Saturday, March 06, 2010

Morongate: Matthew Yglesias Proves, Once Again, He's the Dumbest Blogger Alive (Unless Joe Biden Started a Blog When I Wasn't Looking)

Over at Thin Progress, the intellectually stunted Matthew Yglesias contends that "If The Founders Had Wanted a Supermajority Requirement for the Senate, They Could Have Put One in the Constitution"; although Yglesias doesn't like the Constitution and he explicitly says so in the very same secretion.

Yglesias, apparently, missed Schoolhouse Rock when he was a kid and can't seem to locate the official rules of the Senate.

Senate rules permit a senator, or a series of senators, to speak for as long as they wish and on any topic they choose, unless three-fifths of the Senate (60 out of 100 senators "duly chosen and sworn") brings debate to a close by invoking cloture under Senate Rule XXII.

According to the Supreme Court ruling in U.S. v. Ballin (1892), changes to Senate rules could be achieved by a simple majority; but, under current Senate rules, the rule change itself could be filibustered. In this case votes from two-thirds of the Senators present and voting would be required to break the filibuster.

Yglesias, it would seem, had no problem whatsoever...

...when Democrats created the judicial filibuster, an unconstitutional maneuver designed to prevent President George W. Bush from naming the first Hispanic, Miguel Estrada, to the nation's second-highest court.

The modern, radical left Democrat Party, and its sycophants like Yglesias, are cynical, intellectually dishonest and completely, utterly at odds with our founding, the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence.

That Yglesias attempts to cite the founding -- when he and his ilk routinely ignore the Constitution in their illegal attempts to change the relationship between the individual and the state -- is the very definition of chutzpah. It would, in fact, be high comedy were the stakes not so high.

Yglesias Disses the Constitution

Furthermore, Yglesias -- in the very same eruption of verbal excrement -- slams the Constitution itself, stating, "...US officials seem to know better than to indulge in the patriotic myth that our constitution is the greatest system of government ever devised."

Really, Ygly? Really? Where is it better? Zimbabwe? Greece? Red China?

We are conservatives, which is to say we believe in the founding principles of the United States of America. That is: limited government, a respect for individual liberty, free enterprise and private property.

You reject America's founding principles: the very tenets that led to the creation of the greatest country the world has ever seen.

In little more than two hundred years, Americans defeated slavery, Nazism, military Shintoism and Communism; refined mass production; invented human flight; created 75% of all medical innovations on the planet; put a man on the moon; invented the telephone, the Internet and the search engine; and advanced humankind in millions of other ways, in every field and endeavor.

You oppose our Constitution and our Declaration of Independence.

You refute the notion of God-given rights of man and carefully constructed limits on an all-powerful, centralized, authoritarian government.

You see the world as rigid classes of people that must be manipulated to advance a political agenda; whereas we conservatives revel in the notion that America has no static class structure; that every day the rich become poor and the poor rich.

You oppose free markets and the power of the individual -- no matter the race, creed, religion or color -- to achieve greatness through hard work, study, inspiration and innovation.

Now go wait in line at the DMV, you whining twit, so you can experience the kind of service you'll receive when your grand socialized health care plan goes into effect.


Hat tip: Memeorandum. Linked by: InstaPundit, Michelle Malkin, The Other McCain, ShoutFirst and The Astute Bloggers, who provide an excellent history lesson for the "progressives". Thanks!

Warning: Popular Photo Site IZIsmile.com Is Hosting Malware

If you ever visit the photo site IZIsmile, be warned that it appears to be hosting some pretty nasty malware this morning. One of the virtual machines I use to surf was pwnt (infected) this morning and the sequence of events went something like this.
  • The instant I visited the site (using Firefox), Adobe's Acrobat Reader crashed, but not before shellcode was able to download, install and run two programs
  • A fake "Antivirus XP 2010" (av.exe) began running, which closely resembled the Microsoft Security Center
  • It pretended to identify dozens of threats while scanning the VM
  • It disabled Avast antivirus, which was running on the VM
  • It changed the ".exe" file association to point to it first (the Control Panel's Folder Options, File Types), so it would try to start itself anytime a program ran
  • It started a twin keep-alive program, which would occasionally check to see whether av.exe was still running (say, if you closed it using Task Manager), and restart it if it had been closed
  • It added some registry settings to Internet Explorer and Firefox to ensure that each time these programs were started, it was also kicked off
It's a pretty nasty little piece of work, though it could have been much worse.

Its real goal is to pretend to identify all kinds of threats, at which point it tries to force you to purchase the "antivirus" cure.

If you do get infected, be aware that the av.exe file is secreted away pretty well in your local user "Documents and Settings" folder.

cd "c:\Documents and Settings\jsmith\Local Settings\Application Data\

rem Now "unhide" the 'av.exe' file...

attrib av.exe -h -s -r

rem Rename it to render it useless...

ren av.exe av._x_

rem Move up two levels in the folder structure...

cd ..\..

rem Now rename the "keep-alive" helper program

ren *.exe *._x_

rem Now reboot and run Antivirus to clean up

Sophos has written extensively about the fake antivirus phenomenon.


Larwyn's Linx: Lindsey Grahamnesty rides again

Have a great link you'd like me to review? Drop me an email. You can also install a Larwyn's Linx blog widget.

