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 the 'Politics – National' Category

July 14, 2009

Past Performance is not Indicative of Future Results

by @ 10:11. Filed under Politics - National.

Newsmax.com is reporting that President Obama is shattering all previous presidential travel records.

In the first 171 days of his presidency, Obama spent 22 days — the equivalent of one full month of working days — out of the country. That means 13 percent of Obama’s time in office has been spent abroad.

The amount of time that Obama is spending abroad may be a bit suprising when you consider that Obama is dealing with significant domestic issues including “… the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression,” cap and trade legislation and a  health care agenda.  In addition, Obama still has those nagging little issues in Iraq and Afghanistan. 

Together, one would think that Obama has more than enough things to keep his attention at home rather than grand standing across the globe.  For someone who campaigned on bringing efficiency to government, Obama’s travels would seem to be counter intuitive.  Well, now that I think about it, maybe not so counter intuitive.  Remember, Obama has a history of avoiding focus on the things he ought to be focused on:

From the time Barack Obama was sworn in as a United State Senator, to the time he announced he was forming a Presidential exploratory committee, he logged 143 days of experience in the Senate. That’s how many days the Senate was actually in session and working.

And before that:

In the end, Mr. Obama chose neither to vote for nor against the bill. He voted “present,” effectively sidestepping the issue, an option he invoked nearly 130 times as a state senator.

Every commercial for every investment fund or firm has a disclaimer that reads:

Past performance is not indicative of future results.

Unfortunately for President Obama, past performance, or the lack of focus on it, is exactly what we should expect in future results!

July 13, 2009

All Communication All The Time

by @ 5:05. Filed under Economy, Politics - National.

One of the major difficulties of the Bush administration is that it seemed that they wouldn’t talk to anyone.  Oh, I don’t mean the innocuous daily press briefings or the occasional sound bite as President Bush dashed off to a helicopter or another meeting of some sort.  What I’m referring to is that regardless of the topic, the Bush administration never seemed to expound on or explain themselves.  Time after time we would see the Democrats, the press or even the Republican members of Congress question, challenge or press an administration strategy and invariably, the administration would respond with something akin to “no comment” or “trust us.” 

Enter Obama.

There aren’t many things I can give Obama credit for but one thing is undeniable; the man knows how to communicate.  Unlike President Bush, President Obama is talking all the time about all the things he wants to do for America.  Not only that but President Obama has numerous members of his administration out talking all the time about how they are doing.

As an example of the Obama administration “all communication, all the time,” look at these insights:

First, Joe Biden telling us “the economy was much worse than we expected!”

Second, We have Larry Summers telling us “the worse is not over:”

Onward, then, to the toughest economic challenge Summers faces today: the recession. Here, Summers turns sombre: “I don’t think the worst is over … It’s very likely that more jobs will be lost. It would not be surprising if GDP has not yet reached its low.

Things don’t sound so good if we listen to Biden and Summers.  If we listen to these spokespeople for the Obama administration we may want to find a comfortable spot to start practicing our economic fetal position.  But wait, let’s listen to President Obama:

“We’re moving in the right direction,” Obama said. “We must let it work the way it’s supposed to, with the understanding that in any recession, unemployment tends to recover more slowly than other measures of economic activity.”

Yes, Obama and his folks are talking all the time about all kinds of things.  However, not only do they have a problem of conflicting with one another they even conflict with themselves:

The administration admitted it has been on a “learning curve” with the stimulus package, but that it has figured out how to spend some of the available billions more quickly.

Many tax cuts have already taken effect. But only $60.4 billion of the remaining $499 billion has been spent. Most of the money was always likely to be spent this summer, at the earliest, as departments wrestled with the increased workload and new requirements imposed by the bill.

The White House said it isn’t changing its goal of spending 70% of the funds by September 2010. But amid unemployment worries, the administration has been pressuring agencies to get some money out the door more quickly.

Huh, working as it should versus we need to spend quicker because unemployment is a problem.  Well, which is it Mr. President?

July 8, 2009

$236-$410 million, as well as an “in” with Obama, DOES beat $195-$215 million

by @ 12:07. Filed under Business, Politics - National, Politics - Wisconsin.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Thomas Content reported on the elements of Wisconsin’s $195 million play for General Government Motors’ new subcompact car production facility, and despite the claims at the time from Gov. Jim Doyle that Wisconsin’s offer was better than Michigan’s, Wisconsin’s offer fell far short by every objective measure. The summary:

– The biggest chunk of the $195 million offer was a 10% tax break on the value of new capital investment plugged into the DemoBudget. Since it was estimated that retooling the plant would cost GM $700 million, the break would be $70 million.

– An additional $45 million in state aid included an unspecified amount of “stimulus” money. The Janesville Gazette reports that the $45 million also included a 7% payroll tax credit.

– Rock County, the county in which Janesville lies, was willing to kick in $20 million.

– The city of Janesville offered to provide $15 million in cash, as well as take over the GM plant’s wastewater facility, worth $1 million per year. The wastewater offer was not included in the $195 million total above, but would add $20 million to its worth over 20 years.

– The city of Beloit, just a bit south of Janesville and hurting in its own right, pledged $2 million.

– The Gazette also reported that private interests were willing to kick in $42 million, including reductions on health insurance premiums from a local insurance company.

