I don't know the president and so I want to be careful in making character observations. That usually requires reading some one's mind. Instead, I want to analyze his actions which I believe speak for themselves. Right now, health care reform is on life support. If that doesn't pass, it will also spell doom for cap and trade. Without either initiative passing, the president will face mid term elections in which we'll have near double digit unemployment, near two trillion dollars in deficits, and no major legislative accomplishments. That will create a bloodbath for any Democrat running in November of 2010.br /br /br /br /It's nothing short of remarkable that only six months ago President Obama had near 80% approval ratings. Now, he is about to be so politically damaged that he may never recover. How did this happen? In my opinion, it's a combination of hubris and naivete. The president exhibited his first fatal sign of hubris in only his second day in office. That's when he signed an executive order to close span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0"GITMO/span a year from that day. It's now clear that he had no plan to close it and the plans he had for it's closure were terribly naive. It's ironic and scary that span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1"GITMO/span hasn't yet affected him politically. That won't happen until early next year. That's when he will either force terrorists on towns and cities that don't want them or he will go back on his publicized promise.br /br /br /br /Either way, proclaiming that he would close span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2"GITMO/span in a year with no plan to close it showed not merely arrogance but fatal hubris. It's exactly that sort of a public promise that comes back to haunt presidents. Yet, the president made it span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3"confidently/span in only his second day on the job.br /br /br /br /When the stimulus was being debated, President Obama famously, in an exchange with Eric Cantor, proclaimed "I won so I trump you on that". The stimulus passed with only three Republicans voting for it in either chamber. By doing so, he took total ownership of all its effects. Had President Obama tried to incorporate some Republican ideas he would have split the Republicans. He would have gotten about half the Republican chamber to sign on. By doing so, they would have shared in its effects. Now, he owns its effects. As such between the ballooning deficit, the growing unemployment, and the stagnating economy, the President alone is being held responsible. Had he tried to include Republicans their ideas would have been included and they would have shared responsibility for its effects. That he didn't is another sign of both political hubris and naivete.br /br /br /br /The president also totally misread the political landscape. The president was elected on a moderated message. His most famous line was "I do what works". He was supposed to be post partisan, post racial, and pragmatic. Yet, he's governed as a liberal if not far left. Did he really think his mandate was to move the country this far left? Did he not understand the theme of his message? The president furiously denied the National Journal's poll that rated him the most liberal Senator in 2007. He fought hard to present an image of moderation. Yet, his entire agenda has been liberal to far left. How did he think this was going to work? That's both full of hubris and naivete.br /br /br /br /Then, there's the price tag on all of this. Brit Hume made an excellent point about this. By passing the massive stimulus, he made it harder to pass any other big spending item. He moved forward with a $787 billion stimulus even though he had a trillion dollar health care bill and a three and a half trillion dollar budget he still wanted to pass. Did he really think that he could pass all this spending all at once?br /br /br /br /Because the stimulus was so expensive, the president made a promise not to allow health care reform to add to the deficit. As such, in order to sell health care reform he must raise taxes on someone. A marginal tax increase on soda, cigarettes, or beer won't be enough. He'll have to raise span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4"some one's/span margins on their tax rate. That's rarely popular and just as rarely that becomes law. Walter Mondale ran on a platform of raising taxes. He lost 49 of 50 states. Did President Obama really think he'd be different? Such an assertion is both full of hubris and naivete.br /br /br /br /Then, he let the Congress write the details of the bill. He merely set out broad parameters. Congressional leaders are entirely made up of far left liberals. So, what kind of a bill did he think would come out? Did he really think the public at large would like a bill framed by the likes of Henry span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5"Waxman/span, Nancy span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6"Pelosi/span, and Ed span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7"Markey/span? Does the president really not realize that despite his election the country is still center right not far left? So, when far left folks are the major players in crafting legislation is he really surprised the country is rejecting the legislation?br /br /br /br /Did he really not understand the make up of the legislature? Between the Congressional Black Caucus, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, the liberals, and the Blue Dogs, the Democrats are a very loose combination of parts. Trying to craft legislation that will appease enough of them to get a majority. Yet, despite this fact, the president not only made health care reform, the most complicated piece of legislation in decades, his first major priority, but he had the liberal wing write it. Did he really think that the moderate Blue Dogs would just roll over when presented with a big government takeover of the health care system? The legislative mess we are seeing now is entirely due to the complete lack of planning done in March, April and May. Where were the Blue Dogs in negotiations when this bill was just being crafted? Because they weren't included in that, they public opposed it when it was released. Was the president really surprised by how this played? If he was, it's another sign of both fatal hubris and naivete.br /br /br /br /Going forward, the president will either learn his lesson or continue to exhibit both hubris and naivete. It's very simple. His liberal agenda is done, it's over. It has no chance of passing and if it does it will be roundly rejected by the public.br /br /The president has a chance to right the ship. It should be clear to him that his liberal agenda isn't going to work. He can allign himself with the Blue Dogs and the Republicans and pass energy reform, health care reform, and education reform with that alliance. It won't look anything like what he wants currently, but if he's truly for "what works" then he has a path to get things done. If not, he will continue to exhibity fatal hubris and naivete that will ultimately doom his presidency.div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3098264341625381422-6383851143036883135?l=theeprovocateur.blogspot.com'//div
Friday, July 31, 2009
Hubris and Naivete Are Bring the President Down
I don't know the president and so I want to be careful in making character observations. That usually requires reading some one's mind. Instead, I want to analyze his actions which I believe speak for themselves. Right now, health care reform is on life support. If that doesn't pass, it will also spell doom for cap and trade. Without either initiative passing, the president will face mid term elections in which we'll have near double digit unemployment, near two trillion dollars in deficits, and no major legislative accomplishments. That will create a bloodbath for any Democrat running in November of 2010.br /br /br /br /It's nothing short of remarkable that only six months ago President Obama had near 80% approval ratings. Now, he is about to be so politically damaged that he may never recover. How did this happen? In my opinion, it's a combination of hubris and naivete. The president exhibited his first fatal sign of hubris in only his second day in office. That's when he signed an executive order to close span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0"GITMO/span a year from that day. It's now clear that he had no plan to close it and the plans he had for it's closure were terribly naive. It's ironic and scary that span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1"GITMO/span hasn't yet affected him politically. That won't happen until early next year. That's when he will either force terrorists on towns and cities that don't want them or he will go back on his publicized promise.br /br /br /br /Either way, proclaiming that he would close span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2"GITMO/span in a year with no plan to close it showed not merely arrogance but fatal hubris. It's exactly that sort of a public promise that comes back to haunt presidents. Yet, the president made it span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3"confidently/span in only his second day on the job.br /br /br /br /When the stimulus was being debated, President Obama famously, in an exchange with Eric Cantor, proclaimed "I won so I trump you on that". The stimulus passed with only three Republicans voting for it in either chamber. By doing so, he took total ownership of all its effects. Had President Obama tried to incorporate some Republican ideas he would have split the Republicans. He would have gotten about half the Republican chamber to sign on. By doing so, they would have shared in its effects. Now, he owns its effects. As such between the ballooning deficit, the growing unemployment, and the stagnating economy, the President alone is being held responsible. Had he tried to include Republicans their ideas would have been included and they would have shared responsibility for its effects. That he didn't is another sign of both political hubris and naivete.br /br /br /br /The president also totally misread the political landscape. The president was elected on a moderated message. His most famous line was "I do what works". He was supposed to be post partisan, post racial, and pragmatic. Yet, he's governed as a liberal if not far left. Did he really think his mandate was to move the country this far left? Did he not understand the theme of his message? The president furiously denied the National Journal's poll that rated him the most liberal Senator in 2007. He fought hard to present an image of moderation. Yet, his entire agenda has been liberal to far left. How did he think this was going to work? That's both full of hubris and naivete.br /br /br /br /Then, there's the price tag on all of this. Brit Hume made an excellent point about this. By passing the massive stimulus, he made it harder to pass any other big spending item. He moved forward with a $787 billion stimulus even though he had a trillion dollar health care bill and a three and a half trillion dollar budget he still wanted to pass. Did he really think that he could pass all this spending all at once?br /br /br /br /Because the stimulus was so expensive, the president made a promise not to allow health care reform to add to the deficit. As such, in order to sell health care reform he must raise taxes on someone. A marginal tax increase on soda, cigarettes, or beer won't be enough. He'll have to raise span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4"some one's/span margins on their tax rate. That's rarely popular and just as rarely that becomes law. Walter Mondale ran on a platform of raising taxes. He lost 49 of 50 states. Did President Obama really think he'd be different? Such an assertion is both full of hubris and naivete.br /br /br /br /Then, he let the Congress write the details of the bill. He merely set out broad parameters. Congressional leaders are entirely made up of far left liberals. So, what kind of a bill did he think would come out? Did he really think the public at large would like a bill framed by the likes of Henry span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5"Waxman/span, Nancy span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6"Pelosi/span, and Ed span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7"Markey/span? Does the president really not realize that despite his election the country is still center right not far left? So, when far left folks are the major players in crafting legislation is he really surprised the country is rejecting the legislation?br /br /br /br /Did he really not understand the make up of the legislature? Between the Congressional Black Caucus, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, the liberals, and the Blue Dogs, the Democrats are a very loose combination of parts. Trying to craft legislation that will appease enough of them to get a majority. Yet, despite this fact, the president not only made health care reform, the most complicated piece of legislation in decades, his first major priority, but he had the liberal wing write it. Did he really think that the moderate Blue Dogs would just roll over when presented with a big government takeover of the health care system? The legislative mess we are seeing now is entirely due to the complete lack of planning done in March, April and May. Where were the Blue Dogs in negotiations when this bill was just being crafted? Because they weren't included in that, they public opposed it when it was released. Was the president really surprised by how this played? If he was, it's another sign of both fatal hubris and naivete.br /br /br /br /Going forward, the president will either learn his lesson or continue to exhibit both hubris and naivete. It's very simple. His liberal agenda is done, it's over. It has no chance of passing and if it does it will be roundly rejected by the public.br /br /The president has a chance to right the ship. It should be clear to him that his liberal agenda isn't going to work. He can allign himself with the Blue Dogs and the Republicans and pass energy reform, health care reform, and education reform with that alliance. It won't look anything like what he wants currently, but if he's truly for "what works" then he has a path to get things done. If not, he will continue to exhibity fatal hubris and naivete that will ultimately doom his presidency.div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3098264341625381422-6383851143036883135?l=theeprovocateur.blogspot.com'//div
Darwin's Dilemma
a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nogP-9fwOzI"There is a preview of the new span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0"Illustra/span Media film, "Darwin's Dilemma/a," which addresses the Cambrian explosion. I cannot wait to see this film. span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1"Illustra's/span previous work--"Unlocking the Mystery of Life" and "Privileged Planet"--were emsuperb/em: strong interviews with articulate experts, pleasing music, excellent narration, and state of the art computer graphics used for educational ends. It does not get any better than this.div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14410967-5092282510898801085?l=theconstructivecurmudgeon.blogspot.com'//div
On the Grid
I had a useful and fascinating meeting yesterday in the Welsh Government's Emergency Co-ordination Centre in Cathays Park. The meeting was with the Minister and her officials to get a briefing on swine flu but the attraction was clearly the chance to look around the Government's nerve centre.br /br /My one regret is that I did not take photographs though I am not clear whether that activity would have resulted in me being clamped in irons or not. The centre was a bit like a cross between the Grid off Spooks and Churchill's war cabinet room. Plenty of new technology and a state of the art conference centre but also a big map of Wales on the table in the centre of the room and lots of staff working away on computers and phones.br /br /At the moment it is being used to co-ordinate the Government's response to the swine flu pandemic but in the past it was also used to deal with the shortage of road salt during bad weather and also the a target="_blank" href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/6916077.stm"Shambo incident/a in Skanda Vale, Carmarthenshire. The centre was set up in response to the a target="_blank" href="http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/media/132428/15mayshortguide.pdf"Civil Contingencies Act/a.div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8266684-4865355152010619344?l=peterblack.blogspot.com'//div
Now This One I Get
Washburn to Detroit, LHPs French, Robles to Seattle.divbr //divdivUnlike a href="http://lefarkins.blogspot.com/2009/07/what.html"my snap assessment/a of the last major trade made by the Mariners (which a href="http://lefarkins.blogspot.com/2009/07/good-deal.html"Scott/a and I initially disagreed on) this one makes perfect sense for a selling club. While the two pitchers coming Seattle's way are a href="http://ussmariner.com/2009/07/31/luke-french/"probably not/a as "stellar" as the a href="http://bats.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/31/washburn-traded-to-the-tigers/?hp"NYT blog suggests/a, it is an excellent return a href="http://ussmariner.com/2009/07/31/washburn-to-detroit/"according to Dave Cameron/a over at USS Mariner./divdivbr //divdivWhat the NYT did get right was that Washburn was traded at perhaps the peak of his value, which is excellent GM-ing in anybody's book./divdiv class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7163938-443653245453484167?l=lefarkins.blogspot.com'//div
Paroinia
span style="font-weight:bold;"Paroinia/span (Ancient Greek): "The dwarf-god and man-god drank for two hours but neither entered the state that Achilles people called span style="font-style:italic;"paroinia/span--'intoxication frenzy.'" (Simmons, Dan. span style="font-style:italic;"Olympos/span (HarperTorch, 2006: 438)br /br /img src="http://warisjagat.files.wordpress.com/2007/11/dan_simmons_olympos.jpg"div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6323968-466043841318224135?l=dialogic.blogspot.com'//div
Getting real in a recession
a target="_blank" href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/nick-clegg-you-cant-promise-the-same-menu-of-goodies-its-just-not-plausible-1755885.html"Nick Clegg has given an interview/a in which he sets out the reality facing the party when it comes to draw up its manifesto for the next election in the face of a recession and the need for spending cuts to rebalance the budget.br /br /Mr. Clegg is clear that the party is not dropping key policies but that the financial mess that faces the next government will mean that some will take longer to bring in. Instead he has prioritised some key areas that will form the headlines of the offering put before electors when they come to vote on the next government:br /br /span style="font-style: italic;"He announced two rules that will govern his party's policies: no spending commitments without cuts elsewhere to fund them, and, similarly, no promises of tax cuts without increases in other taxes. /spanbr /br /span style="font-style: italic;"Mr Clegg wants to kickstart a debate that he claims Labour and the Tories are denying the voters as they squabble over headline departmental budgets in a Whitehall-speak that leaves ordinary people cold. The first task, he insisted, was to set out the values which inform spending priorities./spanbr /br /span style="font-style: italic;""The circumstances are utterly different from anything in the last 15 years. Our shopping list of commitments will be far, far, far, far, far shorter," he said. "We will have to ask ourselves some immensely difficult questions about what we as a party can afford. A lot of cherished Lib Dem policies will have to go on the back burner. They will remain our aspirations. They will remain our policies. But we are not going to kid the British people into thinking we could deliver the full list of commitments we have put to them at the last three or four elections."/spanbr /br /span style="font-style: italic;"Asked if that meant watering down pledges on tuition fees, personal care and pensions, Mr Clegg replied: "Some of these might be retained as policies that we could not honestly place at the forefront of our manifesto because we could not honestly claim they could be delivered in the first few years of the next parliament./spanbr /br /span style="font-style: italic;""I hope people will understand these are aspirations we will maintain but that, in these completely different circumstances, you can't carry on promising the same menu of goodies. It is just not plausible."/spanbr /br /span style="font-style: italic;"The Liberal Democrat leader insisted he had not drawn up a hit list of policies to be dropped. "The blunt truth is that everything is vulnerable. All the aspirations remain. We are setting out the criteria by which the Lib Dems will pick and choose from that menu."/spanbr /br /The policies that remain priorities are:br /br /span style="font-style: italic;"* Education £2.5bn "pupil premium" for a million children from disadvantaged backgrounds, smaller classes and extra tuition./spanbr /span style="font-style: italic;"* Tax Raise personal allowance to £10,000, reducing bills for most earners by £705 a year, funded by £17bn package of tax increases including abolition of top-rate tax relief for pension contributions and closing tax loopholes./spanbr /span style="font-style: italic;"* "Green jobs" Package to create zero-carbon homes, insulate existing homes, schools and hospitals, and expand rail network./spanbr /span style="font-style: italic;"* Political reform To clean up politics after MPs' expenses scandal, including proportional representation for Commons, elected House of Lords and state funding for parties./spanbr /br /Other policies that remain as aspirations for when the economy picks up include free tuition for first undergraduate degrees for full and part-time students, free personal care for those over 65 at cost of £2bn, a higher "citizen's pension" with immediate restoration of link between state pension and earnings and a £200 a year winter fuel payment for the disabled.div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8266684-7001489579381161246?l=peterblack.blogspot.com'//div
Lou Holtz, And Elderly Team, Ready To Take On Japan
a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5lCd0JK7_yVkNtSXkplMDMbq2Vtj0kJMahBQngVvKubOisdqHzTKCo2HGcT3YwNS9cSjMm0-FZd9De8-XwnwB4ToWykQikp6ysF0IRWEnQ-lwo8qR9xR_l8Wlys4_v7ad3KOtPdU9NKiW/s1600-h/nd.jpg"img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 421px; height: 168px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5lCd0JK7_yVkNtSXkplMDMbq2Vtj0kJMahBQngVvKubOisdqHzTKCo2HGcT3YwNS9cSjMm0-FZd9De8-XwnwB4ToWykQikp6ysF0IRWEnQ-lwo8qR9xR_l8Wlys4_v7ad3KOtPdU9NKiW/s400/nd.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5362127765921481522" border="0" //abr /Back when the U.S. National Football Team upended Japan at the 2007 IFAF World Championship, few people even realized there was such a competition. Well Lou Holtz isn't just a regular person or coach, so the former Notre Dame coach decided to challenge the gutsy Japanese team to a game. Their national team versus a collection of Notre Dame alums.br /br /Now you would think this wouldn't fair with names like Tim Brown, Jerome Bettis, Reggie Brooks, Raghib Ismail and Rick Mirer, but none of those "youngins" are involved in the contest. Well Reggie Brooks and Tim Brown are coaches, but that doesn't count. No, Holtz thinks he can beat the Japanese with elder statesmen like, QB Tony Rice (41), WR Bobby Brown (32) and RB Ray Zellars (36). Via the AP....br /blockquoteTOKYO – Lou Holtz expects his players to uphold the Notre Dame football tradition when they face Japan in the Notre Dame Japan Bowl.br /br /Holtz will coach a selection of alumni from the Notre Dame college team against Japan's national American football team and expects a tough game from the hosts.br /br /"Their football has improved tremendously," Holtz said Friday at Tokyo Dome. "They've looked at film, they understand the game ... if we have an advantage it's in the lines, but they are quicker and in better shape so I'm a little worried about the second half."br /br /The Fighting Irish alumni had only six practice sessions to prepare for the game and Holtz said avoiding injuries will be a key challenge.br /br /"It's been a zoo," said Holtz. "When you get older players its tough but we're ready to go. It's Notre Dame football and we'll play the way Notre Dame is supposed to play."br //blockquoteIf Lou Holtz gets out a samurai sword for his motivational speech, someone HAS to get tape of that to me IMMEDIATELY! The kickoff is this Saturday night at 4pm (3am in the States), but unfortunately it won't be aired live. However, you can see the game at 10pm, on August 10th, on CBS' College Sports Network. Check your local listings, and good luck, Lou!div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/28221516-6678950577348204784?l=awfulannouncing.blogspot.com'//divdiv class="feedflare"
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"Well, I Really Didn't Mean It..."
