Thursday, March 31, 2011
Housing so affordable we can't afford it
Far be it from me to get into Winnetka's home battle but the Tribune has stuck its imperious nose in there in a particularly clueless story. (Gee, it's deja vu all over again)
Let's see, home prices are at lows not seen in generations and we're facing perhaps a double dip. Taxes are at an all time high in this state.
Teachers (plug in New Trier) and other "public servants", wow, --how bout those truck drivers-- are pushing for raises and benefits already richer than many in the private sector have gotten for years, to the point that seniors are being driven out of their homes because of high taxes.
Yet the Trib's and other bossy lefties who love to spend other people's money want more of the same?
Does it make sense to raise taxes on seniors, for example, to keep seniors in the village?
Should new families subsidize other members of the community?
As for this land trust, does anyone with any brains think that it would ever be enough to keep people living affordably in this expensive area? It's not just the home, it's the utilities, the maintenance, the TAXES.
The last time I saw Gail Schechter was at MOLDFEST. (The Wilmette experience--thankfully we just said NO)
This in a county, state and next door to a city that are all going BANKRUPT.
Let me ask the Tribune why it is that the Chicago Gold Coast is not subject to affordable housing mandates, hmm?
Perhaps the Tribune Tower would make a good AH building--centrally located, close to transportation and what jobs there may be left in this Dem dumpster state, and with all those lovely inspirational quotes in the lobby. A shame if anything might happen to them.
Cabrini Green was just demolished yesterday.
Let's not build any more unaffordable monuments to leftist idiocy.
More. Analysis by North Shore Barrington Association of Realtors here.
...I would just add I think Carry Buck is a very brave, hard-working woman to raise awareness of this issue and inform voters. She had to know the Tribune was setting her up for predictable class-warfare envy (the comments attached to the article are personal and awful, typical ad hominem from the left) but forged on to try to get a more complex message out.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Bible Insufficiently Anthropomorphic Says PETA
Noah: inclusive saviour of God's creatures, or just another speciesist shipbuilder?Do we need to know the gender of the lion Samson slew?
Well, I'm a Catholic but I prefer the King James version. More poetry, please, less pedantry.
These PETA people create less sympathy for animals, not more, with their ridiculous complaints.
...In honor of my fifth grade teacher, Sister Ermina, One More River to Cross.
The animals came three by three, there's one more river to cross,The tall giraffe and the tint flea, there's one more river to cross.
Delaware Govt Goons Uproot Basketball Hoops in Suburb
March sadness. The video.
Oh, and the bossy woman bureaucrat on the scene lies about it. Within a matter of minutes. On tape.
Olympian Collective Bargaining Horror Story: Chicago Wastes $18 million a year paying truck drivers to sit
Good grief. I suppose we should be thankful they didn't get chauffeur-driven limos as members of the privileged public sector class. Sun Times:
In his latest audit pinpointing ways to save money, Inspector General Joe Ferguson argues that long-term collective bargaining agreements that lock in the superfluous position — when city crews could easily drive themselves — are costing taxpayers a fortune.The investigation was launched last summer after a vehicle carrying two city workers pulled up outside the inspector general’s office.
An employee in the passenger seat got out and painted the curb and fire hydrant while the driver sat behind the wheel, never lifting a finger to assist. When the job was done, the painter returned to the vehicle and the two workers drove away.
These guys make $90,000 a year with benefits--isn't that about twice what someone would make in the private sector? And for sitting around on their butts. Apparently the Mayor bought this "labor peace" for the Olympics that wasn't.
Another False Image, Sacred Cow of the Left. Planned Parenthood
The left pushed sex-ed in the schools generations ago, abortion as contraception, morning after pills with worrisome side effects, a child abuse culture-- sexualizing and preying on younger and younger children.
And we're subsidizing this--milking us dry with taxpayer funding under false pretenses, their president lying out of her well-manicured mouth, Planned Parenthood exposed:
PJ Mom with some pithy remarks.
