Rock On, (Iron) Man

I used to read Iron Man(sm) back in college before I turned to the Mutants(tm) and Batman(sm)--yes, it was all part of my liberal arts education--and now old rust head is showing up on the silver screen. I have no clue why, but every time I watch the Iron Man trailer, I get more and more jazzed about the prospect of seeing it loud and large.

Might be the AC/DC guitar riffs or something. I'm off to do air guitar...ta!

State of the Blog

Well for the one or two people that visit this place, some interesting news.

This month (Feb) has been the most prolific in terms of posts in the history of the blog. With this post, we will have 85 posts this month which beat our previous best of 81 posts back in March 2004.

Of course given our traffic reports, not much of what we say is worth reading, but it is interesting to write.

Have a good weekend.

Tanker deal

The WSJ (subscription required) has just announced that Northrop and Airbus have won the $40 billion contract to build new tankers for the Air Force.

The tanker will be based on the Airbus A330 airplane. The Boeing plane would have been based on the 767 airplane.

While I would rather have had Boeing win, they deserved to lose because of their actions back in 2001. And because of their actions, the cost of the program has almost doubled, the planes still haven't been designed or built and the Air Force is still flying 40 to 50 year old KC-135s.

Ratting Out the Telemarketers

I keep getting called by some organization where the caller ID only shows "331", as I generally make a habit of not answering calls from number I recognize, I send them to my voice mail. However, they are so persistent I decided to snoop around. Good thing there is a website called "Who Called Us" that is a website containing user-generated reports about phone numbers--telemarketing or phishing. The 331 number is reported to be outsourced junk phone calls to India or Pakistan or even phishing.

The website seems to be legit and on the up and up and if nothing else, it's a good starting point for information.

Damn you telemarketers! Damn you!

Subprime Mortgages

Vulture Fund Deals With Delinquent Homeowners Lost by Subprime.

The market will find a way to make money out of this yet.

And this is a surprise?

In Texas, where they now have a lot of wind generators, had an emergency when the wind died down and the power fell. So the wonderful wind power has problems and we still have to have gas, coal or oil generators online standing by to replace power when the wind dies.

How is this supposed to help prevent global warming??? Or rather climate change?

He only got 77 years??

And his lawyer said he wasn't given a jury of his peers because 75% of the jurors were women. If they had been all men, especially fathers, they would have either given him death or asked to meet with him alone for 5 minutes. There wouldn't be much left of him at the end of the time.

Oh, what did this guy do to deserve this punishment? Well his goal in life was to be a pimp. He had books and DVD's that were a how to guide and was building his business by abduction, rape and all the other methods suggested in the books. Like I said, he got off light, provided he lives that long in prison. He may learn a lot more about pimping in there by being the pimpee rather then the pimper.

"decision-making for dummies"

decision-making for dummies
Originally uploaded by petit hiboux

This pretty much sums it up.

Love it.

(H/T: flickr blog)

The future of California??

New Jersey's Governor has unveiled a budget that cuts spending in absolute terms by $500 million from last years budget.

The NJ lawmakers are NOT happy with the budget which cuts spending in all areas, but they no longer have a choice.

California is or will soon be in the same situation. We currently are looking at a $16 billion dollar deficit for this year, which is half over, and a greater deficit for next year. A lot of programs are going to have to be cut because tax increases are not likely. People can say we should just raise taxes, but if the Republicans won't do it (thank goodness, State income taxes is already over 9% of income on top of federal income tax, not to mention sales tax and property taxes), then spending will have to be cut. Government programs are going to have to be consolidated or eliminated and Sacramento will not be able to micro manage each aspect of our lives.
The sooner we start the cutting, the less pain there will be. Its like getting into a cold pool. If you ease yourself in, its painful, but if you just jump in and get it over with, its a shock but its not as painful as the slow entry.

Iraq

Finally, news from Iraq. Well worth reading and supporting the people doing the reporting.

Our computers are mainly safe

Have you seen the news stories that its possible for bad guys to read your encryption keys on your computer? Well as usual, a true story has been turned into a crisis to sell papers with the NY Times leading the charge. Our data is safer then the NY Times realize.

Nader verses the Democrats

Ralph Nader is running for president again and PA Democrats are angry. In 1992, Democrats were happy when Ross Perot ran because if he had stayed out, Bill Clinton would not have won.

In 2000, the Democrats were angry with Nader because if he had not run, George W Bush would not have won.

Its funny to see people claim to want freedom as long as it won't hurt their election chances. Maybe some rich Republican should subsidize Nader so he can run again and again and again.

End of the world

New seed vault opens in Norway. While not a bad idea, I'm just glad the US taxpayers didn't have to pay for it.

They have calculated when the earth will end. And they have even come up with a way to save it by moving the orbit of the earth to keep it far enough away from the sun.

These folks have too much time on their hands. How about doing something useful, like finding a way to get 50 to 80% efficiency from solar power instead of the current 6 to 20%.

Politicians and car companies

Obama is saying one thing and doing another. If Clinton or McCain tried this, it would be all over the news. Obama will learn this can hurt him, if not now then in the general election.

Nuke reactors on campus

This is potentially frightening. Research reactors on university campuses are not secure. Blowing one of them up won't result in a Hiroshima, but rather a dirty bomb, in the middle of a crowded campus and often in the middle of a large city.