span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0"Obama's/span "science czar" (he has way too many of these for a democracy) a href="http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/07/21/obamas-science-czar-considered-forced-abortions-sterilization-population-growth/"once defended forced abortion and other depopulation absurdities./a Of course, he is now span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1"dissembling/span.div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14410967-5369264551908369372?l=theconstructivecurmudgeon.blogspot.com'//div
Unrest in the ranks
In a report on the Norwich North by-election a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article6723856.ece" target="_blank"The Times/a reveals that all is not well in the Tory camp:br /br /emA number of Conservative grandees have sought to express their anger at David Cameron by either refusing to campaign at all in Norwich North, or declining to make the three trips to Norfolk demanded by the whips of all Tory MPs.br /br /A number of stalwart Conservative backbenchers are livid with the party leader, feeling that he acted brutally towards them to demonstrate to voters his hard line over expenses. They believe that they were sacrificed for the sake of the Shadow Cabinet, members of whom they feel were merely told to write a cheque rather than forfeit their reputation and their careers.br /br /One senior Tory insider said: “There is a degree of ‘up yours’ going on. They feel that a) they have done their time and they are on holiday and b) that Cameron has hung them out to dry.”/emdiv class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8266684-4245499411087187655?l=peterblack.blogspot.com'//div
Assume a can opener
Of all the absurd aspects of present panic over fat, the most absurd is the idea that it makes sense to spend scarce public health resources on trying to make people thinner. We have no idea how to make fat people thin. This overwhelmingly obvious empirical observation is routinely rejected by people who ought to know better.br /br /a href="http://meganmcardle.theatlantic.com/archives/2009/07/americas_moral_panic_over_obes.php"Further thoughts/a.br /br /Update: An interesting ideological aspect of this is the degree to which lefty folks who usually have no trouble understanding structural arguments turn into the offspring of Horatio Alger and Ayn Rand when it comes to fat. For instance, if you said to such people "We know how to end poverty. Just tell poor people to do X and Y, and as long as they do X and Y they won't be poor," and then it turned out that a social policy based on telling poor people to do X and Y resulted in failure 98% of the time, and in fact produced a net increase in the poverty rate, they would consider your opinion to be idiotic on its face.div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7163938-5107678228613925495?l=lefarkins.blogspot.com'//div
Divorce Agreement: Let's Agree to Differ and Split Up
Via Vanderleun at American Digest ...br /br /blockquotespan style="color:#3333ff;"Dear American liberals, leftists, social progressives, socialists, Marxists and Obama supporters, et al:br /br /We have stuck together since the late 1950's, but the whole of this latest election process has made me realize that I want a divorce. I know 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.br /br /Here is a model separation agreement:br /br /br //spanemblockquotepspan style="color:#3333ff;"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. /span/ppbr /span style="color:#3333ff;"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). /span/ppbr /span style="color:#3333ff;"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./span/p/blockquote/em/blockquotebr /br /Read the rest.div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7158917-5997363377134407345?l=moneyrunner.blogspot.com'//div
Television Termination: Lesson #98
Here is another good reason to get rid of your TV. a href="http://carrollspaper.1upsoftware.com/print.asp?SectionID=1amp;SubSectionID=1amp;ArticleID=8449"Obama is always on it./adiv class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14410967-7911697463317520363?l=theconstructivecurmudgeon.blogspot.com'//div
Running Against Bush: Can It Work Again for Democrats in 2010?
By Stuart Rothenbergbr /br /Democrats ran against Herbert Hoover for decades. Republicans ran against Jimmy Carter for years. Can Democrats make 2010 another referendum on George W. Bush, or at least use the unpopular former president to demonize Republicans in competitive races?br /br /Democratic operatives assert that running against the former president next year isn’t going to be the focus of their efforts, but they are obviously more than willing to fall back on an anti-Bush message when they think it is effective.br /br /Last week, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee released a Web video, “Insider,” and an accompanying press release hanging the former president around the neck of former Rep. Rob Portman (R-Ohio). Democratic insiders say that the video was a response to Portman’s invitation for voters to look at his record.br /br /The DSCC video comes after a recent Quinnipiac University poll in the Buckeye State showed Portman, the favorite for the GOP Senate nomination, gaining ground on Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher (D) and Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner (D) in the state’s open-seat Senate race.br /br /Unsurprisingly, the video refers to Portman as “George Bush’s trade director” and “Bush’s budget director.” What’s noteworthy, though, is that it includes six separate photographs of Portman and Bush standing together.br /br /Ohio Republicans scoff at the Democrats’ strategy and argue Democrats are “fighting the last war.” And Portman is likely to fire back, defending his record at the Office of Management and Budget and as trade representative and trying to refocus the discussion on growing joblessness and a ballooning national deficit.br /br /Still, Portman, as director of the OMB under Bush, looks vulnerable to the Democrats’ strategy because of his close connection to the former president and the Bush economy.br /br /A day after the Portman video was released, the DSCC launched a second Web video, “The True Mark Kirk,” which mocks the Illinois Congressman’s reputation as a moderate, and ends with a photograph of Kirk, now a candidate for the Senate, standing with Bush.br /br /“When Illinois voters get to know the real Mark Kirk, they’ll find a politician who championed George Bush’s policies for years and is now standing in the way of President Obama’s bold agenda to get the economy moving again,” DSCC Communications Director Eric Schultz said in the press release announcing the video.br /br /But if tying Portman to Bush is easy, linking the unpopular former president to Kirk is much more difficult, as the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee found out in 2008 when it ran a late October TV spot attacking Kirk for “his unbending support for George Bush” and for his “support of George Bush’s failed economic policies.”br /br /Interestingly, it appears that both the 2008 DCCC TV ad and the 2009 DSCC video close with the same photograph of Bush and Kirk.br /br /Here’s what the 2008 edition of CQ’s Politics in America had to say about Kirk, who has represented Illinois’ 10th district since his election in 2000: “Kirk parts with Republican doctrine on a number of key issues. In January of 2007, he backed all six signature bills espoused by the new Democratic majority, including initiatives to promote embryonic stem cell research and increase the federal minimum wage. Kirk was also among the 17 Republicans who voted in February 2007 for a nonbinding resolution disapproving of a Bush administration initiative to increase troop strength in Iraq. Kirk’s voting record consistently earns strong marks from abortion-rights and environmental organizations.”br /br /While Democratic consultants are likely digging up photographs of Republican candidates with Bush in an effort to energize Democrats and boost fundraising, the often-used technique — a form of transference — isn’t likely to be nearly as effective in demonizing GOP candidates as it was when Bush occupied the White House.br /br /Voters won’t have forgotten Bush in another 15 months, but he won’t be on their minds, either.br /br /“The next election will be about moving forward. But it can’t just be about the challenges we face. We have to talk about why we are facing those challenges, the problems Bush left us,” said one Democratic consultant not involved with the Web videos.br /br /With the 2010 midterm elections still more than 15 months away, it’s unclear what the nation’s economy will look like or whom voters will blame — or credit — when voters next go to the polls.br /br /June’s NBC News/Wall Street Journal survey found more Americans (46 percent) blaming Bush for the nation’s federal budget deficit than Congress and the Obama administration combined. But that may not still be the case a year from now, and the more time passes, the more likely that swing voters will shift the responsibility for the nation’s economic problems to current officeholders.br /br /Ronald Reagan, after all, rode to the White House in 1980 on a wave of dissatisfaction with Carter’s presidency, but that didn’t stop voters from spanking Republicans at the polls two years later (costing Republicans 26 House seats just two years after they won 33 seats), even though the “Reagan recession” was the only way to cure the stagflation (low growth, high interest rates and inflation) that he inherited from Carter.br /br /Bush (along with Dick Cheney and Rush Limbaugh) will always be a bogeyman to red-meat Democrats. But in most cases — and Ohio may be an exception — national Democratic strategists and campaign managers will need a better strategy for the midterm elections than merely running against the former president, as they did over the past two cycles.br /br /a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.rollcall.com/issues/55_9/rothenberg/36940-1.html"This column/aspan style="font-style: italic;" first appeared in /spana style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.rollcall.com"Roll Call/aspan style="font-style: italic;" on July 20, 2009. 2009 © Roll Call Inc. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission./spandiv class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/16918071-1961686276601795543?l=rothenbergpoliticalreport.blogspot.com'//div
"Pension Spiking": California Fire Chief Retires at 51 with $240,000 annual pension.
