Bice caught the largest law firm in the state, Habush, Habush & Rottier, pretty much buying for $245,500 in donations to Jim “Craps” Doyle (WEAC/HoChunk-For Sale) a change in tort law that would have, in some cases, an entity found 1% at fault paying an entire award. Current law requires a majority of fault to be found before an entity is required to pay an entire award.
Allow me to get a quote from Capt. Louis Renault, “I’m shocked, SHOCKED to find Big Lawyers buying policy from the governor.”
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Give them an inch, they’ll take a mile, GPS edition
The Chicago Tribune reports that, in response to a challenge of the attachment of a GPS tracking device to a vehicle with a warrant, the Wisconsin District 4 Court of Appeals (based in Madison) ruled that not only can that happen, but warrantless attachment of GPS tracking devices to vehicles owned by those not considered suspects while said vehicles are parked on private driveways can happen as well.
I guess it’s time to start regular sweeps of Blue Thunder for tracking devices as keeping it in a locked place is not exactly an option. I can see the 4th District or one of its sister liberal appellate courts throwing out the requirement that an officer be able to prove who is driving a car to issue a speeding ticket, and GPS is very handy in providing speed data as well as location data.
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May 10, 2009
Sunday Hot Read – If Doc hosted the WHCD – UPDATE – Monday Hot Read – If Doug hosted the WHCD
Since I’m not a fan of red carpets, slavish presstitutes, anything called “prom”, or dancing, I missed the White House Correspondent’s Dinner. It seems some two-bit hack decided to take her 15 minutes of fame and wish those of us on the right dead.
Doc decided to run with what he would have said had he been the emcee, and it is far funnier than anything that the aforementioned two-bit hack said last night. Just a sample:
I was hoping to see more people from the White House Press Secretary’s office. I see “Baby Face” Gibbs over there. Where’s Keith Olbermann? I look forward to being the “Worst Person in the World” for the next two weeks, so I at least wanted to give him a wave. What’s that? He couldn’t come? Stuck in a bathtub? Ah, what a shame.
Go, read it all.
Revisions/extensions (6:43 am 5/11/2009) – Doug Powers also ran with the theme (H/T – Michelle Malkin). Just one of the forehand smashes:
“The White House says that the president had no prior knowledge of that 747 buzzing of Manhattan. Is it really a good idea to entrust our national security to somebody who can’t even install The Club on his own jet?”
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