December 17, 2008
Chris Bell's Statement on SD 17
"I entered this race because I truly believe it is vital for us to change the overall direction of our state. Though we came up short tonight, I am very proud of the campaign we have run - a campaign that focused on the issues that matter to the people of Texas and Senate District 17.I traveled across this district and visited with so many of its residents about the concerns they face. It only reinforced my belief that in order to create a brighter future for our kids, we must act now to implement real education and health care reform.
I want to thank all of my supporters and campaign volunteers who worked tirelessly to bring real reform to the Texas Senate. We could not have made it without your time, energy and commitment to this campaign and to the future of Texas."
Thank you for running, Chris. While the result may not have been what we desired, we can't thank you enough for stepping up on the plate.
Posted by mcblogger at 06:57 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
December 11, 2008
Help Chris Bell!
Don't forget, we have one more Democrat to elect! In SD 17, Chris Bell is fighting to beat some nightmare woman from hell who apparently casually conflates the Bible with the Constitution.
And no, it's not Cynthia Nutbar.
Needless to say, our work is not done until we put one more Democrat in the Texas Senate. Click here to donate. Click here to volunteer.
Posted by mcblogger at 11:57 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 14, 2008
Racist, homophobic and stupid (or, The Electorate)
There are two stories that are kinda funny from last week in the same way that a mother killing her children is funny. Which is to say, it's not really funny at all. It's more of a 'tilt your head in confusion' moment.
First off, while President-Elect Obama was winning Florida, a measure on the ballot to repeal an old FL law that prohibited Asians from owning property failed. No joke, a majority of voters in Florida voted FOR a black guy for President, then decided to keep Asians from owning homes. And minimalls.
The group’s president, William Gheen, did not respond to e-mail messages seeking comment but Enos Schera, 81, who posted the message, said that he was “1,000 percent” satisfied that the law remained in place.He is a founder of Citizens of Dade United, a Miami group opposing illegal immigration, and he said he knew the provision’s history but hoped that keeping it on the books would encourage lawmakers to prevent all illegal immigrants from owning property.
“They’re buying up the whole country,” he said.
I guess it's kinda belaboring the point to remind Enos that for someone to buy, someone must sell. Unless we're talking about some branch of the Yakuza that's gone seriously off the reservation by buying residential real estate instead of their more usual activities.
And of course, a whole bunch of Obama supporters and Republicans got together and decided to keep the gays from getting married. IN CALIFORNIA. And Florida. And Arizona.
One step forward and a whole lotta steps back...
Posted by mcblogger at 11:14 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 13, 2008
Go help Chris Bell!
We still have one more race to win...Chris Bell's in SD 17.
Come to a meeting to see how YOU can help
Friday, Nov. 14, 7:00pm @ Pappas BBQ - 7007 Hwy 59S at Bellaire Blvd
Make sure that every precinct is represented by at least ONE person but the more the better!
Hope to see you there!!!
RSVP by replying to Bert Anson, SD17 Chair, at sd17hcdp@gmail.com so we are sure to have enough handouts
Questions: Bert Anson 713-667-5250 bertanson@yahoo.com or John Gorczynski 713-667-8990 johng@chrisbell.com
***If you cannot attend the meeting at Pappas BBQ on Friday evening, you can still contact the campaign DIRECTLY to help. (713) 667-8990, 4019 S. Braeswood @ Stella Link, 77025, 9:AM - 9:PM Even if you do not live in Senate 17, you can help.***
Posted by mcblogger at 12:58 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 11, 2008
Election Fallout Fun
McBlogger was to post this last week, however, HE saw fit to wait. So, I'm doing it. Most of you know I'm in Northeast Texas near Dallas. This is a letter I sent McBlogger the day after the election...
Yes, I am trying to keep my mouth shut today, and focus on the inner peace that winning brings. Already today I have witnessed every person I work with, save Lydia, audibly query whether pondering Obama's assassination makes you a bad person. Like it is really a question of whether you should want that. For real. Shellie stated that McCain won the popular vote until my search on yahoo corrected her. She said that she is completely floored by that. In fact, she also said that the only thing keeping her from opening a vein is that once somebody shoots Obama, then we will have Biden, whom she said was 'okay'.
Lunch was spent likening Obama to Lenin, Hitler, and Castro. When I informed them that his victory has been attributed to college educated white voters, Ted said that they did not take history. Ted stated that Obama is just like the "sand niggers that we are fighting overseas". The word nigger is very popular today. Doreen said that they just don't know. That they are voting in the now and not looking to the future. Of course she finds it plausible that Obama might be the antichrist. Oh, and socialist. I almost asked her what she thought a socialist was, but I thought it would turn ugly.
Sorry, just had to vent a little. I know I should just feel sorry for them. I mean, really, they loved Sarah Palin. Like, no joke. It just gets a little tough to take at times. Sad to say, but I was actually somewhat relieved when Shellie moved the conversation to an alarmingly cruel story involving her, Jack In The Box, and a short bus full of special needs children in helmets. Yeah, it was getting that bad. I think I am going to stay in my office this afternoon.
There you have it, a view from a county where the population is fighting common sense and what's best for the nation tooth and fucking nail.
Posted by barfly at 12:32 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
November 10, 2008
What NOT to do with your free time
Obama Win Causes Obsessive Supporters To Realize How Empty Their Lives Are
Posted by mcblogger at 12:12 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 08, 2008
Election map of the US by counties
Just look at all that lovely blue, even in the South...
(via the NYT)
Posted by mcblogger at 01:30 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 06, 2008
Election thoughts and apologies
Just wanted to put something up regarding our rather light posting yesterday and today. For one thing, we've been busy. For another, we've still got a lovely case of cocktail flu. That tends to happen when you drink an entire bottle of scotch.
Anyway, there a few things we'd like to say we're happy about...
There are a bunch more but I have a million things I have to deal with. So, enjoy your Thursday.
Posted by mcblogger at 10:28 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 04, 2008
Election results?
Seriously, K-T is WORKING this shit and I'll be buying him a drink for keeping up with this. We're having drinks. And crying over the Texas House. And our Congressional delegation.
Don't get us wrong. We're THRILLED with Congress and the Presidency. Just sad at how fucked up Texas is. The tendency is to blame the candidates. However, we KNOW who to blame. And some of you staffers need to know our knives are long.
Posted by mcblogger at 10:58 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
We're doing a dance for Liddy Dole...
... to bring on her defeat.
And Saxby Chambliss...
Posted by mcblogger at 06:55 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
PROJECTIONS - Warner in VA, GA too close to call
MSNBC just called VA Senate for Mark Warner. Eileen is wet like a water park. Also, they are calling Georgia too close to call which pisses me off since I want Saxby Chambliss to lose. Badly and early.
Posted by mcblogger at 06:09 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Funny times at the Driskill and internal numbers
Team McBlogger (well, most of it) is ensconced at the Driskill having drinks and working the phones. Well, we're having drinks.
We also have some internal numbers...
Up 7 in Colorado 9 in Nevada 5 indiana 5 NC 5 Virginia 8 New Mexico 21 NH 18 mich 2 MO
Don't ask where we got them. We will KILL you before we tell.
Posted by mcblogger at 06:00 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Teh Market... it speaks...
It says it lurves some Obama
Posted by mcblogger at 10:14 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 03, 2008
Roundin' Up The TPA
It is Monday, November 3, 2008. In less than 24 hours, the United States will have elected a new President and Texas will send Rick Noriega to the U.S. Senate and a host of new State Representatives and Senators to Austin.
In the meantime, here is your Election Eve edition of the Texas Progressive Alliance's weekly roundup.
Bradley from North Texas Liberal lets us know that you should be careful not to lose your vote if you have to use an electronic voting machine, like TV personality Oprah Winfrey almost did.
jobsanger believes an avalanche of new voters could produce some surprises on election day, including the possibility that Georgia will turn blue, and even though an amazing 23% of Texans think Obama is muslim, a huge turnout in the urban areas and South Texas could produce some surprises in Texas, and early voting totals show this is happening.
Justin at AAA-Fund Blog is glad that 60% of Asian Americans polled in Harris County support the Democrats. He also is glad that voting this year was not a chore as it often feels. Justinurges everyone to support AAA-Fund's five Texas endorsees: Rick Noriega, Al Green, Nick Lampson, Hubert Vo, and Sandra VuLe.
It's been an exciting week for Democrats. First up was Hank Gilbert asking a Cornyn staffer to take a walk from a Rick Noriega event. Then there was Texas Blogger (and current TPA Chair) Vince Leibowitz spanking the Mike McCaul campaign for their amateurish content theft. Finally, we at McBlogger received word that Dr. Dobson had traveled to the future and didn't like what he saw. Which is something you'll probably love.
The Texas Cloverleaf notes that
Barack Obama leads John McCain in fundraising in Denton County of all places! In nonpartisan news, while Obama is raising money, Ron Natinsky is spending it. The Dallas City Councilmember is spending your tax dollars on trinkets bearing his name. In shocking news, a 9 year old is electrocuted by a McCain-Palin yard sign. No, we couldn't make this stuff up if we wanted to.
Vince at Capitol Annex tells us how State Rep. John Davis (R-Clear Lake) is sending out his wife to attack Netroots backed candidate Sherrie Matula (D-Houston). In return, he opens John Davis' own personal Pandora's Box and tells the world about Davis' record.
The Texas Cloverleaf notes that Barack Obama leads John McCain in fundraising in Denton County of all places! In nonpartisan news, while Obama is raising money, Ron Natinsky is spending it. The Dallas City Councilmember is spending your tax dollars on trinkets bearing his name. In shocking news, No, we couldn't make this stuff up if we wanted to.
After record breaking early voting in Williamson County, Eye On Williamson is ready for the general election. The HD-52 race has been the focus of attention this election cycle. The issues concerning voters in HD-52 include the Trans-Texas Corridor, insurance reform, and the economy. No matter the issue Diana Maldonado is the best choice in HD-52.
WhosPlayin looks at the early voting turnout in Texas' 26th Congressional District, and thinks Ken Leach just might be able to upset incumbent Michael Burgess. WhosPlayin asks you to guess whether this incident of political suppression happened in Liberia or Texas. (Hint: It was Harris County, Texas.) Most of all, WhosPlayin wants Denton County residents to get to the polls and VOTE!
Off the Kuff takes his last looks at early voting, and makes fun of some whining by Republican enablers Texans for Lawsuit Reform.
El Paso is going Democratic in a big way. As El Paso goes so should South Texas. CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme is looking for a blue, blue
Thanksgiving!
BossKitty at TruthHugger is laments pre-election jitters, Oh The Stress Of It All - Op Ed, and how many years will it take to recover because, Divided We Fall.
Neil at Texas Liberal says think about the future when you vote. Don't be like Galveston voters who in 1886, 14 years before the 1900 hurricane, voted no on building a seawall. Texas Liberal also offers up a post on how Texans have voted for President since 1948, and, finally, submits for your review some election predictions.
Over at TexasKoas, TxSharon tells us that somebody is finally looking at the Barnett Shale Gas Wells . Its called accountability and its about time.
boadicea provides some excellent resources/talking points on the ACORN non-story. Give a look.
Txsharon kicks off a lively debate on the the training of 4000 troops in the use of non-lethal weapons for possible domestic use.
Texas politics is screwed up for at least two obvious reasons this week: because Tom Craddick has his debates sponsored by AT&T -- complete with a lobbyist on the panel, and because 23% of all Texans think Barack Obama is a Muslim. The sad details at Brains and Eggs.
Nat-Wu discusses the long tradition in the Republican of crying wolf about voter fraud in an effort to minorities from legitimately exercising their right to vote, and Xanthippas rips into anti-woman bloggers for brewing up a faux controversy over their DART bus ads.
Posted by mcblogger at 10:22 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 01, 2008
Harry Balczak's Reminder To You People, Part 3
Well folks, I guess it's about time for the finale to this series of installments. Well, maybe not the final finale, because if I know You People, you're going to need continual reminders about all the boneheaded political choices you're known to make.
Suffice it to say this will be the final installment in the Election '08 Trilogy of the Harry Balczak's Reminder to You People Series (A Balczak Media, L.L.C. Production, all rights reserved, void where prohibited,...and other boilerplate stuff you've been programmed to scan past without reading). I'll admit, this one's tough to write, because to your credit, a lot of You People have really come around lately in a way I didn't think was possible.
What was it? The negative balance in your 401k giving you nightmares of destitution in your Golden Years? Imagine the shame of having to wash dishes to cover your bill at Luby's, or the torment of having to order biscuits WITHOUT GRAVY at the Cracker Barrel (incidentally, I like to call that establishment "the Honky Bin" - get it? tee hee hee). Winnebago Schminnebago indeed.
Or maybe it's that an economic shitstorm of these proportions brings into sharp focus what most of You People usually can't see: that most of us are much closer to being jobless and broke than we are to being insanely wealthy and "burdened" with a punishing 38 percent tax rate ("ummm, lessee.....point thirty-eight times unfathomable fuckloads equals.....shit! i'm going to have to start rationing my Dom Perignon baths! There goes my plan to buy a plumbing company, too....").
Erie-guardless, You People have given me a glimmer of hope. And for that, I thank you. Just the same, I'm not letting you off that easy. Because you see, even as you look hopefully to the future under new leadership, THE CURRENT LEADERSHIP (if you can call it that) IS WORKING 24/7 TO PERPETUATE AND WORSEN THE PROFOUND AND HISTORIC UPFUCKEDNESS OF THE STATUS QUO.
Hence the old saying, "Elections have consequences". In this case, we can thank You People for the consequences.
This administration is like the girlfriend/boyfriend you never should have gone out with in the first place, and never should have stayed with after you caught them cheating, and then they leave you an STD on their way out the door so you'll always remember them. There is a giant Q-tip in our nation's future, is what I'm saying. And it's going to sting a little, my friends (damn you, John McCain, for permanently ruining a perfectly good rhetorical crutch).
So You People should remember, as the take-away lesson of this decade, that qualities like competency, intellect and a genuine concern for the public good are positive qualities to have in a president. Hell, if You People made every day choices according to the same principles you used to vote with back in 2004, Joe would be your Plumber. And there would be a Port-a-John in your backyard next to the kids' swingset. Which would be in a collapsed heap of rusting aluminum because you didn't cotton to those fancy assembly instructions written by eggheaded elitists who make lousy drinkin' buddies.
But let's not dwell in the past. For now, I'm content to remind You People who have come around that you need to get your ass out there and get it right this time at the polls. As for the rest of You People, don't forget to cast your vote on Wednesday, November 5th.
Posted by hbalczak at 12:50 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 30, 2008
RSB 2008 : Ticket information
I know you're excited about Red State Blues! We just got an update from the promoter and you can, apparently, get tix at TCDP coordinated HQ (11th@35) for $25. Online there's an additional charge so if you have a chance I'd run over to TCDP and pick up your tix!
Posted by mcblogger at 12:54 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Vouchers... again.
Like cockroaches, vouchers keep popping up despite the best efforts of EVERYONE to get rid of them. WHY? Because James Leininger wants MORE government money than he already gets. In late 2006, it was Sen. Shapiro who was talking about this. Now, it's Bill Keffer in his quixotic quest to retake the seat he lost to Rep. Allen Vaught.
Let's be clear... these vouchers will not be enough, on their own, for most families with ASD kids. Further, it's the responsibility of the district to provide for special needs kids, and children with ASD fall into that group. However, they often don't have the money to create the learning environment these parents demand. BECAUSE PUBLIC SCHOOLS ARE UNDERFUNDED. THERE is one part of the reality these parents don't want to face. The other is that even with a voucher, they still wouldn't be able to afford the school.
This honestly pisses me off because we need to be doing better for ALL TEXAS CHILDREN, regardless of their abilities. Bill Keffer, time and again, has done everything he can to make that impossible. It's high time we stop worrying just about individual kids and start focusing on solutions that will help all kids.
Posted by mcblogger at 01:08 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 29, 2008
Stand up for Sherrie!
Coby has a good run down on John Davis than and now... and, I gotta tell you, it's a good piece on someone who has absolutely no integrity. And would say anything to stay in office.
He'll also take money from anyone to stay in office. Which makes him something of a poliwhore.
Help Sherrie Matula today to send Davis back to Houston next week.
Posted by mcblogger at 10:46 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 28, 2008
Oh, I feel hella bad
for this bitch's husband
Overfed and under read, the perfect southern fried cracker combo. And, if I may speak directly to little miss Freakeyes McFatterson, rather than make up ridiculous excuses why not just say "I'm not voting for That One". It'll be easier on you.
And for the love of all, would you please lay off the Ho-Ho's? Maybe go out into the world and find a job that pays you something so as to take a little pressure off your poor husband?
Sorry about that... apparently, the fuckballs at Jumpstart Productions removed the video from YouTube. It was PBS, yo! What, did they think they wouldn't get paid?
Posted by mcblogger at 01:37 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Hank has some fun with Cornyn's guy
Hank Gilbert was campaigning for and with Rick Noriega in East Texas yesterday. While at the Smith County Democratic Party HQ, Hank noticed a guy with a video camera. Hank asked who it was and he was told that the guy worked for the Cornyn Campaign.
Which tickled Hank and when Hank walked up to the guy and asked him to leave, the idiot actually asked if he was serious.
No, the poor guy didn't end up at Mother Francis with a boot stuck up his ass. But he sure as hell didn't stay in the office at the Smith County Democratic Party.
This little story made me realize
1) That Hank Gilbert STILL rocks!
2) That John Cornyn is scared to death of Rick Noriega.