Via the Wall Street Journal ...br /br /Can we understand why the state of California and its cities are in deep financial trouble?br /br /Pete Nowicki just turned 51 and was eligible to retire. So he did. His pension was full pay (nice), plus he sold his unused vacation and holidays, raising his pension from a very healthy $186,000 to $240,000 - per year.br /br /blockquotespan style="color:#3333ff;"Pete Nowicki had been making $186,000 shortly before he retired in January as chief for a fire department shared by the municipalities of Orinda and Moraga in Northern California. Three days before Mr. Nowicki announced he was hanging up his hat, department trustees agreed to increase his salary largely by enabling him to sell unused vacation days and holidays. That helped boost his annual pension to $241,000.br /br /..The boost was legal, and Mr. Nowicki said he is receiving a permissible pension. "People point to me as a poster child for pension spiking, but I did not negotiate these rules," he said./span/blockquotebr /Is this an isolated case?br /blockquotespan style="color:#3333ff;"Mr. Nowicki's situation isn't unique. Contracts that permit a jump in salary just before retirement -- boosting the pension payout -- have been around for years. But as tough times are putting more scrutiny on public pensions, Mr. Nowicki's case has sparked particular anger from colleagues and local residents. Some recently demanded an explanation from the department trustees and others have lobbied the Orinda council to divert funds away from the fire department.br /br /"These guys may have priced themselves out of job," said Steve Cohn, a financial analyst in Orinda.br /br /The practice is getting more attention amid growing concerns about the sustainability of guaranteed pension payouts for public employees after brutal market losses last year in public pension funds.br /br /In California, which has taken to issuing IOUs to hoard cash, a private interest group has launched a campaign to publicize the names of government retirees with pensions of $100,000 or more to promote its view that steep pensions threaten to bankrupt states and municipalities. Mr. Nowicki's payout was brought to light in the spring in a Contra Costa Times column.br /br /While it happens nationwide, pension spiking has been especially prevalent in California, which some attribute to favorable terms negotiated by powerful unions./span/blockquoteThe cost of all this?br /br /blockquotespan style="color:#3333ff;"Mr. Nowicki recently turned 51 years old. If he lives another 25 years, his pension payments will cost the fire district an estimated additional $1 million or more over what he would have received had he retired at a salary of $186,000, not including cost of living adjustments, a fire board representative said./span/blockquotebr /To add insult to injury ...br /blockquotespan style="color:#3333ff;"In addition to drawing his pension, Mr. Nowicki currently is working for the fire department as a consultant at an annual salary of $176,400 while the department searches for his replacement./span/blockquotebr /If this is business as usual, the state is in bigger trouble than we realize.br /br /img src="http://s.wsj.net/public/resources/images/OB-EC046_0719sp_D_20090719141400.jpg"div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7158917-4854126895316771798?l=moneyrunner.blogspot.com'//div
Thursday, July 30, 2009
CBS To "Embed" Reporters On Every NFL Team, For Live Reports
a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHkXPYiARHAjjfprNACyjWN9aDaKd_ASPutFLxUpMSEEpB_OglCowCDW66jvaGD_9QIfpN_VV-ovuFXTD0RMijcyoOYQscJVeBH4F2TB3IGEYBjAmjSFoMBhC_rOq4-3f5dnhZ4dQMWZzi/s1600-h/cbs_nfl.jpg"img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 232px; height: 229px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHkXPYiARHAjjfprNACyjWN9aDaKd_ASPutFLxUpMSEEpB_OglCowCDW66jvaGD_9QIfpN_VV-ovuFXTD0RMijcyoOYQscJVeBH4F2TB3IGEYBjAmjSFoMBhC_rOq4-3f5dnhZ4dQMWZzi/s400/cbs_nfl.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5363911526662046610" border="0" //abr /In this day in age, especially in the NFL, up to the minute reporting is a must. CBS has long come in fourth place (behind ESPN, FOX and NFL Network) in the "breaking news" department, but they are making changes to catch up with the other networks. Starting this season, CBS has started an initiative called "Rapid Reports", and will be placing a reporter with every NFL team. Basically they're adding 32 bloggers to file reports throughout the day. Via CBS PR....br /blockquoteCBSSports.com today announced the creation of an innovative new way to cover the NFL. RapidReports will be a network of 32 correspondents, one with each NFL team. These reporters will file multiple bite-sized updates per day from each team's practice facility or stadium that will appear at the top of the CBSSports.com (www.cbssports.com) homepage.br /br /CBS will be the first media outlet to cover the NFL, or any sport, in this manner, with one embedded reporter attached to every team working solely for one entity. Additionally, the style of coverage, with a constant stream of short, original news updates has never been used in the world of sports and CBSSports.com users and highly engaged NFL fans around the world will undoubtedly embrace this new mode of news delivery.br /br /"With RapidReports, CBSSports.com will provide the rabid NFL fan base with the one thing they crave most – the absolute latest breaking news and updates from around the league – and deliver it in a way that will distinguish our service from the competition," said Jason Kint, Senior Vice President and General Manager of CBSSports.com. "We’re thrilled that CBSSports.com was able to find reporters for this initiative with a deep resume of sports experience and combine them with burgeoning new talent for a perspective and approach that fans won’t find anywhere else.”/blockquoteCBS has also teamed up with Bleacher Report, and many of the correspondents will be coming over from their network. Obviously it's a good move, given the fact that CBS is so far behind the game at this point, but it will be interesting to see if it works. If they use it as a Fantasy tool, then I see it succeeding, but any other use and it might not pan out.div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/28221516-6934254868685687875?l=awfulannouncing.blogspot.com'//divdiv class="feedflare"
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Anniversary
Apparently 15th July was the 50th anniversary of the introduction of the postcode. Does anybody know when the postcode lottery first appeared?div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8266684-400326259111878542?l=peterblack.blogspot.com'//div
A Few Quick Thoughts over the Bruhaha Over the Bonus of Andrew Hall
There's a business story causing some stirs in certain circles. It involves the oil trader Andrew Hall. Hall works for a subsidiary of Citigroup. He made this subsidiary, and by extension Citigroup itself, about $600 million in 2008. According to his contract, he is thus owed $100 million. Now, a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/article-1202574/British-born-Citigroup-oil-trader-eye-US-pay-storm.html"he's looking to collect/a.br /br /blockquoteAnd after placing a few multimillion pound bets on behalf of his employer, he is said to enjoy practising calisthenics with a ballet teacher.br /br /But now, British-born oil trader Andrew Hall is at the eye of a deadly serious storm over Barack Obama's attempts to rein in the pay of America's topbr /bankers.br /br /Hall, 58, is in line for a $100million bonus from his employer Citigroup.br //blockquote.br /br /Normally this wouldn't be a big deal. After all, Hall is only asking for what his contract specifies he should get. Yet, these aren't normal times and Citigroup is no normal company anymore. That's because Citigroup took about a href="http://www.portfolio.com/views/blogs/market-movers/2009/02/27/citigroup-bailout-math"$30 billion /ain bailout funds. As such, before Hall can get his bonus, the pay czar, Ken Feinberg, must approve it.br /br /This is now the world we live in. Hall earned every penny of his bonus. He made his employer, Citigroup, a lot more than the $100 million he asking for. Hall is an oil trader. He bought absolutely no mortgage backed securities. He engaged in absolutely none of the business that got Citigroup into trouble. Hall had nothing to do with any of Citigroup's problems.br /br /In fact, Hall, one could say, was a bright spot in an otherwise cloudy year for Citigroup. Yet, that doesn't mean the bonus he is entitled to will actually be paid. First, the pay czar has to approve it. Never mind that this bonus is written into the contract that Hall signed with Citigroup. Never mind that if Citigroup is unable to pay bonuses, they will cease to function. Before this successful oil trader gets money owed to him, Citigroup must get permission from the government. Does anyone else see this as totally absurd and no environment for growth.br /br /What's worse is that some in the media are trying to demonize Hall for demanding what's his. I saw Stephen Moore of the Wall Street Journal last night suggesting that such a massive bonus shouldn't be requested from a company that requested bailout funds. Of course, the only way to have voided this contract was for Citigroup to file for bankruptcy. That didn't happen. They received a bailout. That means the contract is still valid. Hall deserves what he earned, and he shouldn't be demonized for asking for it even if his employer begged the government for money.div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3098264341625381422-3900595606540033585?l=theeprovocateur.blogspot.com'//div
A Compromise Too Far
I now officially regret having voted for the President. First, a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-05-10/obamas-dont-ask-dont-tell-hypocrisy/"no movement on /aa href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-05-10/obamas-dont-ask-dont-tell-hypocrisy/"DADT/a. Second, bailing out the very people who brought the global economy down. Third, criminally not pushing for an NHS style socialized medicine for the United States. (OK, I am angry about the first, moderately miffed about the second, and employing a sense of humor about the third -- although one of the best things about living in the UK is the NHS.)divbr //divdivBut this is a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/29/the-beers-obama-gates-cro_n_247392.html"too much/a. Bud Light? What the hell are you thinking, man?divbr //divdivIf you have to prove you're down with the folk, go for Busch, full on Bud, Old Milwaukee, or in a wink to hipsters everywhere, PBR. But Bud freaking Light?/divdivbr //divdivThe NYT has an interesting, even entertaining analysis of this debacle, and correctly points out that the Blue Moon has a href="http://thepour.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/30/a-cold-one-at-the-white-house/?hp"no craft beer cred/a. /div/divdiv class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7163938-6836827439763906629?l=lefarkins.blogspot.com'//div
The Definitive Dossier on the House Health Care Bill (Pages 1-500) Part III
I'm going to combine two parts into one post because they are both small enough. So, for the third part, I will analyze the new taxes in the bill as well as community group benefits.br /br /Now, specific tax increases are NOT in this bill. Those still haven't been finalized. What's in this bill are requirements of both employers and employees that amount to either extra costs or penalties. The end result is the same. This can be found on pages 149-170. It starts with the section entitled "employer contribution in lieu of coverage".br /br /The taxes are levied both on small businesses and on individuals. All businesses with revenues of $250,000 and more would now be required to provide health insurance for their employees. These insurance plans would then have to meet the standards set out by government bureaucrats. Any business that makes $400,000 and more in revenues will be penalized an extra 8% payroll tax if they don't comply with this new regulation. Any business with revenues of $250,000-$400,000 would be levied a payroll tax of 2-6% on a sliding scale if they don't comply with the new regulation. Meanwhile, individuals that don't get insurance that meets the criteria of the government will be levied a 2.5% pay roll tax. Finally, on page 170, all resident aliens are exempt from everything I just listed.br /br /Also in this bill are references to "community group benefits". For instanc, on page 472, the bill says "payment to community based organizations". On page 469, payments are earmarked for "community based home medical care." On page 95, the bill authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to conduct community outreach to sign up folks in underserved areas. Of course, community based groups will be contracted out to sign up all these folks. On page 321, the bill mandates that hospital expansion face "community input". Now, "community based" is a broad term and is really not very defined in the bill. I believe that most conservatives will see "community based" as a code word for ACORN and other such groups.br /br /Here are the analyses for a href="http://theeprovocateur.blogspot.com/2009/07/definitive-dossier-on-house-health-care.html"parts I/a and a href="http://theeprovocateur.blogspot.com/2009/07/definitive-dossier-on-house-health-care_27.html"part II/a.div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3098264341625381422-2056757437937130564?l=theeprovocateur.blogspot.com'//div
Sleep
a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU3_sLCTe8I41jThXe9lzLNnIKuSFhgvSlU7WVS6_CYbcvej_DSns_io-xmUxmAGwFV-9KG7XJQynP_Ir5SSmws-20JnD_oNXL67Mdp_oXRf2nz-QqhP7SZjj3fKVlczKP-DEoPCuvQpw/s1600-h/IMG_2573.JPG"img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU3_sLCTe8I41jThXe9lzLNnIKuSFhgvSlU7WVS6_CYbcvej_DSns_io-xmUxmAGwFV-9KG7XJQynP_Ir5SSmws-20JnD_oNXL67Mdp_oXRf2nz-QqhP7SZjj3fKVlczKP-DEoPCuvQpw/s400/IMG_2573.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5362384569648140434" border="0" //aJust to be clear; we swaddle Miriam because we span style="font-style: italic;"want/span her to a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=AwMx085qzfsCamp;pg=PA1amp;lpg=PA1amp;dq=the+people+of+great+russia,+a+psychological+studyamp;source=blamp;ots=Ot9lW9GUxbamp;sig=mJFnQMVW3Ij3cl8UQG8cc_gXD9wamp;hl=enamp;ei=0wFrSsHqF9n7tgemz_nGBQamp;sa=Xamp;oi=book_resultamp;ct=resultamp;resnum=3"invade and conquer/a small countries. Elisha can be a pacifist if she wants.div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7163938-1827977247973604374?l=lefarkins.blogspot.com'//div
Erin Andrews Peephole Video
Nothing follows.br /br /UPDATE ...br /What's apparent is that videos of naked women are popular.br /br /Click a href="http://moneyrunner.blogspot.com/2009/07/in-iran-its-illegal-to-execute-girl-if.html"HERE/a for those who get a thrill out of porn.div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7158917-6128132879515277385?l=moneyrunner.blogspot.com'//div