Nation

Lindsey Grahamnesty rides again: Malkin
Hayek’s 'The Mirage of Social Justice': GM's Place
Big Labor, Obama And Dems Have Big Plan$ For You: Riehl

Detroit School Board President Can't Write: BlogProf
The Health Care Bill's Prospects: AT (Baehr)
No flip-floppery, just flim-flammery: Times

Economy

Paul Ryan and the Arithmetic of Money: Belmont Club
SEIU gives $1.7M to IL Governor Quinn: RWN
Real Estate's Link to the Credit Crunch: BizWeek

Democrat House Fortunes Slipping on InTrade: Ace
Kids Today: Wait Till Obama's Bill Comes Due: Riehl
Reid: 36K Lost Their Jobs This Month. And You're Welcome.: Ace

Graph of the Day for 3/5: AT
If leftists are so intelligent, why are we so broke?: Blumer

Climate & Energy

Why Alternative Power Is and Will Remain Useless: ChicagoBoyz
Follow the Money to the Global Warming Hog Trough: RWN
How can you sleep when your bed really is burning?: Cold Fury

Media

And Not Once Did the New York Times Mention the Word Islam!: RWN
Witness: A Hero’s Hero: Cold Fury
Roger Cohen: Recidivist Appeaser of Iran: Commentary

One Fails To Understand How David Brooks Breathes: RSM
The Rapper and the White House Situation Room: AT
Answering William Galston: Commentary

World

Geert Wilders’ Speech in the House of Lords: GoV
Pardon Me, Mr. President, But Isn't Your Policy on Fire?: BRubin
Turkey tells Obama to Block Armenian Genocide bill or else: Atlas

Ready, Aim -- Hold Your Fire: Dangerous Rules of Engagement for U.S. Troops: Times
The Goddess That Failed: Chesler
Fighting the Blood Libels: PJM

SciTech

The Origins Of Facebook And Its Founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg: Insider
New Photoshop for Android Needles Apple: CNet

Cornucopia

Frequently Answered Questions: American Digest
Yes, Ma'am!: Mirror
ToDaZeD California *facepalm*: SondraK


Friday, March 05, 2010

Good News: Greece May Implode Before California, Helpfully Deflecting Criticism From Suicidal Policies of Democrats, Albeit Temporarily

Tyler Durden:

Greek taxpayers are not happy, and in this clip from Bloomberg, they make it painfully obvious...

With parliament now having officially passing austerity measures, the question remains: will strikes and demonstrations persist, or will the Greeks tire out and go back to their old, and much poorer, ways?

Observers like Barrie McKenna think that California is a far worse threat to the world economy than Greece. What's Greece compared to California? Like, a pancake in relation to Michael Moore's breakfast?

Commenter B9K9 offers the long-term analysis.

I've got news for you: everyone is going back to their old ways, some poorer, some richer. It's all simply a function of productivity - the efficient application of capital + labor. The only thing the last 20-30 year period of credit-leveraged asset-inflation accomplished was creating a false sense of entitlement amongst an awful lot of people.

And I don't mean just foreigners; I'm referring specifically to many of my fellow Californians. A lot of immigrants (including my dear wife - a NYC transplant) only know the California of the last generation - the cleaned up, gussied version.

I've told her, and I'll tell the board, if you want to know what California really looked like as recently as 1975, there is no better snap-shot of that period than the original "Gone in 60 Seconds". Shot on the streets of LA County's South Bay, today home to some of the most expensive real estate in the USA, it looks no different than a generic suburb of a mid-western city such as Chicago.

The reason for this appearance, of course, is that the Bay Area & SoCal were NO different than generic mid-western suburbs! We're talking major extractive industries like oil, gas & commercial fishing, large scale manufacturing (not the least being aerospace), huge military bases and construction. High-tech (my biz) & entertainment (i.e., Hollywood) get a lot of attention (because it sells media), but they represent a fraction of the 'real' economy.

But as California shifted away from a productive economy, towards one centered around financing serial debt expansionary bubbles, we saw the effect that old magic of asset (housing) inflation had on the overall demographic composition. Middle-class moved out, to be replaced with lower class immigrants to serve those who had carved out a slice at the top.

So now we have nice 'clean' FIRE industries with none of that hurly burly going on. The gardeners & nannies are allowed in during the day (special dispensations are granted to evening restaurant workers) and everything seems hunky dory. Except it isn't.

The opportunity, which I've hinted at on other threads, lies in identifying not only the resulting applications, but the processes by which we will return from whence we came. These will provide the core drivers for goods & services as we all take this collective journey back to our roots.

A quick viewing of Back to the Future may do the trick.


'Premiere Compact' Lexus CT 200h will make it to U.S.

CarScoop:

The all-new Lexus CT 200h premium hybrid hatchback, which had its world premiere at the 2010 Geneva Auto Show today, will be sold in the U.S.A. after all...

Lexus' second dedicated hybrid model... will be on display for the first time in North America at the 2010 New York Auto Show that runs from March 31 through April 11. European as well as North American sales will start early next year.

"When the all-new Lexus CT 200h enters the market it will be the only hybrid vehicle in the emerging premium compact segment," said Mark Templin, Lexus Division group vice president and general manager.

The CT rolls on 17-inch wheels wedded to a brand new front-wheel platform. Its 1.8 liter gas engine is accompanied by an electric motor, though no performance figures have been released thus far. As befits a true hybrid, the CT is gear-less, using an electronic CVT transmission with ECO, SPORT and NORMAL settings.

