The Body Politic

Kenysian Economics Explained

2011-06-10T10:33:00.001-07:00

I found this great YouTube video that explains Keynesian theory simply and accurately.

Weiner Wants An Extension

2011-06-09T06:02:00.000-07:00

Sorry, I couldn't resist.
In appears Anthony Weiner is going to try to hold onto his seat in congress and there are actually people in his district who still support him. AMAZING. Well, time will tell as more photographs of his abhorent facebook and twitter communications become public.
I always thought that the egotistical Weiner had a big head, but all we've been able to get a glimpse of lately is his little one. Nuff said.

Gene Simmons Talks Sense

2011-06-02T19:10:00.000-07:00

Political Cartoon Feature

2011-05-12T10:22:00.000-07:00

Recently I've seen some great cartoons so I thought I'd start a regular cartoon feature. I'm not sure how long it will last or how frequent it will be, but I'll base that you reader's response and input. Enjoy cartoon #1 below:

More Left Wing Fear-Mongering

2011-05-11T19:09:00.000-07:00

Chris Matthews once again showed the Dems penchant for intimidation of the electorate
through fear. Regardless of hwo you feel about Paul's opinions on the defense budget,
his words regarding it's effect of the deficit have become prophetic. When, at a recent
CPAC event, Paul floated the idea that we should consider opting out of the whole system
under the condition that we pay 10% of our income and ask the government for nothing, Matthews was highly critical. Matthews went right for the big lie, stating that if we accepted Paul's proposal then we wouldn't have access to federal highways, air safety, food inspection, and a lot of cancer research. Shallow comments meant to instill fear amongst his viewers.

Paul's retort was logical and straightforward. Paul noted that federal highway
maintenance is heavily subsidized by the gas tax, so that's basically a user fee.
As for air and food safety, these industries do not wish to kill their customers for
obvious reasons. And if they did take indiscretions, they would fall victim to their
competition or face the tort system. And, if Paul is right, government stands in the
way of much of the proposed cancer research.

Only a year until the next election. Nothing like an early start on the Dems' use of
scare tactics.

Inflation and our debt

2011-04-16T11:22:00.000-07:00

I read this morning that Bernake says that inflation is not out of control. Gas prices are climbing, but we're told this is temporary, not too worry. In the meantime, we're expected to tolerate an increase in the debt ceiling and a national budget that is out of control.

I've had liberal friends of mine tell me that I wasn't concerned about the national debt when Reagan was president, why would I now? Well, the difference is simple and stark. The Obama administration wants an increased government role and greater debt in a time of inflation. When inflation exists, interest rates climb....so we'll pay even MORE money in interest on the national debt. In the Obama model, we'll be awash in debt and unable to climb out.

When Reagan was president, inflation was under control. There was no such threat.

Don't wait for Obama's policies to bury us forever. Act now. Support your local conservative or tea party candidates. If their aren't any, vote for a Republican. It's the lesser of two evils, by far.

Our Legislators at Work (sort of)

2011-04-06T18:11:00.000-07:00

I received an email I thought was particularly interesting. It contained the attached photo with this caption:
House Minority Leader Lawrence F. Cafero Jr., R-Norwalk, pictured standing, far right, speaks while colleagues Rep. Barbara Lambert, D-Milford and Rep. Jack F. Hennessy, D-Bridgeport, play solitaire Monday night as the House convened to vote on a new budget. (AP)

The guy sitting in the row in front of these two....he's on Facebook, and the guy behind Hennessy is checking out the baseball scores.

Is the Connecticut state senate that different from the US Congress? I doubt it.

Ding Dong, The Witch Is Dead

2011-01-23T18:48:00.000-08:00

Keith Olberman is gone at MSNBC....at last. Last Friday night Keith Olbermann signed off on MSNBC for the very last time giving a eulogy that said he had stepped down from the channel over ten years ago but was asked to fill in for a colleague for three days but it ended up being four years. Olbermann said that he was leaving giving the impression that it was on his own terms. Word is now that the controversial host was fired by MSNBC.[read more]

There is hope for today's youth

2011-01-01T14:03:00.000-08:00

And that's not easy to do. I live in a college town and work with many grad and masters candidates, each of whom is instilled with a liberal ideology, stripped of their ability to critically think (but that's a story for another day). When I heard that Emily Ekins, a grad student at UCLA, took it upon herself to analyze the degree of truth behind a myth perpetuated by the left, that being the racist leanings of
tea party members, I had to know more.