Chinese Eco-Propaganda

Eager to show off their mad eco-industrial-skillz, the Chinese government awarded a photojournalist of Xinhua, the Chinese organ, a top photo award. The photographer, Liu Weiqing, says,

"I wanted to capture the harmony among the Tibetan antelope, the train, men and nature,"

In other words, propaganda.

"It's such a perfect propaganda photo," says David Bandurski a researcher at the University of Hong Kong China Media Project. "They don't tend to give journalism prizes to reports that rock the boat." (emphasis mine)

The problem is, the photo is a fraud.

Superdelegates

Last night my wife asked me why the Democrats have superdelegates. I couldn't really giver her an answer, because it made no sense why they have them.

Well today, Geraldine Ferraro wrote a nice op-ed in the NY Times explaining why the Democrats have superdelegates.

Its so the leaders of the party can set the rules and tell the little people what they should be doing. Go read the article and see for yourselves, it was so the elected members of Congress and others can set policy, platform and decide nominations when two or more candidates have a similar number of delegates. This is supposed to help prevent infighting in the Party so it will have a better chance in the general elections. Basically, its the smoke filled rooms, but the party bosses are the members of Congress, Governors and former presidents and vice presidents.

It would be nice to see the Democratic Convention be as exciting as the 1860 convention was in Charleston SC.

Gun Buyback

Alex Tabarrok has a blog and editorial about the Oakland gun buyback. Oakland would pay $250 for every turned in gun, no ID and no questions asked. So the first two people in line were gun dealers from Reno who turned in 60 guns for a quick $15,000 for taking away their old inventory.

Nice work if you can get it.

Hat tip Instapundit

PRC Submarines

China is building up its submarine fleet.

Senior Chinese officers have said the buildup is strictly defensive.

This statement about the build up, I believe, is completely true. If China wants to invade Taiwan, they will need to prevent the US fleet from coming to the rescue. So having submarines can deny the sea to the US Navy and will protect China from US carrier attacks. They do not need or want to attack sea born commerce, China is dependent upon it. However they can deny the US Navy the ability to support Taiwan, so the PRC sub build up can be said to be defensive, protect China from the US when it attacks Taiwan.

Iraq and Vietnam

The situation in Iraq is improving.

How the US media turned a military victory into a political defeat by selective reporting in Vietnam.

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas

A look at why he rarely comments from the bench.

Suppose surgeons started discussing the merits of removing a gallbladder while in the operating room, Thomas said, as quoted by U.S. News & World Report. "You really didn't go in there to have a debate about gallbladder surgery," he said. Similarly, "we are there to decide cases, not to engage in seminar discussions."

Read the whole article.

Election News

Rick Moran has a suggestion to anyone who is trying to defeat Obama. Lay off the stupid conspiracy theories that he is a secret Muslim or if elected Obama will turn the US into the next Saudi Arabia in terms of religion.

Truer words have not been spoken. There are reasons to oppose the election of Obama, his father being a Muslim and having kin in Kenya are not reasons and Republicans (and Clinton supporters) would do well to remember that.

Mark Steyn on the collapse of Hillary Clinton. Very good article.

Just Lost 5% of Our Stealth Bombers

Okay, more accurately, 4.76%. One of the 21 B-2's in the Air Force inventory crashed on Guam. Kind of makes you wonder what happens in the future as continued attrition reduces their numbers and the B-1s and B-52s retire. I sure hope that we aren't sitting around getting the Long Range Strike requirement fulfilled because as wonderful as the B-2 is, it isn't worth anything if there aren't any to execute missions.

Obama and the Second Amendment

The good Senator Obama and Democratic hopeful is on record as a lawmaker who has restricted gun rights with the intent to allow only to those firearms pertaining to hunting and target shooting. Nowhere does he mention any support for handguns or semi-automatic weapons for any other purpose. In fact, the Democratic senator is involved in several organizations to disarm America. His position statement is filed under "Sportsmen" (click on link and find it in the linked PDF) and it is telling (emphasis mine):

Millions of hunters own and use guns each year. Millions more participate in a variety of shooting sports such as sporting clays, skeet, target, and trap shooting that may not necessarily involve hunting. As a former constitutional law professor, Barack Obama understands and believes in the constitutional right of Americans to bear arms. He will protect the rights of hunters and other law-abiding Americans to purchase, own, transport, and use guns for the purposes of hunting and target shooting.

If we remember correctly, the Second Amendment was the right of the citizenry to bear arms for the purposes of defense, not just hunting and target shooting. Obama himself notes that he "did not grow up hunting and fishing", so his familiarity with guns may be only academic, and not practical.

But is that all? Even if we were to grant that types of firearms could be classified as "state approved" or "state disapproved", it makes no logical sense to suggest state approval would lesson any category of crime or make the public safer. A gun is a gun is a gun.

What the anti-gun lobby pushes for in such seemingly conciliatory words is a slow war of attrition. Win by slowly eroding the enemy's position. I suggest should the law of the land restrict ownership to hunting longarms and target pistols, the next logical step for the anti-gun lobby would be to remove even these rights as well towards the ultimate goal of zero firearms altogether. After all, how can you restrict the use of a shotgun to skeet shooting? It's the operator; not the instrument. It's a slippery slope, my friends, and the government cannot legislate intent as much as it thinks that it can.