Related post: Abortionist Played with Baby, Then Slit its Throat
Gov. Apres Moi le Deluge. Hey, Quinn, it's now
(It was Louis XV, Louis XVI's grandfather, who said apres moi le deluge as he lay dying. And he was right.)Amazingly, Quinn responded that it was impossible that one of Illinois' largest employers and taxpayers would move out of state, then changed the subject. It was pure Louis XVI:
"Caterpillar is not leaving Illinois. They have well-skilled workers who know how to get the job done. They just signed an agreement with the United Auto Workers, I think for six years. I don't think we should get in a panic at all."
But even the local UAW boss was appalled at Quinn's nonchalance and told an NBC affiliate in East Peoria that Caterpillar does not bluff. "When they are talking to you, you better listen. Because if you don't listen, bad things can happen," said Local 974 President Dave Chapman, in authentic union vernacular.
The cold hard fact about Illinois is that Quinn's tax hike makes Illinois not only a high-tax state, but an absolute tax-eater.
Previous post: Illinois Pays the Price of Taxing the Rich
Mad City judge returns from vacation, inserts self again
Oh yeah, she had said she needed more time to consider whether the passage of the bill violated the open meetings act, then went on vacation. Now she's baaaack, and still hasn't ruled on the merits (such as they are NOT) The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
This Secretary of State business reminds me of the Illinois posturing about seating seedy Dem Sen. Roland Burris, using process to evade common sense. This is how the leftie-leaning legal profession strikes many of us these days. I thank God that after my acceptance at UW law school years ago, when I was still a wavering liberal, I got a private sector job offer and never looked back.
Another reason to eliminate Secretaries of State. (Isn't that how corrupt IL GOP Gov. Ryan ascended?) And eliminate process, if it means you have to publish laws in the MSM for them to take effect. Why should they have so much power vested in them?
An interesting split among law profs at Marquette. One agrees with Judge SEIU Sumi. The other:
According to the JS the Assistant Attorney General says the law is absolutely still in effect.Richard Esenberg said he was not surprised by the ruling but criticized the judge."There is applicable Supreme Court precedent that a court has no authority to enjoin the publication of a law," he said. "The state has repeatedly cited that law to her and as far as I know she has not only failed to explain herself about why she feels she has the authority, she hasn't even acknowledged there is an issue. That just leaves me speechless."
Esenberg was referring to a 1943 state Supreme Court opinion that said courts could not interfere with legislation until it is published and becomes law.
As for the public sector unions and their ally Dem WI Secretary of State LaFollette, struck inarticulate by the TEA party, I will quote his famous relative, Fighting Bob:
P.S. There's an election coming up for Wisconsin state Supreme Court, which may well be pivotal. Donate to the TEA Party Express. Legal Insurrection: Help get this ad on the air in Wisconsin: More: (NY Times. Another dead tree leftie gatekeeper) Walker posts op-ed that Times didn't publish"Free men of every generation must combat renewed efforts of organized force and greed to destroy liberty."
Memeorandum thread here. Linked, thanks.
More at Nice Deb: Tea Partiers need to keep on fighting. Michael Barone rallies us to get the message out:
We need to keep up the momentum so we can break the union chokehold in other states. In Illinois Chicago public union clout holds the rest of the state hostage. We're bankrupt and in decline.
Respondents become more favorable to Walker's position when informed that public employees are paid 45 percent more than private-sector union members and that union dues have been automatically deducted and go to support candidates workers may not favor.
Our incurious, inarticulate president
There is a case for war--NRO. Cartoon, Mark Smith. HT Legal Insurrection
P.S. If you haven't read Jack Cashill's Deconstructing Obama, you should. It is so dead on. Incurious, inarticulate Obama. Am reading it on Kindle now. And I heard I'm in it. Haven't gotten to that part yet:)
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Liberals' default position: they're never wrong
This is just classic. Amity Shlaes, Forbes, makes a cogent case for defunding NPR. Unfortunately, she had to endure a rebuttal from an SVP Marketing of NPR--who asked for it to be published at Forbes. Classic liberal, asking for an accommodation they rarely grant on their own turf.
Nor does it occur to the SVP Marketing (economics, what economics) that she could be wrong, no she'd rather cast aspersions on someone else. Gee, brilliant PR. (Could get you, uh, fired in the private sector)
All the links are here.