Ms. Ekins conducted her research by attending a tea party rally (the 9/12 march on Washington) and scoured the crowd, taking photographs of every sign of placard she could find, row by row, hour by hour. She later assembled all her photos and broke them down by category, based on the sign's message. Her meticulous work yielded the following results:

1) only one quarter of the signs were directed towards Obama.
2) Only 5% made reference to Obama's race or religion.
3) Just slightly more than 1% mentioned Obama's citizenship.

After examining her data Ekins concluded that while there were a few ugly messages, the media coverage of the tea party over the past 18 months has focused so heavily on the negative and controversial signs that it has created a mistaken perception that these few sensational messages are the rule, when they are in fact the rare exception.

My faith isn't quite renewed yet, but there's hope.

And it just keeps getting worse for Harry Reid...

2010-10-30T05:58:00.000-07:00

Incase you missed it, this from Yahoo News:

An aide for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) covered up an illegal seven-year marriage to a Lebanese national who was the subject of an Oklahoma City Joint Terror Task Force investigation, Jana Winter reported Monday night for Fox News.

Reid's office told Fox on Monday night that Reid had not known of the sham and that the aide, Hispanic-media press secretary Diana Tejada, is no longer with the campaign.

Reid spokesman Jim Manley also noted that the alleged conduct took place several years before Tejada had worked for Reid.

Tejada reportedly admitted to receiving payment in exchange for fraudulently marrying Bassam Mahmoud Tarhini in 2003 so he could attain permanent U.S. residency. She also reportedly lied to federal immigration and FBI agents and submitted false federal documents to the Department of Homeland Security.

Tarhini was deported for the fraudulent marriage in March 2010, but no charges were filed against Tejada.

The news broke just one week before Reid faces the fight of his political career against Republican nominee Sharron Angle.

Manley, in a statement to Fox News, suggested the story is "a desperation measure by partisan Republicans, who have stooped to slinging mud about junior staffers to score points in the waning days of [Angle's] campaign."

New Angle Ad

2010-10-27T17:01:00.000-07:00

I love this ad.....

The Recession Is Officially Over! So why does it still hurt?

2010-10-09T16:57:00.000-07:00

Okay, I'm reflecting on the events of the past 18 months and trying to make sense of the administrations claim that their stimulus measures have kept the hounds at bay and saved us from plunging deep into a depression. Here's what I recall...correct me if I'm wrong.

When Obama took over the oval office, he told us that we needed to spend the stimulus dollars to get us out of the recession and that, if we did, unemployment would not go beyond 8%. He stated quite clearly that "all the economic experts agree" with him. The following day, 220 experts on economic matters, many from academia and the business world, stated their strong objection in a full page Wall Street Journal ad. Entitled "Mr. President, You're Not Telling The Truth", the full page spread included the signatures of all
220 descenters.

This campaign season we're being fed a constant diet of "if the democrats hadn't passed the stimulus we'd be sunk".

Fast forward to last week when The National Bureau for Economic Research stated that we're officially out of the recession. The Obama administration considered this good news. In fact, the NBER stated we've been out of the recession since June 2009. Okay, the NEBR is very careful and waits until there is clearly enough information for it to comfortably say with conviction that the recession has ended, so the year delay in proclaiming we're in recovery should not throw up any red flags. But wait a minute! That means the recession ended before a single dollar of the stimulus money was spent!

The stimulus failed on two levels. Firstly, it appears to have been unnecessary. That is not to say that it did no good, but the same money would have been better spent through tax breaks for small and medium business, who are by their very nature much more efficient at creating jobs. It also failed to keep the unemployment rate below 8%. It now stands at 9.7% and doesn't appear headed down any time soon.