I'm still stunned by the marketing hyperbole, namely: "the emerging premium compact segment."

In other words, they just made up the whole damn segment.


Change: WaPo admits Obama will add $9.7 trillion to U.S. debt by 2020

When you've lost The Washington Post, you've lost E.J. Dionne.

President Obama's policies would add more than $9.7 trillion to the national debt over the next decade, congressional budget analysts said Friday, including more than $2 trillion that Obama proposes to devote to extending a variety of tax cuts enacted during the Bush administration.

The 10-year outlook by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office is somewhat gloomier than White House projections, which found that Obama's policies would add $8.5 trillion to the debt by 2020.

For those of you Democrats keeping score, that's roughly fifteen Iraq and Afghanistan Wars.

And when you've lost the Associated Depress, you've lost the Harvard Journalism majors.

Congressional estimates show grim deficit picture...

The deficit picture has turned alarmingly worse since the recession that started at the end of 2007, never dipping below 4 percent of the size of the economy over the next decade. Economists say that deficits of that size are unsustainable and could put upward pressure on interest rates, crowd out private investment in the economy and ultimately erode the nation's standard of living.

Say, I've got an idea!

Let's nationalize one-sixth of the economy and run up another few trillion in debt! After all, those evil insurance companies actually make enough profit to pay for two days of American health care! That's right: the profits of all U.S. health insurance companies equals two days of coverage for Americans.

Oh, those evil, evil bastards!

Come to think of it, I really like waiting in line at the DMV. They gave me a coloring book and everything! So, if I need a kidney, I can entertain myself while I wait.


Hat tip: Drudge. Linked by: Michelle Malkin and Memeorandum. Thanks!

Dealergate rears its ugly head in Colorado: Dealers up in arms over new Chrysler franchises awarded in their old locations

Last May, a scandal erupted that was quickly dubbed "Dealergate". It involved nearly 800 Chrysler dealerships that were forcibly closed by government officials, many under bizarre circumstances. An analysis showed that dealers who had contributed significant sums to Democrats had little chance of having a dealership revoked, while heavy GOP contributors were almost certain to have their franchises terminated.

...despite the claim that each dealership was evaluated at the individual market level, at least four major, connected Democrat contributors will end up with more dealerships in the aggregate than when they started.

These four "Democrat" dealer groups own 40 Chrysler dealerships. One of those owners is already in all sorts of legal and financial hot water with suppliers and customers. He's not exactly a candidate most screening processes would keep. Yet they will likely end up with 42 dealerships after the shuffling... And their competition is gutted in every single market! Strange!

And, oddly enough, the Car Czar's wife is a former Democrat fundraiser... not just an Obama fundraiser. She knows exactly who to cultivate, you might say... Geez, what are the odds of that happening in forty different locations?

Today The Denver Post reported that area dealers whose franchises were terminated are really ticked off.

Chrysler's move to award new Colorado franchises after shutting down existing dealers is drawing fire... A handful of Colorado Chrysler dealerships that received shutdown notices last year have seen their territory awarded to competitors before they had a chance to appeal their closures.

The dealers said Chrysler's actions violate the intent of a recent federal law that gives the franchises the right to file for arbitration over their shutdowns... Phil Long lost its Chrysler and Jeep franchises last year after the automaker filed for bankruptcy protection. The dealership in January filed for arbitration, but Feb. 12 — before the appeal could be heard — Chrysler awarded a new franchise to AutoNation, which operates a dealership one block from Phil Long's South Wads worth location.

Fynes said Phil Long's loss of the Chrysler brands and the conversion to used-car sales has caused a revenue loss of about 75 percent...

Another Colorado dealer, Yale King of King Auto Group in Longmont, lost his Jeep franchise last year and recently saw it re-awarded to a competitor 3 miles away.

AutoNation's PAC donated over $10,000 to Democrats in 2008.

Maybe that's what President Obama meant by "green" collar jobs.


Senate to House: 'You can't spend your whole life worrying about your mistakes! You f***ed up... you trusted us!'

William Jacobson was among the first to point out that reconciliation doesn't matter when it comes to Democrats ramming Obamacare through Congress.

Probably the single biggest obstacle to Obamacare is House Democrats who do not like the Senate health care bill, but whose votes are needed to move the budget reconciliation process along... The strategy appears to be for the House to pass the Senate bill as is, based on the promise of the budget reconciliation process being successful in the Senate to implement changes.

But what if the Senate does not or cannot pass the changes through the reconciliation process?

Obama then has to power to sign the bill as passed by the House and Senate, meaning the Senate bill... Has Obama promised not to do so? ...Here's a list of Obama promises to the left-wing of the Democratic Party which have been broken, courtesy of Firedoglake: Senate Health Care Bill Is Built On Obama’s Broken Promises.

Here are some others, all from the left:

The Senate's reaction to the House echoes Otter's missive to Flounder:

"You can't spend your whole life worrying about your mistakes! You f***ed up... you trusted us!"

Anyone who trusts Barack Obama, Rahm Emanuel, David Axelrod and President Andy Stern needs their head examined (after it is oh-so-carefully extracted from their posterior).