ESPN To Experiment During Monday Night Baseball
a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhKxtryLQOT8OhwI_g7k8rX8rAjQ_jUKjB5aZ4S8-guUQNraUWmRdpKLHeNLzGuuLD45Fa48FVeojOqEsL9Y_5ewW7_6f6oP1-XrFLLIQ_q3Sel1Y7F4aBBxktV-xucYuIh7pP-A7cIa5Z/s1600-h/baseball.jpg"img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 419px; height: 233px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhKxtryLQOT8OhwI_g7k8rX8rAjQ_jUKjB5aZ4S8-guUQNraUWmRdpKLHeNLzGuuLD45Fa48FVeojOqEsL9Y_5ewW7_6f6oP1-XrFLLIQ_q3Sel1Y7F4aBBxktV-xucYuIh7pP-A7cIa5Z/s400/baseball.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5363009318254393586" border="0" //abr /Baseball announcing has rarely ever deviated from the norm. You usually have two or three announcers in the booth, and an on-field reporter. That's the way it's been for years, and very few networks have tried something different. Well that's until ESPN airs its Monday Night Baseball game, between the Dodgers and Cardinals tomorrow night.br /br /The "Leader" plans on dividing up its three man team of Shulman, Hershiser and Phillips, by putting the two analysts in the camera wells beside each dugout. Via a href="http://www.usatoday.com/sports/columnist/hiestand-tv/2009-07-26-espn-baseball-announcers_N.htm"USA Today/a....br /blockquoteESPN will formally announce Monday that it will experiment Monday night on its Los Angeles Dodgers at St. Louis game (7 ET). ESPN will keep play-by-play announcer DanShulman in the booth, but analysts Orel Hershiser and Steve Phillips will be stationed in the camera wells beside each dugout.br /br /Matt Sandulli, ESPN senior coordinating producer, says the Cardinals preferred ESPN use the camera well on the outfield side, rather than home plate side, of its dugout to reduce chances its analysts might somehow interact with players. Sandulli says that won't happen anyway — "we're not supposed to talk to players and wouldn't do it" — and hopes to get the Dodgers to allow access to the well on its dugout's home plate side.br /br /TV sports commonly station reporters along sidelines, in pit road or on golf fairways. But putting main game announcers in separate locations rarely has been done, such as NBC's Pierre McGuire being rinkside on NHL games or ESPN having Paul Maguire chime in on football from a sideline camera cart. Says Sandulli: "There's lot of non-verbal communication in the booth. We joked that maybe (the analysts) will will send signals from dugout to dugout."br /br /Sandulli says its possible that ESPN could send more baseball announcers out of the booth on future games, depending partly on whether Monday night's experiment delivers a "wow factor."/blockquoteWhile my initial reaction is that this might become a bit distracting, the intrigue almost outweighs that. The Pierre McGuire idea has worked wonders for NBC Hockey, and the same could potentially work for Baseball. Besides, it's Monday Night Baseball, why not?br /br /a href="http://www.usatoday.com/sports/columnist/hiestand-tv/2009-07-26-espn-baseball-announcers_N.htm"ESPN baseball announcing team goes separate ways/a (USA Today)div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/28221516-6292776071014485056?l=awfulannouncing.blogspot.com'//divdiv class="feedflare"
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Jesus Christ and the Trinity
The doctrine of the Incarnation is closely related to another cardinal Christian doctrine, that of the divine Trinity. Jesus is called the Second Person of the Trinity, along with the Father as the First Person and the Holy Spirit as the Third Person. Although the Trinity, like the Incarnation, is often taken to be a hopeless mystery or paradox, it is nothing of the sort. Before explaining the apologetic significance of the Trinity, it should be described briefly.br /br / The Bible that Jesus believed in and taught from (Matthew 5:17-20; John 10:33) affirms that God is one Lord (Deuteronomy 6:4), deserving our complete worship. This was the central credo of the Jews. Polytheism was anathema. Jesus also spoke often of his heavenly Father and of the Holy Spirit, making them central to his teachings. To understand Jesus, one must understand his relationship to the Father and the Spirit, thus opening up discussion about the Trinity. While there are intimations and anticipations of the Trinity in the Hebrew Bible,a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=14410967#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1"[1]/a the central planks of the idea are not revealed until the New Covenant revelation, which teaches that there is one God (1 Corinthians 8:4), but that the Father is God (Matthew 6:9), the Son is God (John 1:1-2; span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0"Colossians/span 2:9), and the Holy Spirit is God (Acts 5:3-4). But there is one God, not three. While the doctrine of the Trinity was formulated over time, the essential concepts for the doctrine are contained in the Bible itself. The span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1"Athanasian/span Creed (381) puts it this way:br /br /br / emWe worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity. Neither confounding the Persons, nor dividing the substance. For there is one person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy Ghost. But the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost is all one, the glory equal, the majesty co-eternal. For such as the Father is, such is the Son, and such is the Holy Ghost. The Father uncreated, the Son uncreated, the Holy Ghost uncreated./ema title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=14410967#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2"em[2]/em/abr /br /God is, therefore, one what (or Godhead) and three span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2"whos/span (or persons). The three persons are equally divine, eternal, holy, and so on. The Father is not the Son, nor the Son the Father, nor is the Spirit the Father or the Son. However, they are one (or united) in their shared deity.br /br / There is no reason to take this as a hopeless paradox or contradiction. The Trinity is not the nonsensical mathematical equation of 3=1, but rather a profound statement of three-span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3"ness/span and oneness. There are three persons in one Godhead. The members of the Trinity are alike in deity, but different in some functions. For example, God, the Son offers himself for atonement of human sin. This is not the ministry the Father or the Spirit. Yet the unity between the members of the Trinity is so strong that they are one God, not three gods. The members of the Trinity live and work together so intimately that theologians use the term span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4"perichoresis/span to describe their relationship. This literally means “to dance together.” At the heart of eternal reality, then, is a dance of love.br /br /br / Far from being a hindrance to rational belief and knowledge, the Trinity—as brought to light through Jesus’ loving relationship to the Father and the Spirit—opens up the profundity of God’s being. God is not a faceless oneness, a solitary entity, who knew no genuine relationship until he created the universe of finite things. God has always been a unity of three mutually loving and communicating persons. As Chesterton quipped, “It was not well for God to be alone.”a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=14410967#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3"[3]/a In his high priestly prayer to the Father, Jesus speaks of his relationship with the Father “before the world began” (John 17:5). The doctrine of the Trinity secures the fact that love precedes the creation of the universe, that the deepest possible dimension of being is personal and interpersonal. Love and communication has always existed at the highest possible level in the Trinity. No other worldview stakes this bold claim. The God of Islam (Allah) is irreducibly singular in every respect. He is personal, but alone. Eastern religions take personality to be an illusion that must be transcended in mystical experience. Naturalism claims that personality is a latecomer in a godless universe and has no privileged status. It will die at the final command of entropy.br /br / The Trinity is not a hopeless paradox, an opaque mystery, or a flat-out contradiction. Rather, it distinguishes Christianity from the two other monotheistic religions (Judaism and Islam) and gives a meaning and significance to personality (love and communication) unavailable according to any other worldview.a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=14410967#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4"[4]/abr /br /br /a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=14410967#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1"[1]/a See Millard Erickson, emGod in Three Persons/em (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1995)br /a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=14410967#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2"[2]/a The original creed says “the Father span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5"uncreate/span…” I have updated the language by adding “uncreated.” I have quoted only part of the creed.br /a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=14410967#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3"[3]/a G. K. Chesterton, emOrthodoxy/em (orig. pub., 1908; Garden City, New York: Image Books, 1959), 136.br /a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=14410967#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4"[4]/a For more on the logic of the Trinity, see John span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6"Feinberg/span, emNo One Like Him/em (span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7"Wheaton/span, IL: span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8"Crossway/span Books); span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9"Moreland/span and Craig, emPhilosophical Foundations for a Christian Worldview/em (Downers Grove, IL: span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10"InterVarsity/span Press, 2003), chapter 29.div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14410967-4465684317032522388?l=theconstructivecurmudgeon.blogspot.com'//div
Tuition Fees to rise
Peter Mandelson has a target="_blank" href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/jul/27/mandelson-hints-tuition-fees-could-rise"hinted in a speech to University leaders/a that he expects the cap on tuition fees to be raised following the publication of the government's review this autumn. However, he also criticised colleges for failing to give more places to working class students, a sure indication that the government's support mechanisms for poorer students are not working and that many of these are being put off going into higher education at all by the prospect of paying fees:br /br /span style="font-style: italic;"The University and College Union said it was very concerned about the impact higher university tuition fees would have on poorer students. UCU general secretary, Sally Hunt, said: "Lord Mandelson appears to recognise the difficulties current graduates face as they enter a tough job market, but not the impact debt levels are having on their ability to do things like save for a pension or get a foot on the property ladder. We disagree with his view that top-up fees have been a success and polls show that they are opposed by the vast majority of the British public too./spanbr /br /span style="font-style: italic;""Education is vital to our future prosperity, not something to be rationed, and higher fees would be about as popular as the poll tax with hard-working families. In a time of recession, the government should be considering how to make access to education cheaper, not giving a green light to universities who wish to charge higher fees."/spanbr /br /span style="font-style: italic;"The union said that if institutions were allowed to charge greater fees, the amount of money poorer students would have to find would be dramatically increased. An increase in fees to £7,000 per year, for example, would mean a university would only be required to fund a bursary of £700. That bursary, coupled with the current state maintenance grant of £2,906, would leave the poorest students needing to find £3,394 a year, UCU claimed./spanbr /br /Higher fees will also have an impact on Welsh students as well thanks to Plaid Cymru's u-turn on this issue. This means that those attending colleges here will no longer have the safety net that was previously available to them.br /br /Despite the fact that Nick Clegg stated that the abolition of top-up fees will have to wait a bit until we have the money to do it, the Liberal Democrats remain the only party committed to abolishing this tax on education. That is not likely to change. How the party reacts in Wales is a matter for the Welsh Liberal Democrats alone.div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8266684-3562481575430711828?l=peterblack.blogspot.com'//div
NEI's 2009 Top Industry Practice Awards on Video - Number Two
Last week, a href="http://neinuclearnotes.blogspot.com/2009/07/neis-2009-top-industry-practice-awards.html"NEI released the first of four videos/a highlighting the top industry practice awards that were given out at our annual nuclear conference back in May. a href="http://www.nei.org/resourcesandstats/documentlibrary/how_it_works/video/global-ties-boost-performance"This week we have a new video to show/a:blockquoteThe second video, “Global Ties Boost Nuclear Plant Performance,” recognizes Exelon Nuclear employees who established a very successful international technical exchange program./blockquoteEnjoy!br /br /object width="425" height="344"param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/QoePR_sQkhMamp;hl=enamp;fs=1amp;"param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/QoePR_sQkhMamp;hl=enamp;fs=1amp;" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"/embed/objectdiv class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10911751-2145537799609698768?l=neinuclearnotes.blogspot.com'//div
Creative Screenwriting: Todd Haynes on I'm Not There
img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVu2MZeSviM6D82lL7VDlA_Ga-9HjN9CvQXCtsgJCcHxdZ_w4UgyNNnGCQ4sKPYJINuHPg1O4BzklSYyF6tBavQV8sb6mD2l54I0qnlKnuE6CAMOfH9ZDp4xp-9qs6vILYEiVbGrW_I4k4/s400/I'm-Not-There-dylans-reveal.jpg"br /br / I'm Not There QAbr /a href="http://creativescreenwritingmagazine.blogspot.com"Creative Screenwriting/abr /br /Senior Editor Jeff Goldsmith interviews writer-director Todd Haynes about I'm Not Therebr /br /a href="http://creativescreenwritingmagazine.blogspot.com/2007/11/im-not-there-q.html"To Listen to the Interview/abr /br /img src="http://www.mcnblogs.com/mcindie/archives/images/Film%20Poster%20Of%20The%20Year.jpg" width="95%"div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6323968-324337762645886124?l=dialogic.blogspot.com'//div
Can I Even Get An Isolated Random Anectdote?