As for Car Talk, turn it loose along with Big Bird.
A cogent case for defunding NPR.
Be Real, Be Bold, GOP:)! Tilt at Bad Sir Brian Botany
Don't let the elitist Dem demagogues (Bad Sir Brian Botany) lay in the weeds, mow over 'em with the power of our ideas:) A fresh, clean cut. Previous, related post: Durbin gets schooled by Schumer...
Durbin gets schooled by Schumer...
“No, I wouldn’t go that far," Durbin responded. "I think there are people who opposed it for legitimate reasons, but there were others who didn’t, who were extreme in their criticism of the Muslim religion.”
“We should be moderate and reasonable in debate and not cross that line into extreme statements," he continued.
O'Reilly gets schooled by Wafa Sultan. Why is it the women who always speak up? Sen. Durbin, who is the extremist? Ask Veena Malik to testify, hmm? Ask Hirsi Ali. Hey, ask me.
P.S. ooookay...
Illinois Pays the Price of Taxing the Rich
***New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Illinois—states that are the most heavily reliant on the taxes of the wealthy—are now among those with the biggest budget holes. A large population of rich residents was a blessing during the boom, showering states with billions in tax revenue. But it became a curse as their incomes collapsed with financial markets.
Arriving at a time of greatly increased public spending, this reversal highlights the dependence of the states on the outsize incomes of the wealthy. The result for state finances and budgets has been extreme volatility.
In New York before the recession, the top 1% of earners, who made more than $580,000 a year, paid 41% of the state's income taxes in 2007, up from 25% in 1994, according to state tax data. The top 1% of taxpayers paid 40% or more of state income taxes in New Jersey and Connecticut. In Illinois, which has a flat income-tax rate of 5%, the top 15% paid more than half the state's income taxes.
Illinois: Almost 97% of state workers could be represented by unions soon
Union members the new rich in this job hemorrhaging, bankrupt state. Good luck retiring, Porky Pigs. Unlike the private sector, you don't create wealth. You are a burden on the taxpayers.
More. Newsalert: Chicago's Population Decline: The Shocking Facts
More. Newsalert: Chicago's Population Decline: The Shocking Facts
What will change this culture of death? Let these children go.
Related posts here and here. Let's note Chicago and Cook County are dominated by government jobs. Gov. Quinn found his margin of victory in counties clustered around the city. And this trend:
...Some glimmer of recognition from the new regime, but not our feckless Dem governor.Related posts here and here. Let's note Chicago and Cook County are dominated by government jobs. Gov. Quinn found his margin of victory in counties clustered around the city. And this trend:
Illinois’s high tax ways have already prompted a net of 1,227,347 residents to move to other states between 1991 and 2009, or about one resident every 10 minutes.
P.S. Here's the Fed number of 75,000 from 2002, which included part-time and the collar counties. That's a big difference from the full-time of 49,000 plus in Chicago stated above.
| Chicago employees/1 | Total employees | Revenues in millions/2 | Earnings (loss) in millions/2 | ||||
| 10/1/02 | Change from 10/1/01 | 10/1/02 | Change from 10/1/01 | 10/1/02 | Change from 10/1/01 | 10/1/02 | Change from 10/1/01 |
| 1 | U.S. Government, 230 S. Dearborn St., Chicago 60604; (312) 353-6234 | Vera Garcia, Service center director | 75,000/3 | –3.8% | |||
1. Figures reflect the number of full-time, full-time equivalent and part-time employees in the six-county area: Cook, DuPage, Will, Lake, McHenry and Kane counties.
Wonder what the number, including part-time is today?
"The Oval Office is not the premium venue it may once have been"
Saw the president speaking on the airport monitors as I came in to O'Hare. It looked like he needed an audience, standing at a podium. The airport did not appear to be rapt.
Lynn Sweet, court reporter set the stage. Is the Oval office too humble for this grandiose president? Or has he cheapened it, by taking America for granted, committing our finest to battle casually, even as he's badmouthed our country his entire political career.