Senator Obama's mealy mouthed "position" is a thinly guised attempt to fool some into thinking he supports the Second Amendment and thus garner their support for his election. True, all candidates will attempt to posture, but only Obama would take away our guns.

(H/T: Bob Owens at Pajamas)

Presidential Election 2008

First, Michelle Obama's comments and the reaction to them.

Second, if the tables were reversed, and Clinton had won 10 primaries in a row, would there be a chorus calling for Obama to drop out for the good of the party? So why is Clinton getting a pass on this?

The State of Britian

Is the UK the new Ireland? By the 1980s, there were more Irish living in the US then in Ireland. Now the UK is seeing a similar net emigration as those who can are leaving. People will vote with their feet when the government shows by its actions it does not care about them.

Hat tip, the Corner at NRO

SDI

Hitting a bullet with a bullet. Well the US proved it could do it this week. Will all those who said it couldn't be done now apologize?

Victory in the Middle East?

As the situation in Iraq continues to improve, will the Democrats continue to insist the situation is hopeless and we must run away?

Rally around McCain??

From David Frum's Diary:

The Times' McCain Story
The New York Times may have just done for John McCain what he has not been able to do for himself: unite the Republican voting base behind him. The note of complaint in the Drudge headline - "Now that he's won the nomination ..." may gain an echo on talk radio and on Fox. Nothing like being attacked by the ultimate enemy - the detested liberal media!

And yet .. if the story is true, isn't it a huge and appalling problem? (Allegedly) delivering government favors to a woman one is (allegedly) sleeping with? Pretty bad, in my book.

So before we rally round - how about a reality check? Is the story true? Is it part of a pattern of behavior? These are things voters are entitled to know, and the Times was not wrong to investigate.

The Left Wing School Agenda and the Banning of Patriotism

When Churchill was dropped from the UK school curriculum last July, one had to wonder if patriotism itself was next. Now it's official.

The Institute of Education, a leading educational body, has warned teachers not to instill pride in students when speaking of great moments in British History:

This is bad, but unfortunately, California seems determined to catch up.

Here in the US, the leftist agenda is also sinking its teeth into our schools at an equally disturbing pace. Leading the charge is California:
San Francisco is debating an anti-war textbook, which features corporate American celebrating the spoils of war and Ronald Regan hugging Osama Bin Laden. Pete Hammer of the San Francisco Unified School District, who approved the book, says "The topic is one that a lot of teachers would have an interest in bringing into the classroom."
A current bill gaining momentum by California lawmaker Joe Simitian (D - Palo Alto) would require California schools to include climate change as part of the science curriculum.
Last October, "Mom and Dad" were banned from schools, along with "Husband and Wife." In the same bill, public schools were ordered to allow boys to use the girls' restroom or locker room, and vice versa, if they choose.
Last June the state passed a homosexual education bill, which: "...requires textbooks and other instructional resources to cast a positive light on homosexual ‘marriages,' cross-dressing, sex-change operations and every other facet of homosexual and bisexual lifestyles."
More hatred of Israel, as seen by anti-Israel speakers and the atmosphere that appears on the UC Irvine, UC Berkeley and San Francisco State campuses.

Time for Wall Street to Pay

Steven Pearlstein is gloating that Wall Street is having financial difficulties. Well that isn't too unusual, many of us are not unhappy to see Wall Street be taken down a peg or two. But Pearlstein is happy not because WS made mistakes that the MARKET is correcting, but because he hopes it will lead to more regulation to "protect" us and main street from the evils of WS.

Who is Pearlstein? Well he is a business columnist for the Washington Post who has just proven he is ignorant of the subject he covers and doesn't understand Markets, Capitalism or what personal freedom is and means.

Missile hits a satellite

A missile launched from a Navy cruiser soared 130 miles above the Pacific and smashed a dying and potentially deadly U.S. spy satellite Wednesday, the Pentagon said. Two defense officials said it apparently achieved the main aim of destroying an onboard tank of toxic fuel.

Should I be waiting for Ted Kennedy and all the others who said this could NEVER work back in 1983 to apologize??? No, hell would have to freeze over first. Thank you Regan, Bush, Clinton and Bush for giving us a basic BMD system that can also protect us from rogue satellites. Yes thank Clinton because he didn't kill the program like he promised to do.

Harry Humphries someone you should know

Harry Humphries passed away in January of this year. Who was he?
He

was the adjutant of No 617 Squadron, The Dambusters, when it formed in the spring of 1943 and remained with the unit until a few weeks before the end of the Second World War.

A true British hero who answered his country's call when war broke out, served in a support role that allowed the unit to carry the fight to the enemy and after the war returned to civilian life and picked up where he had left if.

He will be missed.

Who should be McCain's VP choice??

Well a lot of names have been mentioned. Here is another one. J. C Watts. He's conservative both on social and fiscal issues, he has been elected to congress several times and he is currently available.

It would be interesting choice but he would need a very thick skin because of all the names liberals would call him, an African-American, for being on the Republican ticket.

But does McCain think he needs to reach out to the conservative base or does he think they have no where else to go and will vote for him regardless? Well from reading blogs and comments, a lot of conservatives are seriously thinking about staying home, not voting for president or voting for the Democratic nominee.