Meanwhile, Michigan offered a total of $779 million-$1,011 million in incentives over, depending on the news source, 20 to 25 years, for not only the subcompact production facility, but also the non-closing of a Pontiac stamping facility originally slated to close and the promise of at least 20,000 Michigan GM employees over that 20 years. The AP, via WILX-TV, reported that most of the money was a continuation of tax breaks GM had previously received, but that $300 million was new tax breaks. The Journal Sentinel stated that $236 million was directly related to the Orion facility deal.

The Wall Street Journal reported that local moneys were worth an additional $102 million and that Michigan was going to use $130 million in federal money for “worker training”. Since a total of 1,600 jobs would be “saved” between Orion and Pontiac, and that 1,200 jobs were in Orion, I would estimate that, on top of the $236 million of Michigan state money the Journal Sentinel said was directly related to the Orion deal, another $174 million of federal and local money is related, making the total haul for GM $410 million.

In comparison, Tennessee, the third wheel on this bicycle, offered a “mere” $20 million in job-training funds and an unspecified amount of long-term tax breaks. Tennessee was counting on GM factoring in a nearly-new $225 million painting facility built at Spring Hill as part of its recent $1 billion retooling of the facility, compared to a requirement to build a new painting facility in Orion (and presumably, Janesville) to carry the day, but Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen said that GM wanted something north of $250 million to stay in Spring Hill.

Even if Wisconsin, or Tennessee for that matter, matched Michgan’s offer, The Wall Street Journal reports there were also poltiical considerations. The first two criteria for the competition, as told to Tennessee’s delegation, were “community impact” and “carbon footprint”. While Rock County’s unemployment is, at the moment, slightly higher than Oakland County’s (the county where Orion lies), the fact that those formerly employed by GM in Janesville are already on the unemployment line, while those employed by both GM and Chrysler in Oakland County are not yet counted, skews that. Further, the Journal Sentinel reports that the Orion facility is powered by methane from surrounding landfills, a “green” energy source.

The bad news doesn’t end there. The Journal Sentinel further reports that, while Janesville is still technically on “standby”, the local incentives to reactivate the plant are now off the table.

Learning At The Feet Of The Master

by @ 5:45. Filed under Economy, International relations, Politics - National.

President Obama has been in Russia the past few days. You may have heard about it. That is you may have heard about it if something other than Michael Jackson’s funeral had been in the news for the past week. Anyway….President Obama ostensibly went to Russia to discuss arms agreements, trade, council the Russians on the importance of honoring contracts and other important President kinds of stuff….at least that’s what Obama wants you to believe he is there for.

The real reason Obama went to Russia is for some one on one counseling from Obama’s Sensei of controlled economies, Vladimir Putin. Please watch this previously secret, anonymously released Russian economic training video:

In the video it is plain to see how the US media marvels at the Sensei’s ability to lower pork prices with a mere question:

“‘They’re very high,’ said Putin,” Maceda explained. “‘It will be lower tomorrow,’ was the quick reply.”

Later the Sensei is able to reemploy an entire cement factory by shaming the owners into the rehiring:

“And this showdown at a cement factory near St. Petersburg,” Maceda said. “When orders dried up, managers shut the plant laying off hundreds until Putin shamed the bosses, even tossing a pen and ordering one of them to sign a promise to rehire every worker. Now other towns are hoping for some of Putin’s special attention.”

Wow!  Obama really is the grasshopper. 

In a commencement speech yesterday, President Obama said:

The future does not belong to those who gather armies on a field of battle or bury missiles in the ground

Apparently the future also doesn’t belong to those who pass stimulus bills, loan shark money, or take over entire industries.  The future for central economy controllers like Obama, is to merely speak and make it so.

D-I-V-O-R-C-E

by @ 5:01. Filed under Politics - National.

I don’t normally post these kinds of things.  In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever posted another chain email.  However, this one is so good it needs to be shared:

Dear American liberals, leftists, social progressives, socialists, Marxists, and Obama supporters, et. al.:

We have stuck together since the late 1950s, but the whole of this latest election process has made me realize that I want a divorce. I know that we tolerated each other for many years for the sake of future generations, but sadly, this relationship has run its course. Our two ideological sides of America cannot and will not ever agree on what is right so let’s just end it on friendly terms. We can smile and chalk it up to irreconcilable differences and go our own way.

The Separation Agreement:

Our two groups can equitably divide up the country by landmass each taking a portion. That will be the difficult part, but I am sure our two sides can come to a friendly agreement. After that, it should be relatively easy! Our respective representatives can effortlessly divide other assets since both sides have such distinct and disparate tastes.

We don’t like redistributive taxes so you can keep them.

You are welcome to the liberal judges and the ACLU.

Since you hate guns and war, we’ll take our firearms, the cops, the NRA and the military. You can keep Oprah, Michael Moore and Rosie O’Donnell. (You are, however, responsible for finding a bio-diesel vehicle big enough to move all three of them.)

We’ll keep the capitalism, greedy corporations, pharmaceutical companies, Wal-Mart and Wall Street. You can have your beloved homeless, homeboys, hippies and illegal aliens. We’ll keep the hot Alaskan hockey moms, greedy CEO’s, and rednecks.

We’ll keep the Bibles and give you NBC and Hollywood.

You can make nice with Iran and Palestine and we’ll retain the right to invade and hammer places that threaten us. You can have the peaceniks and war protesters. When our allies or our way of life are under assault, we’ll help provide them security.