Posted by mcblogger at 10:23 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
RSB 2008 : A Concert For Change
In what has been an historic year, Austin has stood out. We have been one of the largest, most supportive communities for Democrats in the country but this year the bright, shining star in the center of Texas got the attention of the nation. And Red State Blues is continuing that by sponsoring A Concert For Change next week.
Red State Blues
A Concert For Change
A one night concert event that fuses the temperature of our historic political times with modern music for all to celebrate!
Austin Music Hall
Monday, November 3rd
Doors Open for General Admission? at 7:00 pm
Featuring
Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings
James McMurtry
Brownout
General Admission $25.00?
(tickets can be purchased online)
VIP Reception Happy Hour
5:30pm-7:00pm
Musical Performance by Paris 49 with Special Guest Chrysta-Bell
Complimentary hors d'oeuvres and cocktails
VIP Reception ticket to concert is just $75.00
(tickets can be purchased online)
All proceeds will benefit the Travis County Democratic Party and the Sims Foundation, two very worthy causes both seeking to make Austin (and Travis County) a better place.
For more information visit Red State Blues Concerts.
Posted by mcblogger at 09:20 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Roundin' Up The TPA
It's time for another edition of the Texas Progressive Alliance Weekly Roundp-Up. This week's edition is compiled by Vince from Capitol Annex.
Oh, and don't forget to vote early!
The Texas Cloverleaf helps spread the truth about ACORN.
McBlogger takes a look at our own Congressman from Clear Channel, Mike McCaul, and discovers that he is indeed different.
jobsanger points out the dysfunctional aspect of this year's Republican campaign, first in Palin Disagrees With McCain, and then in Repubs Can't See The Reality.
BossKitty at TruthHugger is sad to recognize that while America’s Foreign Policy Suffers - Unemployment Soars - Religion Goes Toxic America's short attention span has been grabbed by personal survival and courted by political and religious philosophies.
As early voting begins Eye On Williamson charts the early voting numbers in Williamson County. HD-52 Democratic candidate Diana Maldonado continues to rack up the endorsements and launches her latest ad, taking on the insurance companies and high homeowners insurance.
Neil at Texas Liberal posted the second part of his Who I Would Have Supported For President series. The latest entry covered the years 1824-1852.
Gary at Easter Lemming Liberal News is keeping the early voting info up for the voters who need it but did notice that all the PUMAs have come home to Obama.
Vince at Capitol Annex notes that the Texas Association of Business has finally pleaded guilty in connection with its 2002 violations of Texas' campaign financing laws and that State Rep. John Davis (R-Clear Lake) and State Sen. Kim Brimer (R-Fort Worth) have taken big bucks from a company the TCEQ fined more than a quarter million dollars last week for polluting.
CouldBeTrue from South Texas Chisme has some hints about how to get your specific sample ballot. Be prepared!
Off the Kuff analyzes the high level of early voting in Harris County so far.
XicanoPwr analyzes the GOP attack on ACORN and the disenfranchisement of thousands of voters carried out by Paul Bettencourt in Harris County.
John McCain describes the economy as a drive by shooting. The Texas Cloverleaf calls it a whack job.
North Texas Liberal reports on Sarah Palin's $150,000 shopping spree at Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue, and discusses why it could signal the end for her and John McCain's faltering campaign.
As Democrats in Harris County appear on the verge of something historic, the trends in the extraordinary early voting turnout portend the same blue surge that the rest of the country
is about to experience. PDiddie at Brains and Eggs has the deets.
refinish69 at Doing My Part For The Left wants everyone to say thanks to Barbara at Avenue Gallery- NOT!!!
nytexan at Bluebloggin points out just how McCain and Palin are alike with their FEC violations. We’ve gone from 8 years of the “emperor has no clothes” to “the empress has new clothes.” The GOP is priceless. Palin is following in McCain’s footsteps for FEC violations, what a pair of mavericks. CREW Files FEC Complaint Against Palin. And, for McCain, apparently he and Palin have an affection for Russia; McCain’s New FEC Violation: Asks Russia For Campaign Money.
George at The Texas Blue wants you to know your job's not over just because you voted. We look at the early voting excitement across the state and remind you that it's critical
to tell your friends and family to vote as well!
Posted by mcblogger at 09:08 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Divided Nation?
No, Richard Schiff, your wife is just an idiot.
Posted by mcblogger at 12:09 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 27, 2008
Someone take Palin's Neimans card away
The most irritating thing about this whole 'Palin+Neiman's+Sak's' (other than the fact that Madam Hick managed to find a Neiman Marcus) is that it's given Biden another reason to remind everyone that he's an average Joe.
It's funny to note how rats always jump from the sinking ship. We can't wait to bring all our old hits back when Governor Palin decides to reinvolve herself in politics in 2012 or 2016.
Posted by mcblogger at 09:50 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
The Crystal Method ft. Obama
CM has remixed Now Is The Time and incorporated Sen. Obama's acceptance speech. Download it for free here.
Posted by mcblogger at 12:28 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 26, 2008
Tator-tot assaults self
This is 20 year old Ashely Todd. She's a College Republican working for McCain in PA. She claimed she was assaulted by an Obama supporter but as it turns out, she was lying like the dog she is.
The sad part, she's from Texas. The good part (for all you straight boys) is that she's not in Texas.
Bless her heart!
Posted by mcblogger at 10:58 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 25, 2008
Roundin' Up The TPA
It's time for another edition of the Texas Progressive Alliance's weekly round-up. This week's round-up is compiled by Vince from Capitol Annex.
The Texas Cloverleaf took part in Blog Action Day this past Wednesday. Find out how you can combat poverty in your neck of the woods.
Bay Area Houston listed the fines for State Representatives and Senators issued by the Texas Ethics Commission in 2007 and 2008. Enjoy!
jobsanger discusses voting and registration. He says the E-Voting Can't Be Trusted without a paper trail, and ACORN Is Not Committing Fraud in their effort to register over a million new voters.
Vince at Capitol Annex notes that State Rep. John Davis (R-Clear Lake) is misleading voters about his poor record on education in his newest mailer, and that the mainstream media is calling John Cornyn's performance in the final senatorial debate "less than senatorial."
In the first of a series of posts on past presidential elections, Neil at Texas Liberal offers up Who I Would Have Supported For President 1788-1820.
WhosPlayin goes off on a Republican County Chair who thinks a candidate's sexual preference is more important than the substance of his ideas.
Off the Kuff takes a look at why some people won't be able to cast their ballot during the first few days of early voting.
CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme wants a fair election without Republican voter suppression and questionable electronic voting machines.
WCNews at Eye On Williamson posts on the fake controversy about voter "registration" fraud, Gone nuts about ACORN. And Diana Maldonado released her first TV ad this week, HD-52: Diana Maldonado is on TV, "Texas' Comeback".
Now that McBlogger has torn him a new cesspool, Joe The Plumber's fifteen minutes of fame are OVER
North Texas Liberal dissects Obama's wide lead on McCain in the polls and the projected electoral map. Also, former Secretary of State Colin Powell endorses Obama for president. (Start following us on Twitter for mini-updates and breaking news!)
North Texas Liberal dissects Obama's wide lead on McCain in the polls and the projected electoral map. Also, former Secretary of State Colin Powell endorses Obama for president. (Start following us on Twitter for mini-updates and breaking news!)
Gary at Easter Lemming Liberal News has put up his Early Voting Info post but also announced he is rapidly becoming a clueless Cassandra.
BossKitty at TruthHugger is sad to recognize that Sex Scandals, Scams, Phishing and Your Bank Account are signs of deeper disorders. Power, Money and Sex are hopelessly intertwined with EGO.
Justin at AAA-Fund Blog laments the loss of Gordon Quan as a future candidate.
Burnt Orange Report takes a look into the numbers of the latest poll in the U.S. Senate race and tells why it might be even closer than it looks.
Over at TexasKaos, fake consultant discovers a Gaint Load of Hooey in one of THOSE emails. Just for fun, he investigates the "facts". The result is an education in how desperate the McCain-Palin crowd have become.
Posted by mcblogger at 12:26 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 23, 2008
You SUCK : Albert Gonzales Edition
You may have heard that Albert Gonzales, who lost to Karen Huber in the Democratic Primary, decided to endorse Libertarian Wes Benedict. If you were one of the, like, 20 people who know who Albert Gonzales AND Wes Benedict are.
We at McBlogger would just like to let you all know we think sour grapes suck. And so does Albert Gonzales.
Karen DID beat you, Albert and she'll win the general. And you'll still be sitting there, sucking.
Posted by mcblogger at 09:18 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
October 22, 2008
Things that you can tell just by looking at polls
I gotta tell you, I'm pretty sick of this cycle. I'm tired of the inept people running the online portions of the campaigns who have decided to masturbate by sending 20-30 emails. A DAY. This long ago stopped being communication and has become polivomit.
Take the latest from the Obama campaign imploring us Texans to go to Ohio. Or New Mexico. As if Texas was solidly red and not at all in play. Obvs, it was written by someone who has no idea WTF is going on here, how close things are in Lege races and good local races around the state are looking.
Of course, while I'm irritated about all the emails from the campaigns, I'm even less tolerant of all the puma garbage coming over...
As a former Clinton supporter, y'all can go fuck yourselves. Slowly. With a telephone pole. Seriously, you may not like Obama but making shit up about him is just goddamn stupid. Even dumber is using the goddamn NY Post as a source. And your defense of Joe The Plumber was laughable. Seriously. The only reason the media cares about old Joe is because McThuselah kept using it over and over again in the debate. Unfortunately for McThuselah, his campaign didn't bother to vett him beyond the 'he doesn't like Obama' stage.
All this campaign garbage is a necessary evil. You have to win if you want to govern. However, we can't ever forget that the right is to blame for the mess we're in. The right got what they wanted, control over a major political party. They used this power, along with some help from some stupid Democrats and more moderate Republicans, to create the most business friendly environment since the robber barons. Ideologically, the right won and we've had 30 years of concentrating wealth at the top, stagnate wages and a deteriorating standard of living. Now we're at the point where tax cuts won't work to stimulate the economy... and no one is buying the bullshit.
And no, Grover, this wasn't the failure of Bush. It was the failure of you, your friends and your desire to put ideology over reality.
So, here I am realizing that the emails aren't done quite yet and that, in the end, they irritate me less than Grover Norquist.
Posted by mcblogger at 09:28 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 21, 2008
Good news in CD 10
The Statesman has a good piece up about just how competitive CD 10 is...
Now Democrats are giving McCaul his toughest challenge yet in the form of Washington County lawyer Larry Joe Doherty, the former star of a TV courtroom show.McCaul's district, which includes much of northern Travis County, stretches east along U.S. 290 to the western suburbs of Houston. Doherty can expect to run well in Democrat-friendly Travis County but will need to eat into McCaul's sizable advantage in the conservative areas near Houston and between the two big cities.
Given Larry Joe's roots in the Houston area, it's likely that McCaul's advantage there will be cut down significantly from 2006. If the numbers hold, it should be enough (if LJD can hold on to Ankrum's voters in 2006) to elect LJD.
Of course, this will help...
McCaul is an engaging, interesting former prosecutor with the U.S. Department of Justice. But his low profile and support for so much of the Bush administration program over his past two terms makes him an ill fit for Austin. That's one of the reasons we are endorsing Larry Joe Doherty for this seat.
This is a particularly interesting endorsement given The Statesman's support in the past for McCaul. Of course, most of that was driven by the execrable Rich Oppel who lived in McCaul's colon when he was in town.
Posted by mcblogger at 11:53 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
But, Senator McCain! She IS a liar!
Click here for Sen. McCain's latest race baiting piece of filthy advertising. It's what prompted me to wonder exactly HOW Senator McCain could claim Senator Obama was out of bounds for calling Governor Palin a liar. She DOES lie. It's been well documented and she continues to do it.
I think what's really eating McSame is that a black man is telling the truth about a white woman. The reality is that she's incompetent and a liar. Of course, lying and philandering is nothing new to John. Just ask his first wife.
Time to put the n*gger in his place, right Senator McCain? I know how you can pull yourself up! Talk some more about your imprisonment. We've not heard nearly enough about that and why you think it qualifies you to be President.
Posted by mcblogger at 11:04 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 16, 2008
Peering into the future
With all the hubbub and anxiety surrounding the election and the economy, some recent accomplishments in time-travel technology have been overlooked. It is now possible, through the magic of YouTube, to peer into the future, if only for brief moments.
For example, here's a snippet showing Senator McThuselah a few years after his embarrassing landslide loss in next month's election. Apparently, he gets out of politics altogether and becomes a film producer.
What's really impressive about this technology is that it even shows alternative future scenarios! Apparently, in a parallel future, McThuselah snaps in a major way and winds up in jail, where he is visited in jail by his friend, G. Gordon Liddy, who apparently decides to start wearing a toupee in the future
...or, maybe he has a total change of heart about the environment and becomes a leading advocate in the treehugging movement?
It works in reverse, too! Here he is telling his first wife he wants a divorce
Posted by hbalczak at 12:09 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 15, 2008
Reading comprehension 101
Let's be honest, Sarah Palin is a very good natural politician. Her delivery is virtually flawless and her ability to connect with the Republican base has been likened to Reagan.
However, we also have to be honest and acknowledge that she lies like a dog. Take TrooperGate. The report was pretty clear, if a little like War and Peace in terms of length, that she abused her power. Period. She's saying it vindicates her which the dummies out in the hinterlands will believe because they are the product of Republican education systems and don't know how to read anything more complex than the graphics on Fox News.
For the rest of us who will not read the report (seriously, don't you have something better to do?) there's this from the Anchorage Daily News.
Sarah Palin's reaction to the Legislature's Troopergate report is an embarrassment to Alaskans and the nation.She claims the report "vindicates" her. She said that the investigation found "no unlawful or unethical activity on my part."
Her response is either astoundingly ignorant or downright Orwellian.
Page 8, Finding Number One of the report says: "I find that Governor Sarah Palin abused her power by violating Alaska Statute 39.52.110(a) of the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act."
In plain English, she did something "unlawful." She broke the state ethics law.
Perhaps Gov. Palin has been too busy to actually read the Troopergate report. Perhaps she is relying on briefings from McCain campaign spinmeisters.
Posted by mcblogger at 09:20 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 13, 2008
Around Town : Jones gets endorsement; Eckhardt on CAMPO
Yeah, the Statesman endorsed a Democrat in a judicial race. Shocked the hell outta me, too.
Just over one year ago, at the height of public outcry over toll roads, the Policy Board of the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO) unanimously passed a set of covenants to govern the use of toll revenue collected from the Phase II toll roads. The covenants generally require that toll revenues stay within two miles of the road on which they were generated. The covenants allow for diversion of excess toll revenues from one toll road corridor to other projects only after specific public input and a 2/3 vote of the CAMPO Policy Board. Finally, the covenants require that tolls be reduced and eventually eliminated after the debt for the toll road has been retired and potential improvement projects within the corridor have been exhausted. On Monday, the CAMPO Policy Board will consider overturning some of these covenants, including the public meeting requirements.The first of the toll roads formerly known as Phase II is 290E, also known as the Manor Expressway. Because the project cannot stand on its own merits from a financing perspective the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority (CTRMA) is proposing to “backstop” the debt financing of 290E with toll revenue from 183A through the creation of a “system.” In this system comprised of 290E and 183A, toll revenue and resultant debt capacity/obligation for both roads would be commingled and belong to the system, not to the transportation shed in which the user fees were collected. This diversion of revenue is exactly the circumstance the covenants were designed to address.
Under this circumstance the public comment provisions in the covenants should kick in. But they haven’t. Although the covenants require that a Statement of Purpose be developed and that public hearings be held both region-wide and within the donor corridor, none of these steps have been taken by CAMPO. The CTRMA seeks to waive these requirements. Some have even suggested repealing the covenants entirely.
No word on who would like to kill the covenants. Of course, it's probably the usual suspects, like Gerald Daugherty, who love them some toll roads and hate the pesky input from their constituents. If you live in Travis County Commissioner Precinct 3, help out Karen Huber today.
I know... the haircut does kind of remind me of a friend's mother who last sported that 'do in 1993. However, this isn't that mother. This is Gail 'Freakshow' Lowe who represents a swath of Texas stretching from the Hill Country to the Red River on the SBOE. She's just your normal, average, everyday lunatic who thinks:
1)Evolution is a theory without understanding what a 'theory' means in natural sciences
2)Teh Gays are Teh Bad
3)Her opponents are not family friendly, whatever the hell that means
Gail, this the SBOE not one of your nutter tent revivals. If you don't want to take the damn job seriously, then we'll surely find someone to replace you. I hate stupidity and incompetence and you are cursed with a plethora of both.
Posted by mcblogger at 10:15 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 10, 2008
I'm voting for you, Rick
...but this was politics, it's shitty and you're a goddamn braindead simp for saying it. Cornyn has done soooo many things wrong that there are tons of issues to attack on. Instead, like any other craven politico, you attack him on the right decision on an unpopular issue that the mouthbreathers out in the hinterlands don't understand (but just so happens to be the one thing that might keep them from abject poverty).
You could have beaten him up for supporting the very deregulation that created this mess. You could have gotten him on supporting the very lack of oversight that allowed companies to offer mortgages at insane rates to borrowers who were clearly not qualified.
"We can't believe anything that we hear out of Washington, D.C., any more," Mr. Noriega said in a debate broadcast statewide on public television."This decision was made in haste," he said, adding that the stock market's negative reaction shows the bailout wasn't well thought out.
"It didn't have the accountability," Mr. Noriega said. "Quite frankly, we need to see that people go to jail.
