The Meltdown

So everybody has been affected by the meltdown, at least everybody with either a mortgage or investments in the stock market. And we all wonder, "what is the root cause?" I believe one gentleman from a financial forum I read pins it to the special interest lobby of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac:

Fannie [Mae] and Freddie [Mac] had such powerful lobbyists that no attempt to reform or regulate Fannie and Freddie could make it through Congress. In all fairness, there were a number of Republican Senators and Congressman who have been sounding the alarm for at least 15 years. They knew it was only a matter of time before the taxpayer would have to bail them out. They were voices crying in the wilderness. There was no way to stop such large special interests. Fannie and Freddie spent tens of millions of dollars lobbying congress. Is there something inherently wrong with that? Government sponsored enterprises spending millions to lobby the government?

So, who were the lamebrains obstructing reform?

Since 1989, 534 individual legislators recieved money from Fannie and Freddie. Who recieved the most? Chris Dodd, Democrat from Connecticut, Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee and the Senator who had a couple of special arrangements with Countrywide, Fannies biggest customer. Who was second in line? A newcomer, who had only been in congress for three years, the junior Senator from Illinois, Barack Obama, who now blames Bush for the problem, and says he's going to run a different kind if Washington, free of special interests. There's a sucker born every minute.

Change you can believe in? So long as you believe, "The more things change, the more they stay the same".

Someone made fun of Obama

And it was a newspaper too, in Europe no less.

Of course by posting the link, this blog could be shut down like others that have yet to acknowledge Obama as the savior.

He ventured forth to bring light to the world
The anointed one's pilgrimage to the Holy Land is a miracle in action - and a blessing to all his faithful followers by Gerard Baker

And it came to pass, in the eighth year of the reign of the evil Bush the Younger (The Ignorant), when the whole land from the Arabian desert to the shores of the Great Lakes had been laid barren, that a Child appeared in the wilderness.

Here's an Idea...BUDGET

So, California finds itself in another budget deficit brought about by a combination of a declining economy and increased spending. So obviously, the answer is to raise property taxes by reassessing businesses benefiting from Prop 13. In the article, the union-backed California Tax Reform Association calls assessment of business property under Prop 13 "poor fiscal and land-use policy". The gist of the article is to flog the idea for yearly property reassessments of businesses for the purposes of taxation.

Wrong-headed move my friends. This just shows the problem of the public mindset towards government spending.

The liberalists intend for you to believe the woes of a budget deficit are brought by the underpayment of taxes by businesses and, although not explicitly stated but certainly meant, those citizens in certain tax brackets. After all, it is a truism in American politics that "faceless" corporations and the "rich" are getting away with robbery. In short, the CTRA wants us to buy into the idea "not we're spending too much, it's that we're not making enough".

How many of us have fallen to that line of argument in our own personal fiscal operations? I'll raise my hand as long as you raise yours. But the first rule of mastering your personal finances is not getting a higher paying job or winning the lotto. The first rule is to control your spending.

The solution to California's fiscal problems is to spend less. Don't create additional programs. Don't allow the status quo to drain the treasury. Don't raise taxes. When there isn't any money in the checking account, don't charge up the credit card. What's true for the kitchen table budget is true for public government.

Is this blog endangered?

Not from low readership or from infrequent postings, but from mighty Google itself?

The political views of the contributors tend to be more right then left leaning and Google appears to be shutting down sites that have posted anti-Obama posts. The thing is most of those sites were pro-Hillary not pro-McCain.

Is Google trying to shut down the free exchange of ideas? Will they try to help Obama with their search results? I don't know, most likely not as that would not be in the best interest of the shareholders and they not the management are the ultimate owners of the company.

Ok, our readership is so vast (all two or three of you per week), Google is likely to ignore us but then again they could shut us down for not following the corporate line.

Nutcase

Chavez continues his war against capital as he sets a 60 day ultimatum for cement companies to strike a deal over the nationalization of their assets in Valenzuela. Mexico based Cemex, Switzerland's Holcim Ltd, and France's Lafarge SA would become minority owners in the units they built in Valenzuela. Generously,

the companies could negotiate over continuing as minority partners in their units and over compensation for the loss of their assets

How nice.

According to Hugo, I can barge into your house, demand you sell it to me, and then allow you to negotiate to keep part of what you already own. If Chavez is so hot to own these companies, why doesn't he go out and tender an offer to buy shares? This is not an issue of eminent domain and the public good--unless you deem that it is in the public good for the government to monopolize industry--it's an issue of deprivation of property. It's easy to deprive faceless corporations, despite the reality these corporations are really a collective of thousands of employees, myriad suppliers, and customers that are as personal as you or me. In the end, all corporate entities boil down to people. Where will it stop?

Maybe today it's a company, tomorrow it may be the individual.

California made a mistake yesterday

Yeah, so what else is new.

But Prop 98 was defeated almost 2 to 1 while Prop 99 won by 2 to 1.

Prop 99 was put on the ballot after Prop 98 qualified and basically was offered as a sham to divert attention from Prop 98. Its the same story that happened back in the 1970s with Prop 13 and Prop 8. But in that case, the right proposition won.

In a nutshell, Prop 98 would have prevented eminent domain when the government was going to give the land to a private entity to be developed. Your church would not have its building and land seized and sold to Costco so they could build a store as a city in LA County tried two years ago. It also would end rent control on all rental units as the person who lives in the unit vacates the unit due to death or moving on. That was the provision that sunk the proposition because the opponents scared seniors with stories their evil land lords were going to evict them and raise the rents.

Prop 99 in a nutshell would only prevent eminent domain on owner occupied residences when the land was to be given to a private entity for redevelopment. But that is the only a small minority of cases, less then 5% of all eminent domain abuses. So the church in the above case, would not have protection, the apartment owner or even house owner who rents the house can still have their land seized for a private party redevelopment as well as any businesses who are not as classy or as profitable as the city would like.

But Prop 99 people had better marketing skills then Prop 98 people and they won so we got a bad law that will not correct the problem as people will find out.

About time

South Dakota county of Union approved a rezoning ballot measure to allow a new refinery to be built in the county. The measure won 58% to 42%. This will be the first new refinery built in the US in 30 years. Of course those who opposed the measure have vowed legal action to void the election, and failing that to fight the permitting process to delay and hopefully cancel the project.

Can the oil companies play hard ball with those people and refuse to sell them gasoline since they don't like refineries or anything to do with the oil industry?

California Politicians - make us proud /s

State Sen. Carole Migden has agreed to pay a record $350,000 in fines for 89 violations of state campaign finance laws that include using political funds for personal benefit and failing to disclose what her political committees purchased with credit cards, according to documents released Tuesday.

It only took until the second paragraph for the LA Times to say which party Migden belongs too, which is amazing since she is a Democrat. Of course the story is buried on page 2 of section B instead of front page above the fold. If Migden had been a Republican, that is where the story would have been.


Politicians wonder why we their BOSSES think they are bozos and shouldn't be trusted with anything. Well with behavior like this it only confirms the worst of what we think of them.

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.

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

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)

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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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.

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.

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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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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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.

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.