We’ll keep our Judeo-Christian values. You are welcome to Islam, Scientology, Humanism and Shirley McClain. You can also have the U.N., but we will no longer be paying the bill.

We’ll keep the SUVs, pickup trucks and oversized luxury cars. You can take every Subaru station wagon you can find.

You can give everyone healthcare if you can find any practicing doctors. We’ll continue to believe healthcare is a luxury and not a right.

We’ll keep The Battle Hymn of the Republic and the National Anthem. I’m sure you’ll be happy to substitute Imagine, I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing, Kum Ba Ya, or We Are the World.

We’ll practice trickle down economics and you can give trickle up poverty your best shot.

Since it often so offends you, we’ll keep our history, our name and our flag.

Would you agree to this? If so, please pass it along to other like minded liberal and conservative patriots and if you do not agree, just hit delete. In the spirit of friendly parting, I’ll bet you ANWAR which one of us will need whose help in 15 years.

Sincerely,

John J. Wall
Law Student and an American

P.S. Also, please take Barbara Streisand & Jane Fonda with you.

May I add that as property settlement we would give the Liberals all of the Continental 48 states that have Pacific sea shore and all states from D.C. north that has Atlantic seashore and I’ll toss in Pennsylvania and Hawaii if you agree to this deal today!

July 7, 2009

Ya Don’t Have To Call Me The 60th Democrat!

by @ 5:06. Filed under Politics - National.

First, for those of you who missed the ’70’s….for whatever reason, there was a comic who went by the name of Raymond J. Johnson Jr.  Ray J had a shtick in which he gave you every combination of his name except simply, “Johnson.” :


Today, Al Franken met with Harry Reid and they talked to the press. During his portion of the comments, Franken brushed aside the notion that he was the 60th Democrat Senator that so many have been breathlessly awaiting. Instead, the humble, self effacing servant, Al Franken, simply wants to be known as “The second Senator from Minnesota.”

Like Ray J., you can call him the 60th Democrat Senator, you can call him the second Minnesota Senator, you can even call him Senator Al Franken (shudder). Whatever you call him, you also have to call him the tipping point for the Republican Party.

I’ve pointed out time and time and time again that from a vote on policy standpoint, it didn’t matter whether the Democrats had 58, 59 or 60 Senators. The fact is and was that there were 2 or 3 “Republican” votes up for purchase or up for a flexible interpretation of principle on nearly every major issue to face the Senate. You want proof? Show me anything of substance that has failed to pass the Senate without Democrats voting against it!

With 58 or 59 Democrats there was always the convenient yet farcicle argument that folks like Olympia Snowe had to vote for some bill, let’s say the stimulus bill, not because she believed it was good policy for her constituents but that “something had to be done.” Thus, in the spirit of “bipartisanship” Senators like Snowe would vote with the Democrats to pass legislation.

With 60 Democrats, Snowe no longer has to compromise her “principles. With 60 Democrats, the only reason for any Republican to vote with the Democrats is if that Republican believes and agrees with the principles of the particular bill.

So why is this a tipping point for Republicans? Simple. From this point forward, the veneer will be off of the excuses that “moderate” Republicans have used. Further, the veneer will be off of Republican leadership’s excuses that they provide for these “moderate” Republicans votes. If Republicans can not force the Democrats to take unilateral votes on issues like Cap and Trade, health care, potentially a second stimulus, than there is no longer any reason for the Republican party. If the Republicans can not unify against clearly bad policy for the nation when they have nothing to lose and principle to gain by voting against it than I predict that Conservatives will abandon the Republican party.

2012 is a long, long way away. If the Republicans think that over reaching by the Democrats will give them an opportunity in 2012, they had better pay attention to 2010.  2010 could be an opportunity for Republicans but only if they give us a reason to vote for them.

Update: 2:54 PM…Um , sorry, had the wrong video link in this…it’s right now!

July 6, 2009

The Obama Doctrine

by @ 5:43. Filed under International relations, Politics - National.

In her first major interview after Sarah (we hardly knew ya) Palin was announced as John McCain’s VP pick, she had the infamous question from ABC’s Charlie Gibson in which she was asked about the “Bush Doctrine.  The Left was gaga the next few weeks claiming that Palin’s inability to provide an instantaneous response for Gibson left her unable to be considered a serious political contender. 

One of the rumors about Palin’s recent resignation announcement, is that she will pick up a contract to do a television interview show.  If she does, I’d suggest she book Charlie Gibson as her first guest.  I’d like her first question to Charlie to be, “Charlie, can you please explain the Obama doctrine?”  I wonder what Charlie would say?

Would Charlie say the Obama Doctrine is one where denouncing fraudulent elections and supporting those wanting liberty and freedom would be avoided so as not to be “meddling?”

“It is not productive, given the history of US and Iranian relations to be seen as meddling in Iranian elections,” he said.

Or, would Charlie say the Obama Doctrine is one where citizens of a democracy that honor and enforce their constitution, to prevent the unilateral usurpation of the constitution, are viewed as “illegal?”

President Barack Obama on Monday declared that the United States still considers Manuel Zelaya to be the president of Honduras and assailed the coup that forced him into exile as “not legal,” deepening the chasm between the Central American nation and much of the rest of the world.

Or is it possible that Charlie would say the Obama Doctrine is one in which sovereign countries, threatened with annihilation, have the right to self defense and to do so with extreme prejudice against those who threaten them?