WOW. Where to begin... the first sentence is just stupid. THIS WASN'T COMING FROM WASHINGTON YOU ASSHOLE. This has been rolling downhill all over the planet for a year. Just because you only recently became aware of it doesn't mean it wasn't out there and it wasn't just as big as many of us said.
The second point shows nothing of the sort. This is about redemptions and people panicking, it's hardly the market passing judgment on the TARP. TARP hasn't even been started. That's analogous to saying that a miscarriage was God's way of saying that he didn't want someone to be a mother.
As for sending people to jail, for what? Doing stupid, but legal, things? Wanna make changes to the law and regs retroactive?!
That's fucked up, hermano. As someone who has supported you from the Draft movement on, it's absolutely shameful to me that you would politicize what is in fact a very real disaster. If this really is how you feel, then I have serious doubts about your temperament and capabilities. If I were to tally up good vs bad decisions under both you and Cornyn, I'd have to say that you're still solidly beating the hell out of Cornyn. And I'm still voting for you.
But I'm no longer voting FOR you. I'm now simply voting for the lesser of two evils and despite the fact that you're dumb enough to box yourself in on this, you're still the lesser of the two which ain't saying much.
Thanks a lot, Prick.
Posted by mcblogger at 11:30 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
October 08, 2008
Debate Recap
Posted by mayor mcsleaze at 06:06 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
October 07, 2008
Palin, McCain, Gramm and the Stupid House Republicans
The Constitution does not state or imply any flexibility in the office of vice president. It gives the vice president no legislative responsibilities other than casting a tie-breaking vote in the Senate when needed and no executive powers at all. The vice president’s constitutional role is to be ready to serve if the president dies or becomes incapacitated.Any president deserves a vice president who will be a sound adviser and trustworthy supporter. But the American people also deserve and need a vice president who understands and respects the balance of power — and the limits of his or her own power. That is fundamental to our democracy.
So far, Ms. Palin has it exactly, frighteningly wrong.
Conservatives? My ass. Combined, y'all don't have the intellectual capacity to handle a job as a cashier at Wal Mart.
Posted by mcblogger at 01:23 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Campaign Updates
Really, I'm voting for all of you and I like a great many of you. Some of you, frankly, I can't stand and I promise I'll eviscerate you at every opportunity.
But that's enough about my feelings for little Patty Rose who, coincidentally, had a big, big, BIG fundraiser recently to celebrate his ability to take money from someone, then stab them in the back. Congrats, Patty!
I just gotta tell you that I LOVE the 18,000 emails I get a day from candidates around the country, not just those in Texas. At least 4,000 of them alone come from Jeff Merkley who is running in OR to unseat Sen. Smith who is just slightly more stable than the lady down the street who tried to kill her husband.
I kid. She's actually a rock in comparison to Smith who damn near went into seizures over the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (or, as I like to call it, the I Won't Have To Eat Ramen Economic Recovery Act Of 2008).
Havagoodun!
Posted by mcblogger at 09:54 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 06, 2008
McCain (hearts) Deregulation
It's the part with Phil Gramm at the end that's the best. Never before has a dumber person spoken more authoritatively on subjects about which he knows absolutely nothing.
Seriously, Phil, you're a BIG reason why I'm not a shareholder in UBS. Any company dumb enough to have you on the Board of Directors is clearly not an organization that cares about it's owners.
Posted by mcblogger at 01:32 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
October 03, 2008
The Sideshow
At a time when politicians pander, on both the right and left, while the economy hangs in the balance, I can't honestly say I expected much from the Vice Presidential Candidates Debate. I expected no obvious gaffes from Palin and I expected Sen. Biden to show his formidable command of the facts.
I also expected those ridiculous looking glasses, perched on Governor Palin's face and her silly chrysanthemum hair which looked worse in HD with the highlights than I've ever seen it.
The debate was Biden's. But there were a few things that struck me as, well, irritating.
1) Palin's crooked mouth. She's forming it to give her voice that Minnesota tonality. I'd been wondering if maybe that was fake and now I feel pretty sure.
2) The cutesy, smarmy, Eddie Haskell-like charm she exudes like an odor. Exhibit A, her use of the word 'heckuva'. Coming from her, it's anything but genuine. Exhibit B, her walking out asking Sen. Biden if she could call him 'Joe'. It's always nice when people like Sarah act down to earth and chummy. It's also complete bullshit.
3) Her thorough command of the financial meltdown as seen through the eyes of the most Americans. And her thorough misunderstanding of taxation in relation to patriotism.
It's point 3 that gives me the most pause. If it's genuine, then that's scary because most Americans haven't the faintest idea how close THEY are to oblivion. If it's not, then it's nothing more than pandering. Either way, it's pretty scary coming from a person who could be President.
As for the patriotism and paying taxes, well, you all know how I feel about that. We live in an amazing country that allows us all to live well and financially benefit. We all have opportunities unavailable in other countries around the world. And our tax dollars support that. I find it DEEPLY OFFENSIVE that a candidate for the Vice Presidency of the United States would denigrate the patriotism of paying your taxes. I thank God every year when I do my return because I did well enough to pay into the country that has, in every way, shaped who I am. And I won't put up with people who say we pay too much or who cheat. The only way this country, our grand collective experiment in self governance, endures is if we all do our part.
And people like Sarah Palin glibly decide that it's something they shouldn't have to do.
I'll leave you only with this... Governor Palin at several points made a comment that we NEED oversight of our financial institutions and in damn near the same breath stated that we need LESS government regulation.
Now, if you can square up that non sequitur, you're a better person than I.
Posted by mcblogger at 12:04 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
October 01, 2008
Obama to McCain : YA BURNT!
For those of you who were sad there wasn't a gotcha moment during the debate, this should make you hap, hap, happy!
Posted by mcblogger at 11:52 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 30, 2008
BREAKING : Dodd says "We're looking at expanding FDIC"
As part of a stop gap measure after yesterday's failure of the recapitalization package (which the media is STILL calling a bailout though they never quite explain exactly who will be 'bailed out'. I'm certain it's not shareholders. It never is), Chris Dodd is looking at expanding FDIC's role and allowing them to take a more active role in all this, including taking over whole banks. Which is what they did during the S&L crisis.
This solution will cost us a cool $1 TRILLION vs. making money off the recapitalization plan that you guys hated.
WAY 2 GO, ASSHOLES!
I'm excited, y'all! You thought you knew everything and fought this tooth and nail. You won. Now, it's time for me to vulture your ass because you're obviously too stupid to help.
I missed out on the first S&L party so I'll be happy to join in on this one at taxpayer expense. I know a lot of people who got hella rich buying RTC's underpriced assets. I personally can't wait! And it was handed to us by the braindead masses.
Morons. But even you guys pale in comparison to some of the Republicans...
Representative Jeb Hensarling, a Texas Republican, said most Republican conservatives oppose the idea of Treasury purchasing troubled assets, because it puts too much of the expense on taxpayers.``That is a model that House conservatives feel is fundamentally flawed,'' said Hensarling, the chairman of a group of more than 100 House Republican conservatives called the Republican Study Committee.
Oh, Jeb. You and the House conservatives are stupid and completely out of your depth when it comes to modern finance. Let's see here, Jeb. You and the connie's think that the government backstopping losses, without having a pre-existing premium cushion, is cheaper than actually buying the hard assets and recasting them?
Really? Jeb, seriously, there's politics and then there's just plain stupid. You and your fellow conservatives know less about finance than a box of hair and you certainly wouldn't know the first thing about fixing this problem.
Some of you think these assets are like a disease and they have to be purged (shades of Andrew Mellon, one of the architects of the Great Depression). Can't even begin to work through that one.
Seriously, you are all so far out of your league it's truly scary. Frank and Dodd are the only two who REALLY seem to get it and they are doing yeoman's work to keep this all from really going off the rails.
Posted by mcblogger at 11:17 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
September 26, 2008
All I'll Say About This Debate
McCain's tie is more animated than he is.
Posted by mayor mcsleaze at 08:37 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
September 25, 2008
I know this isn't real, but it's...
... but it's hella funny.
Posted by mcblogger at 12:01 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 24, 2008
May you live in interesting times...
This financial crisis is finally waning. They always end when buyers finally realize that the firesale won't last forever and they dip back into the market to buy deeply discounted assets. We got a big boost of this yesterday.
Until now, Mr. Buffett, who has navigated the stock market with legendary prowess, has largely refrained from investing in the stricken financial industry, saying repeatedly that things could get worse.Thousands of people on and off Wall Street follow Mr. Buffett’s moves, so his decision to invest in Goldman immediately heartened investors. After falling nearly 1.5 percent during the day, the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index erased half its loss in after-hours trading Tuesday evening on news of the investment.
“Buffett is saying he’s confident,” said Brad Hintz, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Company.
Mr. Buffett’s conglomerate, Berkshire Hathaway, unveiled the move only days after Goldman, long the premier investment house on Wall Street, embarked on a radical plan to transform itself into a traditional bank to ensure its survival. Goldman, which examined various options over the last week as its shares tumbled and some clients abandoned the firm, also said Tuesday it would sell at least $2.5 billion of common stock to the public.
The difference between Buffett and others is that HE can afford to hold something for decades until BRK makes a profit on it. Even if he dies, there is management at BRK that thinks exactly like him. And his success has not been the result of luck, it's research and thorough analysis. It's making the right decision.
Be fearful when others are greedy. Be greedy when others are fearful.
Last night and this morning I posted a couple of emails to Carl Whitmarsh in Houston regarding something he'd sent out on his massive email list. The first article was this from George Will. Now, George has never been a big fan of McCain. However, that's not the meat of the article. It's the craptastic analysis of the US falling into socialism. Here's what I sent to Carl:
It's funny to me that McCain would attack Cox for not regulating the very securities that McCain voted to keep unregulated.I LOVE the way conservatives have decided that this is socialism, as if the entire
capital market is now under the absolute control of the Treasury and Fed. Their
plan, buying assets that the free market has assigned zero value to, is absolutely
sound. Why? Because occasionally the market goes crazy and won't buy something
that's worth a dollar even if it's discounted to 10 cents. The market, in short, is
not always right.The Fed was CREATED to avoid panic and provide liquidity in times of market
dislocations. Which is exactly what we have now.That being said, Paulson's plan, as presented on Sunday, is a thoroughgoing mess.
There will have to be oversight. There will have to be caps on CEO compensation.
However, the basic idea to add liquidity to our deflated economy is a good one.
The second comment was related to a piece Harvey Kronberg ran from Royal Masset
I love Royal but he's wrong on what's happening in the financial industry. This is a panic, pure and simple, and it should wake people up to the reality that markets are far from perfect.Markets are nothing more than buyers and sellers. Period. They are dependent on
humans and their imperfect decision making. The idea that markets self regulate with
minimal impacts is ALWAYS wrong. They do self regulate and in the process create
what can charitably be called distress.Regulation and enforcement, while imperfect and sometimes overreaching, is a hell of
a lot better than mass unemployment and starvation.That's the lesson most of the 'free market' Republican's have never learned.
Of course, there are number of others who have problems with buying assets. They see another solution, lend directly to the banks.
Here's why you can't just lend money to banks, allow them to take the losses in selling these assets, and then repay the debt over time. For one thing, these losses are going to (in many cases) wipe out all the equity in banks, rendering many insolvent. You can't replace that equity with debt owed to the government. Debt is Debt. For another, the market is so freaked out and dislocated (not to mention fearful) that no one wants these securities at any price. It's not that these securities aren't worth something. After all, the vast majority are A paper mortgage credits. It's that investors can't see the value and won't take ANY risk.
What is needed is a prime mover to get these assets moving, worked out and restore the market. That prime mover is the only entity capable of operating for the long haul, the Federal Government.
The issue is that these assets, when marked to market, have no value because the market is buying and selling NOTHING. However, the loans underneath are STILL performing. On a cashflow basis, many are performing exactly as predicted. We may now need to look at discounted cash flow as a value model to fall back on when MtoM fails. Which it is prone to do when the market seizes up. Which it, of course, does from time to time despite what the Republicans say.
We have to stabilize home prices which means we need people with jobs who can buy homes with mortgages. Unfortunately, as this crisis deepens, it begins to effect employment AND the ability of people to secure financing for homes. Without a market, the value of homes continues to drop. In the end, we fall into a Depression. THAT'S the end result of doing nothing.
Finally, there are some lesson we all need to take from this experience...
1) Regulation and enforcement are not obstacles to the success of the market. They are ESSENTIAL to the success of the market.
2) Capitalism has not failed. What failed was our obligation to oversee it and make it work for the majority.
3) Just because something is valued at nothing right now, it doesn't mean it's worthless.
One last point... one that everyone needs to understand unequivocally, if we don't do this the whole damn country fails. THAT'S the reality and all the whining about taxpayers footing the bill (which is a load of crap) isn't going to change it.
Posted by mcblogger at 03:10 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 22, 2008
Good to see the US media is still up to the task
Why in the hell do I have to go to the Guardian for the lowdown?
Posted by Captain Kroc at 06:33 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
The fallout...
First off, for a moment, take a look at this again. Specifically point one. Think about that every time you read something from one of the chicken little's on the right (or left) who are bleating on about toxic securities.
One more time, there is no such thing as a toxic security. There is only a toxic price. In other words, be rational about the prices you pay for assets and you'll be happy. The market for credits got very frothy and people overpaid either because they were dumb or they didn't really understand the securities they were buying. Now people have gone the opposite way and are unwilling to buy these assets at any price.
As the old saying goes, be greedy when others are fearful. Be fearful when others are greedy.
Unfortunately, it looks like many investors are going to take a pass on these assets. Which leaves the Fed's and the few willing and smart enough to jump into the fray (like JPM). First off, I'm pleased as punch about the government getting involved since the 'free' market has completely gone off the rails. However, Paulson's plan is still the wrong way to go.
We're also mostly on the same page (though I, unlike Stirling, don't subscribe to conspiracy theory) except for a few highlights...
1) Cramdowns - Basically, this is a modification for mortgages in markets with declining values. It's also useless. What about the homeowner who is making their payments EVEN though their home is worth less than they paid? There's really no need for this unless you're talking about doing a workout on someone who really can't afford the mortgage and the value has declined dramatically. However, I don't like the government getting a piece of the inevitable increase in value down the road through some kind of hitherto unknown lien position. If you're going to help people, help people.
My advice : Don't do this with anyone who has had a greater than 50% decline in value. That's what you'll get on a foreclosure. Anyone more underwater needs to just walk away with a wipeout on the mortgage history so they don't have an adverse hit on the credit report.
Last thing... change the tax laws to benefit workouts rather than foreclosures. It's easy... if a company does a workout that results in the loss of loan balance (say, from $200k to $150k) then they can take that as a loss against ordinary income immediately. If they foreclose, they have to take the loss on that against income over THREE years. Either way, you have to alter the law to keep these companies from 1099ing the people effected for the difference.
2) Not so much with a national emergency and rationing. Let's look at changing tax policy to increase wages for ordinary people. That'll take care of commodities inflation and our negative savings rate. And that whole petroleum thing can be easily fixed with biofuels. Actually, it WILL be fixed fast as long as oil is over $50/bbl.
I'm fine with expanding FDIC and LOVE what Obama is hitting on. Plus, as many of you know, I've always hated excessive levels of executive compensation. I say go for it, Congressional Democrats! Take this time to make this a real solution, instead of another Paulson bandaid.
Now, onto what's happening today. Obvs, the market loved the Paulson/Bush/McCain plan as much as we did. The Dow is down around 3% and oil has shot back up to $120/bbl as investors pull out of equities and dump speculative money into oil.
Needless to say, we ALL apparently want something other than another silly gimmick. Except for Michelle Malkin who has turned this into yet another attempt to divorce herself and her Party from responsibility for this problem.
Robert Novak called attention to Paulson’s Democrat DNA last October. It’s worth reminding you of Paulson’s instincts and the liberal allies he has installed at the Treasury Department
No, no, Bitch. Paulson's one of yours. And quit quoting that sad, old alcoholic. As for him bringing in 'libruls', the problem is that all your financial guys suck balls. They all end up going broke.
Posted by mcblogger at 03:16 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Everyone starts to get it...
It's becoming painfully obvious that even our friends on the right are beginning to realize that Sarah Palin's not ready for prime time. It's also becoming pretty clear that McCain's ads have been over the top which we've all been saying. But now, even Karl Rove is saying it which prompted this from the Obama campaign...
"In case anyone was still wondering whether John McCain is running the sleaziest, most dishonest campaign in history, today Karl Rove - the man who held the previous record - said McCain's ads have gone too far," said Obama campaign spokesman Tommy Vietor.
On the topic of what the Dems in Congress could be doing, it's also abundantly clear that THEY are getting it. First up is our old buddy Nancy P who finally decided to take the gloves off and hit the glib, ridiculous and more than little incompetent Palin in the mouth.
Pelosi compared Palin's resume to that of President Bush's before he assumed the mantle of commander in chief. "I have a very high standard for president of the United States," the Speaker said. "I guess George Bush has proven that anybody can do it, but can they do it well? I think he has not. I think he has done great harm and damage to our country. I don't think this is something that you'd take a chance on. I think I've yet to see the credentials and the depth that the most powerful position in the world, the president of the United States, that somebody with her resume is able to take over that job."
Yeah, I know it's not much but at least Pelosi is finally off dead center and saying SOMETHING. Honestly, her mealy mouthed bullshit irritates the hell out of me, too. However, this is at least a sign of life and a hit. Luckily, we're getting much better stuff out of the Senate.