Not being on the top-secret list I can't say whether someone actually did come up with one. But I'm amused that the small and odd band of progressives attempting to defend the filibuster a href="http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/archives/2009/07/status-quo-bias-and-extremism.php"could apparently only muster a case/a -- privatizing social security -- in which the filibuster was a href="http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/2009/07/the_filibuster_and_democracy.html"completely irrelevant. /a (In addition to Matt and Ezra, see a href="http://www.amazon.com/Dismantling-Welfare-State-Retrenchment-Comparative/dp/0521555701/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8amp;s=booksamp;qid=1248628707amp;sr=8-2"Pierson/a -- the basics of the welfare state proved similarly durable in Westminster systems.) br /br /Of course, even if someone could come up with an isolated example of the filibuster having a span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0"progressive/span impact, it wouldn't change the fact that the filibuster a href="http://lefarkins.blogspot.com/2009/02/on-indefensibility-of-filibuster.html"is a terrible idea in theory that has had horrible effects in practice./a The idea that any progressive would defend it is frankly bizarre to me.div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7163938-6996358240329476699?l=lefarkins.blogspot.com'//div
Austin Sarat and Paul Kahn: “Sacred Violence” and the State
“Sacred Violence” and the Statebr /Austin Sarat and Paul Kahnbr /a href="http://www1.cuny.edu/forums/podcasts/?cat=8"CUNY Podcasts/abr /br /Two preeminent legal and political minds examine how religious ideas and the use of “sacred violence” play a significant role in modern secular philosophy, political theory and ultimately, the state itself. “Perhaps the greatest mark of sacred power in modern law is its ability to convince our leaders that they have the right to command us to sacrifice our lives for the state,” says Austin Sarat, professor of jurisprudence and political science at Amherst College, and author of “When the State Kills: Capital Punishment in Law, Politics and Culture.” Sarat was joined by Paul Kahn, director of the Orville H. Schell, Jr. Center for International Human Rights at Yale University, in a discussion entitled “Does the State Rely on Sacred Violence?” sponsored by the Center for the Humanities at the CUNY Graduate Center.br /br /a href="http://www1.cuny.edu/portal_ur/news/radio/podcast/lecture_230.mp3"To Listen to the Panel/adiv class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6323968-828640947358236514?l=dialogic.blogspot.com'//div
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
ID Conference in Denver Area This Fall
a href="http://www.shepherdproject.com/idconf"The Shepherd's Project and The Discovery Institute are co-sponsoring a significant conference on Intelligent Design to be held in span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0"Castlerock/span, CO, on Oct. 39-31, 2009./a Some of the best thinkers in this vibrant movement will be giving lectures. I will be part of a panel discussion with John West and Stephen Meyer on Saturday. This is a conference that thinking people will not want to miss.div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14410967-6865999781268275087?l=theconstructivecurmudgeon.blogspot.com'//div
The Velocity of Money and the Chatham Walmart Proposal
I have spoken on more than one occasion about the velocity of money. The velocity of money is essentially how many times a given dollar is spent during a fixed time period. During periods of economic contraction, like now, velocity of money is low. That's because people are scared and they hoard every dollar they can get their hands on. In my opinion, the key to any stimulation is to increase the velocity of money. Once velocity of money increases the economy will recover.br /br /Right now, Walmart is sitting on tens of millions of dollars that the company has earmarked to build and operate a store in the Chatham neighborhood of Chicago. If that store is given the go ahead to get built, Walmart will immediately sign several project managers. That team will move forward with acquiring all appropriate permits. Once those are secured, Walmart will break ground on a 150,000 square foot superstore. Building this project will require hiring about 500 UNION contractors, construction workers, electricians, plumbers, etc. Those companies will have to buy equipment, parts, and material. The folks hired will have to get to work somehow. They will have to eat lunch in the area.br /br /Then, once the store is built, there will be 400 people hired to operate it. It will sell everything under the sun and will attract thousands of shoppers daily. Now, let's think about this. The current scenario has Walmart's money sitting in a bank account. How quick is the velocity of money in that scenario? The second scenario has that money being spent on labor, parts, equipment, etc. It is a scenario in which those hired will themselves need to buy parts and equipment. It will mean that 400 people currently sitting at home will be going to a job everyday. They will either drive costing gas or take public transportation putting money into the coffers of the city. In either scenario, they will be spending more money than they are now as well as receiving a paycheck.br /br /I haven't even begun to discuss the velocity of money created once the store is built. There will be electricity, gas, and water bills that will all be paid. There will be 500 new paychecks to receive. All those people will need to come to work. So, they will spend money on either gas or public transportation. (unless they walk which some will) With more money in their pockets, these employees will spend more money on things they need and want. I haven't even mentioned the enormous velocity of money created by Walmart increasing their orders of goods to stock the store and then having those goods get bought.br /br /The velocity of money increase in building and operating this Walmart superstore is exponential. Tens of thousands of businesses and individuals will see business transactions in crease as a result of it being built and operated. Instead, right now, only two entities see any transactions, Walmart and the bank their money is at.br /br /It sounds so simple. What the city, and country, need right now is to increase the velocity of money. We need people to spend and invest more. That's what this Walmart proposal would do, and it would do it in an enormous way. Unfortunately, a theoretical increase in the velocity of money does nothing. So, until the politicians in Chicago brush up on their economics, the velocity of money that this Chatham store would provide won't happen.div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3098264341625381422-2751712861065758633?l=theeprovocateur.blogspot.com'//div
Brett Favre To Annoy You With Ads For Sears Now
a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGT1wRDQ_QpWUksAur9qXcT-mIiNqmeulOy4b-D39mtjFo_Rum_mOmvHTQ8UvHjWP1EL0dFUPYfNA6fny7-OFM0O-4di-rzcOAWGcHd2b18CcBtJJKHip8wnc5kT6_z8zPLfvkjbJccZYg/s1600-h/favre.jpg"img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGT1wRDQ_QpWUksAur9qXcT-mIiNqmeulOy4b-D39mtjFo_Rum_mOmvHTQ8UvHjWP1EL0dFUPYfNA6fny7-OFM0O-4di-rzcOAWGcHd2b18CcBtJJKHip8wnc5kT6_z8zPLfvkjbJccZYg/s400/favre.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5363143337483521794" border="0" //abr /I know it's taboo to call Brett Favre annoying these days, and it's probably best to try and ignore him, but the guy makes it virtually impossible. You all know about the Wrangler ads, where the "childlike" Favre plays touch Football in the mud with a bunch of white dudes, right? Well Favre is filming a new commercial for Sears, and get this....he plays a guy who can't make up is mind about a television. Brilliant!br /blockquoteThe TV spot, scheduled to air in early September, launches the Sears Blue Electronics Crew campaign, which includes print, events marketing, social media and public relations. The TV commercial features Favre agonizing over selecting a new LED television. The scene unfolds through a discussion between Favre and a member of the Sears Blue Electronics Crew (actor Brad Morris from "The Second City" comedy club in Chicago). The two banter as Favre is undecided on his decision about a Samsung LED TV. In one scene, Morris describes Sears "real time price checks - no regrets"(SM) - as a way to help guys who have a tough time making decisions. "You know the type, right?" Morris says. "Yeah, I hate those guys," Favre quips.br /br /"This commercial uses humor to communicate messages about what differentiates Sears and the Sears Blue Electronics Crew from the competition," said Karen Austin, president of home electronics for Sears. "From our real time price checks to selection of top brands to our expert sales consultants, financing options and installation, there are very compelling reasons to choose Sears for your next TV or electronics purchase. And Brett is a terrific sport in having fun with the topic of choosing a TV. Brett embodies the excitement and passion that our customers feel as they anticipate the start of football season and that comes through in the commercial."/blockquoteI guess Sears doesn't realize that just about all of America is sick of Brett Favre. I mean, I would have personally gone with something along the lines of the salesman punching him in the face after he went back and forth for the twentieth time, but whatever you think works.div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/28221516-3142541381111177782?l=awfulannouncing.blogspot.com'//divdiv class="feedflare"
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Someday our granchildren will look at this and view this the same way we view the Wright flyer.