“Look, Israel can determine for itself — it’s a sovereign nation — what’s in their interest and what they decide to do relative to Iran and anyone else,” Biden replied. He added that this was the case, “whether we agree or not” with the Israeli view.

Sarah Palin may have had a difficult time putting specificity on the Bush Doctrine.  After only six months, there are so many different Obama Doctrines that every Democrat Senator could have their own personalized version.

July 3, 2009

Who’s Zoomin Who?

by @ 10:10. Filed under International relations, Politics - National.

President Obama is headed to Russia next week.  The visit is planned to allow discussions on a host of topics: trade, North Korea, missile defense etc.  Amongst the laundry list of issues, I find one group’s request to be most interesting.  From Reuters:

CEOs use Obama visit to press Russia on rule of law

I suppose it would make sense to talk to Russia about business relationships.  Of particular interest to this group of CEOs is this:

“Stability and sanctity of contracts — this is what worries us, given what happened to some Western firms in Russia,” said an industry source with a major U.S. firm.

Come on!  You’re kidding me right?  President Obama is supposed to teach, coach, lecture the Russian government on the rule of law and the sanctity of contracts?  Let’s see….

Automobile Industry – I don’t remember the rule of law or the sanctity of contracts being followed as bond holders were summarily removed from their preferred lender positions so that the Obama could “not run the auto industry.”

Financial Industry – I don’t remember the rule of law or the sanctity of contracts being followed as companies were told they had to take bail out funds or would be subject to audits, forced contracted compensation to be paid back or forced “healthy” institutions to absorb “toxic” institutions thereby making them a toxic institution

Credit Card Industry – I don’t remember the rule of law or the sanctity of contracts being followed as mortgage companies were forced to provide credit to a broader population without regard for their ability to repay the credit.

While never close friends, The Russians used to listen to the United States due both to our military capabilities and our financial strength.  I’ve got to believe that any sentence in Russia that begins with “President Obama says…” ends with a roomful of Russian belly laughs.

July 2, 2009

The Unpersoning begins, with the proposed elimination of Reagan from Reagan National

by @ 15:47. Filed under Politics - National.

(H/T – JammieWearingFool)

Barbara Hollingsworth of the Washington Examiner reports that a Washington Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Board member told his colleagues that there is discussion on Capitol Hill to strip President Ronald Reagan’s name from Reagan National Airport.

I don’t know if they’re taking their cues from Gov. Jim Doyle, who has repeatedly refused to acknowledge Reagan’s presence in the Oval Office, or Iosif Stalin, the man who moved “unperson” from fiction to reality.

Revisions/extensions (4:04 pm 7/2/2009) – An anonymous commenter over at JWF brought this item from Debbie Schlussel to my attention – the “LT G W BUSH” stenciled on the F-102 flown by President George W. Bush during his tour of duty with the Texas National Guard on base guard duty at Ellington Field in Houston, Texas, was removed sometime after 1/20/2009, supposedly in preparation for the plane’s repainting, and has not been restored.

Hello, Is It Me You’re Looking For?

by @ 15:21. Filed under International relations, Politics - National.

Today’s headlines:

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden has arrived in Baghdad

Um, did someone forget to tell joltin’ Joe:

The vice president’s visit comes just two days after the United States withdrew troops from Iraqi cities.

Now that the troops have gone, Joe gets to play with Iraq:

The White House on Tuesday appointed Biden to oversee Iraq policy.

I guess even President Obama recognizes it’s not safe to let Biden play while there’s live ammunition around!

In honor of Joe:

H/T the Athletic Shoe

WaPo now selling itself as the official paper of the ObamiNation – UPDATE – Sale cancelled, stench remains

by @ 10:00. Filed under Politics - National, Presstitute Follies.

(H/T – Karl, who uses my term to describe it)

Politico reports that the Washington Post is circulating flyers to lobbyists offering access to its reporters, members of Congress, and Obama administration officials, for between $25,000 and $250,000 per meeting. Politico reposts the text of the flyer that a health care lobbyist received from the Post:

“Underwriting Opportunity: An evening with the right people can alter the debate,” says the one-page flier. “Underwrite and participate in this intimate and exclusive Washington Post Salon, an off-the-record dinner and discussion at the home of CEO and Publisher Katharine Weymouth. … Bring your organization’s CEO or executive director literally to the table. Interact with key Obama administration and congressional leaders …

“Spirited? Yes. Confrontational? No. The relaxed setting in the home of Katharine Weymouth assures it. What is guaranteed is a collegial evening, with Obama administration officials, Congress members, business leaders, advocacy leaders and other select minds typically on the guest list of 20 or less. …

“Offered at $25,000 per sponsor, per Salon. Maximum of two sponsors per Salon. Underwriters’ CEO or Executive Director participates in the discussion. Underwriters appreciatively acknowledged in printed invitations and at the dinner. Annual series sponsorship of 11 Salons offered at $250,000 … Hosts and Discussion Leaders … Health-care reporting and editorial staff members of The Washington Post … An exclusive opportunity to participate in the health-care reform debate among the select few who will actually get it done. … A Washington Post Salon … July 21, 2009 6:30 p.m.”

As mhking would say, “Just Damn!” Somehow, I doubt that the WaPo either has registered as a lobbyist, or the money spent on this lobbying effort will get reported.