State-run media: Pentagon shooter deranged, right-wing, tea-bagging extremist (plus-registered-Democrat-Bush-hater-and-Truther-but-don't-tell-anyone!)

• The Christian Science Monitor: "John Patrick Bedell: Did right-wing extremism lead to shooting?"

• Drink Progress: "Pentagon Shooter Was Right-Wing, Anti-Government Terrorist."

• Whiskey Fried: "Shooter was 'anti-Bush' and 'a 9/11 Truther' because he was an Anti Big Government right wing loonball."

Michelle Malkin and Patterico have utterly eviscerated the claims that this troubled young man was "right wing".

A nutball shot two security guards at a Pentagon-area Metro station in D.C. yesterday.

As Patterico reports, he hated Bush and littered the Internet with 9/11 Truther rants...

The Blame the Tea Party push by the MSM begins (h/t allahpundit)...

The Associated Depressed piles on, neglecting all of the glorious Internet tubes that point out that the shooter was a registered... Democrat.

Stunningly, the mainstream media remains perplexed; its management utterly baffled as to why their companies are hemorrhaging like Monty Python's Black Knight.


Hat tip: Memeorandum.

Obama's Fool and His Errand

Dan from New York:

Column One: Biden’s lost cause


By CAROLINE GLICK

US Vice President Joseph Biden’s job is about to stop being easy. Indeed, it is about to become impossible.

On Monday, he will arrive in Israel for a three-day visit. Biden, who will meet with Israel’s leaders, will be the most senior official in the cavalcade of senior US officials who have descended on Israel in recent weeks. He will replace Sen. John Kerry, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, who was here this week. Kerry himself replaced Adm. Michael Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who was here two weeks ago.

In his press conference in Jerusalem on Monday, Kerry explained the purpose of these visits. “...I am here and other people were here and Vice President Biden is coming shortly... to make sure we are all on the same page and that we are all clear about [Iran].”

Although Biden is just the latest senior US official to visit Israel to try to coerce the government not to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear power, his visit is novel in one respect. In addition to his meetings with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and the rest of Israel’s senior officials, Biden intends to make a case for the Obama administration’s policies towards Iran, the Palestinians and Israel directly to the Israeli public. During his trip he will give what is being billed as a major policy speech at Tel Aviv University.

In light of the gaping disparity between the Obama administration’s policies and those of the Israeli government, the apparent goal of Biden’s address is to shore up the position of the Israeli Left as an alternative to Netanyahu. Apparently, the picture emerging from all of the senior US officials’ meetings with Netanyahu is that Israel’s leader still feels comfortable defying them. Presumably, they now believe that the only way to force him to toe their line is by making him believe that the price of defiance will be his premiership.

This of course is a difficult task. The Left after all was roundly defeated in last year’s election. Making it a credible alternative is no mean task.

...The Left’s hope of forming a coalition with Obama against Netanyahu was given its most explicit expression last July in an op-ed by Haaretz’s editor-at-large Aluf Benn in The New York Times. After expressing his support for Obama’s policies, Benn bemoaned the fact that due to Obama’s low approval ratings among Israeli Jews (at the time they stood at 6% and they later plunged to 4%), it would be hard for him to convince the Israeli public to abandon its support for Netanyahu in favor of Obama’s – that is the Israeli Left’s – policies. To improve this dismal state of affairs, Benn suggested that Obama simply needs to make his case to the Israeli public, which “will surely listen” to him.

...Biden was selected for the job because he is widely perceived as the most pro-Israel senior member of the administration. The fact that before becoming vice president Biden had one of the most pro-Iran voting records in the Senate has done nothing to mitigate this perception. Indeed, despite the fact that Biden voted repeatedly against sanctions on Iran, claimed that Iran’s quest for nuclear bombs was understandable and called for the US to sign a nonaggression pact with the mullocracy while threatening to move for president George W. Bush’s impeachment if he were to order a military strike against Iran’s nuclear weapons programs...

[But the] Israeli public is not interested in a change of tone – from Obama or from the Israeli Left. It is interested in a change of policy. Until it gets it, the public will in all likelihood remain loyal to Netanyahu.

Joe Biden, 2001: "Seems to me this would be a good time to send, no strings attached, a check for $200 million to Iran."


Larwyn's Linx: Passing Obamacare Requires House to Trust Senate

Have a great link you'd like me to review? Drop me an email. You can also install a Larwyn's Linx blog widget.

Nation

Passing Obamacare Requires House to Trust Senate: Pundette
Armageddon Now: SIGIS
Obama summons Dems to Pickett's Charge: Tapscott

Senate Source to House: "We Will Kill Your 'Fix'": RWN
Obama to liberal Dems: don't worry, this is just the start!: Hot Air
How Popular Will The Obagenda Be This Fall?: Driscoll

Pentagon Shooter: Anti-Bush Nut and 9/11 Truther: Patterico
Democrats Flee Sinking Ship, Part 27: Barone
Dean: Health bill hangs Dem incumbents, Obama out to dry: Hill

Economy

Lying about Bush's tax cuts: AT
MI State Unions Keep 3% Raises As Others Suffer: BlogProf
Congressmen still mum on their Rangel dirty dollars: WashExam

America's Future In Greece: RWN
Commie Students Protest Budget Cuts: GWP
7 in 10 putting off retirement: the implicaions...: Mish