Eco-Pork

San Francisco mayor creates a redundant, sweetheart position for an aide in the name of Mother Earth, milk and honey and the dude/dudette is titled the "Director of Climate Protection Initiatives" and will be compensated at the bargain rate of $160,000 a year. $160,000. That sure can buy a whole lot of carbon offsets. This is in spite of the presence of "two dozen other city employees already working directly on climate issues at a cost to taxpayers of hundreds of thousands of dollars" and a projected budget deficit of $233 million.

Bloated carbon emissions? Try bloated government.

(H/T: Instapundit)

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Thus Proving the Point

A Danish suntan shop was bombed in the midst of a week of riots by Muslim men venting "their anger and frustration towards Danish society by setting fire to cars and burning bonfires in the streets." All this over the publication of a cartoon depicting Muhammad sporting a stick of dynamite as a fashion accessory. Ironic. And there are continued threats against the cartoonist.

In America (or most of the West for that matter) when there is government sponsored art desecrating Christ there is an uproar, some petitions are written, and perhaps even a Senator or two. Never has there been violence over such a thing, even though the shock artist intends to provoke as much reaction as possible. Why? Because we live in a culture where speech is ingrained in our psyche and revered by all. It is a freedom purchased at great and sometimes odious cost. As much as I dislike such antics (and I DO dislike how my tax money supports shock art), I suck it up because the same freedom that allows me to write in this blog allows for disrespect of what I hold dear. Such are the allowances we must make in a liberal democracy and we have been raised in such way by our parents and teachers.

How are these Muslim youths raised? What is taught in their homes? When they attend mosque and their daily prayers, what are the things revered by their teachers? It is true a single action speaks louder than words, but that solitary event is not entirely silent--a bombing of a tanning salon speaks volumes.

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Update on Iraq

Is Iraq getting safer? Well General David Petraeus, US Commander, and the person every terrorist would like to kill is walking around Baghdad without a helmet and without body armor.

Soon Baghdad will be as safe as Washington DC, and could be there as far as the murder rate goes (not counting deaths by IED's).

Things are changing and in a good way in Iraq. I hope it continues.

Milbloggers

Greyhawk over at Mudville Gazette shares a creation from Iraq. Click on the YouTube.

Hat tip John at Castle Argghhhh!!! scroll down

Cuba

Two stories on Cuba, here and here.

It looks like Castro is finally dying so now maybe the people of Cuba will have a chance to recover from their 50 year nightmare.

All is legal in Jihad

Using children or the mentally disabled as suicide bombers is the only way al-Qaida can attack the people in Iraq these days.

We know that Syria is either sponsoring or encouraging them with money, arms and people. So can we say for every terrorist attack in Iraq, we will drop one MOAB in Syria? After all, if all is legal in Jihad, then why shouldn't we play by their rules?

New Tax Policy??

I did my mom's taxes yesterday and am afraid to call her and tell her the news. She is retired and so most of her income is from dividends, interest and capital gains. Well she owes money.

But if Obama is elected and his current pet project is adopted, she may have to pay a lot more in the future. I'll tell her this too so maybe she won't vote for him in the election. Actions do have consequences.

Oil Companies and Bio-Fuels

South America is trying to demonized non government owned oil companies. Yet at the same time, the same countries that demonize foreign companies wonder why no one will invest in their countries. As one Spanish banker says:

``It makes no sense doing business outside the First World. What you earn in a decade, you lose in a week when an unscrupulous president changes the rules of the game.''

Bio-Diesel is good, but like all fuels is not a perfect replacement. Apparently it doesn't work well in the cold and passengers on bus lines stop caring about how green the company is if the buses don't work at -15 degrees.

Photo Assignment: Berkeley

Summary of the Berkeley protest in pictures with commentary at zombietime.

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The Grasshopper and the Ant and their 401(k)s.

I am startled by some figures quoted by Selena Maranjian at the Motley Fool. She quotes from a 2006 Retirement Confidence Survey (RCS) that shows across all age bands of working aged people, almost 53% have less than $25,000 in retirement savings. It gets worse, broken down by age, almost 42% of those 55 and older have less than $25,000. Of course, some of those people have defined benefit plans that may not be included and perhaps even assets not defined as retirement savings. However, those contributors have got to be insignificant compared to the big takeaway from the study: Americans are not saving enough to fund their retirements.

Social Security will not be enough, even if Social Security as we know it survives to my probable retirement, people are still counting on it. What also stands out is the alarming number of people, over 60%, expecting retirement benefits from an employer although only 40% actually participated in a plan. Somebody needs a reality check.

The study quoted (emphasis mine):

The RCS continues to find that one-quarter of workers are very confident about their financial security in retirement (24 percent), while more than 4 in 10 are somewhat confident (44 percent). However, at least some of those who say they are very confident may be overconfident. Twenty-two percent of very confident workers are not currently saving for retirement, 39 percent have less than $50,000 in savings, and 37 percent have not done a retirement needs calculation.

Clearly, America is not realistic.

Now, of course, we all could look at our own 401(k)s or pension plans and feel comfortable about where we are heading, if we are like the ant in the fable. But I'm not here to worry about my retirement account.