I hope to God Gaddafi falls, since the president committed us to this path weeks ago by stating he needed to go. I hope we prevail in spite of our weak reed of a president.
More. NATO takeover has been delayed. I actually think this is a hopeful sign, given that we are hammering Gaddafi's positions in concert with the rebels. It seems the policy, if not stated, is regime change.
More. WSJ:
House Speaker John Boehner's questions to Mr. Obama last week concerning the Libyan mission's goals are certainly appropriate, and it was clear from Monday night's speech that they have influenced the Administration's argument. Mr. Obama was at pains to portray the Libyan effort as the product of U.S. leadership, though the French, Arabs and Libyan rebels all had to plead the U.S. to act.This is what we mean by constructive criticism by a loyal opposition whose goal is to help the U.S. succeed in its mission—as the American military is well on its way to doing, by the way. Despite the diplomatic confusion of last week, the expansion of a no-fly zone to target Moammar Gadhafi's forces is already paying benefits on the ground. The rebels have retaken several cities and yesterday were moving on the Gadhafi hometown of Sirte. Gadhafi's loyalists must be recalculating the cost of their allegiance.Republicans ought to prod Mr. Obama to push for a faster resolution that ends with the toppling of Gadhafi and his sons from power.
Monday, March 28, 2011
BLACK ACTIVIST CONFRONTS BILL AYERS WITH FACTS
Breitbart video.
Bill Ayers is still an unrepentant domestic terrorist. And he's an advocate of indoctrinating your kids, rather than their actually learning useful skills.
Lots of Buzz on the Ayers' Refrain, Underlining My Meeting*WTF
I've been traveling so managed just this last post with the reminder of Bill Ayers No Dream.As for Moran and Riehl, well, let me just say that's the simple answer. A right-wing nut job--me?
...Every sentient American knows The One's a pompous empty suit as president. His myth is empty too. It's no coincidence Astroturf Axelrod is his campaign guru. WTF
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Ayers admits he wrote Obama's Dreams again
Jack Cashill hot on his trail with his latest book, Deconstructing Obama and now this video of Ayers speaking to his leftist choir. Ayers blurted it out to me in Oct 09, which I chronicled in Bill Ayers No Dream, using the same cowardly cya wording.
I'm waiting for the Ayers' tell-all book since Obama has now turned on his buddy Rev Wright 's Gaddafi and is now a warmonger.
I'm waiting for the Ayers' tell-all book since Obama has now turned on his buddy Rev Wright 's Gaddafi and is now a warmonger.
Friday, March 18, 2011
A Sunrise A Day
One of my favorites, from the archives. Morning over Georgia. Why Republicans Hate NPR: It's Popular!!!
Newsalert: Convicted Felon Robert Creamer Explains
Oh yeah, if it's so popular, why are taxpayers subsidizing this washed out old hippie?
Of course, over at their sister entity, as I understand it, Sesame St.'s CEO rakes in over $900,000 a year. Sen Jim DeMint in the Daily Mail:
The 59-year-old wrote on his blog yesterday: 'When taxpayer funding for public broadcasting ends, rest assured, Cookie Monster will still be fed.'Shows like Sesame Street are multi-million-dollar enterprises capable of thriving in the private market.
'According to the 990 tax form all non-profits are required to file, Sesame Workshop President and CEO Gary Knell received $956,513 - nearly a million dollars - in compensation in 2008.
'And, from 2003 to 2006, Sesame Street made more than $211 million from toy and consumer product sales.'
Free Big Bird.
Union thuggery against Althouse and Meade: “We will hang up wanted posters of you everywhere you like to go.”
Althouse. Madison. Ann Althouse is a UW law professor who voted for Barack Obama but has been progressively disillusioned.The Other McCain: New Motherf–g Tone Update: ‘A Sense of Entitlement That Leads to Criminality’ UPDATE: Althouse Cyberstalker Says ‘Forced to Commit Identity Suicide’
WE WILL HUNT YOU DOWN.
WE WILL SLIT YOUR THROATS.
WE WILL DRINK YOUR BLOOD.
I WILL HAVE YOUR DECAPITATED HEAD ON A PIKE IN THE MADISON TOWN SQUARE.