According the the NEBR's own conclusions, the stimulus was completely unnecessary.

Maher Shows His Intolerance

2010-10-03T10:45:00.000-07:00

Bill Maher, Talking head for the atheist movement, took to the airwaves as a guest on The O'Reilly Factor recently. A video of his appearance is posted below. These few minutes of TV give us an enlightening view into the liberal, atheist psyche. Misery loves company, and sometimes the only way to ensure that we're all sharing in their misery is to denigrate those who choose to believe. Here it is for your viewing "pleasure"...

Fire Harry Reid

2010-09-27T17:53:00.000-07:00

Here's another one in our series of this season's political ads. If this one isn't effective I'll be very surprised. It's simple, factual, and to the point....makes me want to go to work for Sharon Angle.

I Couldn't Have Said It Better

2010-09-21T20:08:00.000-07:00

We're going to take a brief detour from the campaign ads to show you a clip from the President's last town hall meeting. The woman questioner, the chief financial officer for a veteran's group, expresses her frustration in a way that I think articulates very well how we're all feeling.

John Dennis Campaign Ad

2010-09-17T19:31:00.001-07:00

I must confess that I don't know much about John Dennis. His campaign ad really doesn't tell us much about him other than:

1) He's running for Congress in the San Francisco Area

2) He's a Republican

3) He's not Nanci Pelosi

This is reason enough to assume he can't win in the land of loonies, but his video ad is entertaining. Check it out...

Meg Whitmanns latest ad

2010-09-12T05:00:00.000-07:00

This ad could be very effective, particularly in light of the dwindling number of Orange County conservatives and growing population of independent and left wing voters in CA. Testimonials from folks she has worked with at eBay paint a picture of a CEO who, while very competent and directed, has the ability to (and even seeks out)alternate opinions to her own. This in sharp contrast to Barack Obama who has in a relatively short time managed to polarize an electorate like no other president since Richard Nixon. Anywhere, there's the video. You can decide for yourself if the ad is as good as I think it is....

This Season's Campaign Ads

2010-09-10T17:11:00.000-07:00

Here's the first of many interesting campaign ads we hope to bring you from Candidates around the country. Campaign ads can be both informative and entertaining when well produced. We'll let you be the judge. Round One, Johnson vs. Fiengold:

Restoring Honor Pt 3

2010-09-09T19:25:00.001-07:00

Beck Rally Pt2

2010-09-09T19:23:00.001-07:00

Glen Beck's Historic Speech

2010-08-31T18:12:00.000-07:00

Someone very kind posted all parts of Glen Beck's speech at the Lincoln Memorial. Thanks very much to him or her. Here's part one with more to follow....

Reclaiming America

2010-08-29T05:54:00.000-07:00

Ever since the Million Man March and the controversy over it's actual attendance figures the government has stopped giving estimates for any gatherings in Washington. Naturally I was curious and had to find out anyway. While I'm afraid I can't give you the estimate I had hoped to I found this youtube video of Sarah Palin at the Lincoln Memorial addressing a massive audience. I've posted it for you below. Take a look around the reflecting pool and all the way back to the Washington Monument. It's fair to say that the crowd was HUGE. It was clearly an awesome showing of Americans gathered together to show concern while giving thanks to those who served in our armed forces. Funds were raised for several charities benefitting veterans and their families, I'm told. Check it out:

I'm a cynic by nature but I have to admit, seeing this enormous gathering in our nation's capital for a very noble cause gives me some faith going forward.

A question about the Tea Party

2010-08-28T05:02:00.000-07:00

Is the Tea Party a positive or negative movement for conservative voters? While the party principals of small government and personal responsibility appeal to many of us, will our support of candidates that liberals call extreme translate to fewer independent voters pulling the levers for GOP candidates this fall? Only time will tell. One thing that is a bit troublesome to this conservative voter are the number of "good republicans" having lost primaries and now choosing to run as independents. Will the Tea Party prove to be an asset or a liability in November?