Revisions/extensions (10:04 am 7/2/2009) – The Post sent this trial lead balloon to Politico:

The flier circulated this morning came out of a business division for conferences and events, and the newsroom was unaware of such communication. It went out before it was properly vetted, and this draft does not represent what the company’s vision for these dinners are, which is meant to be an independent, policy-oriented event for newsmakers. As written, the newsroom could not participate in an event like this.

We do believe there is an opportunity to have a conferences and events business, and that The Post should be leading these conversations in Washington, big or small, while maintaining journalistic integrity.

The newsroom will participate where appropriate.

I believe my bullshit meter just pegged.

R&E part 2 (10:17 am 7/2/2009) – Sister Toldjah has the killer headline on this one – “The WaPo or the WaHO”.

Meanwhile, the commenters over at HotAir dug up an interesting January 2001 WaPo editorial:

Gone from any of this is the notion that people give money to candidates or parties for reasons of governing philosophy or positions on issues. The big-money folks give to those who have won or might win. Those in power threaten the contributors in plain language: Give to us or you’ll be squeezed out of the game; give too much to the other guys and you’ll be sorry. It’s the kind of sordid operation that a Mafia don would understand, and both parties play with equal vigor. “We’re a hot ticket these days,” one Democratic fundraiser boasted to The Post. “The fifty-fifty split [in the Senate] means something. People want to play, for sure.”

Plenty of members of Congress dislike what they have become, which is one factor that gives reform this year at least a ghost of a chance. They’d rather be legislating than extorting. But as Arizona Sen. John McCain’s battle for change an uphill one. But the sickening spectacle of a speaker-for-rent as a commonplace of Washington politics makes reform as urgent as it is difficult.

Why do I get the feeling this was an intended, rather than an unintended, consequence of McCain-Feingold?

R&E part 3 (10:22 am 7/2/2009) – HotAir commenter thomasaur has the perfect comment:

Presstitutes working for W. H. O. R. E.

White

House

Office
of
Reality

Enhancement

R&E part 4 (12:11 pm 7/2/2009) – With a tip of the hat to Ed Morrissey, the Post’s Howard Kurtz is now saying that the series has been cancelled. Of course, the less-destructive meme that they were selling access to themselves is getting a lot more play than the probably-illegal one of them selling access to the politicians outside the scope of lobbying laws.

July 1, 2009

Painkiller healthcare, less the painkiller

by @ 8:57. Filed under Health, Politics - National.

Remember when Barack Obama said, “Maybe you’re better off not having the surgery, but taking the painkiller.”? Guess what – the pain-free death he advocated is about to have a lot of pain added. Fox News reports that an “expert” FDA panel, which the FDA usually obeys, has recommended eliminating Tylenol-3 and other medicines that combine acetominophen with other painkillers, as well as prescription-only Percocet and Vicodin. They also recommended that the maximum recommended single dose of acetominophen be dropped from 1,000 milligrams to 650 milligrams and the maximum recommended daily dose from 4,000 milligrams to an unspecified amount. Fortunately, they rejected calls to eliminate other multi-ingredient medicines that include acetominophen.

Here comes the pain!

You Should Have Been Here Last Week

by @ 5:19. Filed under International relations, Politics - National.

As a reasonably avid fisherman, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard, or told someone else, “You should have been here last week!”  In fishing, this usually means one of two things.  Either the fish were really biting the previous week or you’re trying to convince the other fisherman that you’re not completely inept.  Interestingly, this phrase is also applicable in politics.

Glenn Garvin from the Miami Herald lays out the explanation of events leading to the Honduran “Coup.”  Garvin doesn’t really provide any information that hasn’t been explained elsewhere, at least in terms of the events. He does however, correctly refocus the debate from what happened last week to what happened in the week(s) prior to last week:

Here’s a question for all these new-found defenders of Honduran democracy: Where were you last week? Perhaps if some of these warnings about sticking to the constitution had been addressed to President Zelaya, the Honduran army would still be in the barracks where it belongs.

Garvin correctly calls out the United Nations, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and President Obama asking why, if they are so concerned about the constitutionality of the new President of Honduras, they weren’t raising concerns about the activities, clearly unconstitutional, of President Zelaya during the previous weeks. 

While Garvin doesn’t address it, I would also ask why, if President Obama doesn’t believe the US should “meddle” in other country’s affairs, he has chosen to insert himself in this situation.  Let’s see, Iran, don’t meddle, Honduras, meddle.  Cuba, don’t meddle, Israel, meddle.  I’m beginning to wonder if Obama’s “don’t meddle” policy only applies to countries that have a current or an heir apparent dictator at the helm?

Like in fishing, “You should have been here last week” has multiple meanings in politics.  It can either mean, “Things went really well last week,” or it could mean that the person you’re conveying the sentiment to is inept and should have been paying attention to and engaged in the events of the previous week.

From the people of Honduras, “Hey, President Obama, you should have been here last week!”

June 30, 2009

If Your Friend Jumps Off A Bridge….

by @ 9:36. Filed under Health, Politics - National.

With my apologies to Chicago…

Does anyone really know how many Senate Democrats there are?
Does anyone really care?
If so I can’t imagine why
We’ve all got time enough to cry

I wrote waaaaaaay back here, that it wasn’t going to matter how many Senators the Democrats ended up with. There were enough folks abominating the Republican banner on any particular issue that the Dems would have the effect of running the Senate as they saw fit.