"One Senator -- John McCain -- woke up yesterday morning, surveyed the state of the U.S. economy, summoned the ghost of his fellow Republican, Herbert Hoover, and declared, 'The fundamentals of our economy are strong,'" said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, before laying responsibility for the current woes in part on McCain's economic adviser Phil Gramm.
Goddamn, Harry! Where the fuck have you been??!?! Welcome to the party and keep on chatting up the band. We're sick of their usual tune and we want them singing yours.
Finally, I leave you with ... well... this.
Posted by mcblogger at 12:06 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 21, 2008
A special invitation to the Secretary of the Treasury
Seriously, THIS is what you came up with? A massive expansion of the Executive Branch, no help for homeowners and absolute power with a blank check?
It's clear to me now that Paulson has got to go and we need Bob Rubin back at Treasury. Larry Summers is wrong for the job (honestly, he's a dumbass anyway) and Rubin is the only one with the kind influence in financial and political circles to get something done. He's also far smarter than Paulson which should help.
We need to re-regulate commodities and derivative trading (fuck you, Phil Gramm, you dirt leg moron) and begin requiring a lot more capital be held by companies wishing to operate in the securities industry. No more of this 30 to 1 leverage bullshit. But I don't see that it this little 'plan'. I also don't see anything to help expand efforts already proceeding to pull borrowers out of bad mortgages. No, I'm not talking about a cram down and share the wealth plan (seriously, why even bother, Ian? You gonna give everyone who's upside down on a car note a bail out, too? Just get them outta the bad loan and regular appreciation will work out the gap), just a reworking of underwriting guidelines and insuring to allow people to get into affordable mortgages.
We needed real solutions and an indication of some sort of contrition. Instead, we get a brazen attempt to steal still more power for an out of control President.
Congress should act. The Democrats should write one hell of a bill and tell the President to sign it or we'll let everything go down the tubes.
Enough bullshit and politics. And Chairman Frank should immediately demand Paulson's resignation.
Posted by mcblogger at 04:37 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
No, REALLY, Senator. We know where you REALLY stand
Y'all know I'd rather walk on my own tongue than say something nasty about someone...
BUT...
John McCain as REFORMER and REGULATOR?!?! Didn't we go over this already?
YEAH, we did. Which makes me wonder why this old, stupid bastard is trying to keep this shit up? It makes me so goddamn mad I just want to strike someone. How else can you DEAL with someone who lies just to lie, completely irrationally and has no sense of remorse about it. You don't reason with that person and debating with them is like arguing with a television.
Seriously am I the only one just sick of it? And the fact that media is covering it as if it were something other than categorical bullshit?
Posted by mcblogger at 01:01 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 20, 2008
Thanks, but I'm really busy that day...
Last night while having drinks with Barfly, she asked a very interesting question regarding AK First Dude Todd Palin's refusal to heed a subpoena.
Since when do you have the choice? I mean, Karl Rove was subpoenaed and he just said THA SHITS to all that. Now this Palin asshat has decided he'll not show up to answer TrooooooperGate (HATE THAT NAME) questions.
So can we all start ignoring subpoenas? Tell Congress to go fuck itself because it's just one giant bitch?
Posted by mcblogger at 01:11 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 19, 2008
Dregs : Things you should care about...
Hard to get mad at a dog who acts like a dog.
Posted by mcblogger at 11:43 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Republican plot with a special twist
The Obama campaign has filed suit in federal court to keep Republicans in Michigan from using foreclosure lists to challenge voters at the polls. How's THAT for a Republican plan? You lose your house and we take away your right to vote.
Of course, that's nothing compared to what's allegedly being talked about here in Texas... using Ike to keep people who've lost homes from voting. No, no... you read correctly. Texas Republicans are looking for a way to keep people who lost their homes to a natural disaster from voting.
Posted by mcblogger at 07:48 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Are you there money? It's me, John Davis.
Last night while I was looking at all the money I've lost in my brokerage account (thank you Lehman bankruptcy! You're soooo totally my friend!) from the current financial collapse (not to be confused with the financial collapse of a few months ago. Or the one from last fall. Or the one from last summer) I started thinking about what I could do with some of the money I've not lost as the result of the collapse of a financial giant run by dipshits with MBA's from Wharton.
The most appropriate thing was to donate to Sherrie Matula. Because she rocks and because she's got a real douchebag for an opponent.
How big a douchebag you ask? Well, you know how his district was hit pretty hard by Ike? And how other politicos and candidates have suspended campaigning to help their friends and neighbors with recovery efforts? Yeah, he kinda said THA SHITS to all that and has decided to press on with a high rollin', lobbyist funded hoe down here in Austin where the power is still on and the drinks flow like water from a tap that's actually working. Which is kind of ironic since some of Johnny's constituents don't have running water in their homes.
I would say something stinks down in HD 129 but since we don't really know if Rep. Davis is even there, or even if he's in Texas, it's hard to pinpoint from exactly where the smell is coming. But we can say, with an unbelievable amount of certainty, that it is him that stinks.
Posted by mcblogger at 12:58 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 18, 2008
Q: What is change?
A: Rick Noriega.
What? You REALLY though John Cornyn wasn't more of the same?
Posted by mcblogger at 11:24 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 15, 2008
But you voted for it, Senator...
Think Progress has a great hit up about Palin and McCain's support of the Agency bailout (I'll post my thoughts in the supersize).
In an op-ed in yesterday's Wall Street Journal, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK) reluctantly endorsed the federal takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, arguing that the two institutions' lobbyists are the "primary contributors to this great debacle." McCain and Palin wrote that, should they be elected, their administration would "no longer use taxpayer backing to serve lobbyists, management, boards and shareholders."
Here's the thing, John. You VOTED, over and over again, to deregulate. Because you thought that would free up the Invisible Hand and we'd all be better off. Lo and behold, you and the other Republicans discovered that what the Democrats knew and were SCREAMING all along was right... business needs oversight because left to it's own devices, it'll foul it's own bed.
Now that it's all come crashing down, you can't admit your error and are, like a degenerate gambler, doubling down in an all-or-nothing effort to deflect blame and avoid the inevitable conclusion that your ideology is a bankrupt as the banking system.
But, I guess I'd do the same thing if so many of the staffers, senior advisers and FRIENDS were lobbyists at one point or another for the Agencies. You should be proud, John McCain. You've mastered the art of talking out of both sides of your mouth.
As for the bailout, I'm pretty disappointed but not really surprised. For one thing, there were easier ways to inject capital into Fannie and Freddie without taking on as much risk or wiping out the poor shareholders. I am THRILLED to see management turned out of both companies as I had absolutely no respect for either of them. All in all though, the Friedmanites engineered their chance and now Fannie and Freddie are on the chopping block.
What kills me about this is that it was purely and simply a crisis of confidence. People were afraid the government wouldn't backstop the Agencies which forced them to do just that. And then there is Lehman today which is reporting close to $640 bn in assets and a little over $600 bn in liabilities. Sounds good, right? We'll see how much of that is marketable and how much is pure level three and untradable at any price. I'd also like to know non-performance in the mortgage pools. But that's just my curiosity... I have a feeling that as bad as things are, they ain't that bad.
What brings down a bank like Lehman is the same thing that brought down Bear and would bring down any investment bank. Their funding, the money they need to revolve to float their balance sheet, evaporated. Without it, the bank couldn't survive. The fun part of all this is figuring out how much of this was Lehman... and how much was the result of it's financiers getting cold feet (not to mention it's counterparties).
This should SOLIDLY put the lie to all those morons on the right who think everything would be better... without as much regulation. As predicted, no regulation means common sense is replaced with raw greed and poor credit decisions. Discipline, when billions are involved, goes out the window when their is no examiner coming into your office a few times a year to make sure you haven't gone hog wild.
Posted by mcblogger at 08:57 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
PULL!
And here is Eileen's review of Governor Palin with Charlie Gibson. The verdict? Exceeded the already low expectations. On the downside.
Posted by mcblogger at 09:32 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 12, 2008
Calling all math majors!
Quick, what is 313,000 divided by 400?
Because that's the multiplier the media needs to apply to the John Edwards Haircut Quotient in determining the frequency, saliency and duration of its reporting on Cindy McCain's conventioneering wardrobe.
I trust the "Liberal Media" will strictly adhere to this equation.
Posted by hbalczak at 02:04 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
McThuselah and his minions
These are just a few of the WTF things that McThuselah has done that you may have missed. We're sure there's more, this is just the poop we caught.
Instead, he said his job re-training proposals coupled with an “emphasis on new technology” in the automotive sector would boost employment.McCain, battling a slight cold, was responding to an employee at the Lordstown General Motors plant who asked him what he would to make trade agreements “a little bit more fair.”
The presumptive GOP nominee said he does not believe “that every trade agreement is totally fair” and promised to “do everything in my power to make sure that trade practices practiced by our trading partners are fair and equitable.”
See, this is what's funny about McThuselah and his shitty memory... We had programs to help retrain and educate workers for new programs. At least, we did until McThuselah and his Republican buddies killed it in the name of 'fiscal responsibility'.
As for working to make things fair, there are some things that need to change in CAFTA to make it fair. And NAFTA. If you're not going to work to do that, WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO? Other than pander and lie?
(h/t TTB)
I can totally see how she'd make the mistake of not know where something was actually sold and for how much. It's not like it was her money. She was just the one Alaskan's hired to look over it.
There's also this list of lies, distortions and exaggerated myths about Palin. Which makes for a good read if you're looking for the real Sarah, especially since the media's not going to get a crack at her.
Posted by mcblogger at 01:21 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 10, 2008
Just a question...
If Sarah Palin is so tough, so competent, so ready to assume the Presidency should McCain die (as seems very possible), why is it so hard to get her to talk about anything or accept an interview? I mean, she can give one hell of a speech (even if it is full of lies).
And then there was Rick Davis. McCain's campaign manager, appearing on the Fox New Channel, told Chris Wallace that Palin would not be subjected to reporters questions "until the point in time when she'll be treated with respect and deference."Ripping the fourth estate for a perceived bias towards the Alaska Governor, Davis went on.
"She's not scared to answer questions," he said, "but you know what? We run our campaign not the news media... Sarah Palin will have the opportunity to speak to the American people. She will do interviews, but she'll do them on the terms and conditions" the campaign decides.
Respect and deference? This is politics, booboo, and if you can't stand in the light and account for yourself then you ain't up to the job. Period. Will the campaign get to decide what problems she'll face if, God forbid, McCain wins and then dies?
Here's the thing, Ricky. Your candidate's running mate lies. A lot. She may be common as dirt, but she's still a liar. Even still, that doesn't mean any of the sad sacks in political reporting today (looking at YOU, Stephanopolous) will call out her bullshit. So what ARE you afraid of? What is SHE so afraid of?
Could it also be that her radical views won't be shared by the majority of Americans? They certainly aren't shared by her close, personal friends.
And to THIS loser, you need a klonopin. Really.
Here's another question... why doesn't McCain want children educated to know when they are being assaulted by a pedophile? Maybe he doesn't want children to know what touching is OK and what isn't? Maybe McCain has something he'd like to share?
Posted by mcblogger at 11:29 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 08, 2008
Oh, yes... let's just elect the man in the pulpit
I've long been of the opinion that when you mix politics and religion, you (as unbelievable as it may sound) cheapen both. That's really saying something considering that neither have what would be considered a stellar brand. Now some asshat group is trying to get churches to help with an experiment that stands a good chance of breaking down the laws restricting churches from endorsing political parties and candidates.
What KILLS me about this is that Churches CAN endorse political candidates and parties now. All they have to do is give up their tax exempt status. What these people want to do is maintain their tax exempt status and actively campaign for political candidates.
Here's how this plays out... if they win, they lose as a movement will grow to tax churches. It'll also signal the end of the megachurches as the vast majority of Americans really don't want to hear a stump speech Sunday morning along with their weekly passage from the Old Testament (that's for the Baptists).
No one will really care in the end because deep down, Americans may love Jesus and God Almighty, but we really think our preachers are a bunch of strange drunks. Which they usually are.
Posted by mcblogger at 10:46 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Liberal bias in the media? Oh, pish...
Listening to McThuselah rage about the liberal bias in the media got me thinking that it might be a good idea to actually analyze this supposed media bias and find out if he was whining about something real or just whining.
According to the LATimes, someone beat me to it.
Haters of the mainstream media reheated a bit of conventional wisdom last week.Barack Obama, they said, was getting a free ride from those insufferable liberals.
Such pronouncements, sorry to say, tend to be wrong since they describe a monolithic media that no longer exists. Information today cascades from countless outlets and channels, from the Huffington Post to Politico.com to CBS News and beyond.
But now there's additional evidence that casts doubt on the bias claims aimed -- with particular venom -- at three broadcast networks.
The Center for Media and Public Affairs at George Mason University, where researchers have tracked network news content for two decades, found that ABC, NBC and CBS were tougher on Obama than on Republican John McCain during the first six weeks of the general-election campaign.
You read it right: tougher on the Democrat.
During the evening news, the majority of statements from reporters and anchors on all three networks are neutral, the center found. And when network news people ventured opinions in recent weeks, 28% of the statements were positive for Obama and 72% negative.
Network reporting also tilted against McCain, but far less dramatically, with 43% of the statements positive and 57% negative, according to the Washington-based media center.
So that covers the broadcast folks... what of the other anklebiters like Fox News?
By the way, Lichter's group also surveys the first half-hour of "Special Report With Brit Hume," Fox News' answer to the network evening news shows.The review found that, since the start of the general-election campaign, "Special Report" offered more opinions on the two candidates than all three networks combined.
No surprise there. Previous research has shown Fox News to be opinion-heavy.
"Special Report" was tougher than the networks on Obama -- with 79% of the statements about the Democrat negative, compared with 61% negative on McCain.
There's plenty of room for questioning the networks' performance and watching closely for symptoms of Obamamania.
But could we at least remain focused on what ABC, NBC and CBS actually put on the air, rather than illusions that their critics create to puff themselves up?
Now, would someone tell Ted Baxter to quit whining before 'the folks' decide to spit on him?
Posted by mcblogger at 09:38 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 06, 2008
THIS is our VP
I'll admit, I wasn't super enthusiastic about Sen. Biden. Until now.
Go get 'em, Joe!
Posted by mcblogger at 02:41 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 05, 2008
The Leo Berman Funny
I don't know if BurkaBuddy (that's our new name for him) was trying to be funny or was just reporting the funny...
But wait... it gets better!One of the first Texans I saw was Leo Berman. I asked him if he had heard any of the delegates express unhappiness that McCain had chosen Sarah Palin instead of Kay Bailey Hutchison. “Oh, no,” he said. “Kay is pro-choice. There isn’t a single person in this delegation who is pro-choice.” We also talked a little about immigration. “David Swinford [chairman of State Affairs] killed all the bills last time,” he said. “That isn’t going to happen this time. If it does, if we can’t get our immigration bills passed, there are going to be some more people in the governor’s race. I’m considering running for governor myself.”
Yesterday there was an altercation at the Phyllis Schlafly luncheon. Sarah Palin was supposed to attend, but she couldn’t make it. An uninvited guest showed up — a peace activist who ran up to the front of the room carrying a banner that said “PEACE!” Two intrepid Texans — state reps. Leo Berman and Jodie Laubenberg — wrestled her away.
What bitches y'all are! Two of you were necessary to 'wrestle' a peace protester? Are you kidding? Leo, you're really a giant worthless cuntrag.
Posted by mcblogger at 12:49 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 04, 2008
Roundin' up the TPA
It's time for another weekly roundup of the Texas Progressive Alliance. Click on for the week's highlights.
Is John McCain's vice presidential pick some kind of joke? McBlogger's Mayor McSleaze thinks it's more like a situation comedy.
CouldBeTrue is happy for Webb County! Finally, the long sheriff's primary is over and Martin Cuellar is the official sheriff-to-be. And, yeah, the AG is looking into the hinky first recount.
With Tom DeLay and the TRMPAC indictments back in the news, Off the Kuff conducts an interview with Cris Feldman, one of the attorneys who won a civil judgment against TRMPAC for its violations of campaign finance law in the 2002 elections.
Stace Medellin at DosCentavos is celebrating ten years of living in the Houston area. Read about what brought him to Houston and what has kept him in the big city.
Neil at Texas Liberal is glad to note that the Galveston County Democrats Club http://texasliberal.wordpress.com/2008/08/28/galveston-county-democrats-club-is-working-hard-for-victory/ is, as always, working hard for all the people of Galveston County---Both on the mainland and on the island.
The Texas Cloverleaf reminds everyone that McCain is older than fiberglass. His new sidekick leads a state with a population smaller than Collin County. Sitcom indeed.
jobsanger wonders why the Democratic Convention didn't show a little respect for Lyndon Johnson's 100th birthday, and prepares to enjoy the prospect of dueling Republican conventions.
What is the linkage between radioactive waste dumps, smear ad campaigns and HD-52 Republican nominee Bryan Daniel? Dembones at Eye On Williamson follows the money trail back to Swift Boat financer, Dallas billionaire Harold Simmons, whose latest smear campaign tries to link Barack Obama to '60s radical William Ayers.
Doing My Part For The Left's refinish69 wonders if Texas Deferred Adjudication is helpful or shameful.
North Texas Liberal has video of Sen. Hillary Clinton condemning John McCain's use of her picture and quotes in his ads.
PDiddie assembled some of the satirical ridicule of John McCain's selection of Elaine Benes from Seinfeld Sarah Palin of Alaska at Brains and Eggs.