We're told that the Tea Party movement weeds out true conservatives from posers. I guess that depends on your definition of conservative. Either way, Charlie Crist was never conservative. Now he's turned his back on his party and taken up the independent banner to the detriment of Marco Rubio, the chosen candidate of his former party. As he siphons votes that would have been sent Marco Rubio's way we have to ask ourselves,
is the Tea Party movement causing more trouble than it's worth?

This question isn't lost on anyone who considers the next likely Benedict Arnold to join the ranks of turncoats (this time as a Libertarian) is Lisa Murkowski. Talk about irony. It appears she very likely lost the Republican primary to the Sarah Palin endorsed candidate, Joe Miller, in of all places Alaska. Word is that if, after all ballots are counted, Joe Miller is declared the victor, she may run as a Libertarian. Andrew Halcro, a former Republican state legislator and Sarah Palin detractor has commissioned a poll to see what Murkowski's numbers look like in a three man race. He also used to have a blog focusing on political issues and was the first to question if Palin had abused her power when she fired Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan, leading to the Troopergate investigation. If the numbers look even remotely promising look for Halcro to fund Murkowski's run as a Libertarian, just for spite if nothing else.

Is the Tea Party a good thing? Absolutely. Anything that reveals more information about our candidates and facilitates discourse is very positive for a democracy. Will Tea Party endorsed candidates be seen as too extreme in November like the White House insists? Will these endorsements backfire and give us more liberal legislators in November than we had hoped for? Only time will tell but I must admit, I'm concerned. In the big picture though, the Tea Party movement is evidence of a healthy democracy.

Obama's Poll Numbers Poor In Key States

2010-08-22T07:09:00.000-07:00

The President's approval ratings hover below 50% in most key states. How that will translate on Nov 2 is anyone's guess but it's probably fair to say this is not a good thing for the Dem hopefuls. Here's the numbers:

Nevada: 39% approve / 55% disapprove (Mason Dixon/LVRJ)

California: 54% approve / 39% disapprove (PPP)

Louisiana: 40% approve / 58% disapprove (Rasmussen)

Wisconsin: 49% approve / 50% disapprove (Rasmussen)

South Carolina: 40% approve / 58% disapprove (Rasmussen)

Minnesota: 58% approve / 32% disapprove (Grove Insight)

Pennsylvania: 39% approve / 57% disapprove (PPP)

North Carolina: 41% approve / 58% disapprove (Rasmussen)

Florida: 44% approve / 51% disapprove (Ipsos)

Bailout With UPS

2010-08-16T19:01:00.000-07:00

They say the best humor has atleast an element of truth to it. This video below is funny...but painfully true. Enjoy.

Clueless in Cambridge

2010-08-10T07:06:00.000-07:00

Barney Frank made some statements in the House floor just before the real estate collapse that are not to be believed. I just found the video on Youtube and thought I'd share it. Among his quotes are "This is not the .com situation" and "you're not going to see the collapse that you see when people talk about a bubble". Check out the video here:

Lets not forget that as the head of the banking committee he was responsible for oversight of FNMA and FMAC. Rwemember the young man he was "dating" who was running a male escort service out of Mr. Frank's Georgetwon address? This guys is so clueless it's scary.

Whats Good For The Goose

2010-08-09T19:57:00.000-07:00

The House ethics committee on Monday announced three counts of alleged ethics violations against California Democrat Maxine Waters, including a charge that she requested federal help for OneUnited Bank, a bank her husband owned stock in and had served on its board.

Waters appears ready to bring this to a public trial in an election year, something that no doubt makes Democrats nervous. It was in 1995 when she grandstanded about Gingrich's alleged ethics violations, taking great pleasure in the speaker's pain. If you've forgotten, the video below will refresh your memory.

While Waters faces three counts of ethics violations, another senior Democrat, former Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel, faces 13 counts, including failing to disclose assets and income and delayed payment of federal taxes.

Waters petitioned to have the charges dismissed, but the ethics committee rejected that request. Nancy Pelosi must be surprised that the corruption she spoke of rooting out just 18 months ago seems to be overwhelmingly from her own party.

So lets find out who Maxine Waters REALLY is...

Who's got their hands in the pocket of Big Oil?