The grasshopper and the ant. The problem, I think, will arise when those who, like the grasshopper in the fable, did not save and will be in want for retirement. Lawmakers (mostly Democrats) will hue and cry about the "social contract with America" and the broken Social Security system, and the greedy few who hold all the money. At some point, these cries will demand action from their government, meaning increased taxes to fund benefits from those "ants" who worked hard and saved (that's probably already in the cards anyways).

I'm fully expecting that the younger generation of ants will have Social Security benefits taken away; certainly those who were exceedingly thrifty are probably out of luck in any event. I can see a day where qualification for Social Security will be tied to total asset base rather than your current means of earning, in effect commandeering your 401(k) as part of the Social Security system--the only benefit being that YOU are guaranteed to receive what you put in (up until lawmakers decide to start figuring out how to take that, too).

Let's just do away with this farce right now and allow workers to opt out of the Social Security system--in exchange for no more tax payments on my part, the government will no longer have to worry about me or the rest of the ant colony.

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$25 and Nothing in His Pocket...

...ten months later, Adam Shepard had an apartment, a pickup truck, and some money in the bank. An interesting exercise in how one man scratched his way from almost nothing to self-sufficient living. Adam:

...I set very realistic goals: $2,500, a job, car. This isn't a "rags-to-riches million-dollar" story. This is very realistic. I truly believe, based on what I saw at the shelter...that anyone can do that.

Excellent interview with the Christian Science Monitor.

I'm trying not to get on my soapbox to spout on an on about experiences I have limited knowledge of, but I know this means something--I just don't know to what extent. Let's leave it to you to decide what it means.

(h/t: In the Agora)

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Organic May Not Mean Chinese

Trader Joes, aka TJs, one of the places for our family to shop for groceries is going to stop offering certain Chinese-sourced food products because of (what else) safety concerns. This doesn't surprise me at all. Pet food (melamine, a toxin). Children's toys (small parts, lead). Tires (missing safety features). Dumplings (insecticides). Fortune cookies (formaldehyde).

Formaldehyde? FORMALDEHYDE? What is an embalming chemical doing in cookies for goodness sake? I will grant that there are plenty of recalls across all industries because of the shortfalls of companies from other countries, and that some number of recalls are design defects, but go down the CPSW list of notices and check to see how many of the entrants are manufactured in China. My scan of about thirty random links from 2006 to present showed all but one were sourced at Chinese companies. There are an alarming number of lead paint violations.

Yes, Chinese manufacturing costs are cheap cheap cheap, but there is a price--Chinese regulation and oversight of industry is lax, there are many cases of cutting corners, repercussions are minimal. International law is difficult to enforce. Governmental reach only starts at American shores and Americans would rather sue American companies--deeper pockets and a friendlier jurisdiction.

What is the price for low prices? Our safety. Our health. At what cost, America? At what cost?

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We don't care what the USSC says

That seems to be the State of New York's attitude towards out of state businesses and the collection of sales taxes. NY wants Amazon to collect the tax because there are affiliates operating in NY state. If NY was being truthful, they would go after the citizens of NY who buy stuff out of state and don't pay the sales tax (like they are supposed to) because the politicians don't want to lose their jobs. Corporations don't vote after all, angry citizens do.

Another school shooting

A gunman killed 5 people before killing himself at Northern Illinois University yesterday.

If students or faculty were allowed to carry concealed weapons, could this have been avoided or at least few victims? I believe so.

Prince Andrew

Since I work for a British owned company, when HRH Prince Andrew comes to the US to promote US-British trade, I take a little more notice.

Well, he seems to suffer from foot in mouth disease like many of us and here is one British writer who is cringing. And from listening to comments from my co-workers, HRH didn't do himself any good with his comments on the US involvement in Iraq. And he is supposed to be the spokesperson to promote UK-US trade.

Flex Fuel Cars

Two sides to an argument.

If Congress would only pass a law mandating all new cars be flex fuel (able to burn alcohol, gasoline or some mix), then gas stations would carry ethanol and we would be free from OPEC, after all, Brazil did it.

Ethanol isn't cost effective as gasoline and government mandate isn't the answer.

I tend to agree with the second, but read both sides. And both authors wrote this at NRO, so its conservative verses conservative which makes it more interesting in my opinion.

Happy Valentines Day!

For your reading pleasure, a selection of romance novels.

(H/T: In the Agora)

UPDATE: Make SURE you get to the reader submissions.

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Regulation and Runaway Housing Costs

An interesting article on the effects of regulation on housing costs, to the upside.

"In a nationwide study, it can be shown that Seattle is one of the most regulated cities and a city whose housing prices are profoundly influenced by regulations," [Theo Eicher, author of the study] says.

And later,

"The state is intervening to restrict supply. It's not that there's no land at all," Eicher says.

Supply and demand being what they are, prices react accordingly. If regulations restrict the available land to build residences on, or if the types of residential building is regulated, prices on existing houses predictably rise.

Eicher argues that "demand does not need to drive up housing prices."

Cities such as Houston and Atlanta, which have few growth restrictions, have shown that. They've been able to add enough housing to meet demand, so their home prices have risen more moderately than heavily regulated San Francisco and Boston, which have a harder time increasing housing.

In other words, Houston and Atlanta have fewer zoning restrictions and at the cost of government-regulated development. An important point Eicher makes is housing regulation is often the expression of the people living in the area. Says Eicher,

"My sense is land-use restrictions are imposed to generate socially desirable outcomes. We all love parks and green spaces. But we must also be informed about the costs. It's very easy to vote for a park if you think the cost is free."