Today, nearly eight months past the election, we’re still waiting to see what the final count will be in the Senate. There is a wide belief that the MN Supreme Court will issue their ruling in the Franken/Coleman race before the Fourth of July. It’s also widely believed that the Court will side with Franken. Does it matter? No.

Senator Snowe has come out to say that with something as important as health care:

It is important to get it to be a bipartisan initiative, given the dimensions of health care reform and the implications to all Americans.

Olympia, were you raised by wolves?  Were you raised without any parental supervision?  Did you live a childhood devoid of friends, acquaintances or any people at all?  If no, how did you not, at least once, get the sage advice that if your friends were about to do a stupid thing, it didn’t make the situation better if you also decided to do the stupid thing!

While I doubt it would do any good, could someone please contact Olympia and ask her if she thinks it’s a good decision to jump off a bridge just because all of her friends are doing the same?

Update – Well, there you have it.  Franken won the Supreme Court decision.  Coleman has conceded and Pawlenty says he will sign the certificate.  OK Dems, it’s all yours now…at least for 18 months!

June 29, 2009

But Isn’t That My Ox Being Gored?

by @ 5:09. Filed under Energy, Politics - Minnesota, Politics - National.

The Republican Party claims to stand for principles.  Amongst the principles they claim to stand for are limited government, personal liberty and free markets.  However, too many in the Republican Party believe that principles are not absolute.  They believe that principles can, shall we say, be flexible.  The rationale of these Republicans is that limited government is good, if I’m not in power, personal liberty is good unless my party says otherwise and free markets are good unless our party says there’s a problem.  Governor Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota is a perfect example of one of these flexibly principled Republicans.

As a result of Governor Sanford’s confusing personal life, there have been several articles this weekend promoting Pawlenty as a rising spokesperson, perhaps even now, a strong contender for the 2012 Presidential bid…yeah, whatever.  I don’t know if it’s some of that thinking or just because he’s a lame duck Governor and is working on his next meal ticket but, Pawlenty is quickly becoming to Governor’s what Michele Bachmann is for the House of Representatives; in the media all the time talking about things that they shouldn’t be talking about. 

A perfect example showing Pawlenty in the media saying things he shouldn’t and showing his flexible principles, was his appearance on Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.”  On the show, Pawlenty argued that the recently passed cap and trade bill was bad policy.  OK, I’m with him so far.  It’s when he tells us why it’s bad policy that I give him my patented “Ron Paul talking about the gold standard” look.  According to American Pravda’s version of the interview, here’s why Pawlenty believes Cap and Trade is bad policy:

In an appearance on CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday morning, the Republican governor said he shares the goal of reducing pollution and emissions. But he says the best way to do that is through conservation, more fuel-efficient vehicles and improving base-load power with nuclear energy.

They add:

Pawlenty says the cap and trade emissions regime in the bill would send U.S. jobs to other countries.

Funny, in 2007 the Minnesota Legislature passed a renewable energy bill.  That bill requires that energy producers in the state generate specific and increasing percentages of their energy through things like wind, solar or hydrogen.  The mandates are high enough that it will make Minnesota the state with the most renewable generated energy in the nation.  An amendment to remove Minnesota’s restriction on nuclear plants, the only State one of a few, with Wisconsin being another, to have such a restriction, failed.  Likewise, an amendment to waive the renewable requirements if they cost more than 10% more than existing methods also failed.  Finally, the bill contained a provision that allows utilities that exceed their required amounts of renewable energy to sell credits to other utilities.  Sounds a bit like the sale of carbon credits doesn’t it? 

Governor Pawlenty signed this bill and in many corners, was seen as a cheer leader for the bill.  Today, he decries a national version of what he gladly burdened Minnesotans with just two years ago. 

To too many Republicans like Pawlenty, principles only matter when it’s not their ox being gored.

Revisions/extensions (8:37 am 6/29/2009, steveegg) – Made a correction, as Wisconsin also has a complete moratorium on new nuclear power plants.

June 26, 2009

Paul Ryan’s reaction to the Cap-and-Tax passage

by @ 19:13. Filed under Global "Warming", Politics - National.

The following just came into the comm-box:

House Passes Punitive Cap-and-Tax Bill

New energy tax “demonstrates just how distant and out of touch

Washington is from Wisconsin,” says Ryan

WASHINGTON – Wisconsin’s First District Congressman Paul Ryan today spoke out on behalf of the families and small businesses that would be on the receiving end of a massive new energy tax. Earlier today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 2454, American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, by a vote of 219 to 212, with bipartisan opposition. Ryan voted against this legislation.

The center of the deeply flawed H.R. 2454 is a cap-and-trade scheme aimed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by increasing energy costs on all Americans. The complicated cap-and-trade program would require all energy producers to purchase expensive government permits in exchange for the right to produce energy from certain natural resources or to produce certain goods like steel, aluminum, or cement. Without regard for the detrimental economic consequences, the proponents of the legislation believe this unilateral energy tax would help reduce global temperatures by a fraction of a degree by the end of the century.

Ryan’s vote against the 1,200 page bill came after only three hours of general debate, with Majority rejecting the single amendment they allowed. In addition to the job losses that would result from the smaller economy, Ryan raised concerns with the impact on the budgets of individual households. Families would face increasing costs on not only energy – but all products that require energy to make them (i.e., everything). Various nonpartisan studies have estimated that average annual household cost increases would range from $425 per household to over $4000 per household. Specifically, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and the Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimate that Wisconsin families will pay an extra $230 million in energy tax once the bill is fully implemented in 2012.