2010-07-23T08:22:00.000-07:00

We're always hearing how Republicans have been bought by the oil companies. Well, one of the allegations being leveled against Charles Rangel, the Dem congressman from NY is that he's been preserving tax benefits for an oil-drilling company in exchange for donations to a project he supported at the City College of New York.

The details are coming out soon. Can't wait.

Only A Matter Of Time...

2010-07-22T13:51:00.001-07:00

By LARRY MARGASAK, Associated Press Writer Larry Margasak, Associated Press Writer – 29 mins ago

WASHINGTON – A House investigative committee has charged New York Rep. Charles Rangel, the former chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, with multiple ethics violations.

The charges were announced Thursday. The panel's actions sends the case to a trial on the allegations. A separate ethics panel will decide whether the alleged violations can be proved by clear and convincing evidence.

The Democrat led the tax-writing committee until he stepped aside last March after the ethics committee criticized his conduct in a separate case.

Sources said the committee and Rangel's attorney attempted unsuccessfully to negotiate a settlement to end the case. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private discussions. A settlement would have required Rangel to agree that he violated ethics rules.

Another FOO gets fitted for an orange jumpsuit

2010-07-15T18:17:00.000-07:00

From the AP:

Fraud gets ex-Obama, Clinton fundraiser 12 years

By LARRY NEUMEISTER, Associated Press

NEW YORK – A wealthy Manhattan investment banker and former top Democratic fundraiser was sentenced Thursday to 12 years in prison for defrauding banks of $292 million, some of which he donated to politicians including Barack Obama, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Al Gore.

Hassan Nemazee, 60, had reached a plea deal in March, admitting that he cheated banks out of the money and pleading guilty to three counts of bank fraud and one count of wire fraud. U.S. District Judge Sidney Stein in Manhattan said he'll get out of prison in about a decade.

Nemazee was the national finance chairman of Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign; he also raised money for Obama and a long list of other prominent Democrats. He was Sen. John Kerry's New York finance chairman during his failed 2004 presidential run.

Prosecutors said he used some of the proceeds from his crimes to make personal donations to election campaigns, to make charitable donations and to live a lavish lifestyle that included apartments in Italy and Manhattan, partial interest in a private plane and a luxury yacht.

Stein said he showed leniency to Nemazee in part because of "his involvement in American political life." If the judge had followed federal sentencing guidelines, Nemazee would have received at least another three years in prison and as many as 19 1/2 years.

Prosecutors said Nemazee used fake collateral starting in 1998 and continuing for more than a decade in order to obtain large loans from major banks. The judge ordered him to pay $292 million in restitution.

An indictment said he forged signatures, concocted bogus account statements and established "virtual offices" to conceal a scam. It said he used proceeds from new loans to pay off older ones — a maneuver prosecutors called a Ponzi scheme.

In 1999, President Bill Clinton nominated Nemazee to be U.S. ambassador to Argentina, but the Senate never confirmed the appointment, in part because of concerns about Nemazee's business dealings.

Nemazee told the judge he blamed his crimes on "pride, ego, arrogance, self-image, self-importance. All these and more are reasons why I traveled down this destructive path."

Prosecutors said he unsuccessfully tried to capitalize on his standing and reputation in political circles by seeking nomination to a Cabinet-level position last year.

In a letter submitted to the judge this week, the government said Nemazee had made more than $845,000 in donations to political candidates and political parties and more than $1.1 million of charitable donations from late 1997 through August 2009.

The government said it sent letters after Nemazee's guilty plea to 115 recipients of charitable and political donations requesting that the recipients return the proceeds to the government.

As a result, $419,000 in fraud money had been returned, another $303,000 has been promised to be returned and $376,000 in fraud proceeds had been designated as no longer requiring a return, the letter said.

It said that another $285,000 was being disputed by recipients as subject to forfeit, and that the rest involved money recipients had donated to charities after Nemazee's arrest.

Money already forfeited includes $167,463 from the Council on Foreign Relations, $100,543 from Harvard University and $50,000 from the Presidential Inaugural Committee, the government said.