THIS IS YOUR LAST WARNING.
Yet all this is mostly ignored by the media:
SissyWillis Sissy WillisRT @vermontaigne: RT @katnandu: Wow, HuffPo RT Shame: Ignor'g Death Threats to #WI Pols=Media Bias http://huff.to/i45o29via @HuffingtonPost
Big Government recaps the violent behavior and threats of the public union left, just in Wisconsin: 20 Days of Left-Wing Thuggery in Wisconsin: When Will Obama, Democrats, and MSM Call for Civility?
And these people want us to bless their monopoly on teaching our kids? Scott Walker is one brave man. There are others. This vicious mob action must stop. There should be no public union collective bargaining. Anywhere. Because these people want to hold a gun to our heads to pay for their ill-gotten gains, bankrupting us---and our children---if we don't take a stand now.
Another Self-Involved Stunner from The One
RCP video. Obama: "Never Take It For Granted" That I'm President
In this, our president excels.
P.S. Drudge header, WLS Chicago Don and Roma reading this now. UK paper: Obama weakest president in history?
Kimberley Strassel: President 'Present.' Wall Street Journal
...WLS playing Nowhere Man now.
Previous posts: Our president. All pomp and circumstance,Where's President WaldO on your gas price?...Thanks for the link. Pundit & Pundette
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Our president. All pomp and circumstance
RCP video. The ways of Obama are above us. The cult of personality takes a dive.
Obama loses Joan Baez, another titan of serious thought.
backyardconserv Anne Leary
New tone deaf RT @latimestot: 'Sire, the peasants are revolting!' Obama's amazing problem with political opticslatimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/201… #tcot
This president is all pomp and circumstance.
More. Rasmussen: Just 44% Now Expect Their Home To Be Worth More in Five Years
P.S. In case you missed it: U.S. stunned by latest undercover sting
Even Dems Confront Public Unions. Cook County
The new Dem head, elected on a platform to cut back high sales taxes and clean up corruption, had this to say after her first 100 days on the job:
P.S. Via Morning Bell: The headquarters for the Washington, D.C.Republican National Committee was shot up early Wednesday morning.
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinklewants county employees to pay more toward health care costs and pension plans as part of a long-term strategy to rein in spending.
"We're now in a position where public employees are seen as privileged in relation to the rest of the population because we have both decent salaries and very good benefits," Preckwinkle said Wednesday at a news conference marking her first 100 days in office.
She said the 4 percent share employees pay of their health care costs is "just not sustainable."
Chicago Mayor-elect Rahmbo flexes his clout:
Emanuel backs candidates who have agreed to support his agenda and “appreciate the fact that the budget has to be reformed fundamentally,” he said.
In the most Democrat state in the nation, Maryland Dem Gov. O'Malley attempts slight reform to deal with massive unfunded liabilities.
Then there's the shellacking of a pay to play Dem mayor in Miami.
And Blago quotes Kafka, Kass swats him back.
...but is the Chicago river green today? Charter trouble. Don't let union rules choke innovation.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
The $4-Per-Gallon President
Is it really any surprise that oil and gas prices are surging toward the record highs we saw in 2008 just prior to the economic collapse? Despite the President’s strange assertions in his press conference last week, his Administration is not a passive observer to the trends that have inflated oil prices to dangerous levels. His war on domestic oil and gas exploration and production has caused us pain at the pump, endangered our already sluggish economic recovery, and threatened our national security.More at CNBC. Inflation Pressures Build on Surge in Energy, Food
P.S. Obama at Wheel of Father's Oldsmobile
Related post: Where's President WaldO on your gas price?
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
We Heart Our Friends in Japan
Photos of the day. One a drill, others of devastation.
#prayforjapan...Reuters:
A fire has broken out at the building housing the No.4 reactor of Tokyo Electric Power Co's (9501.T) Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, the electric utility said on Wednesday morning. NHK television later reported that flames were no longer visible at the reactor."All indicators show that Japanese stocks are extremely oversold, but the nuclear crisis still looms large and we'll have to see investors' reaction to the latest news about the nuclear plant," said Hiroichi Nishi, general manager at Nikko Cordial Securities.