Climate & Energy

Radical environmental groups ripped off taxpayers to the tune of $37 million: PJM
Climate scientists plot to fight back at skeptics: Times
New natural Climate change discovery in the Arctic: AT

Media

Please Commence Panicking In An Orderly, Controlled Fashion: Driscoll
Washington Post Smells a Rat Named Rahm: Wizbang
Five Reasons the Palin-Burnet Deal Will Be the Most Brilliant Tactical Move in 21st Century Politics: HillBuzz

The Amazingly Durable American Spirit: Rants
Can Granny Rictus McBotoxImplants Really Twist Any More Arms?: Ace
White House Transparency: 'No Questions, Please': WashExam

World

North Korea’s Party Hearty Tyranny: Kesler
The Guaranteed Failure of Catering to Muslim Perception: PJM
When It's Necessary and Desirable to Assassinate Terrorists: BRubin

SciTech

Skinput Turns Any Bodily Surface Into a Touch Interface: PopSci
Windows Phone 7: a Complete Reset: CNet

Cornucopia

Building Code Enactment: C&S
This Too Shall Pass: OK Go (YouTube)
Color Names By Gender: C&S

Best of the Web: What Did the Founders Say Today?


• "If the Republicans pushing against the filibuster love majority rule so much, they should propose getting rid of the Senate altogether. But doing so would mean acknowledging what's really going on here: regime change disguised as a narrow rules fight. We could choose to institute a British-style parliamentary system in which majorities get almost everything they want. But advocates of such a radical departure should be honest enough to propose amending the Constitution first."--E.J. Dionne, Washington Post, March 22, 2005

• "The Founders said nothing in the Constitution about the filibuster, let alone 'reconciliation.' Judging from what they put in the actual document, the Founders would be appalled at the idea that every major bill should need the votes of three-fifths of the Senate to pass."--E.J. Dionne, Washington Post, March 4, 2010


Thursday, March 04, 2010

Bankruptcy Here We Come: Federal Court Rejects California Medicaid Cuts

The San Francisco Chronicle:

A federal appeals court barred California on Wednesday from lowering Medi-Cal payments to doctors and hospitals by 5 percent and from cutting in-home care workers' wages by nearly 20 percent, saying the state's budget crisis doesn't justify violating federal laws that protect the poor and disabled. In four rulings, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco rejected attempts by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Legislature to reduce the state's deficit by paying less to the health professionals who treat 6.6 million low-income Californians, and to hundreds of thousands of workers who care for some of the neediest.

The appellate court said federal law requires "states to maintain poor residents' equal access to basic health care, and forbids cuts intended solely to save money" (Egelko, 3/4).

Medicaid is bankrupting the states. Medicare is underfunded by tens of trillions of dollars while hemorrhaging a hundred billion each year in fraud. And Social Security is running in the red this year, a decade earlier than Democrats predicted.

And the far left, union-controlled, Democrat Party continues on its death march to nationalize one-sixth of the economy.

So how's that progressive movement working out?

Not so great for we, the people.


A Love Letter To Conservatives

By Beth

As someone on the receiving end of what is produced by the most talented and best educated (in the truest sense) conservatives, I would like to express my gratitude and admiration for those whose voices have most influenced me. I am just one of millions across this wonderful country who have taken heart because we are so well represented by you.

I will never have the opportunity to thank you in person for exciting me with your ideas and humor, and calming me with your profound impact on the nation. Given the forces positioned historically and currently to corrupt, distort, and therefore transform our lives, our country, and the world, it is almost a miracle that all has not been lost. A scattering of conservative voices have been a surprisingly powerful bulwark.

With the ability to frame arguments around how man's condition defines what can or should be done in matters related to governance, conservatives have convinced us that their view is the most correct. And the good cheer that they bring to this task is remarkable. I would not attempt to name those most dear to me nor those recognized as principals in the movement, but it has occurred to me that there is a community I would like to single out. Because of those conservative instincts which are liberating and due to the nature of the medium in which they work, our bloggers exhibit the best humor and creativity, and have earned a special place in our hearts. Also they hammer our opponents relentlessly, which is truly appreciated.

So what are the millions of us doing with all of this information provided by columnists, authors, scholars, think tank fellows, talk-show hosts and bloggers?

We are arming ourselves with the truth and will make sure that it is represented in the historical record.

No longer will the left be able to bury the truth and promote their false narratives. We are keeping lists of who is doing what and we will safeguard what we know. The mask is coming off of those on the left and, like Mr. Emanuel, we know how to use a crisis. Our opponents would use the crisis of their making to enslave our children and our neighbors, while we will use it to educate and free them.

So finally, I return to those who have opened my eyes. Thank you. I cannot sufficiently express my appreciation and love for you. I have to admit that the emotional part of what I am experiencing is greater than I would have thought possible a year ago but I suppose that you understand. It's been quite a year.


Interviewer's question to SEIU head Andy Stern reveals who is really in charge: "How have you decided to pass [health] reform?"

Earlier today, The Cornell Daily Sun published an exclusive interview with Service Employees International Union (SEIU) president Andy Stern. The leader of the huge public-sector union lectured for two days at Cornell's School of Industrial and Labor Relations ("How to Bankrupt Taxpayers and the Auto Companies in Three Easy Steps?") and granted the interview before he left.