The letter said Friends of Hillary had pledged to return $8,200 and Hillary Clinton for President promised to return $11,500, in addition to $11,500 it returned to Nemazee in August 2008. It said the William J. Clinton Foundation had agreed to forfeit $53,000, though the government has agreed that another $100,000 in donations does not need to be forfeited.

The letter said Obama for America had agreed to return the full $13,800 it had received, even though it had already donated $4,600 of funds received from Nemazee to charities after his arrest. It said John Kerry for Senate pledged to return $4,600, and John Kerry for President said it would return $5,000, in addition to $2,000 being returned by the Kerry Committee.

Also included in funds the government agrees no longer needs to be forfeited was $50,000 Nemazee donated to the Gore-Lieberman Recount Committee in 2000, $9,200 by Biden For President Inc. and $2,000 by Edwards for President.

Nemazee, an Iranian-American, was ordered to begin his sentence by the afternoon of Aug. 27. As the sentencing hearing ended, Nemazee wiped his eyes and hugged family members. When he left the courthouse, he walked quickly to a waiting sedan.

More than 100 letters were written to the judge on Nemazee's behalf, and Stein cited one that he said resonated with him because it told how important it was in Iran to protect the honor of a family name.

"The proud name Nemazee now also involves you being a federal felon subject to a prison term. And that's really a tragedy," Stein said. "At some level, this is a Shakespearean tragedy. Only you brought this about."

The judge called Nemazee a "highly intelligent, educated person" who had been extremely charitable. He also made several mentions of his involvement in political life, saying it was admirable and lifted him high in Iranian-American society.

Yet, he said, Nemazee had committed a crime that was "breathtaking in its brazenness, in its scope."

Nemazee said he has spent long hours trying to understand his actions.

"The guilt and shame that I bear," he said, "will remain with me long after I return from prison."

What passes for education....

2010-07-10T12:20:00.000-07:00

On Monday I had been watching MSNBC. I think it was Lester Holt who introduced a story about kids who had been moved to do good by something they'd experienced in science class. Great, I thought. I hear enough horror stories about kids doing the wrong things lately so when I sat down in my easy chair I was ready for a story that just might renew my faith in the youth of today.

Holt started to speak glowingly about the Boston area science class that had been shown Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" and had been moved to take on a mission of turning their entire school green. I thought to myself "Figures, it's Boston". Never mind the fact that very little of this documentary has been proven as truth. At least these kids weren't on the corner at the 7-11 or getting together to see who could get pregnant first.

My son goes to public school during the year but is attending a military school to brush up on some things during the summer. I picked him up from there this morning and brought him back for a home cooked meal. The conversation on the way home was an eye opener. When discussing his week he asked me "Did you know John McCain was a war hero?". Why yes, I did. He began to explain how they'd seen this movie called "Faith Of My Fathers" and, with an enthusiasm I rarely see, went on to inform me about McCain's heroic character and leadership. And all I could think about was the kids in MA, misled by a public school system hell bent on force feeding our kids an ideology. The green movement is first and foremost a democratic money train, and our public schools are willing and enthusiastic participants.

So instead of electing an American hero in 2008, we put a pot smoking "community organizer" from Acorn in the Whitehouse.
Go figure.

NASA. I Thought It Was a Space Program?

2010-07-09T18:29:00.000-07:00

We have seen and heard a lot of bizarre things from the Obama Administration in the last year and a half. But one of the oddest things I have seen yet was NASA Administrator Charles Bolden saying that one of the goals of NASA was "outreach to Muslims"?????? What? I thought NASA was supposed to be concentrating on space exploration. We landed on the moon in 1969 and NASA was all excited about the fact that we would be able to land another man on the moon by 2020. So it was going to take 50 years to accomplish what we already did in 1969! When I was a kid I thought after landing on the moon the next goal was to land a man on Mars not just have a space shuttle circle the earth for the 30 years. With a new priority of NASA now being outreach to Muslims, I guess our next space mission is going to be landing on Iran!

Eric Holder....Color Blind or Just Blind?