Congressman Ryan fought against this draconian energy tax and supports H.R. 2828, the American Energy Innovation Act, a commonsense alternative to promote a cleaner environment without causing further economic devastation in the middle of a painful recession.

Following today’s action of the House floor, Congressman Ryan issued the following statement:

“Today’s vote reminds me of just how distant and out of touch Washington is from Wisconsin. At a time when jobs are increasingly scarce across Southern Wisconsin, Congress passed legislation explicitly designed to shrink our economy and increase energy costs on all Americans. Wisconsin is one of the nation’s top manufacturing States. Wisconsin entrepreneurs, small businesses, and workers shouldn’t need permission from the federal government to produce, grow, and create jobs, yet that is exactly the paternalistic message sent by Congress today.

“The Majority added a 300 page amendment to the 1100 page bill at 3:09am this morning which effectively regulates the national energy sector (8% of the U.S. economy), and no member of Congress has even read it. This bill is the biggest federal power grab of the American economy this year and that’s quite a statement.”

“Should this bill become law, Wisconsin would suffer a disproportionate economic blow. As the legislation’s authors and chief advocate reside far from the Midwest, the cap-and-trade legislation wasn’t primarily concerned with cold-weather, manufacturing States that get most of their energy from coal. Families in Southern Wisconsin don’t have the luxury of turning off the heat in the winter.

“What’s worse, because we are imposing this energy tax unilaterally, the legislation will actually hinder the environmental goals we’ve set out to achieve. By making manufacturing more expensive here in America, this bill would send our manufacturing jobs overseas to our competitors like India and China. For every ton of emissions we reduce, India and China will produce several tons more. Under this bill, we will send our competitors American jobs while they are negating the minimal environmental gains made here at home.

“There is a better way forward. I was proud to support a substitute energy reform – the American Energy Act – on House floor today, which focused on an all-of-the-above approach to creating a cleaner environment and a stronger economy. Rather than lock-up domestic energy supply, we should expand our use of American-made resources as we encourage the use of renewable and alternative energy sources, including nuclear, wind, solar, and more. Environmental stewardship and economic growth are not mutually exclusive goals, and I will continue to fight for both of behalf of those I serve in Southern Wisconsin.”

For the want of 4…

by @ 18:43. Filed under Envirowhackos, Politics - National.

The following 8 “Republican” members of the House just enabled passage of the Waxman-Markey Cap-and-Trade-Tax bill:

Remember those names well, as had only 4 of them not wished for the largest and costliest intervention in manufacturing and energy production and usage in the history of this country, Henry Waxman, Ed Markey, and the interventionists would have failed as 44 Democrats saw this for what it is. Or, at least they would have forced 8 of those 44 to do what Jeff Plale did late last night in the state budget and sell out their principles.

Revisions/extensions (7:00 pm 6/26/2009) – My friends at The Heritage Foundation here’s what those 8 have done to their districts (in Castle’s case, the entire state). Nothing like dooming one’s district/state to billions of lost wages and tens of thousands of lost jobs.

John Boehner reading the entire cap-and-tax amendment

by @ 17:16. Filed under Global "Warming", Politics - National.

In case you don’t have C-SPAN on, you might want to turn it on right now. House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) is reading the entire 300-page amendment to the cap-and-tax Waxman-Markey bill that was introduced at 3:09 am this morning. He’s just over halfway through as I type.

Did you know that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac made it into this amendment?

In other news,…

by @ 10:05. Filed under Global "Warming", International relations, Politics - National.

I’ve been focused on the state budget almost as much as the national presstitutes have been focused on Michael Jackson’s death, but Ed Morrissey has been keeping eyes on the larger picture. First stop – government-run health care. Our friends at ReasonTV have created a commercial on that…

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPC6CqAFA4E[/youtube]
Next stop – Iran. Ayatollah Ahmed Khatami called for death to protestors. Things are going to get even bloodier.

Last, but definitely not least, is a familiar battleground, Gorebal “Warming”. The tactics employed by the Dems, including a last-second 300-page amendment to a 1200-page bill, are all-too-familiar. Just as a reminder from Ed, “This bill will lose the US 2.5% of its GDP each and every year in the years after the first decade of implementation.” (emphasis in the original)

June 24, 2009

Must-watch Wednesday – Mary Katharine Ham tries to read Waxman-Markey

by @ 17:38. Filed under Energy, Envirowhackos, Politics - National.

It may no longer be called HamNation, and she doesn’t do videos nearly as often as she used to, but Mary Katharine Ham is back with a vengeance on the Waxman-Markey Cap-and-Trade-Tax bill about to be rammed down our throats…

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rHOxnZDbDU[/youtube]

The 1,201-page version that just got marked up (as H.R. 2998) isn’t even the final version that will be rammed through on Friday, but it will be at least a not-at-all-reasonable facsimile.

Revisions/extensions (7:22 pm 6/24/2009) – I hope MKH doesn’t get laryngitis reading the bill. So far, she made it through the table of contents. Instead of posting videos, I’ll direct you to her YouTube page.

Scratch Ford, Nissan and Tesla from the good cars list

by @ 10:22. Filed under Business, Politics - National.