Did Obama's election cause the earthquake and tsunami?
"This was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal." MoreSeriously. We can poke the guy on this because he went golfing Saturday, is filling out his bracket, and whining about his influence.
We know for Michelle it's such a sacrifice.
Is she going along on the spring break trip to Rio? Or will she commandeer Air Force Two for her own vacance.
...Music break. Maybe a hat, Michelle, your latest fashion coup. Let's move
Public Unions. Make no mistake. It's About POWER. The Cheesehead Front
Watch this. HT Geraghty.
P.S. News from the cheesehead front:
As for me, I like that Johnsonville sausage, among other things.
What the boycotters don’t realize is that many of these businesses will actually gain business as a result of their Scott Walker contributions. One supermarket in suburban Milwaukee has indicated that their customers have shown overwhelming support for their political activities. (To show my solidarity with Scott Walker, I began supporting the MillerCoors company about two hours before writing this column. It has led to me tearfully e-mailing three ex-girlfriends in the last half hour.)
Northwestern's Sex Class Makes TWS Cover
Joseph Epstein, former prof, writes from Evanston: Lower Education. Sex toys and academic freedom at Northwestern. In part:The professor, J. Michael Bailey, is a man with a reputation for specializing in the outré. (Northwestern ought perhaps to consider itself fortunate that he didn’t teach a course in Aztec history, or he might have offered a demonstration of human sacrifice.) The word got out about the demonstration he had arranged, journalists quickly got on the case, and Northwestern found itself hugely embarrassed, its officials concerned lest parents think it was offering, at roughly $45,000 a year, the educational equivalent of a stag party.Will they offer this to parents now, as part of a lifelong learning series?
Professor emeritus Epstein has more insight and is writing a letter or two to the president of the university. I imagine more than a few alums are as well.
Related thoughts on "academic freedom" and teacher union tyranny in a nearby upscale public elementary school here.
No Porky Bureaucrat Left Behind
Did you know that it is Education Month in the Obama White House? Neither did we. But apparently it is, and accordingly the President crossed the Potomac yesterday to visit an elementary school in Arlington, Virginia, where he pushed for reauthorization of the unpopular No Child Left Behind (NCLB) program. It was a classic President Obama performance. First he denounced the “stale debates” over whether education needed “more money” or “more reform.” Then—surprise—he said what the country really needed was both: “We need more resources for the schools, but we’ve got to reorganize how our schools are doing business in order to assure success for our young people. … Let’s seize this education moment. Let’s fix No Child Left Behind.” No, let’s not.
NCLB is actually the eighth reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA). Passed as part of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s War on Poverty, this first federal intervention into what was originally a state responsibility included just five titles in 32 pages. The effect of the ESEA was felt quickly across the country—but not by the nation’s school children: after passage of ESEA, state education bureaucracies doubled in just five years. Now NCLB spans more the 50 programs, 10 titles, and 600 pages. The bureaucrats are winning.***
More Illinois Chicanery. Redistricting
Since Dem Gov. Quinn won by a few thousand votes from reason-challenged suburban voters he and his cronies get to redistrict the state after a census showing Chicago back to 1920 levels.
Which means Illinois loses a congressional seat.
We already have one of the most bizarre districts in the country, created for Luis Apartments Gutierrez.
The Illinois Constitution calls for "compact" districts. It doesn't mean compacts between "racial and language minorities", but when has a reverence for the law ever been an issue in Illinois.
Other local news: Borders cancels mob son's book tour after threat >>Video
Other national news.
What accounts for the state's success? Dakotans didn't bet the farm, so to speak, on solar cells, high-density housing or high-speed rail. Taxes are moderate—the state ranks near the middle in terms of tax per capita, according to the Tax Foundation—and North Dakota is a right-to-work state, which makes it attractive to new employers, especially in manufacturing. But the state's real key to success is doing the first things first—such as producing energy, food and specialized manufactured goods for which there is a growing, world-wide market. This is what creates the employment and wealth that can support environmental protection and higher education.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