Regulation is good if you're already a homeowner and you wish to keep your neighborhood the way you want it to be, but it's bad if you're a prospective buyer. Affordability and regulation oft are at odds with one another.

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Illegal Immigration

How to fix it?

1. Well, building a wall is a good idea because it will slow down future illegal immigration. It doesn't have to be perfect to be effective, but just make it harder for people to enter this country illegally.
   
2. Enforce the current laws, that only people who are in the US legally can work and hold employers accountable for it. The US Government now has E-Verify, which the employer takes the applicants name, date of birth and SSN, enters it into a web page and gets an answer if the SSN is valid or not. If not valid, then the employer tells the applicant to go to the SSA and get it fixed. Notice I did not say call the police.
   
3. Most illegal's in this country are economic immigrants so make it harder for them to get jobs, they will move to where they can, or return home. Its working in Arizona right now.
   

This will not end illegal immigration, but it will reduce the number that will come each year and will also reduce the number here as many will go home because they can not find work here.

Global Warming

LEGENDARY Nessie hunter Robert Rines is giving up his search for the monster after 37 years.

The reason???

Rines believes that Nessie may be dead, a victim of global warming.

You can't make this stuff up.

Hat tip NRO

The problems with the Democratic party

Will the groups supporting Obama and Clinton tear the Democratic Party apart? Jim Geraghty has some interesting thoughts on the matter. Its also interesting to read a conservative columnist write about the problems the Democratic party is having with its interest groups.

Obama in a Nutshell

Blackfive went and saw the newest fad in politics:

...Obama is a rockstar and there are a whole lot of people who just want a fresh face, who sounds good and makes them feel good...People were ear to ear and just watch the 18,000 eyes raised to the big screen when the Will.i.am "Yes we can" video plays. That is a powerful force people and it transcends facts.

Politics and the MTV generation have become one, sadly American discourse has devolved to 30 second TV spots and three minute rock videos. We will reap what we sow, people. We will reap what we sow.

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It's Star Power

I'm watching the Clemens-McNamee hearings right now and I can't believe one Senator had the audacity to ask Clemens,

A colleague of mine wants to know what uniform will you wear into the Hall of Fame.

Is it me or was that just inappropriate at this time? Two men's reputations are on the line, as well as the integrity of an industry and the honorable Senator was stargazing. I will grant the followup questions were in line, but the one quip speaks volumes.

Perhaps Clemens has a chance.

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Obama Would Define Patriotism for You

Hat tip to the Instapundit for a pointer to a blog by the National Association of Manufacturers concerning an interview with Sherrod Brown, a Democratic senator. Money quote:

I've talked to Barack a lot about his Patriot Corporation Act,which is not trade per se, but it's certainly part of the economic package around globalization...basically it says that if you play by the rules, if you pay decent wages, health benefits, pension; do your production here; don't resist unionization on neutral card check, then you will be designated a "Patriot Corporation" and you will get tax advantages and some [preference] on government contracts.

Folks, this is about a quarter-step towards nationalization of industry; although it's not outright control, it appears that through legislation, the government will mandate corporate activity and means of conducting business. How far will we go before price controls and regulation start making their rounds?

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Che and Obama?

Well, at least Obama's supporters seem to find Che a fashion statement for their offices. Cute. Blackfive has the rundown.

Of course, Obama doesn't personally t choose who votes or campaigns for him, but it does say something about the man. Doesn't it?

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Profiling the Chinese

Great, more Chinese nationals and naturalized citizens getting arrested for espionage. Just great. Just effin' fab-u-lous.

I've worked for big aerospace companies and, as a passing piece of trivia I'm Chinese, so it's no stretch for me to find issues here. Frankly, I'm not happy that even as "racially blind" America purports to be (or should be) I can't tell if all Chinese, even those whose families have been American since the 1800's, are going to be lumped together with these yahoos. The problem is, you can't get around the racial profiling opportunities. You have to be self-delusional to overlook the reality that these guys are immigrants from an economic and political competitor (and potentially a military competitor) and they do pose an increased security risk. Sure, it's probably about as severe as Jewish folks spying for Israel (which has happened), but it still doesn't take the sting out. Frustrating is what it is.

If this keeps up, the little fear-monger inside says it's going to be harder for Chinese-Americans to obtain security clearances and jobs, especially if those Chinese-Americans have relatives "somewhere other than America". Hell, if this keeps up, they're going to start putting us folks into concentration camps or something--not that I'm standing in line for that or anything.

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No Training for You!

Nothing exciting today, just the usual disrespect of the US Marines by the government they protect. It seems to be in vogue as of late with the mayor of Toledo deciding to bar a reserve unit, A Co, 1/24th from conducting "urban patrol exercises" in downtown Toledo as well as using a vacant building there. The police knew, but apparently the mayor did not who then promptly threw the Marines out on their ear in a hissy fit.

"The mayor asked them to leave because they frighten people," said Brian Schwartz, the mayor's spokesman.

"He did not want them practicing and drilling in a highly visible area."

This despite the fact these activities have been performed in years past and announced by local media. According to the Mayor (who apparently acted unilaterally), that's too bad, even in the face of one Iraq vet's experiences:

Lance Cpl. Brandon Bukrey-McCarty, 22, recalled taking part in the company's 2006 urban patrol exercise in downtown Toledo.