For reference purposes, it's worth noting that the White House is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the SEIU. Stern has visited the White House at least 28 times to set policy and, apparently, to serve as lead negotiator between Rod Blagojevich and President Obama for the latter's vacant Senate seat.

Sun: Despite the concern, why has America’s unionization rate been falling for the past several decades?

A.S.: It’s a combination of three factors. One factor is that the jobs that have been exported have been significantly more union. The jobs more in retail that have been created have been significantly less union. Two, we have laws that were written in 1935 that have been weakened substantially by the courts and by administrative law rulings and we have employers who are viciously fighting to stop giving workers a right. And when you look at the difference, with 37 percent of the workers in the public sector in union [sic], 7 percent in the private, you can ask that maybe the difference is the unions, or maybe the difference is the workers, but I would say the difference is the employers’ behavior... The private sector has decided that they want to give people a communist choice, which is no union. That’s all they really want on their ballot, and anyone who really tries to buck the domination and tyranny of the employer will pay a price.

Sun: What do you mean by a communist choice
?

A.S.: I’m just saying that in the communist countries when they have elections, there’s really only one choice. [You mean like "Card Check", Andy?] What employers want is to make it very clear there’s only one choice as far as they’re concerned, which is no union.

...Sun: Have you seen many successes so far?

A.S.: I think we’re on the verge of success in healthcare. I hope the president today will announce that he’s on the goal line and he’s organizing a huddle to try to make the plan to get across, which would — for the first time in the history of our country — allow people some sense of security and opportunity to not be victims of the insurance industry and increasingly higher and higher premiums. I think we’ve seen, because of the economic collapse, no real progress yet on how American workers get a raise. I think we’ve stabilized the patient, meaning the economy, but we’ve not begun to revive it significantly. I think that’s the next challenge.

...Sun: So how have you decided to pass the reform? [Ed: note the phrasing]

A.S.: The president, after a long process, has stepped in with his final set of ideas that will come out today or tomorrow. The Speaker of the House [Nancy Pelosi] is preparing the education process to get members of her party understanding the bill. And we hope, in congressional districts all over the country, to have our members go speak with their representatives — call, write, fax — to make it clear this is a once in a lifetime opportunity and we can’t let it slip away.

...Sun: About a year ago, you said that Obama would “shepherd” EFCA to passage in 2009. It still hasn’t been passed, so what went wrong?

A.S.: We all got to watch, from a ring-side seat, the dysfunctional character of our Congress, and particularly the United States Senate, who over a number of election cycles were given a rare moment, which was the ability to debate any single issue they wanted to without a filibuster of the other party. They squandered it and used it instead to hold bills hostage, hold their colleagues hostage, cut special deals for their state or for certain employers. We missed an opportunity to have what Americans sent them there to do, which is to have a debate and vote. Instead we got an arrogance of power, of individuals stopping change because they could.

The interviewer's question about a government takeover of health care is fascinating: "So how have you decided to pass the reform?"

Not: "How are your members helping the President pass reform?" Not: "What can interested citizens do to help Democrats in Congress make a decision?" Not: "Are there some GOP health care suggestions that you would embrace to help Congress reach a bipartisan consensus?"

No, it's phrased as though Andy Stern is calling the shots. And he is.

It's estimated that union bosses donated between 400 million and half a billion dollars of their members' dues money trying to elect Democrats in 2008. The unions' agenda -- and that of the Democrats -- conflicts directly with the interests of the American taxpayer.

And, in return, virtually every policy the Obama Democrats try to slam through Congress -- cap-and-trade, socialized medicine, the "Employee Free Choice Act", and the auto industry takeover -- is designed to benefit the unions and harm taxpayers. And that explains the hysterically funny decision to name Andy Stern, a man whose unions have done mortal damage to federal and state budgets, to Obama's "deficit commission".

Andy Stern, not Alexander Haig, is in control at the White House.


Bove: New York A.G. Andrew Cuomo is 'Father of Subprime Crisis' and is Killing Jobs in NYC; Otherwise Perfectly Qualified for Governorship

I'm truly shocked that CNBC reported and publicized this story ("NY's Cuomo Is 'Father of Subprime Crisis:' Bove").

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is the "father of the subprime crisis" and his aggressive attacks on Wall Street could make him dangerous to the banking sector if he becomes the next governor of New York, well-known banking analyst Dick Bove told CNBC.

"One of the key reasons why [Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are] bankrupt today, and why the government is spending hundreds of millions of dollars in supporting them, is because of the edicts pushed through by Mr. Cuomo," said Bove, of Rochdale Securities, in a live interview.

"It's also thought by many that the hundreds of thousands of people who are losing their homes, are [doing so] to a great degree because of the actions taken by Mr. Cuomo at HUD," Bove added.

Cuomo, who was secretary of Housing and Urban Development from 1997 to 2001, has been blamed in some quarters for helping to trigger the financial crisis by pushing Fannie and Freddie to buy more subprime mortgages to increase home ownership among the poor. Many of those homeowners eventually defaulted, and the mortgage-backed securities market later collapsed.

Cuomo also has gone after Wall Street bonuses and the banking sector in general, Bove said, which could prove detrimental to the state's economy if he's elected.

Moves like those will reduce the state's tax revenue, push high net worth people out of the New York, and hurt the state's core industry, Bove said... "If you were looking at California, the attorney general there is not pushing the entertainment industry. In Michigan, the attorney general is not suing the auto industry. In Texas, the attorney general is not going after the oil industry," he said. "It simply makes no sense from a financial or a logical standpoint."