div align="center"br /This picture is already 40 years old!br /br /img src="http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0907/apollo11return_nasa.jpg" /br //divdiv class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7158917-5890695523836679064?l=moneyrunner.blogspot.com'//div
Midseason Baseball Thoughts
It's the middle of the MLB season, and the All-Star Game is next week. This season has had its share of surprises so far. Since I live in the Bay Area, I must recognize the surprising season of the San Francisco Giants. They currently have the second best record in the National League. They are far back of the Dodgers, but would still be in the playoffs as the NL wildcard, if the season was over today. I have to admit that I keep wondering: are the Giants for real? The answer: Yes!br /br /Based on the Giants runs scored vs. runs allowed, the Giants expected wins at this point is 46.9. Their actual wins are 46. So they have not been "lucky" in terms of wins and losses. Their 303 runs allowed is the best in baseball. The pitching has been awesome. The offense has been middle of the pack, but hey that is not as bad as many (including me) expected. So the Giants are for real because they have the best pitching in baseball. Will this continue to be true in the second half of the season?br /br /It is not a slam dunk. Lincecum is even more dominating this year than he was last year when he won the Cy Young. Some people worry that he is pitching too many innings given his age, but I won't jump on that bandwagon. He is one of the Giants' two All-Stars. The other is Matt Cain. Now I love Matt Cain. He is from Dothan, Alabama. That is just two hours north of my hometown in Florida, and is where my brother lives. However, Cain has been a little lucky this year. On balls put in play, Cain's batting average against is a little. Plus he's been lucky with stranding base runners. If this luck does not continue, then you can expect his hits allowed and runs allowed to both jump up a bit. Cain's a flyball pitcher too, so a jump in home runs allowed is always possible. Randy Johnson has been ok, but more importantly healthy. He just suffered his first injury of the season, which does not look like it will be too bad. However, it's hard to expect him to stay healthy the rest of the season. Barry Zito has been better than last year (which is not saying much) but could actually do even better in the second half. The fifth spot in the rotation has been in flux, so things could really only get better for that spot.br /br /Enough about the Giants... As for the rest of the NL. My favorite team, the Atlanta Braves, are mediocre and there's no reason to expect a lot different from them. The Phillies are better than their record, while the Marlins are a lot worse than their record. The Cardinals are also not quite as good as their record, but the rest of the NL Central is very mediocre. The Rockies have been a huge surprise, and they look a legitimate contender for the wildcard spot. They should be the strongest challenger to the Giants, and of course the two teams will get plenty of chances to play each other as they are both in the NL West.br /br /As for the AL, arguably the four best teams are all in the AL East. The Yankees have a nice lead in the wildcard over Tampa Bay. Still, Tampa Bay has proven that last year was not a fluke. The Yankees are definitely getting a nice ROI on all the money they spent on pitching. They are only a game back of Boston. Both teams look to improve in the second half. The Yankees will get three months of Alex Rodriguez, and the Red Sox's David Ortiz seems to have finally regained his form. The AL Central is a mess, with three pretty good teams within 2 games of each other. It's easy to count out Minnesota, but statistically they have been the best of the three teams. Finally, the AL West is a two horse race, and the two teams, LA and Texas, are statistically very even.div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5819005-4959266598915541596?l=fupeg.blogspot.com'//div
Snafu: Situation Normal at DOE…
pa href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_7Jg6_0lMHc0/Sm9s-zDCgwI/AAAAAAAAAyY/tvINTHt_fMk/s1600-h/Private_Snafu_1%5B6%5D.jpg"img title="Private_Snafu_1" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; margin-left: 0px; border-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; border-bottom: 0px" height="162" alt="Private_Snafu_1" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_7Jg6_0lMHc0/Sm9s_NAt8vI/AAAAAAAAAyc/0wit4js_uZ8/Private_Snafu_1_thumb%5B4%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="194" align="right" border="0" //a …but all fouled up at USEC, the company that enriches a lot of the uranium in the United States. The Department of Energy has a href="http://www.usec.com/NewsRoom/NewsReleases/USECInc/2009/2009-07-28-Department-Of-Energy-Denies.htm"turned down/a USEC’s loan guarantee application, making it difficult-to-impossible, says USEC, for it to acquire funding to finish its American Centrifuge project. This has led to a pair of dueling press releases that are fascinatingly disjunctive. Let’s look at USEC first:/p blockquote p“We are shocked and disappointed by DOE’s decision. The American Centrifuge met the original intent of the loan guarantee program in that it would have used an innovative, but proven, technology, reduced greenhouse gas emissions and created thousands of#160; immediate jobs across the United States./p /blockquote blockquote/blockquote pfont color="#333333"The American Centrifuge is not a new idea. It was first ideated by the Department of Energy in the 1970s as a next generation enrichment facility and abandoned after a successful test in the 80s. USEC, which spun out of DOE as a private company, reactivated the project and, in its words, improved the original design using “modern materials, advanced computer-aided design, digital controls and state-of-the-art manufacturing processes.” You can read more about the project a href="http://www.usec.com/americancentrifuge.htm"here/a./font/p pAnd now, nothing. USEC said it will have to cease work on the facility, though it is close to finished. All fouled up./p p---/p pBut is it? From DOE’s perspective, it’s situation normal. There’s no reason for USEC to be shocked and disappointed:/p blockquote pThe Department of Energy announced today that it will further expand and accelerate cleanup efforts of cold-war era contamination at the Portsmouth site in Piketon, Ohio – an investment worth about $150 to $200 million per year for the next four years that is expected to create 800 to 1000 new jobs.#160; /p /blockquote pWell, that’s something. Here’s DOE Secretary a href="http://www.energy.gov/news2009/7702.htm"Steven Chu on the centrifuge itself:/a/p blockquote p“While we believe USEC needs time to develop its technology and demonstrate that it can be deployed at a commercial scale, we’re moving forward with other investments that will create good, high-paying jobs in the community. USEC will have another chance to resubmit their application if they can overcome the technical and financial hurdles, but in the meantime we’ll put more people to work in the environmental cleanup effort.”#160; /p /blockquote pAnd there’s more. Here’s Chu again:/p blockquote pTherefore, the Department is offering up to $45 million over the next 18 months to support ongoing ACP research and development activities.#160; Should USEC accept this offer, it would allow them to continue operations, maintenance, and research activities at Piketon and Oak Ridge, and give USEC additional time to strengthen the technical and financial aspects of the application should USEC decide to resubmit it./p /blockquote p“Should USEC accept this offer…” That sounds like a recognition that USEC might well emnot/em accept the offer./p p---/p pBack to USEC:/p blockquote p“With DOE’s decision, we are now forced to initiate steps to demobilize the project. We deeply regret the impact this decision will have on all those affected, but as we have stated in the past, a DOE loan guarantee was the path forward to completing financing for the project. /p /blockquote pThat’s USEC’s President, John Welch. Here’s some more from him:/p blockquote pInstead of creating thousands of jobs across the country, we are faced with losing them. Instead of reducing our dependence on foreign sources of energy, we are now increasing it. President Obama promised to support the loan guarantee for the American Centrifuge Plant while he campaigned in Ohio. We are disappointed that campaign commitment has not been met.’/p /blockquote pDisappointed – and shocked – and more than a little upset. Hard words. You would think DOE killed the project outright. /p pSo does USEC have to mothball the project? There is money for it, for more research anyway, though clearly USEC thinks it is ready to move forward now. Equally clearly, DOE does not./p pIt’s a bit of a snafu./p pRead through the material and see what you think. You would almost think DOE and USEC haven’t said two words to each other in years and still can’t directly communicate. That’s far from the truth. /p p(In fairness, a href="http://www.energy.gov/news2009/7714.htm"here’s/a DOE’s fact sheet called “Job Creation in Piketon, Ohio,” the home of the centrifuge site – this was posted today. It seems as though DOE emreally/em doesn’t want to catch flak from USEC over potential job losses.)/p pemSnafu, the word, emerged during World War II as an acronym for the phrase we’ve used here, though we bowderlized it for NNN’s family trade. /em/p pemSpeaking of World War II, Private Snafu is a cartoon character produced by Warner Bros. and created by Theodore Geisel (a.k.a. Dr. Seuss) but only seen by soldiers. Private Snafu’s goal was didactic, to show in amusing ways how hapless young soldiers could mess things up. For example, one of the entries is based on the idea, Loose Lips Sink Ships. /em/p pemWith no children present, the cartoons were a bit bawdier and with bluer language than common at the time, making them unusual cultural artifacts. You can find episodes at You Tube./em/p div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/10911751-2317931291573401378?l=neinuclearnotes.blogspot.com'//div
Escort
The hospital we're staying at is right next to a Planned Parenthood Clinic. Every day, we drive past the assortment of freaks holding up pictures of dead fetuses, and every day I flip them off. I do sometimes wonder if the protesters understand that I'm flipping them off, rather than the clinic, but it's the thought that counts. In any case, the experience only serves to increase my admiration and appreciation for a href="http://everysaturdaymorning.wordpress.com/"these folks. /abr /br /H/t Elise.div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7163938-7776567505754956273?l=lefarkins.blogspot.com'//div
I will never forget Chappaquiddick
Scott Johnson at Powerline ...br /br /br /blockquotespan style="color:#3333ff;"Ted Kennedy has styled himself an opponent of wealth and privilege, but his career is a tribute to their power when wielded by a man of the left. The lesson of Chappaquiddick thus remains timely forty years on.br /br //spanemblockquotespan style="color:#3333ff;"I thought I would take a moment to bother you all, ladies included, to remind everyone that this is the 40th anniversary of the infamous Chappaquiddick incident in which an inebriated Senator Ted Kennedy marked a reunion of his brother Bobby's "Boiler Room" girls by driving one to her death off the Dyke Road bridge.br /br /This manslaughter might have been forgiven if Kennedy hadn't decided to evade responsibility for the accident and cover it up by failing to report it, trying to co-opt one of his aides to cop to being the driver, and then leaving them to try and fix it for him for over seven hours.br /br /Worse, Mary Jo Kopechne, whose drowned body was found in a position trying to eke out the last molecules of air within the submerged car, was left to drown by the self-involved Senator, who chose not to seek immediate help.br /br /After proceedings by a Kennedy-friendly judicial system in Massachusetts, Kennedy was found guilty of leaving the scene of an accident and had his driver's license suspended. But perhaps the crowning event was Kennedy's appalling nationally-televised apologia, which I remember viewing on TV, and which still reigns as probably the worst and most self-indulgent political pitch ever./span/blockquote/em/blockquotebr /br /The Kennedy family has received its reward for all it has done. I'm not sure that the American people were wicked enough to have deserved them.div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7158917-240504732818968371?l=moneyrunner.blogspot.com'//div
It Does Not Amuse...