BossKitty at TruthHugger observes "
FEMA Gets A Second Chance - NOLA Redux for “Mother Of All Storms”
and what our fearless leaders plan to do about it THIS TIME.Vince at Capitol Annex offers his opinion on Michael L. Williams' manipulation of the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. concerning Barack Obama's experience. For added value, one of Williams' campaign staffers decided to comment on the post and attempt to defend his boss.
nytexan at BlueBloggin wonders why PUMAs are exhibiting a high level of disrespect to Hillary and her request for full support and asks PUMA, Was It Ever About Hillary Clinton ?
Mike Thomas at Rhetoric & Rhythm is unhappy with some liberal bloggers who decided to label his Congressman - Ciro Rodriguez - as a so-called "Bush Dog Democrat".
Posted by mcblogger at 09:53 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 03, 2008
What a bunch of damn bullshit
You know, there a number of things I'd like to say about Palin and her 'reformer' image. But it's hard to call someone a reformer when their only true reform is to leave their constituents more in debt than they were prior to their 'service'. To the tune of $4,000 per resident in tiny Wasilla. See the extended for some good stuff on her tenure from someone who knows her. I think the phrase 'RANK INCOMPETENCE' pretty much sums it up.
Of course, there's the matter of the pregnant daughter. I knew girls that got pregnant in high school. Some of them graduated with me, some did not. Some of them had the kids and some did not for one reason or another. I never lost respect for them and I certainly won't say that this revelation has negatively effected my opinion of Palin. I had a negative opinion of her from HER actions, not those of her daughter. But, this pisses me off...
When Pam Younggren, 61, of Fargo, N.D., was told the news of the 17-year-old’s pregnancy, she shrugged. “Well, she wouldn’t be the first one,” she said.“We can’t control what our daughters do,” she said. “I don’t see it as a problem. She will have appropriate care for her baby.”
And this one...
“People are looking for real,” he said in an interview. “Real means blemishes, real means warts, real means real. These family imperfections make people say, ‘That family isn’t so different from my family.’”
Uhm, they aren't like the rest of us. My parents kept rather strict controls over Barfly and I when we lived under their roof, so yeah... you can control your kids. It's called PARENTING. Palin did not. Period. My parents also made sure we KNEW the implications of intercourse and were prepared for it with appropriate protection. Palin did not. Now, even with these precautions, some kids end up being parents. My problem with this is that Palin willfully decided NOT to prepare her daughter with information and protection. That's not a knock on her daughter, that's her OWN very real character flaw. And it's one I would find unacceptable in any public official, Democratic or Republican. Especially one that's traveled far and wide preaching the wonders of abstinence only sex education, not to mention parental and personal responsibility.
What's most galling about this situation is that had this been the Democratic VP candidate, there would have been endless sermons and screeching rants from the far right (including some of the women quoted in the NYT piece) denouncing their family values and judgment, among other things. And calling them an unacceptable choice for America.
HOWEVER, I'm hearing quite the opposite from the folks in the bully pulpits of talk radio. And it's causing the words of Harry Truman, after reading McArthur's farewell address to Congress, to echo through my mind:
"It was nothing but a bunch of damn bullshit."
Beat up on Bristol? Not at all. But am I going to light into Palin EVERY TIME the phrase 'personal responsibility' leaves her lips? You betcha. Muse has a different take... she's a mother, she can go there. But her take on it dovetails nicely with the emails floating around from Wasilla residents. From them, it's pretty obvious that the only person who has benefited from Palin's service is Palin. It's certainly not her constituents, most of whom are decidedly worse off for her 'unbridled ambition'. Take a look in the supersize...
This email is floating around the 'sphere. I've received two other very similar accounts from different people.
ABOUT SARAH PALINI am a resident of Wasilla, Alaska. I have known Sarah since 1992.
Everyone here knows Sarah, so it is nothing special to say we are on a
first-name basis. Our children have attended the same schools. Her
father was my child’s favorite substitute teacher. I also am on a
first name basis with her parents and mother-in-law. I attended more
City Council meetings during her administration than about 99% of the
residents of the city.She is enormously popular; in every way she’s like the most popular
girl in middle school. Even men who think she is a poor choice and
won’t vote for her can’t quit smiling when talking about her because
she is a “babe”.It is astonishing and almost scary how well she can keep a secret. She
kept her most recent pregnancy a secret from her children and parents
for seven months.She is “pro-life”. She recently gave birth to a Down’s syndrome baby.
There is no cover-up involved, here; Trig is her baby.She is energetic and hardworking. She regularly worked out at the gym.
She is savvy. She doesn’t take positions; she just “puts things out
there” and if they prove to be popular, then she takes credit.Her husband works a union job on the North Slope for BP and is a
champion snowmobile racer. Todd Palin’s kind of job is highly
sought-after because of the schedule and high pay. He arranges his
work schedule so he can fish for salmon in Bristol Bay for a month or
so in summer, but by no stretch of the imagination is fishing their
major source of income. Nor has her life-style ever been anything
like that of native Alaskans.Sarah and her whole family are avid hunters.
She’s smart.
Her experience is as mayor of a city with a population of about 5,000
(at the time), and less than 2 years as governor of a state with about
670,000 residents.During her mayoral administration most of the actual work of running
this small city was turned over to an administrator. She had been
pushed to hire this administrator by party power-brokers after she had
gotten herself into some trouble over precipitous firings which had
given rise to a recall campaign.Sarah campaigned in Wasilla as a “fiscal conservative”. During her 6
years as Mayor, she increased general government expenditures by over
33%. During those same 6 years the amount of taxes collected by the
City increased by 38%. This was during a period of low inflation
(1996-2002). She reduced progressive property taxes and increased a
regressive sales tax which taxed even food. The tax cuts that she
promoted benefited large corporate property owners way more than they
benefited residents.The huge increases in tax revenues during her mayoral administration
weren’t enough to fund everything on her wish list though, borrowed
money was needed, too. She inherited a city with zero debt, but left it
with indebtedness of over $22 million. What did Mayor Palin encourage
the voters to borrow money for? Was it the infrastructure that she said
she supported? The sewage treatment plant that the city lacked? or a
new library? No. $1m for a park. $15m-plus for construction of a
multi-use sports complex which she rushed through to build on a piece
of property that the City didn’t even have clear title to, that was
still in litigation 7 yrs later–to the delight of the lawyers
involved! The sports complex itself is a nice addition to the
community but a huge money pit, not the profit-generator she claimed it
would be. She also supported bonds for $5.5m for road projects that
could have been done in 5-7 yrs without any borrowing.While Mayor, City Hall was extensively remodeled and her office
redecorated more than once.These are small numbers, but Wasilla is a very small city.
As an oil producer, the high price of oil has created a budget surplus
in Alaska. Rather than invest this surplus in technology that will
make us energy independent and increase efficiency, as Governor she
proposed distribution of this surplus to every individual in the state.In this time of record state revenues and budget surpluses, she
recommended that the state borrow/bond for road projects, even while
she proposed distribution of surplus state revenues: spend today’s
surplus, borrow for needs.She’s not very tolerant of divergent opinions or open to outside ideas
or compromise. As Mayor, she fought ideas that weren’t generated by
her or her staff. Ideas weren’t evaluated on their merits, but on the
basis of who proposed them.While Sarah was Mayor of Wasilla she tried to fire our highly respected
City Librarian because the Librarian refused to consider removing from
the library some books that Sarah wanted removed. City residents
rallied to the defense of the City Librarian and against Palin’s
attempt at out-and-out censorship, so Palin backed down and withdrew
her termination letter. People who fought her attempt to oust the
Librarian are on her enemies list to this day.Sarah complained about the “old boy’s club” when she first ran for
Mayor, so what did she bring Wasilla? A new set of “old boys”. Palin
fired most of the experienced staff she inherited. At the City and as
Governor she hired or elevated new, inexperienced, obscure people,
creating a staff totally dependent on her for their jobs and eternally
grateful and fiercely loyal–loyal to the point of abusing their power
to further her personal agenda, as she has acknowledged happened in the
case of pressuring the State’s top cop (see below).As Mayor, Sarah fired Wasilla’s Police Chief because he “intimidated”
her, she told the press. As Governor, her recent firing of Alaska’s top
cop has the ring of familiarity about it. He served at her pleasure
and she had every legal right to fire him, but it’s pretty clear that
an important factor in her decision to fire him was because he wouldn’t
fire her sister’s ex-husband, a State Trooper. Under investigation
for abuse of power, she has had to admit that more than 2 dozen
contacts were made between her staff and family to the person that she
later fired, pressuring him to fire her ex-brother-in-law. She tried to
replace the man she fired with a man who she knew had been reprimanded
for sexual harassment; when this caused a public furor, she withdrew
her support.She has bitten the hand of every person who extended theirs to her in
help. The City Council person who personally escorted her around town
introducing her to voters when she first ran for Wasilla City Council
became one of her first targets when she was later elected Mayor. She
abruptly fired her loyal City Administrator; even people who didn’t
like the guy were stunned by this ruthlessness.Fear of retribution has kept all of these people from saying anything
publicly about her.When then-Governor Murkowski was handing out political plums, Sarah got
the best, Chair of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission: one
of the few jobs not in Juneau and one of the best paid. She had no
background in oil & gas issues. Within months of scoring this great
job which paid $122,400/yr, she was complaining in the press about the
high salary. I was told that she hated that job: the commute, the
structured hours, the work. Sarah became aware that a member of this
Commission (who was also the State Chair of the Republican Party)
engaged in unethical behavior on the job. In a gutsy move which some
undoubtedly cautioned her could be political suicide, Sarah solved all
her problems in one fell swoop: got out of the job she hated and
garnered gobs of media attention as the patron saint of ethics and as a
gutsy fighter against the “old boys’ club” when she dramatically quit,
exposing this man’s ethics violations (for which he was fined).As Mayor, she had her hand stuck out as far as anyone for pork from
Senator Ted Stevens. Lately, she has castigated his pork-barrel
politics and publicly humiliated him. She only opposed the “bridge to
nowhere” after it became clear that it would be unwise not to.As Governor, she gave the Legislature no direction and budget
guidelines, then made a big grandstand display of line-item vetoing
projects, calling them pork. Public outcry and further legislative
action restored most of these projects–which had been vetoed simply
because she was not aware of their importance–but with the unobservant
she had gained a reputation as “anti-pork”.She is solidly Republican: no political maverick. The State party
leaders hate her because she has bit them in the back and humiliated
them. Other members of the party object to her self-description as a
fiscal conservative.Around Wasilla there are people who went to high school with Sarah.
They call her “Sarah Barracuda” because of her unbridled ambition and
predatory ruthlessness. Before she became so powerful, very ugly
stories circulated around town about shenanigans she pulled to be made
point guard on the high school basketball team. When Sarah’s
mother-in-law, a highly respected member of the community and
experienced manager, ran for Mayor, Sarah refused to endorse her.As Governor, she stepped outside of the box and put together of package
of legislation known as “AGIA” that forced the oil companies to march
to the beat of her drum.Like most Alaskans, she favors drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife
Refuge. She has questioned if the loss of sea ice is linked to
global warming. She campaigned “as a private citizen” against a state
initiaitive that would have either a) protected salmon streams from
pollution from mines, or b) tied up in the courts all mining in the
state (depending on who you listen to). She has pushed the State’s
lawsuit against the Dept. of the Interior’s decision to list polar
bears as threatened species.McCain is the oldest person to ever run for President; Sarah will be a
heartbeat away from being President.There has to be literally millions of Americans who are more
knowledgeable and experienced than she.However, there’s a lot of people who have underestimated her and are
regretting it.CLAIM VS FACT
•”Hockey mom”: true for a few years
•”PTA mom”: true years ago when her first-born was in elementary
school, not since
•”NRA supporter”: absolutely true
•social conservative: mixed. Opposes gay marriage, BUT vetoed a bill
that would have denied benefits to employees in same-sex relationships
(said she did this because it was unconsitutional).
•pro-creationism: mixed. Supports it, BUT did nothing as Governor to
promote it.
•”Pro-life”: mixed. Knowingly gave birth to a Down’s syndrome baby
BUT declined to call a special legislative session on some pro-life
legislation
•”Experienced”: Some high schools have more students than Wasilla has
residents. Many cities have more residents than the state of Alaska.
No legislative experience other than City Council. Little hands-on
supervisory or managerial experience; needed help of a city
administrator to run town of about 5,000.
•political maverick: not at all
•gutsy: absolutely!
•open & transparent: ??? Good at keeping secrets. Not good at
explaining actions.
•has a developed philosophy of public policy: no
•”a Greenie”: no. Turned Wasilla into a wasteland of big box stores
and disconnected parking lots. Is pro-drilling off-shore and in ANWR.
•fiscal conservative: not by my definition!
•pro-infrastructure: No. Promoted a sports complex and park in a city
without a sewage treatment plant or storm drainage system. Built
streets to early 20th century standards.
•pro-tax relief: Lowered taxes for businesses, increased tax burden on
residents
•pro-small government: No. Oversaw greatest expansion of city
government in Wasilla’s history.
•pro-labor/pro-union. No. Just because her husband works union
doesn’t make her pro-labor. I have seen nothing to support any claim
that she is pro-labor/pro-union.
Posted by mcblogger at 10:15 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 02, 2008
Reality and Charles Krauthammer
Charles Krauthammer is decidedly unimpressed with Sen. Obama. Which isn't surprising because they only person who impresses Charles Krauthammer is Charles Krauthammer. However, he's really stretching to be negative about Sen. Obama, to wit
The oddity of this convention is that its central figure is the ultimate self-made man, a dazzling mysterious Gatsby.
Of course, change Gatsby to Horatio Alger and you have the perfect sentence written by Charles Krauthammer about a Republican candidate. And the funny thing about it? Millions of Americans saw more substance out of Obama Thursday night than they've seen out of decades of McCain.
Posted by mcblogger at 01:18 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 29, 2008
Roundin' up the TPA
Do you know what the Texas Progressive Alliance blogs and bloggers have been up to this week? Well, our weekly round-up will tell you. This week's round-up was compiled by Vince from Capitol Annex.
refinish69 explains why Travis County and Texas doesn't need another Keel at Doing My Part For The Left.
Two White guys in Houston want each others' jobs. Former Gov. Mark might run for for mayor, and current Mayor Bill may run for governor. PDiddie at Brains and Eggs has the Frick-and-Frack report.
Prepare yourself for a shock when you visit Bluedaze and see the BILLIONS in handouts given to Big Oil. TXsharon shows how these handouts, paid with our taxes, enable Big Oil to buy influence, work against our best interest, blatantly ignore laws and keep the US dependent on hydrocarbons rather than moving forward.
Mayor McSleaze at McBlogger wonders why, if Washington is broken as McThuselah's campaign says, McThuselah himself hasn't done something to fix it since he's been there more than, you know, 25 years.
The major media outlets may be arguing about whether experience, the war or the economy is the most important issue in this year's presidential election, but jobsanger says there is only one issue that matters , and it's not any of those three.
The Texas Cloverleaf exposes the plan by Congressman Michael Burgess and the Bush DOT to make I-35 from Dallas to Denton a toll road!
BossKitty at TruthHugger is concerned about WATER and what our fearless leaders plan to do about it: "Water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink."
Justin at AAA-Fund Blog wonders when Houston will find good leadership – in government, in corporations looking for good PR, anywhere – for recycling.
Off the Kuff criticizes State Sen. Dan Patrick and State Rep. Frank Corte for their request for a ruling from AG Greg Abbott that the Lege can require cities to enforce federal immigration laws.
Off the Kuff criticizes State Sen. Dan Patrick and State Rep. Frank Corte for their request for a ruling from AG Greg Abbott that the Lege can require cities to enforce federal immigration laws.
Texas Liberal says that he is not a bridge builder.
Before she took off for the DNC convention in Denver, and the Big Tent, Texas Kaos frontpager SCCS took a look at the state of the Central Texas Congressional races.
The rich get Visas while the poor were asked to self-deport notes CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chimse.
WCNews at Eye On Williamson posts about Perry, Dewhursts, and Craddick's new toll road plan, Texas GOP Leaders Want To Use Public Pension Funds To Build Corporate Toll Roads.
Vince from Capitol Annex takes a look at Republican State Representative candidate Van Brookshire's stupid press release about immigration and the incorrect facts he based it on.
North Texas Liberal shares a stunning tribute to Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, penned by a great friend of the late congresswoman.
Posted by mcblogger at 01:40 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
McCain gets frigid
Sen. McCain is rumored to have picked Alaska Governor Sarah Palin to be the Republican nominee for Vice-President.
Palin, 44, is a reform-minded governor in Alaska who's challenged the party's old guard, attacked pork-barrel spending and taken a keen interest in energy and environmental issues. A former Miss Alaska runnerup, Palin hold a degree in journalism and has five children, including one with Down Syndrome. If Palin is selected, it could indicate a strategy on McCain's part to siphon off women voters disaffected by Sen. Hillary Clinton's loss in the Democratic primaries to Obama, D-Ill.
First, this ain't gonna peel off any of Hillary's diehards, nor is anyone going to be persuaded that her goodwill and character will rub off on McCain. At the end of the day, the veep is largely irrelevant and the only way Independents and Democrats will vote for a Republican is if the Republican nominee stopped being John McCain.
Update 11:45 - Watching the speech now and it's clear they are going to focus on reform. I guess no one told her that the man she's running with has been an integral part of what she'd like to reform for decades. Also, I don't think she realizes she's a Republican. Look for the Democrats to make the point that we can't really afford anymore Republican 'Reform' like ever expanding deficits, low job and wage growth and dramatically higher energy prices.