Though Cuomo has not officially announced his candidacy for the seat, he is considered by many to be a favorite in the election after Gov. David Paterson's announcement last week that he will not run for a full term... But if Cuomo does decide to run and is elected, Bove said he will quickly realize that his decisions thus far have had a negative effect on the state, and he'll need to change them.

"His lack of financial acumen may prevent him from doing the right things even if he wants to," he said. "You just dont want someone with that type of lack of understanding of the financial system running a state as important as New York."

Cuomo is a menace, an economic illiterate who has largely escaped blame for his central role in touching off the mortgage meltdown.

I congratulate Dick Bove for identifying Cuomo as one of the key culprits. Cuomo should be serving time in federal lockup right now with Bernie Madoff.


Related Illustrated Story: The Fannie Mae Testimony That Will Have You Pulling Your Hair Out.

Iranians captured in the process of importing assassination weapons -- was a covert revenge operation thwarted?

Maktoob reports:

Two Iranians and five Italians were arrested Wednesday in Italy on suspicion of trafficking arms to Iran in violation of international sanctions, a top anti-terrorist prosecutor said.

...Nejad Hamid Masoumi, 51, was accredited as a journalist in Rome, while the other, Bakhtiyari Homayoun, 47, had no stated occupation. Both were arrested in Turin in northwest Italy... Filling orders from Iran, the entrepreneurs bought weapons in Europe, mainly in Germany, Andreone said, adding that most of the purchases were legal.

They transported the weapons through third countries such as Britain, Switzerland and Romania before shipping them to Iran using other companies as cover.

Some shipments passed via the Gulf state of Dubai... The scheme fell apart with a simple check by Romanian customs officials, who confiscated 200 gunsights. Another 100 were seized in London, Andreone said.

"The order was for 1,000 gunsights, of which 150 were already sent to Iran via Switzerland," he said. "We managed to interrupt the supply of 120 buoyancy compensators for divers designed for military use."

The probe interrupted the supply of anti-tank projectiles made in Bulgaria and in former Soviet states, as well as explosive chemical materials including zirconium and nickel, Andreone said.

The photos depict the items the Italian authorities offered to the press; and these completely contradict the news report.

Consider that the Italian authorities displayed small arms and knives -- a Beretta 92FS fitted with a silencer, for instance. These are weapons designed for covert operations, not warfare.

Say, an assassination or three to retaliate for the hit on Hamas.

I'd say that's the bigger story, which appears to have been -- unsurprisingly -- completely missed by a complacent and clueless press.


Larwyn's Linx: When In The Course Of Human Events

Have a great link you'd like me to review? Drop me an email. You can also install a Larwyn's Linx blog widget.

Nation

When In The Course Of Human Events: Riehl
Here comes the reconciliation 'nobody' is talking about: Malkin
NRCC Goes Code Red: NRCC

Yes, Unprecedented: Corner
Closed Door Corruption Watch: It's the Timing, Stupid: Riehl
Alan Frumin: the man who may decide health care: Patterico

159 Big Spending Features of Obamacare: RWN
Stopping the Runaway Congress: BigGovt
You may be an ethics violator if...: Tapscott

To Keep and Bear Arms: Doc Zero
Another Dem may switch to 'No': Ace

Economy

Federal Receipts as the Inverse of Liberty: RSM
Alice in health care: Sowell
Epic Fail: GW examines Obama policy crapout: RSM

Reid: Let's Burn Another $150 Billion on Stimulus III: Surber
Selling Judgeships for Health Care Votes: WklyStd
Medicare, Social Security Going Broke -- President Isn't Even Trying to Fix Them: Ryan

Climate & Energy

‘Anti-Lobbyist’ Obama Administration Recruited Left-Wing Lobbyists to Sell Bogus ‘Green Jobs’: PJM
Science Czar’s Connections to Soviet Spies: NoisyRoom
Obama Science Czar Holdren's Pro - Soviet Associations : NewZeal

Harvard: Eh, that WH policy means tripling the price of gas: Lane
What Ever Happened to 'Drill Baby, Drill'?: PJM
White House land grap favor animals over Americans: DeMint

California's Schizophrenic Elites: Hanson
Big Solar: The Green Lobby Flexes its Muscles in Arizona: StateBrief
Hey, Do You Think Maybe We Should Stop Giving The Chinese AGW Scamulus Grants?: CBullitt

Moonbat Tech: The Human Car: RWN
Out of the Way, Gore! Make Way for Lindsey 'Goober' Graham!: RWN

Media

Um, MSNBC is *Totally* Losing It: Host Screeching About Racists and Nazis: RWN
Massa Lied, Hoyer's Reputation Died: GWP
The Mainstream Media's New 'Favorite Republican': Goober Graham: PJM

No Kidding: Anti-Obama Sentiment Sweeps the Nation: Barnes
Motive in IG Walpin Firing?: MagNote
The Racial Inanity of Leonard Pitts: BlogProf

Obama Now In Full-Blown Chavez Mode: JWF
Again with the Doctors: AmerDig

World

Holder’s 'Al-Qaeda 7' Attorneys Revealed: GWP
And the winner is… Geert Wilders: "We are going to conquer the entire country": Atlas
UAE still using child jockeys -rights group: Maktoob