Fox Business reported yesterday that Ford, Nissan and Tesla will partake in the Department of Energy’s Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing program, a $25 billion loan program from the federal government ostensibly to finance plant changes “needed” for improved fuel-economy and improved-range electric vehicles. Ford’s $5,900,000,000 will go for converting a pair of truck plants into car plants, technology to improve the mileage of its core line (Focus, Escape, Taurus and F-150), and other improvements to its engines. Nissan’s $1,600,000 will go for electric vehicle production in its Tennessee plant. Tesla’s $465,000,000 will go to begin mass production of its first vehicle, as well as a battery pack designed for the Smart.

That’s right; your federal government is not satisfied with getting its meathooks into the Not-So-Big Three, and has decided to go whole hog into the Japanese Nissan (or is it the French Renault, as Renault holds close to half of Nissan?).

Any guesses as to what will eventually happen to Ford and Nissan? Here’s a hint…

June 21, 2009

The honeymoon with the voters that care is now over

by @ 9:09. Filed under Politics - National.

(H/T – JammieWearingFool)

Rasmussen Reports just released today’s edition of the Daily Presidential Tracking Poll, and President Obama’s Presidential Approval Index is now -2 (for those that missed the “-” in front of the “2”, allow me to restate it – minus two). While 32% of the 500-likely-voters-per-night/3-night-rolling-average strongly approve of the way that Obama is performing his Presidential duties, 34% strongly disapprove of the way Obama is performing his Presidential duties.

I guess Shoebox was just short of 2 months off on cutting off the poll date. Oh well, I guess the warranty on the teleprompter just expired.

Of course, the news isn’t all bad for Obama. His overall approval rating is still 53%, though that is tied for the lowest approval rating so far, while his overall disapproval rating is 46%, just off the highest disapproval rating so far. So, why did I word the title the way I did if all of the above are “likely” voters? Simple; those with strong feelings one way or the other are more likely to act on them than those who care less, especially when it appears that Rasmussen is doing everything it can to eliminate the “don’t knows/don’t cares”.

June 19, 2009

Pawlenty – Just Boring Enough to be President

by @ 5:49. Filed under Politics - Minnesota, Politics - National.

At least that’s what the author of this article believes. Somehow the author concludes that the US voters swing from one extreme of personal characteristics to the other: 

This has happened several times in the last 20 years. George H.W. Bush was seen as non-empathetic. Bill Clinton was full of empathy, and could capitalize on the contrast. Clinton came to be seen as lacking moral rectitude. George W. Bush seemed upright, and could again capitalize. Finally, the younger Bush came to be seen as overly certain. Obama took advantage by emphasizing his ability to see shades of gray.

If Obama utterly fails the author believes that the next President to be elected will be the opposite of Obama i.e. the blandest of bland:

In other words, when incumbent presidents lose their luster, those with qualities opposite theirs can stand to gain. If the public sours on Obama, his pizzazz and speechifying abilities could be rebranded as a negative – “all sizzle and no steak.” In that situation, the GOP might do well to have somebody who can’t make a political rally look like a Beatles concert. Boring could be pitched as competent, sensible, and able to get the job done.

The conclusion…TPaw:

Of course, it’s still very early. My point is simply that the contrast between Obama and Pawlenty might be a beneficial one for the GOP to offer if the public has soured on the incumbent. If it hasn’t – it really does not matter what the party does. Popular incumbents never lose.

And that’s where this author, along with many others lose all credibility.  Once again we have an author who believes that running as the anti Democrats is somehow an answer.  It’s not.  If we learned nothing from watching McCain’s debacle it is that running as Democrat lite or “I’m not him” or any other flavor that doesn’t run for something is a losing proposition.  On top of that, if Obama does crash and burn, running as anything other than having a positive, solution oriented candidate will be a complete failure. 

Maybe TPaw has a shot.  I’m from Minnesota and can say I’m not convinced.  He’s done a number of good things in restraining reckless Democrat spending.  However, he has far too many tendencies to flop around in the mushy middle i.e. ethanol, global warming and the like.  For TPaw to have a shot, including getting support from his home state, he’s going to need to shore up his conservative bona fides.  We’ve tried milquetoast and it’s failed.  Hopefully we’ll learn from our mistakes…then again, maybe not.

June 18, 2009

Just Keep Those Lies and Donations Coming!

by @ 12:37. Filed under MMSD - The Crap People, Obama worship, Politics - National.

“ABCNEWS prides itself on covering all sides of important issues and asking direct questions of all newsmakers — of all political persuasions — even when others have taken a more partisan approach and even in the face of criticism from extremes on both ends of the political spectrum. ABCNEWS is looking for the most thoughtful and diverse voices on this issue.”

Ah, yup!

ABC Employees Contributed Overwhelmingly to Obama

By CPR Staff on June 18, 2009 10:41 AM  

Interesting to Note…

An analysis of contributions to the Obama and McCain campaign shows that ABC employees contributed more than $160,000 to the Obama campaign versus less than $5,000 to the McCain campaign.  

See the lists:

Obama-ABC.pdf

McCain-ABC.pdf

Guess we won’t be expecting to see ABC running under the moniker of “Fair and Balanced” anytime soon!

June 17, 2009

Four-Blocking the relationship between government and smokers

by @ 8:56. Filed under Health, Politics - National, Politics - Wisconsin.

Tom McMahon does it again:

There’s already a spirited discussion in the Four-Block World comments, so join it.

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