Posted by mcblogger at 10:08 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
Change I believe in...
After watching Sen. Obama's acceptance speech, it occurred to me that anything I could post would be woefully inadequate. His words were precisely chosen, his delivery was flawless and for 42 minutes he held a crowd of millions with specifics. And with hope.
I can, without reservation, say I am a tough sell. Yesterday afternoon while talking to Sister Ruth, I told her I wanted to be inspired by his speech. I was going to vote for him, but I wanted to believe that he was what he claimed to be, a candidate who would transcend politics and really talk about issues, frankly and fearlessly. One who would fight, head to head, on every front. Frankly, I didn't see it. Even yesterday afternoon.
Early this morning, however, I'm still in awe of the man who was willing to stand in front of a crowd of more than 80,000 and speak about real issues, genuine ideas and not worry about the smaller, pettier matters and conflicts. One who was clearly focused on leading his party and his nation back from the brink of oblivion.
Leader. That's the word that describes the man I saw just a few hours ago. A man I'm proud to say I'm voting for in November.
Posted by mcblogger at 01:25 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
August 27, 2008
Great speeches overcome objections, but not ignorance
After Hillary Clinton’s rousing speech, CSPAN had their call-in segment. A woman from Alabama said she would not vote for Obama because of the radical talk he had heard as a member of “that” black church. Another woman from California, whose speech seemed slurred by intoxication, rambled on about this and that. However, her premise was she was not going to vote for any Democrat because she didn’t like giving her tax money to lazy people, and that the Dems were socialist.
This is more than anecdotal. From all the conversations and what has been spoken and printed, we find this is a disturbing attitude of many. Are they a tiny minority? After seeing current polling data, I think not.
From now until the election, do we need to waste time and energy talking to people - many in despair of personal tragedy caused in general by contemporary American conservatism and specifically by policies initiated and enacted by Republican Party rule - who will never vote for Obama?
Why is it wrong to leap to conclusions about what is in the heart of people who feel the need to denigrate equality, diversity, compassion, and the common good.
Let them fester in their own cesspool of racism and hatred.
We have our work cut out.
Posted by Captain Kroc at 07:02 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 26, 2008
Frank Corte in a box?!
There IS a structure on the empty lot that Frank Corte calls home. It's a mailbox.
Now, the question is, can he live in it? I guess I could have called this post 'DICK (in a box)'.
Posted by mcblogger at 08:58 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 25, 2008
The Transportation Daisy Chain
A certain political consultant emailed the release of the Republican Leadership (now ain't that just one hell of an oxymoron?) regarding their willingness to work with one another. After reading it, I responded to him with
Craddick sucks off Dewhearst sucks off Perry eats out Delisi sucks off Craddick?
To which he responded
I'd rather not have that image in my mind, but, yes, I think you have it about right.
Here's the gist...
Highlights of the new plan:Stop funding the Texas Department of Public Safety with gas tax funds, and divert those millions to road construction. DPS could instead be funded with general revenue tax funds.
What an AWESOME idea, y'all! We've only been asking for it for years but it's good to see that you're finally doing what we told you to do. Next, find the revenue to fund DPS without the gas tax. Good luck with that, R's. WITHOUT taking away CHIP.
Create a special Transportation Finance Corporation to allow Texas-based investment funds to directly invest in state transportation projects.
Rutro! This is the kind of place where you people normally take a nosedive. Here's the inside skinny... the folks at Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs (whatup, peeps!) are having problems selling toll bonds. Which means that road privatization has pretty much ground to a halt along with everything else in the debt markets, at least everything risky (read: toll revenue bonds). If Texas had issued tax-backed revenue bonds and indexed the gas tax (AS ADVISED YEARS AGO) they wouldn't have had any problems selling off the debt. However, toll bonds (much like subprime and Alt A mortgage credits) are questionable at best, valueless at worst. Which means nothing is selling and there's no way for Perry and his cronies at Zachry (and THEIR friends, Cintra (Bluebonnet)) to get the money to buy the roads. Burka has some great stuff up on just how successful road privatization has been. For investors.
So, now that private money has evaporated to finance your questionable plans, you morons want to dip into the underfunded public pensions!??!?!?! Lemme guess, you'll be giving the investment banks a cut on that transaction to work as adviser, right? And, of course, Zachry will be brought in to manage everything and take a cut. Annually. So, what does that leave for the pension fund?
Great idea, you guys! Precisely what I'd expect from folks with the intellectual capacity of sparrows.
Authorize perhaps as much as $5 billion in bonds for additional highway construction projects. Voters approved a constitutional change in November 2007 to allow these bonds, but legislation is still needed to authorize them.
Oh, those tax backed bonds! Yeah, you should totally issue those. Here's the thing, though... at some point, you R's are going to have to finally admit to folks you've been lying to them about the possibility of having economic growth, good public infrastructure and excellent services (schools, fire and police) all while paying less in taxes. Simply put, you've been selling (but not delivering) a free lunch. It's worked so far because no one's been real hungry. Now they're starving and they want something to eat.
EOW nails it and picks up on what the Statesman (and other major media sources) have always missed. These aren't REAL solutions, it's a shell game designed to make it appear that something is happening... and to put off the day when the bill really comes due.
The really wonderful post on all this comes from Paul Burka at Texas Monthly who lays it out beautifully.
The reality that no one on the R side wants to admit is that their ideology is fundamentally flawed. In the real world, privatization does not always work to the benefit of consumers, especially in the absence of substantive GOVERNMENT oversight. An old school economic conservative can you tell you that. In fact, I've done it several times. We, unlike the ideologues running the government who've never really worked in business, know from first hand experience that private enterprise can be every bit as wasteful as big government.
And we hate waste, whether it's Democratic or Republican. And crony capitalism is definitely waste.
One last point, there appear to be those who still want to parrot the old estimate that our transportation funding shortfall is $80-100 bn. It's NOT. It's not even close especially when you aren't building TODAY for capacity you won't need until the late 2040's. As a side note, I'd also like to ask the Lege to set up an independent body, appointed by the LEADERSHIP from both parties in the Lege, to audit TXDOT and what they are paying suppliers. I find it UNBELIEVABLE that true road constructions costs have escalated more rapidly than anything other than gold bullion.
Posted by mcblogger at 09:06 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 20, 2008
We (heart) Hector Nieto (and Jesmer's a tool)
No, Hector, not in THAT way. So you don't have to feel nervous around us...we love you for saying this...
"Instead of resurrecting a non-issue like Fred Baron, why doesn't John Cornyn explain to the people of Texas why he voted six times against bipartisan legislation to expand the Children's Health Insurance Program? Every time a child goes to the emergency room because a parent couldn't afford quality healthcare, that parent can thank John Cornyn."
Yesterday, dippy little Rob Jesmer of the Re-Elect A Worthless Douchebag campaign (AKA, Cornyn for Senate) sent out an email about Fred Baron (who?) giving money to Rick Noriega and the Texas Democratic Party and Girl and Boy Scouts of America. While he mostly left Noriega and the TDP alone, Rob went hog wild on the poor little scouts.
"No, we don't want any more of your Fred Barron cookies. We don't want anymore of your trial lawyer sing alongs or massive settlement knots. We certainly don't want to see any more of your tort pine car derby's..." Jesmer went on to discuss the Freemason's, threatening to teleport laughing reporters into the sun (with his MIND) and the Illuminati/Rothschild/Bilderberg grand unified conspiracy theory.
He did not comment on when Cornyn will be giving up the MILLIONS in oil and energy company money he's taken while those same companies have raped Texans on a daily basis.
Meanwhile, the Noriega campaign was taking a nap.
Posted by mcblogger at 09:47 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Roundin' up the TPA
It's time for another edition of the Texas Progressive Alliance's weekly round-up.
To kick the week off right, the TPA is unveiling its newly redesigned website where you can connect with the Alliance and our member bloggers via Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, DFA, Party Builder, Ning and other social networking tools.
Mike Thomas of Rhetoric & Rhythm looks at a week's worth of opinion columns from the San Antonio Express-News and determines there is a nearly three-to-one imbalance of conservative/Republican columns compared to liberal/Democratic ones.
On Bluedaze, TXsharon busts the myths that Natural Gas is cleaner, that shale drilling will make us safer, and that Domestic Drilling can make us Energy Independent.
There was no attempt of a citizens' arrest of Karl Rove while he visited Houston last week, raising money for Texas House Republicans. PDiddie at Brains and Eggs hoped it would happen, to no avail.
WhosPlayin is concerned about operators wanting to drill for gas in Lewisville's urban forest area near Central Park.
CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme wonders why sexual assault equates to perjury - wink, wink - if you're a person of power in Texas.
WCNews at Eye On Williamson posts on HD-52 Democratic candidate Diana Maldonado's opponent Bryan Daniel sharing his campaign office with a local charity, IRS Complaint Filed Against Round Rock Charity.
Off the Kuff takes a look at the possible effect Libertarian candidates may have on some close State House races.
Texas Liberal uses the ancient epic Gilgamesh to discuss reactions to vulnerability and innocence in both the ancient and modern world.
McBlogger takes a look at the latest Republican fundraising pitch and finds that it's only appealing only to the same geriatric patients who are McThuselah's base. And those elephants are very tacky.
This week jobsanger is outraged by an Arkansas city that's trashing the Constitution and a small Texas country school that's allowing teachers to carry guns.
refinish69 awards the Infamous Cheese Tray Awards over at Doing My Part For The Left.
Mean Rachel supports Obama but argues against Maureen Dowd's assertion that Hillary Clinton's appearance in Denver will "dampen the dreams of our daughters."
Libby Shaw puts the pieces together for us over at TexasKos in his dairy Military Contractors Charge U.S. Taxpayers $85 Billion. Not only are we NOT saving money by outsourcing military support functions, we are pissing off people worldwide. Worst of all? Eisenhower's worst fear has come to pass, the MIC is real , alive and in control....
Justin at Asian American Action Fund Blog marvels at the coming Charlie Wilson Chair at UT, which will become the first Pakistan Studies chair in the nation.
Vince at Capitol Annex takes a look at a scandal that links State Sen. John Carona (D-Dallas) to a condo development in Houston that is falling apart.
Don't forget to check out other TPA member blogs for the latest news on Texas and national politics: The Agonist, Asian American Action Fund, B & B, Bay Area Houston, Beginning to Wonder, BlueBloggin, Bluedaze, Brains & Eggs, Burnt Orange Report, Capitol Annex, The Caucus Blog, Common Sense, Dallas South Blog, Dig Deeper Texas, Doing My Part For The Left, Dos Centavos, Easter Lemming Liberal News, Eye on Williamson, Feet To Fire, Grassroots News U Can Use, Half Empty, In The Pink Texas, jobsanger, Latina Lista, Lubbock Left, Marc's Miscellany, McBlogger, Mean Rachel, MindSpeak, MOMocrats, Musings, North Texas Liberal, Off The Kuff, Para Justicia y Libertad, The Red State, Rhetoric & Rhythm, Same Blog, Different Day, South Texas Chisme, StoutDemBlog, The Texas Blue, The Texas Clover Leaf, Texas Education, Texas Kaos, Texas Liberal, Texas Truth Serum, There... Already, Three Wise Men, TruthHugger, Who'sPlayin'?, and Xpatriated Texan.
Posted by mcblogger at 09:18 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 15, 2008
(Not so) Great Ideas
Bad Decision
Mixing bourbon, vodka and gin with root beer (in my defense, I was 12)
SUPER Bad Decision
Making Chet Edwards the nominee of the Democratic Party for Vice-President.
Seriously, I'm not going to go on some asinine rant about how Chet's not liberal enough. Or progressive enough. Or attractive enough. Or interesting enough. He's not enough of any of those things, but at the end of the day, he's perfect for Waco and it's environs. He's conservative, he's moderately attractive, boring as a motherfucker and basically a perfect fit to represent people who voted for Bush. Four times.
And I'm certainly not going to beat up on a Democrat who can get re-elected, cycle after cycle, in the red territory most us only know as the asshole on the 35 between Austin and Dallas. Seriously, voting for the bankruptcy bill was THE right thing to do, mostly because those yokels are too stupid to realize he worked to restrict their Constitutional right to wipe the slate clean and get a fresh start in their lives. They're not too bright, much like their asshat Congressman.
However, while all this not great, it's not the end of the world. Chet votes his district. However, there is one issue which makes Chettie boy as goddamn unacceptable as John McCain. On several occasions he's voted for actions and laws that were unconstitutional. He's voted to give up our rights, freedoms and disregarded his duties as a member of the United States House of Representatives. Needless to say, having a man so willing to surrender what makes us Americans a heartbeat away from the Presidency shouldn't make anyone excited.
Of course, having the endlessly spineless Pelosi pulling strings for him also makes him pretty unacceptable. Let's face it... when the American people put the Democrats in the majority they expected the Executive Branch to be held accountable. They expected a restoration of the Constitutional power of Congress. They expected Democrats to stand up and say that prosecuting the War on Terror does not mean we have to abandon what makes the US the land of the free. I'm one of millions not willing to give up my privacy so Democrats in Congress can act tough and I'm certainly not one of these crazies who thinks an imperial Executive is a good thing. I was one of the millions who helped put Democrats into office in 2006 and we expected to see accountability in Washington.
What we got, instead, were Democrats like Chet Edwards caving on issues large and small, joining with the minority Republicans to form a majority and pass bad legislation. Maybe that's why the approval rating for Congress is so low.
I refuse to stand up and endorse a man who thinks compromising his Oath of Office is good politics. I won't do it for McCain and I certainly won't cut the Bastard Of The Brazos any slack for being a Democrat. If anything, he gets double black marks for voting give up what makes this country great to add perceived safety and security.
And we all know what Benjamin Franklin had to say about those people.
As for me, I'll just call him worthless... well, except for his work for Veterans. However, given his district, is it any wonder that someone looking to get re-elected would be a big believer in giving Veterans a voice? However, maybe that is the one thing he does purely because it's the right thing to do.
Oh, and let's remember that the DMN has been Chet's biggest booster in Texas. You should keep in mind that in 2000 and 2004 the bright Ed Board at the DMN decided to endorse Bush over the Democratic nominee. The same people who see in Edwards the same things, apparently, that they saw in Bush.
Don't say you weren't warned.
Posted by mcblogger at 03:30 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 04, 2008
Notes on a scandal
So, Pete Sessions (R - North Texas Douchebag) had a fundraiser in a Vegas strip club. He called it a burlesque show, but we've all been to one of those places and we think Pete's a lying sack of shit (granted that's not much of a stretch for the retard).
Here's Pete with some supporters. We're really not sure which one is Pete (it was hella dark in the club) but we're reasonably certain he's not Asian. And that he's not a woman.
Here's some more on the scandal with audio and then there's this from D Magazine.
Really, Pete, a burlesque show? What is this, the 1890's??!? Do you really think anyone's going to be believe that you weren't watching the dancing ladies and that 'Little Pete' (girls talk) wasn't standing at full mast?
Posted by mcblogger at 03:27 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 03, 2008
Roundin' up the TPA
It's time once again for another Texas Progressive Alliance roundup. Here are the blog highlights for the week of July 28:
TXsharon challenges you to view these pictures of Domestic Drilling Armageddon in the Barnett Shale and still support the Drill and Burn Domestic Drilling agenda.
U.S. Rep. Ciro Rodriguez' Republican challenger for the 23rd Congressional seat is taken to task by Mike Thomas of Rhetoric & Rhythm for shirking his responsiblity on a critical hospital expansion vote before the Bexar County Commissioner's Court.
WCNews at Eye On Williamson posts on the GOP's "latest" energy plan in Carter, Oil, & Hair Of The Dog.
Neil at Texas Liberal asks what would be the impact if Polar Bears could vote.
Off the Kuff looks at a Texas Monthly overview of the effects of the Presidential race on downballot elections in Texas and offers his criticism of it.
Guest Columnist JR Behrman at Texas Kaos has a few strong words about Energy Policy: Democrats Routed. He also has a Texas Plan.
Julie Pippert of the MOMocrats asks the Obama campaign to explain its absence in Texas after they announced the roll-out of their Spanish-Language ads as an outreach to Hispanic voters, then discusses a Senate proposal that would require 50% of US cars to have a flexible fuel system by 2012, and finally the MOMocrats share the draft of their position paper to be submitted to the Democratic National Committee for inclusion in the party platform.
McBlogger had a great time in the subprime panel at Netroots Nation. So good in fact that he decided to offer some of his own solutions since the panelists, including the dimwitted Rep. Brad Miller, decided to offer nothing of substance.
XicanoPwr reports on the latest poll by the Pew Hispanic Center on the Latino vote. Latino polling shows that 66% of Latino registered voters will support Obama.
Burnt Orange Report points out that Ag Commissioner Todd Staples finally comes around to what Democrat (and future Ag Commissioner) Hank Gilbert has been saying all along- Texan's are being overcharged at the gas pump due to lack of state inspections.
BossKitty at TruthHugger dreams about the "Count Down To Accountability - Bush, Cheney Indictments"
refinish69 from Doing My Part For The Left invites everyone to meet Annette Taddeo- A True Progressive Democrat.
jobsanger writes about how after years of the Bush Presidency even our cloest traditional ally no longer trusts us in Brits Don't Trust Bush On Torture.
Obama and the down-ballot races in Texas are the focus of two articles by R.G. Ratcliffe of the Houston Chronicle. PDiddie at Brains and Eggs summarizes, and finds some to agree with and some not.