This is a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090726/bs_afp/britainfinanceeconomyroyals_20090726040914"kind of cool:/abr /blockquoteEminent economists have told Queen Elizabeth II that the global financial downturn was brought about by a "psychology of denial" among the financial and political elite, a report said Sunday. In a three-page letter, the experts said "financial wizards" completely failed to "foresee the timing, extent and severity" of the credit crunch, according to The Observer newspaper, which said it had obtained a copy of the letter.br /br /The letter was signed by political historian Peter Hennessy, and Tim Besley, a London School of Economics (LSE) professor and an external member of the Bank of England's monetary policy committee. It spoke of the "psychology of denial" that gripped the political and financial world in the build-up to the crisis.br /br /The economists said financial experts convinced themselves and the world's politicians that they had found clever ways to spread risks across the markets.br /br /During a visit to the LSE in November, Queen Elizabeth asked Professor Luis Garicano about the credit crunch, saying: "Why did nobody notice it?"/blockquotebr /Question, though; did the Queen ever publicly ask why nobody noticed that the Iraq War was going to be a colossal fuck up, and ruin British military power for a generation? I don't mean that as criticism of the Queen, and if she did ask some set of experts at some point, then nevermind. If she didn't, however, I wonder why not; why can the Queen reasonably, publicly inquire why financial and economic experts failed, but not why strategic analysts, military commanders, and the political elite failed?div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7163938-2662679830015795292?l=lefarkins.blogspot.com'//div
A puzzle and a predicament
According to a href="http://guerrilla-welsh-fare.blogspot.com/2009/07/fking-standards.html" target="_blank"Guerilla Welsh Fare/a last Thursday's Sharp End reported that a href="http://peterblack.blogspot.com/2009/07/undermining-government.html" target="_blank"Alun Davies' rather intolerant criticism of Ieuan Wyn Jones' reluctance to be scrutinised/a may have got him into trouble.br /br /They said that Plaid Cymu AM, Chris Franks has reported his Labour coalition colleague, Alun Davies to the standards committee after the Labour AM allegedly unleashed em'an outburst riddled with profanity at an Assembly committee meeting'./embr /br /The question is does such a complaint exist or is it being mooted by persons-unknown as a means of trying to calm Alun Davies down and get him on-side?br /br /I know that Chris Franks would not get involved in such manoeuvres but there may be some non-elected advisors who might consider that sort of leverage to be very useful.br /br /Fortunately, Alun Davies is too principled to allow himself to be pushed into following a party line if he believes it is not the right thing to do.div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8266684-5028609553372818899?l=peterblack.blogspot.com'//div
Dah 3 tahun, Yang Ariff!
span style="font-size:180%;"/spandiv style="text-align: justify;"blockquotespan style="font-size:180%;"Justice Delayed./span The day Dr M was attacked with tear gas in Kota Bahru, I was in Damansara with a couple of ex-NST editors putting to bed a new magazine we had just started. That incident took place exactly 3 years ago yesterday. Pak Lah, who was the PM then, has long been replaced and that magazine discontinued, but we are still waiting for the court to decide if span style="font-weight: bold;"Nik Sepiea should be/span span style="font-weight: bold;"jailed, fined and whipped/span for causing hurt to the Statesman!br /br /a href="http://ahmadatalib.blogspot.com/2009/07/keadilan-untuk-mirza-dr-m-bila-pula.html"span style="font-style: italic;"Pahit Manis/span/a and a href="http://bigdogdotcom.wordpress.com/2009/07/28/it-has-been-three-years-now/"span style="font-style: italic;"Big Dog/span/a posted reminders. /blockquote/divdiv class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/28452020-6838851796793805987?l=rockybru.com.my'//div
Is the Universe Fine-Tuned for Life?
Dr. Troy span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0"Nunley/span, Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Denver Seminary, will be giving a talk on "Recent Developments in the Fine-Tuning Argument for God" on Sunday August 2 at 4:00 PM in room #133 at a href="http://www.bethanyefree.org/new/index.html"Bethany Evangelical Free Church--6240 S. Broadway, span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1"Littleton/span, Colorado./adiv class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14410967-875461133403795818?l=theconstructivecurmudgeon.blogspot.com'//div
But There Was A Mean Comment About Trig Palin On An Obscure Blog Somewhere!
sShorter/s Verbatim a href="http://thinkprogress.org/2009/07/27/inhofe-pollution/"James Inhofe/a: "If their argument there is “Well, we don’t want to use oil and gas because we think it pollutes” — which it doesn’t." br /br /As if to prove a href="http://whiskeyfire.typepad.com/whiskey_fire/2009/07/its-ok-im-over-you.html"this./adiv class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7163938-33345384658849286?l=lefarkins.blogspot.com'//div
Speechwriting Synchronicity?
In the president's speech today at the New Economic School: blockquoteThere was a time when Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin could shape the world in one meeting. Those days are over. The world is more complex today./blockquoteA comment I made last week (and published over the weekend): blockquoteThe president doesn't have the freedom that an FDR or a Churchill had in the middle of World War II to be able to do these sweeping kinds of arrangements about geopolitical divisions of influence./blockquotediv class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/19194934-5931272684679071715?l=washingtonrealist.blogspot.com'//div
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Some Thoughts on Conrad, Dodd, and the Friends of Angelo
Some folks are calling yesterday'sa href="http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D99N143G3amp;show_article=1" Ethics Committee hearing as a breaking news/a. At this hearing, Robert span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0"Feinberg/span, a loan officer at Countrywide, testified that not only did both span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1"Dodd/span and Conrad receive favorable terms on their mortgages under a program known as Friends of Angelo, but they both knew that they were receiving favorable terms not available to the general public. This really isn't news. It was never in doubt that span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2"Dodd/span and Conrad both received favorable terms under this program. The two Senators acknowledged this. They just both claimed that they didn't know they were getting favorable terms.br /br /This is of course absurd. A bank isn't going to give a powerful person favorable terms on their mortgage without telling them. The whole point is a I'll scratch your back and you'll scratch mine transaction. There's no point to giving a powerful person better deals if they don't know they're getting the better deal. Obviously, the bank wants the powerful person to know they are taking care of them. That can't happen if the powerful person doesn't know they are being treated well. So, the two Senator's assertions that they didn't know was always absurd. Mr. span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3"Feinberg/span merely confirmed what everyone should have already known.br /br /What's really shocking is what was buried in the story. The first revelation span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4"Feinberg/span says was not accurate. Apparently, it is being reported that Senator span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5"Dodd/span listed both his home in Connecticut and in Washington D.C. as primary residences. Of course, you can't have two primary residences. You can only, according to mortgage rules, primarily live in one home. This property, be it a home, condo, etc., would receive the best rates. All other properties would have slightly worse rates. That's because if things go bad you would stop paying on all secondary properties first. You'd never want to stop paying on your primary residence because if that is foreclosed on you'd have no place to live. If span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6"Dodd/span did in fact list both homes as primary residences that's fraud. More than that, this sort of fraud is known as "occupancy fraud" and it was the second biggest fraud problem in mortgages behind fraud on income and assets. It's important to note that span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7"Feinberg/span, the loan officer, disputes that this occurred.br /br /Conrad's revelation is far more serious. Conrad was attempting to finance an eight unit building. That is a commercial property. The financing on such a building is much more difficult and has significantly worse rates. He was given an exception and was allowed to finance this building as a residential property. If that's the case, that is fraud on a grand scale.br /br /The favoritism shown to span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8"Dodd/span likely saved him a quarter to a half a percent. The favoritism shown to Conrad likely saved him two to three percentage points if it's accurate that he was allowed to finance his commercial property as a residential property. Conrad's people explained it this way.br /br /blockquoteConrad's spokesman, a class=" lingo_link lingo_link_hidden" style="DISPLAY: inline; FONT-WEIGHT: 400; FONT-SIZE: 14px; CURSOR: pointer; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-FAMILY: Arial" href="http://topics.breitbart.com/Chris+Gaddie/" rel="nofollow" _old_href="http%3A%2F%2Ftopics.breitbart.com%2FChris%2BGaddie%2F"Chris span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9"Gaddie/span,/a said Monday that the senator "never asked for, expected or was aware of loans on any preferential terms" and has "worked overtime to set the record straight."br /br /"He went with Countrywide simply because they already had his financial information," span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10"Gaddie/span said. He added that a Countrywide official had told Conrad that "it is not unusual for them to make exceptions for good customers if they could sell the loan in the secondary market. We now know that they did sell the apartment building loan in the secondary market."br //blockquotebr /br /That's just non sense. There's no way a secondary market would buy a residential loan on a commercial property. The rules are very clear and cut and dry. Residential properties are four units and less. His property was eight units. So, if he got a residential loan on this property, there's no way it was sold on the secondary market. Secondary market players often buy in bulk. As such, this loan would have either been packaged with other residential loans. In that case, a commercial property would have been included in a portfolio of residential properties. Or, it would have been packaged with other commercial loans. In that case, this particular loan would have had much more favorable terms than the rest of the portfolio. In either case, if what Conrad's people are saying is true, and this was sold in the secondary market, it was done fraudulently.div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3098264341625381422-2479308929589823533?l=theeprovocateur.blogspot.com'//div
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