Live Aid was Death Aid: Surber
GITMO North Is the Worst Option on the Table: BigGovt
Israel is no more rogue than America: FT

Amateur Hour: Dr. Sanity

SciTech

Google China hackers stole source code - researcher: Reuters
Woman Goes In For Boob Job, Comes Out With "Four Breasts": Consumerist
Talent Flow: LinkedIn

Cornucopia

Funny or Die's Presidential Reunion: Funny or Die
Daily Scoreboard: Surber
The Obama Library: iOTW


Wednesday, March 03, 2010

Commercial Real Estate Continues Tanking, But Economic Effects Are Offset By Residential Real Estate, Which Is Crashing Even Faster

Realpoint's latest report on commercial real estate is a doozy (PDF). You couldn't get a more sobering readout with a shower and a quart of hot coffee.

In January 2010, the delinquent unpaid balance for CMBS [Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities] increased by another $4.3 billion, up to $45.94 billion from $41.64 billion a month prior. The overall delinquent unpaid balance is up 326% from one-year ago (when only $10.79 billion of delinquent unpaid balance was reported for January 2009), and is now over 20 times the low point of $2.21 billion in March 2007.

Overall, the total unpaid balance... for the January 2010 remittance was $797.3 billion... Both the delinquent unpaid balance and delinquency percentage over the trailing twelve months are... clearly trending upward.

The total balance of loans in Foreclosure and REO increased for the 27th straight month to $9.64 billion in January 2010 from $9.34 billion in December 2009 and $8.78 billion in November, despite ongoing liquidation activity. The chart [above] also shows the rapid growth of loans reflecting 90-day delinquency in the past 12 months, transitioning swiftly from 30-day defaults into more distressed levels on a monthly basis in 2009, thus supporting our use of such as an early indicator of workouts to come for 2010.

Put simply: brace for more pain in the commercial real estate space.

Well, residential real estate must be improving, right? Not exactly. The following Blytic graphs depict the real estate price index (RPX) in various metro areas since the year 2000.

Here's the graph of home prices in Phoenix, Arizona. Gee, that home-buyer tax credit didn't really work, but at least he was historic, right, Melvin?

Say, Las Vegas is hopping.

Gun-free Chicago -- my kind of town. Except for the hundreds of murders each year, thanks to the insane policies of Mayor Daley and the rest of the Democrat machine.

Miami - whyamee?

Mayor Kilpatrick (D-umb) and Governor Granholm (D-umber) certainly worked wonders in Detroit.

At least the masterful leadership in its city and surrounding counties -- as well as ultra-careful land use policies -- saved Atlanta from... oops.

Thankfully, the Obama administration has created or saved over ninety million green collar jobs. Secretary of the Treasury Tim Geithner's behavior has been beyond reproach. And the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has brought much-needed tax relief for small businesses and 95 percent of all working families.

Thank heavens for President Obama and his crack staff of economic advisers who have brought so much real world experience to their current roles. If it weren't for them, I'm not sure what kind of shape this country would be in.


Hat tip: Mish.

Top 10 Public Pensions Headed for Collapse

Business Insider's Gregory White offers a rare look at the worst of the public pensions and the folks who run them. Insider's top ten?

Missouri DOT and Highway Patrol - 59.1% Funded


2008 Unfunded Actuarial Accrued Liabilities: $1.2 Billion. Head of Fund: Chair of the Board of Trustees Roger D. Stottlemyre.

Illinois Universities - 58.5% Funded


2008 Unfunded Actuarial Accrued Liabilities: $10.3 Billion. Head of Fund: Chairwoman Carrie Hightman.

Illinois Teachers - 56% Funded


2008 Unfunded Actuarial Accrued Liabilities: $30.2 Billion. Head of Fund: President Christopher A. Koch.

Kentucky ERS - 54.2% Funded


2008 Unfunded Actuarial Accrued Liabilities: $4.9 Billion. Head of Fund: Chair Randy J. Overstreet.

Rhode Island ERS - 53.4% Funded


2008 Unfunded Actuarial Accrued Liabilities: $4.9 Billion. Head of Fund: Rhode Island General Treasurer Frank T. Caprio.

Connecticut SERS - 53.3% Funded


2008 Unfunded Actuarial Accrued Liabilities: $7.5 Billion. Head of Fund: Chairman Peter R. Blum.

Oklahoma Teachers - 50.5% Funded


2008 Unfunded Actuarial Accrued Liabilities: $9.1 Billion. Head of Fund: James R. Wilbanks, Ph D., Executive Secretary.

West Virginia Teachers - 50% Funded


2008 Unfunded Actuarial Accrued Liabilities: $4.1 Billion. Head of Fund: Governor Joe Manchin III.

Illinois SERS - 46.1% Funded


2008 Unfunded Actuarial Accrued Liabilities: $12.8 Billion. Head of Fund: Illinois Comptroller and Chairman Daniel W. Hynes.

Indiana Teachers - 45.1% Funded


2008 Unfunded Actuarial Accrued Liabilities: $10.3 Billion. Head of Fund: Governor Mitch Daniels.

Congratulations, Illinois, you're our big winner: you've made the list three times. Be sure and thank Andy Stern, Wade Rathke and Barack Obama when you see them.