Mean Rachel writes an open letter to Rep. Elliot Naishtat, encouraging him to consider joining the technology age and starting an inexpensive, easy-to-use website tailor-made for state legislators with Wired for Change's DLCCWeb, a Netroots exhibitor.
nytexan at BlueBloggin keeps an eye on Mitch McConnell, the GOP king of distortion and extortion. McConnell plans to block legislation that can impact Americans now and push for a bill whose product will not be seen for 10 years; McConnell Extorts Senate For Off Shore Drilling. McConnell never fails to please Bush and his corporate buddies.
WhosPlayin looks at a new USGS petroleum estimate for the Arctic Circle, and notes that only a small portion of ANWR is estimated to be productive, and that the study doesn't address economic feasibility. (Includes Map)
Vince from Capitol Annex tells us that, while indicted former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Sugar Land) won't accept a presidential pardon, he'd love one from Texas Governor Rick Perry.
CouldBeTrue from South Texas Chisme gets upset with crappy newspaper article.
Posted by mcblogger at 04:48 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
August 01, 2008
Sen. Kirk Watson NAILS IT
Here's a sample of today's WatsonWire...
But the Mansion fire isn’t only a symbol. It’s a symptom of the self-interested neglect and mismanagement that have come to define those who purport to lead this state. While Texas is blessed with dedicated, hard working, public service-oriented employees, they have been denied the tools and leadership they need.Texas, and every Texan, deserves better. It’s time to demand a government that works.
Read the rest here. Kirk, we need this from you... and we need you desperately to be a leader on transportation funding that won't leave the majority of the state in the slow lane.
Posted by mcblogger at 01:13 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 30, 2008
I really gotta stop reading Salon
I, like many of you, am feeling let down by Democrats in Congress and by our own candidate. From FISA to faith based initiatives, the Democrats seems as willing to trash the Constitution as the Republicans. Greenwald thinks it's all because of the Blue Dogs... stop them and you regain a progressive agenda. Basically, we have to target the Blue Dogs or even, God forbid, allow Republicans to win these races to make a point with the leadership and the caucus that taking voters for granted is a super bad idea.
There is another theory that I like better... simply, we need to put a super majority of Democrats into Congress to completely marginalize the Blue Dogs.
What are your thoughts? I know where I'm falling on this... and the polling should be showing the Democrats that playing the same old games, instead of actually taking a stand and leading, is their ticket to a loss in November.
Obama offered his own horse-race assessment ...... while attending a fundraiser in Arlington, Va., Monday night. Talking to about 40 supporters, he opined that when he began his White House quest, "there weren’t too many people who thought we were going to pull this off."
Now, he said, “We are ... in a position where the odds of us winning are very good. But it’s still going to be difficult.... We’re not going to see a huge gap develop between now and Nov. 4 [in the polls]. This is going to be a close election. I’m new on the national scene. People sort of like what they see, but they’re not sure.”
Uhm, Senator, the fact that in this environment you're having problems beating a guy who is so close to Bush they smell the same is a pretty clear indication that your strategy isn't working. Seriously, rethink your excuses. You're close because you caved on things that Democrats, Republicans, Independents and even Libertarians can agree on. So, that leaves us all wondering why the hell we should vote for you.
If you lose this, Senator Obama, you have no one to blame but yourself.
Posted by mcblogger at 12:55 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 29, 2008
The Tubes reveal indictments
Sen. Ted Stevens (R - The Tubes) has been indicted. Which came as a huge surprise to those of us at McBlogger. Of course, we were all shocked (SHOCKED, I TELL YOU!) when Tom DeLay was indicted and everyone apparently knew about that like a week before.
Of course, we were having one of our famous month long party's at the time. And if you weren't invited there probably was a reason. And yes, we realize this will probably cause your anxieties to escalate and you'll want to cut yourself. We really don't care.
Posted by mcblogger at 12:36 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
McCaul gets pwn'd
A couple of boys are attending a school that a US Congressman doesn't like and labels a 'jihadist seminary' without knowing anything about it. He then makes sure, through some hitherto unknown mechanism available to members of Congress, that they are removed from the school.
Who would dare to violate the religious and intellectual freedom of Americans? None other than our own Republican Congressman, Mikey McCaul (R - ClearChannel). Regardless of how pro- or anti-American this school is, their FATHER sent them there. Why did McCaul feel a need to violate the wishes of a parent? Will he be stepping in to assist other children who don't like the schools they are attending? Maybe even beat up on parents for sending their kids to bad summer camps?
Finally, these kids were from ATLANTA, GEORGIA. Not Texas. It's great that Mikey can spend so much time working on violating the wishes of a parent who isn't even his constituent, but we'd love it if he'd start doing what WE, his actual constituents, would like him to do.
Mean Rachel has more and some video.
Oh, and it would be nice if you'd help us get rid of Mikey by throwing some support to Larry Joe!
Posted by mcblogger at 10:50 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 25, 2008
A Buttertroll, CradDICK and John Davis walk into a bar...
The more things change... John Davis is in trouble. Sherrie Matula is kicking his ass for being as useless as tits on a boar. She's outraising him and now little Johnny is starting to freak out. So bad, in fact, that he's requested none other than the electorally toxic CradDICK and Karl "Buttertroll" Rove to come to his aid. While they aren't good for votes, they're great for money.
So, we need to make sure Sherrie keeps in the advantage. Give what you can, even if it's a dollar, and let's help the folks in HD 129 get rid of this worthless bastard. Remember, change in one seat in the Lege may be the advantage we need to get rid of CradDICK and start rebuilding our State.
Posted by mcblogger at 01:00 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 22, 2008
Roundin' up the TPA
It is time for another edition of the Texas Progressive Alliance's weekly round-up.
This week's round-up is compiled by Vince from Capitol Annex.
The Texas Cloverleaf asks if John Cornyn and Kay Bailey Hutchison want more HIV in the global pandemic? Our TX Senators were 2 of the 16 votes against the latest HIV/AIDS bill in the Senate this week that passed overwhelmingly.
WCNews at Eye On Williamson posts on Diana Maldonado's great fundraising numbers in Diana Maldonado Has Almost 4 to 1 COH Advantage In HD-52.
WhosPlayin at WhosPlayin steped outside of his comfort zone a bit and commented on the Fannie and Freddie situation.
jobsanger blasts Republican attempts to allow offshore and ANWR drilling in Drilling Won't Make Us Energy Independent and in Bush Playing Politics With Oil.
The bar may be open, says TXSharon at Texas Kaos in Fire Water: With Compliments from EnCana, but if Encana's serving up the cocktails, it might be better to abstain.
McBlogger's own
Harry Balczak has a new recurring feature,
Vince at Capitol Annex notes that poultry kingpin Bo Pilgrim paid to jet around Texas Governor Rick Perry's staff to promote the ethanol waver he bought and paid for with a $100,000 contribution to the Republican Governor's Association.
Mean Rachel contemplates whether Fannie and Freddie have anything to do with being raised in 78704, but living through young-adulthood in 78749 in Crashes.
The final word, for now, on the Webb County Sheriff's race says Martin Cuellar wins by 41 votes. Since the various 'official' totals for Cuellar have been +37, -133, +39 and finally +41, CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme wonders what the h*ll happened!
Off the Kuff looks at the Harris County campaign finance reports and finds good news and not-so-good news for Democratic campaigns.
The Texas Observer's Melissa Del Bosque had an observation about one
of the panels at Netroots Nation this past weekend, and PDiddie at Brains and Eggs had some observations about what she observed.
BossKitty at BlueBloggin shows us smuggling humans into the US is no problem at all; From Africa to Mexico to US, Any Way They Can Immigrate.
BossKitty as TruthHugger points out the continued struggle by our soldiers suffering from PTSD and the inadequate response by the incapable VA, in But, When They Come Home ….
Posted by mcblogger at 12:17 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 18, 2008
Harry Balczac's Reminder To You People, Part 1
Even though it's 2008, I'm still good and stewed over that dumb, dumb thing You People did in 2004 - all 62 million plus of you. (I won't bring up 2000 or what a smaller subset of You People did in '98 and '94, because I'm magnanimous that way).
So just to make sure You People don't do something similarly stupid this year, I'm introducing a new recurring feature from now until Election Day: Harry Balczac's Reminder To You People. In this series, I will periodically chime in with some reminder of the ridiculous sales pitches that duped all You People just four short years ago.
Hopefully, being made to inhale your own brain farts in this manner will build up your resistance to future campaign sophistry (a more accurate term would be McThuselan Bullshit or GOP Projectile DooDooBomb, but again, my magnanimity...). So without further ado, I bring you Installment One: "The Commander In Chief....Of T-Ball!!"
Remember when all You People were scared that terrorists were under the bed, but you felt safe because His Deciderness wore a fighter pilot uniform, and said "Bring it on" to the "Terr'rists", and swaggered a lot, and had his surrogates slander the other candidate who actually went into combat instead of playing hookie from stateside duty, and all You People positively SWOONED over what a strong, manly, Alpha-male Commander In Chief we had, like old-timey women who got the vapors while entertaining gentlemen callers in the parlor?
Well, the war in Iraq is still on, Afghanistan is still a festering Stage IV decubitis ulcer on the ass of the Asian landmass, Pakistan is getting worse in a hurry, the military is more demoralized than ever, but our Commander in Chief, who YOU PEOPLE elected, can't be bothered right now...because he's got a T-Ball game to officiate. Dana Milbank of WaPo has the story here.
Nero played the violin while Rome burned. Our commander-in-chief plays T-ball with a chipmunk. You People think about that.
Posted by hbalczak at 08:59 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 10, 2008
Thank you, Rick
Ladies and Gentleman, our candidate for US Senate...
“Many times throughout my lifetime I have sworn an oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. This isn’t a part-time Constitution. We as a nation cannot grant anyone sweeping amnesty if they break the rules. It's appalling that my opponent, John Cornyn, puts his special interest campaign contributors ahead of the Constitution. Texans have had enough.Americans will not accept an abuse of power, and they will not accept corporations getting away with breaking the law.
We already have a law in place that balances national security concerns while adhering to the Constitution. This is not the time to compromise the privacy of the American people and not the time to disregard the Constitution of United States. I regret that the Senate has voted this way.”
Spot on, sir.
Posted by mcblogger at 10:36 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
FISA and the dumb things people do
Well, to start Digby has a good recap and some information on the folks who voted against cloture in the Senate. Obama's not one of them so don't freak out. He lost his balls in a tragic polling accident (well, tragic because he didn't have the huevos to stand up to a President with a 28% approval rating). The NYT ran a great op/ed about this but, sadly, the Republicans in the Senate decided to ignore it. As well as a minority of the Democrats.
A few thoughts...
This bill allows for a dragnet, broad access to telecom infrastructure in the US, in an effort to capture terrorists communicating. So, let me tell you how this'll go... One terrorist decides to have some fun. He makes calls to 200 people, at random, in the US, using IP phones. He uses a voice activated computer program and peppers the conversation with bits and pieces of code, code the government is looking for. The next thing you know, there are thousands of federal agents combing the US picking up these people and asking them questions. If you're one of them it's going to suck.
And it's going to waste resources we don't have, looking for a threat that's not there, and doing nothing to stop real threats. Sleep well, kids
The ACLU has already pledged to take this to court. Throw them some money and support, the same money and support you were going to throw to Obama. He'll win anyway but we can't afford not to stand up for our rights. Since it's clear he won't.
Posted by mcblogger at 12:58 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 07, 2008
Really, Boone?, TOD problems, $1 Trillion Deficit and more
At least 141 acres of the planned 326-acre Lakeline Station project, near U.S. 183 and RM 620, have been posted for foreclosure after California-based developer Pacific Summit Partners failed to make at least one quarterly payment to William Savage, the previous owner of the property.Savage, who sold the land in 2006, could not be reached for comment Thursday. Messages left for his attorney, Rick Hightower, were not returned.
Pacific Summit principal Steve Levenson said his partnership missed a payment because of problems arranging financing and asked for an extension; Levenson didn't say when the payment had been due.
While the Republicans will blame you for years and label you “Trillion Dollar Obama” in future campaigns, there is in fact not much that you or any other President can do. You’ve inherited an asset-based economy whose well has been pumped nearly dry with lower and lower interest rates and lender of last resort liquidity provisions that have managed to support Ponzi-style prosperity in recent years. Foreign lenders have cooperated by purchasing Treasuries at yields which when combined with dollar depreciation have resulted in negative returns on their money. Even if these charades continue (and they may not), their stimulative effects – their magical powers to transform a 110-pound weakling into a Charles Atlas/Arnold Schwarzenegger mensch of an economy – are gone. What you need now is fiscal spending and lots of it. No ordinary Starbucks will do, Mr. President, you need to step up for a six-pack of Red Bull.
Gross is uncannily accurate and has been talking for years about the profligate spending (and lax taxation) of Bush and the Republicans. What he presents in his letter is real and not altogether unlikely. However, it'll also go a long way to insuring that the future is far brighter for all Americans.
Two decades later, a who’s who of the national security establishment — George Shultz, Henry Kissinger, William Perry and Sam Nunn — is calling on the United States to lead a global campaign to devalue and eventually rid the world of nuclear weapons.None of these men (two former secretaries of state, a former secretary of defense and a former chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee) are given to casual utopianism — or anything casual. They are trying to shock sensibilities.
In two opinion articles in The Wall Street Journal, they described a frightening new world of ever-expanding nuclear appetites, in which traditional deterrence no longer works. They argued that the only way for the United States to rally the cooperation it needs to confront such dangers is with a clear commitment to the goal of a world without nuclear weapons.
They called for backing that up with policies that have also long been anathema to hawks: including banning all nuclear testing, taking American and Russian missiles off of hair-trigger alert and agreement on “further substantial reductions” in both countries’ arsenals.
“I do not believe we can do this as a demand by countries that have nuclear weapons to countries that do not,” Mr. Kissinger says.
It is hard to see their proposals as anything but a rejection of President Bush’s failed nuclear weapons policy. Mr. Bush’s aides have spent eight years ridiculing arms control agreements as “old think” and denying any relationship between what America does with its own nuclear weapons and its obvious inability to constrain others’ behavior.
Posted by mcblogger at 12:48 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 05, 2008
Take action on FISA
Well, as individual citizens who are not members of the US Senate, there's very little we can do to stop the freight train of telecom immunity and the ultimate effect of it, to protect Bush from ever having to answer for his illegal actions.
However, sometimes 'very little' is enough. Sign the petition here, donate a few bucks here and, if you're on Sen. Obama's campaign site, click here to ask him to join the filibuster.
Posted by mcblogger at 05:56 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Whining? No, this is ANGER.
I've heard from a brave few of you, and one of you posted, about my 'whining' about Obama's cave in on FISA. And Faith Based Initiatives. You're brave because you know I can be, to be perfectly honest, a little volcanic in response to criticism.
First off, let me make one thing perfectly, crystal clear. IT'S NOT WHINING. IT'S ANGER.
Let's make something else crystal clear, we live in a REPUBLIC. We elect officials to serve us. We do not need them to 'carry a banner', especially not on these issues. We need them to do the right thing and when they don't we express our displeasure in a number of ways. Finally, they are the ones we have placed in positions to effect change. If they don't do it, what the hell are we supposed to do?
These are Constitutional issues. There is NO compromise on them. This isn't a litmus test issue, like gay marriage, abortion or any of the other issues that people vote on. THIS IS THE FOUNDATION OF ALL OUR LAWS AND OF OUR COUNTRY.
My question to you is why the hell YOU aren't as mad as I am. Make no mistake, this isn't about a lingering primary that still festering. This is about OUR candidate for President blithely agreeing with, even extending, some of the most ridiculous programs of the Bush regime.
I have been opposed to wiretapping since it was discovered in December, 2005. I have ALWAYS been opposed to faith based initiatives. I did not oppose these programs because they came from President Bush's rotten brain. I opposed them because they violated the Constitution of the United States (and, in the case of the wiretapping, because it was also a violation of federal law). I would have opposed them just as ardently had Bush been a Democrat. Integrity demands nothing less.
Take me to task over my very solid criticism? Like hell. Why aren't YOU fighting alongside me?
Posted by mcblogger at 12:43 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
McCain attacks Obama
And this one wins the MOTO of the day award...
McCain typically leaves the sharpened criticism to others, in the hope of being able to claim the high ground of conducting a "respectful" campaign. But the abrupt shift in tone among his paid staff members, volunteer surrogates and other Republican staples of the cable news circuit is unmistakable, and it resembles the unified message the GOP used to paint the 2004 Democratic candidate, Sen. John F. Kerry, as a flip-flopper.It also reflects a growing belief among McCain's strategists that the campaign for the White House will be won or lost based on voters' view of Obama's character. In a strategy memo released Thursday, McCain's top political adviser accused Obama of "self-serving partisanship."
"In his time on the national stage, he has consistently put his party and his self-interest first," McCain strategist Steve Schmidt said in the memo. "We have seen Barack Obama forced to choose between principle and the interests of himself and his party. He has always chosen the latter."
Schmidt said in an interview that the campaign intends to point out "every day" that Obama broke his promise to accept public financing for his campaign, and that he has not made good on his pledge to debate his Republican opponent anytime and anywhere.
"It's a statement of fact that he discards people, and he discards positions when they become inconvenient for him," Schmidt said Friday. "When politicians say one thing and then do another, like Senator Obama has done, voters wonder about the steadfastness of the character of the person sitting in the Oval Office."
Obama spokesman Bill Burton said he is not surprised by the sharp attacks from McCain's surrogates: "It's our view that's exactly the politics that the American people are sick and tired of. The only ideas they have to promote are the failed ones for the last eight years."