He said he learned skills during that exercise that proved useful during the unit's deployment to Fallujah, Iraq, in 2006-2007.

"It was extremely helpful," Corporal Bukrey-McCarty said.

The training "got me used to looking up on rooftops, looking around every alley, every open door."

Good thing he's hearing about it. Citizen Brian Thompson summarizes (emphasis mine):

"My perception now is that Carty feels it is OK for Marines to die in Iraq, but just don't come to Toledo," said the 13-year Marine Corps veteran. "The better trained the men and women are, the better chances that they'll come home alive."

To wit, the mayor has an axe to grind against this nation's foreign policy, perhaps even motivated by partisan politics (Finkbeiner is a Dem). Tragically, Mayor Finkbeiner is far too willing to sacrifice readiness for a political statement, a statement that will be paid not by him, but by the blood of the reservists.

Simply unacceptable.

(hat tip: Blackfive who has the scoop from the Instapundit)

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Back to work and blogging

Was off work on Thurs and Friday and didn't even feel like blogging those days, was just nice to relax at home. Instead of separate posts today, the few stories I want to share are all in one post.
Presidential Elections:
The presidential election continues. Can McCain win? John Fund at the WSJ thinks its possible.

The Mayor of Toledo is trying to take the spotlight off Berkley for its treatment of the Marines by focusing it on his city. The City Council is appalled and have called on the Mayor to apologize.

On a slow news day we find the States of Ohio and Kentucky are fighting over a ROCK that was on the bottom of the Ohio River between the two states. This isn't like a cross town rivals, were talking about the Legislatures are getting involved and even comments by public officials as a raid to get the rock have been mentioned. And politicians wonder why the public thinks they are fools and wish they would all go away.

Have a good week.

I Hear Voices (in Wikipedia)

Like most netizens, I turn to Wikipedia for general information and pointers about a topic. Of course, I read Wiki with a healthy dose of skepticism, knowing full well that any doof with a grudge can poison the well, as it were. The very strength of Wiki, the democratization of the encyclopedia, also means it's pretty common to encounter bias, inaccuracies and outright value judgments. Another drawback of the Wiki is the loss of a single voice for articles, it's difficult to find a well-written article that is cohesive in its presentation of information, in fact, reading some articles is much like an archaeological dig--you can detect layers and layers of edits and re-writes. Still, it's oft the only game in town for some subjects. Who can beat the price? Leading to the number one rule:

caveat emptor

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Super Tuesday

Well I'm 0 for 2 in the primary. I liked Thompson and he dropped out. I reluctantly supported Romney because I DO NOT like McCain or Huckabee. And after Tuesday, it is likely McCain will be the Republican nominee for President.

I'm not sure what I'll do in November.

This is a free bit of news to all politicians looking for campaign donations. My picks lose. If you want to win, have your opponent get my support and the rest of the electorate will support you. This is offered free of charge so no need to call or mail me.

The importance of free speech

Mark Steyn wrote a book that some people who claim to be Muslims found offensive. So these people are trying to get Canada to punish Steyn for upsetting them rather then suing him for libel. Of course these people won't sue him because what he said is true, just not flattering.

If we do not watch out in the US, we can end up with the same restrictions on what we can say and not say because it might hurt others feelings.

Ebay changing

I'm not sure if this is a good thing or not. The boss buys and sells stuff on ebay. I only buy stuff occasionally.

Magic Pens??

From the article:

poll workers told incredulous voters—including one spouse of an election judge—that the stylus used for touch-screen voting was actually an inkless pen to fill out paper ballots.

One question is how do the poll workers know whose ballots were not marked? How can it call the voters back? I thought we had a secret ballot in this country.

Global Warming

Suppose that the pessimistic forecasts of global warming are accurate. Suppose that the planet’s temperature rises according to the high-end scenario of the U.N.’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and that we experience the economic and social impacts (like hunger, malaria and coastal flooding) projected by the much-publicized Stern Review sponsored by the British government.

Does that mean our best course of action is to quickly reduce emissions of greenhouse gases?

The answer is still no.

Presidential Primaries

Today is Super Tuesday. How will McCain, Romney, Huckabee, Clinton and Obama do? I have no idea but we will know tonight/tomorrow.

David Freddoso is seeing today be a huge day for McCain. I hope he is wrong.

UK and US myths

By not bothering to teach history, 23% of the people living in the UK think Winston Churchill was a mythical figure and not a real person. The man died in 1965 so its not like it is hard to find people who were alive when he was around. But it shows the state of education and culture in the UK, they have stopped honoring their heroes out of fear of offending someone or because the hero was not perfect in the modern eyes of the public or elite.

Rosie O'Donnell is now claiming President Bush almost killed her in 2000. She was so distraught he had become the Republican nominee, she went fishing and cut herself with a knife which almost killed her. Because the evil Republicans nominating Bush, its Bush's fault she hurt herself when going fishing. Amazing.

Energy and Automobiles

Do we believe in free markets or not? Can government mandates requiring cars to be flex fuel and gas stations to sell ethanol solve our oil problems or do we allow the free market to decide? The debate continues.

Chrysler is showing some of the problems with outsourcing everything. When suppliers get into trouble, the production lines stop.