2010-07-08T20:32:00.000-07:00

J. Christian Adams, a well thought of attorney for the jsutice department resigned over the handling of a voter intimidation case and testified recently as to what compelled him to resign. Mr. Adams testified under oath that he and all DOJ attorneys have been given a directive handed down from Eric Holder, stating that under no circumstances are they to prosecute cases where the defendant is black and the victim white. He has colleagues who can support this claim however the Whitehouse and Holder have refused to permit them to testify. What happened to the "transparency" Mr. Obama promised us?

The department abandoned the New Black Panther case last year. It stemmed from an incident on Election Day in 2008 in Philadelphia, where members of the party were videotaped in front of a polling place, dressed in military-style uniforms and allegedly hurling racial slurs while one brandished a night stick.

The DOJ has made excuses about dropping the case, saying that voter intimidation cases are hard to prove. The video below seems to indicate to me that this is an open and shut case of voter intimidation. check it out and decide for yourself. Either way, the fact that Holder would issue such a directive shows once again that he is unfit to be Attorney General or hold public office of any kind.

Here's the clip:

Illinois Be Dammed

2010-07-03T09:24:00.000-07:00

Now there's another state on the brink of collapse and I'm not sure the dam will hold. Daniel W. Haynes, Illinois's comptroller, says "This is not some esoteric budget issue; we are not paying bills for absolutely necessary essential services" in a NT Times article of Saturday July 3. So you think California has been mismanaged? Wait till you here this....Illinois has a budget deficit of at least $12 billion. That's equal to half the state's budget! And, to top it off, their federal stimulus dollars are almost completely spent.

Collapse is imminent as the cracks are starting to show. The state's pension fund is 50% underfunded and legislators left for summer break without deciding what to do about 26% of the state budget. The governor wants to borrow $3.5 billion to cover a year's worth of pension payments costing about $1 billion in interest. Every major rating agency has downgraded the state so the cost of funds will be even greater.

What are we learning about the past 18 months? Well, it's interesting to note that the three states in significant financial trouble are Illinois, California, and New York. All three are blue states run as entitlement states with huge government overhead and excessive taxation. The author of the article, Michael Powell, makes the observation that Illinios's problems are a result of the "dysfunctional political class" failing to take the necessary steps of cutting jobs and increasing taxes. Well at least he's half right. Increasing taxes has worked well in Greece, now hasn't it Michael.

Although countries can go bankrupt, states really can't. The other 47 will be carrying water for the states of CA, NY, and IL for a while. In Washington, the Obama administration wants another "stimulus" while piling on additional expenses like the new health care bill. Are we learning anything from the free spending policies of California, New York, and Illinois?

Grab a bucket.

The First Post....

2010-06-13T19:02:00.000-07:00

Ever since the 60's musical artists have from time to time felt the need to join in on the political fray from former congressman Sonny Bono to country legend Roy Acuff. For the first ever post of this blog I thought I'd list a few....just to get things rolling.....

Martha Reeves (Martha and The Vandellas) ran for Detroit City Council in 2005

Jello Biafra (Dead Kennedys) ran for the Green Party presidential nomination and lost to Ralph Nadar in 2000, also ran for SF mayor in 1979

Sonny Bono (Sonny & Cher, wrote "Needles & Pins") was a congressman - CA

Krist Novoselic (Nirvana) '09 ran for county clerk in Wahkiakum County, WA

Peter Garrett (Midnight Oil) ran for parliament - Labour Party 2004

Mike Curb (songwriter and founder of Curb Records) ex-lieutenant governor of CA

Martin Zellar (Gear Daddies) ran for congress as Dem in MN, 2006

Pat DiNizio (Smithereens) ran for congress with the Reform Party 2000

Kinky Friedman (of Kinky and The Texas Jewboys) ran for governor of TX 2006

Roy Acuff was the governer of Texas

Alice Cooper - ran for governor of Arizona 1988

John Hall (Orleans) represents New York state's 19th district in the House.

Jerry Butler (The Impressions) has been a Cook County (IL) Commissioner since 1985.

Joe Perry (Aerosmith) contemplating run as republican in 2012

Rick Hendrix (songwriter and promoter) ran for NC congress 2010

If you can think of any others please leave a comment.