The Bay Area

The City of Berkley is now having second thoughts on trying to close down the Marine Recruiting Station. The city counsel almost seems surprised many people are unhappy with them and even want to cut federal funding to the city. Stories here, here and here.

Also read the comments from readers of the SF papers, they are worth it just to see what the average citizen thinks.

The City of San Francisco is wanting to turn Alcatraz from a historical park to a world peace center. I think the federal government should agree if the city will buy it for the market price of the island, $6 Trillion dollars.

California Primary

A look at the California electorate and how the State Parties allocate delegates will determine who wins the State more then just the popular vote.

Book Review

Shadow Warriors: The Untold Story of Traitors, Saboteurs, and the Party of SurrenderBy Kenneth TimmermanCrown Forum, $25.95, 404 pp.

At long last, the CIA and the State Department have targeted a government they have identified as an aggressive threat to world peace and largely countered its foreign policy through psy-ops, propaganda, selective leaks of intelligence and covert operations.

And who was the target of this covert campaign? Are these operations aimed at the Islamofascists in Iran? How about Vladimir Putin and his increasingly fascist government in Russia? Is the CIA trying to counter Chinese hegemony in the Pacific or clandestinely influence the French to somehow install a pro-American president?

No, no, no and hardly.

For the past five years, the main target of the permanent bureaucracy at the CIA and the State Department has been none other than George W. Bush.

I think I may have to order this book, it looks interesting.

Training Accident

Gunfire hit SEAL through vest gap.

The headline says it all. Training accidents happen. That fact does not make it easier for the family, friends and teammates of the deceased when accidents happen. To Special Warfare Operator 2nd Class (SEAL) Shapoor Alexander Ghane Jr., may you RIP and thank you for your service.

5 Years after Challenger

Five years ago this month, the Space Shuttle Challenger was lost as it returned to earth. President Bush's response was to not abandon space or just write it off as the cost of doing business, but to change the focus of NASA manned space flight from going into orbit to having destinations like the Moon and Mars.

Bobby Fisher

Booby Fisher, the greatest chess master ever from the US and one of the best in the world died last week. A brilliant man who did not seem to understand the world outside of chess and did not seem to enjoy his life.

The future of the UK

Turning the UK from a nominal Christian nation to a Muslim nation politically. Will the US follow suite?

Property Rights

Do golf course owners have property rights or are private golf courses to be considered a public benefit therefore the owner is not allowed to change the property? As usual the courts will decide.

The Other Manning

An Ode to Peyton Manning

Super Bowl Ticket: $700
Program: $25
Coke Cola: $5
Watching your little bro toss the winning TD from the skybox: Priceless

Congrats to the New York Giants for winning the Super Bowl and a very entertaining 4th quarter. So much for the perfect ending for the perfect season for the Patriots.

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Presidential Elections

Presidential Elections

First, it looks like Mitt Romney has won the Maine Caucus per CNN and Assoc Press.

Next, Mark Steyn has a long article looking at McCain and Clinton, and why they can't both lose. He has a question for Guiani and I expect the urban legend is already being created, at least I SURE HOPE it is an urban legend.

The Clintons are nothing if not lucky, and Hillary must occasionally be enjoying a luxury-length cackle at the thought of being pitted against a 71-year-old "maverick" whose record seems designed to antagonize just enough of the base into staying home on Election Day. In the 2000 campaign season, running in a desultory fashion for the New York Senate seat, Rudy Giuliani waged a brief half-hearted campaign just long enough to leave the Republican Party with no one to run against Hillary except a candidate who wasn't up to the job.
Has he managed to do the same this time round?

Is the UK out of its bleeding mind???

Husbands with multiple wives have been given the go-ahead to claim extra welfare benefits following a year-long Government review, The Sunday Telegraph can reveal.
Even though bigamy is a crime in Britain, the decision by ministers means that polygamous marriages can now be recognised formally by the state, so long as the weddings took place in countries where the arrangement is legal.

I'm speechless.

Flex Fuel Cars

If only the government would mandate all cars be flex fuel, so they can burn gasoline, ethanol or methanol we could free ourselves from imported oil. It will only cost about $100 per car and no government subsidy required. That is the promise of these conservative writers.

While I would like the US to be energy independent, I am skeptical of government mandates. If it is the right thing to do, the market will make it happen.

This is just wrong

The NY Governor is trying to make abortion a civil right.

They don't like it when we protest

Roy Mallette, in Cicero County New York, saw the assessed value on his property increase in one year from $200,000 to $980,000. Almost a 5 fold increase. To show his unhappiness in this tax system, he paid the tax bill in coin and small bills. The county treasury office that receives the payment spent a day counting the money and the workers complained how he was protesting at the wrong office. They just collect the tax not make the assessment. That may be true, but by paying his bill on time and paying in coin and small bills, his plight got the attention of the media and therefore the politicians. If he had written a letter to the paper or to the politicians it would have been much easier to ignore. Now the County has experienced some of the pain he felt having the property reassessed with the increase in taxes as a result.

Public Employees beware

Orange County is going to court to void an increase in the pension of Sheriff Deputies an earlier Board of Supervisors had agreed too. If they win this lawsuit, it will mean one of the BIG reasons people work for government rather then the private sector is the guaranteed pension.