Kinda a puts the Gen. Clark bullshit in perspective, no? So now it's all about flip flopping, eh? Well, he's in favor of faith based bullshit and that's nothing new. He's been talking about the smallness of our politics, as if that was our biggest problem, for a while as well.
Exactly how has he flip flopped?
Posted by mcblogger at 12:19 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 03, 2008
Stop Surrogate Silliness
Actually, we kind of agree with the WaPo on this one... bitching and moaning about what a surrogate says is kind of dumb. Unless that surrogate happens to hit on something accurately.
Which Gen. Clark did. The WaPo, of course, doesn't like it. After all, he was pointing out that their beloved (and they've been loving McCain for two decades) didn't deserve a free pass into the White House because he was a POW. They also know, or should know, that this would be FAR nastier if McCain was a Democrat. You know damn well, there'd be people at the RNC with POW band-aids on, dishonoring those who have been wounded or died while serving the nation.
I'll make you a deal, WaPo. You stop asking the Obama campaign what they think and start talking to General Clark about what he actually said. Don't editorialize and tell us he 'demeaned McCain's service'. We already know he didn't do that. Everyone knows that wasn't what he meant. Well, everyone that is except the narrow sliver of the electorate that is on or watches Fox.
But no one gives a damn about them, anyway. They were handing out the Purple Heart band-aids in 2004.
Posted by mcblogger at 12:11 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 02, 2008
Work to stop fraud, get fired by DoD
This is, I would assume, largely the fault of the political appointees at DoD, not the career military personnel. At least I hope so. If it's not, then we're in deep trouble.
Mr. Smith, a career civilian employee, did his duty: He confronted KBR and warned that unless they supplied credible justification, he would levy penalties of 15 percent on future work payments while also, needless to say, blocking any performance bonuses for the company.Whoops. Mr. Smith was replaced suddenly by the brass in overseeing the contract and the Pentagon took the unusual step of second-guessing its own auditors by hiring an outside contractor to reconsider the claims from KBR. Such is the clout of the Texas-based company and largest Pentagon contractor in Iraq, once part of the Halliburton conglomerate so dear to the heart and wallet of Vice President Dick Cheney.
Sure enough, KBR’s claims were soon unblocked. The contract Goliath got performance bonuses, too.
It's going to take an act of Congress to put KBR and it's professional employees on the EPLS. Where they belong. So, what's holding you up, Pelosi?
Posted by mcblogger at 01:13 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 01, 2008
Eye of Newt (and John Sharp, too)
This was forwarded to me Monday night...
Although my Winning the Future message has always been directed at all Americans, whether they consider themselves Republicans, Democrats, or independents, today I am directing my message specifically to Democrats. And my message is this:The American people have spoken. Are your leaders listening?
Over 1.1 Million Americans Call on Congress to "Drill Here, Drill Now"We really had no idea, just 35 days ago when we first posted the "Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less" petition here, that we would provide the spark that has ignited a fire among frustrated, struggling Americans.
So, Newt, what you're saying is that .03% of the American public is as dumb as you are when it comes to energy supply and energy security (two very separate issues)? I'll buy that. Hell, it appears you've even managed to suck that assweevil John Sharp into your stupidity...
Secondly, cut the capital gains tax from 15 percent to 7.5 percent for investments in new domestic energy. History has shown that capital gains cuts produce more revenue for government, not less. These two actions would unleash the economic power of America towards solving our energy crisis by allowing Americans to do what they do best ... produce. This country has never conserved its way to greatness, but many times we have produced our way to greatness.
A couple of things here, John. First, cuts in cap gains ALWAYS normalize. See, it's called 'tax planning' and people do it all the time. Fund managers, for example, will sell badly performing equities leading up to the end of the year, only to repurchase them in January. Why? Because they get to book a loss on the stock, which are then used to offset gains on other sales. Then they get to rebuy at, if they're lucky, a slightly lower price than they got on the sale, covering their frictional costs. THE SAME THING APPLIES TO CAPITAL GAINS. If I'm sitting on a massive capital gain, and legislation changes the rate at a known date in the future to a lower rate than current, I'm going to put off selling that investment until the rate goes down. Then, I'm going to sell. That's why it looks like tax cuts pay for themselves. As long as you don't think too much about it, which John has evidently not done. Next he'll be telling us that deficits don't matter.
Now, on to conservation... we actually did that. In the 1980's. Consumption went down dramatically as people started driving more energy efficient cars. That coupled with increased production led to oil at $10/bbl. However, the overwhelming factor was the drop in demand. That's in process right now.
Look, I'm going to let y'all in on a little secret. Newt's playing politics and quite stupidly as just about everyone knows that it's a lie that there is enough oil on the continental shelf and in ANWR to satiate our demand for oil.
The world’s energy needs are so great that it’s going to take an immediate production increase roughly equal to the output of Saudi Arabia, for there to be significant supply side downward pressure on oil prices. When thinking about U.S. based energy projects, the question offered is: “on aggregate are these projects capable of rivaling the present day output of the Saudis?” If the answer is no then we have to question those who claim that a particular energy project is going to make gas/oil cheaper. It’s probably better to view the projects as a possible way to reduce some of our energy dependence, as opposed to being a solution to the larger energy problem.
The Saudi's produce 12 million bbl/d. ANWR can't fill that. OCS can't fill that. Shale can't fill that. Neither can oil sands. Combined they STILL aren't close and the oil sands, well, they have their own unique problem of natural gas AND there's a possible political consideration. Remember, we've been through this already. One last point for the 'Drill Everywhere' crowd... the capacity TO DRILL is too low to do anything for five years. Which puts most of the OCS output MORE than a decade away.
So what about Sharp's brill idea about tax incentives for solar, wind, etc? Those are all great, but they can't run a car. Unless we have battery technology far in advance of what we have available now. It's coming, but it's a decade away barring some miracle. Plus, most of these renewables already get some pretty nice tax breaks. Tax breaks aren't the issue. Sharp's an idiot for thinking it is when gas fired power prices are approaching those of more advanced PV solar. Sharp's the perfect kind of old school Democrat, too stupid to know what the hell he's talking about and willing to give away the farm when it's completely unnecessary. I'd love to play no limit with you sometime, John. It'll be fun selling your house after I win it.
Some of you budding candidates out there may be thinking about joining with John on this. Don't. Just keep your mouths shut or we'll excoriate you in the same manner. Let the Republicans be the ones who open their mouths and let the stupid spill out.
Here's where all this is heading... within 5 years gasoline is going to be less than $1.50/ gal. It'll probably happen sooner, but I'll run it out 5 years because right now politics is overriding good decision making. I will throw John a bone by letting him know that the market WILL make the decision. See, I know something that John apparently doesn't : Humans don't like restrictions on their growth. When there is a restriction, we find a way around it. You could say we're large like that. We'll do it this time as well, because speculators have rather firmly planted the seeds for their own destruction.
At $140 a barrel, there’s as much incentive as anyone needs to find new sources of oil (such as the tar sands, and even oil shale), and more importantly, substitutes. At $10 a barrel, no one’s going to take the time and trouble to find a way to make an electric car viable. At over $100 a barrel, it’s a Nobel prize winner.
That's what'll create the solution. And no, it won't be shale oil. It'll probably be something like this. Or maybe something better. I know it'll happen because Malthus was wrong and his followers today are still wrong.
One thing's for sure... it won't be drilling, no matter how much Newt and John may wish for it. If it was, you'd already see some new supply starting to hit. It's not there. Speculation has driven prices and as a result, we're now destroying demand as people change their lifestyles. However, it's only part of the problem since the increased price has not sparked additional supply. Which means we're producing at marginal max capacity.
Of course,with Gwahar producing a 28% water cut, THAT data point should be obvious to anyone with a brain. And no, I don't include those 'Drill Everywhere' people in that group. They're hellbent on politics over substance. For them I have nothing but scorn.
It would be nice, John, if rather than parrot R bullshit, you'd start focusing on some real issues. Better yet, just keep your mouth shut. We'll call you when we need you.
Posted by mcblogger at 09:21 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 29, 2008
There's Reality... and then there's what Cornyn thinks
It's been an exciting week for Jr. John... let's just jump right in, shall we?
So, just out of curiosity, you may be wondering what Cornyn has planned. Well, it's basically allowing his friends in the oil and gas industry (to whom he's been VERY generous with our tax dollars) to drill. Which is interesting as hell since they are already can and are. Of course, it's understandable that a US Senator and his idiot staff wouldn't know this and bloggers would.
Of course, acknowledging that would require Jr. John to admit that there is not, in fact, enough traditional petroleum to get us off foreign sources. Not to mention there's not enough to drop prices. Which makes Cornyn a LIAR.
None of this is especially surprising when you consider the disorganization and chaos within The 28 Gauge Senator's campaign...
What's going to be really funny is watching all the other R's get tagged on tort reform which was supposed to make health care cheaper, lower insurance costs and increase the number of doctors. It's failed on every count, except increasing the number of doctors, slightly, which was going to happen anyway. We keep churning them outta medical school.
Posted by mcblogger at 04:50 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 27, 2008
No, really. You really are the suck, John Davis
Just to let y'all know, this is cut and paste copy from Vince at Capital Annex. I didn't want y'all to think I was plagiarizing. Actually, that's not true. I really don't care what you think.
If you have been following the videos we released on Monday and Tuesday, no doubt your appetite has been sufficiently whetted and you are eager to know just exactly who the most endangered Republican in the Texas House that you don't know actually is. Wait no longer, as the answer is below:
What makes John Davis the most endangered Republican in the Texas House? It's a good question, and we've got the answer.
John Davis is out of touch with his district. HD 129 is a district that includes El Lago, Nassau Bay, Seabrook, Shoreacres, Taylor Lake Village, and Webster and parts of Friendswood, Houston, La Porte, League City, Pasadena, and Pearland--all in Harris County.
A common misconception is that HD 129 is a "silk stocking" House District full of wealthy folks. That's not true, however. While a majority of families do have an annual income of over $50,000 according to the 2000 Census (the most recent numbers broken out by House District), the population of HD 129 is more "middle class" than anything.
Davis' voting record, however, is pretty shoddy when it comes to the needs of middle class families.
Davis voted for tuition deregulation. It doesn't take a genius to tell you that middle class families have been impacted significantly by the Legislature's decision in 2003 to deregulate college tuition. It has become very difficult for middle class families to afford to send their kids to college because tuition costs are skyrocketing. Clearly, tuition deregulation is not a middle class value that the people of House District 129 support. Davis has even put the interests of one of his big supporters, Houston home builder Bob Perry, above middle class students who want a college education when it came time to cast votes on the Appropriations Bill on the House floor!
He's for dirty air. Once again, it doesn't take a genius to tell you that the air quality in Harris county is somewhat lacking. Heck, even the American Journal of Epidemiology has taken note of the fact that lung cancer mortality in Harris County is high--and that isn't because more people in Harris County enjoy the occasional Marlboro or Kool, either. Yet John Davis--time and time again--has voted against improving the air quality in his own district. Here is some of what Davis actually has to say about this topic:
"It's much cleaner than it was 20-30 years ago. I believe we are on the right track. I don't want to choke off industry.
You can also watch a YouTube of Davis actually making that statement here.
Davis also voted for raising taxes on small businesses. Even though Republicans are typically pro-business, Davis is surely no friend of small business. Even others in his own party call the tax John Davis supported an "abject failure." Taxing small businesses out of business isn't exactly a middle class value, either.
And, there is plenty more where that came from: Davis voted to disenfranchise minorities and the elderly (Voter ID), to waste taxpayer dollars on state-funded lobbyists (more than once), and even allowing the state to seize homes of Medicaid patients (HB 2922).
Does Davis share his district's values? We think not.
Davis' failure to reflect the values of his district alone, however, doesn't make him endangered. It is, rather, a variety of factors.
One of the key factors that makes Davis terribly endangered is the quality of his opponent, Democrat Sherrie Matula, and the campaign she is running down in HD 129.
Posted by mcblogger at 12:30 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 25, 2008
Oh. God. No.
Right up there with the news that Kinky wants to run as a Democrat in 2010 at the top of a list of 'Things That Will Make Me Vomit', is the news that Congressman Chet Edwards is being seriously considered as a VP nom. For Obama, not McCain.
Seriously, Pelosi is out of touch. This is the same guy who turned tail on his own Oath of Office, sided with the Republicans and PASSED A BILL TO LET THE GOVERNMENT INDISCRIMINATELY SPY ON ITS OWN CITIZENS. But, of course, so did Pelosi.
Lookit, boys and girls, this IS a big issue. This isn't gays and lesbians getting married and any one of a thousand other issues we give these assholes passes on because 'they're in a tough district full of mouth breathers'. In other words, This is the foundation of our country. The basis of our laws. The Republicans disregarded it and we've seen the results. Do you have any idea how crushing it is to watch DEMOCRATS now taking their turn shitting on the document that created the nation our ancestors fought desperately to establish?
Today is the vote in the Senate. Feingold is nervous.
Holding up his BlackBerry, Feingold warned, “Every time you e-mail my daughter or text message her in England, anybody contacts their son or daughter in Iraq, anybody has kids [spending] junior year abroad, anybody that has a business associate anywhere around the world, all of that is now sucked up into a database over which there is essentially no control for the first time in American history. All of this has happened to you, and your communications, in a way that you never would have thought was possible in this country.... We're going to fall over on this.”
There's more from PDiddie and FDL. If this thing passes, we will never get a determination from a court that the actions of the President were illegal. And make no mistake, they were...
SPECTER: OK. So what the administration, executive branch of the president, did was not illegal.COMEY: I'm not saying -- again, that's why I kept avoiding using that term. I had not reached a conclusion that it was.
The only conclusion I reached is that I could not, after a whole lot of hard work, find an adequate legal basis for the program.
SPECTER: OK.
Well, now I understand why you didn't say it was illegal. What I don't understand is why you now won't say it was legal.
COMEY: Well, I suppose there's an argument -- as I said, I'm not a presidential scholar -- that because the head of the executive branch determined that it was appropriate to do, that that meant for purposes of those in the executive branch it was legal.
I disagreed with that conclusion. Our legal analysis was that we couldn't find an adequate legal basis for aspects of this matter. And for that reason, I couldn't certify it to its legality.
And don't kid yourself, this isn't about terrorists. It never has been. And it certainly doesn't give me a lot of faith in our nominee, who is apparently as big a booster for this bill as his opponent. And President Bush.
Posted by mcblogger at 12:56 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 24, 2008
The most endangered R you don't know
Oh, and there's more to come... just wait.
Posted by mcblogger at 12:27 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
June 20, 2008
I have but one question...
HOW COULD YOU BE SO STUPID, DEMOCRATIC LEADERSHIP??!?!?!
Here's how this going to go... You candidates all write constantly asking for support. For you, I have only one question: Will support our current corrupt leadership or will you support leadership changes that will return this country to the rule of law?
How about it, Larry Joe? What are YOU going to do Michael Skelly? Rick Noriega? If you're going to support the absurd leadership of Pelosi and Reid, then there is really no point in electing you.
WHERE DO YOU STAND?
Posted by mcblogger at 01:06 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
Carbon and Energy...There's dumb and then there's DUMB
Here's a nice op/ed piece on global efforts to reduce carbon and switch to green technologies. The bottom line is it's going to cost us about $1trillion/year over 40 years. GLOBALLY. In the US, it'll be around $7 trillion which is really nothing over 40 years. Especially when you consider this will create jobs. And save us money on OIL. In fact, if oil keeps increasing the way it already has, spending this money will actually be cheaper than maintaining the status quo. And I'm not even worrying about the other negative effects of global warming.
It is not, admittedly, a trifling sum. The International Energy Agency reckons it will cost US$45 trillion to develop and deploy the technologies needed to halve carbon emissions from the energy sector (including transport) by the middle of the century.That is about what would be required to stabilize the levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere at 450 parts per million...
It ought to be enough to keep the rise in average global temperatures below 2.4C and is the target the leaders of the Group of Eight leading industrial powers agreed last year they would seriously consider.
While $45 trillion is a lot of money, it has to be put in perspective.
It would be spread over more than 40 years and across the whole world economy. It would equate to just over 1 per cent of global gross domestic product over that period, the IEA estimates.
And it would be offset by the cost of the fossil-fuel use avoided, which could be of a similar order, the IEA says. As it acknowledges, however, in a world where the oil price can jump $11 in a single day, any estimates of that are "debatable".
Obvs, Cornyn and the idiots who love him, don't get any of this. Of course, I wouldn't take any of them seriously, after all they think oil is completely fungible and that a barrel pumped out of VZ is the same as one pumped out of the North Sea. I guess no one ever explained assays and that some refineries can only take certain types of oil. It's certain no one ever explained to them that the cheap oil is gone.
Seriously, what is IT with you Republicans and thinking that we can drill our way out of high prices? Even 39% has jumped into the debate...
With Texas one of the few states that allows offshore pumping, Perry disagreed with Obama: "One of the fastest ways to bring down prices is good old supply and demand."
WOW. Just WOW. I couldn't agree more. However, where you've gone off the rails is in thinking that you can drill for the additional supply. All of you Republicans seem to think there's more than enough oil in the ground for infinity. There isn't. Sure, there's a lot of oil all over the place. The problem is, it's not economically recoverable. Which means it's SO MUCH MORE EXPENSIVE THAN ALTERNATIVES THAT THERE'S NO WAY ANYONE WILL EVER BOTHER WITH IT.
Two years ago, one of our long departed authors posted this...
America and the world face a real problem... the end of cheap, portable energy. Note I'm not writing about the end of oil because that's just stupid. We will NEVER pump the last bit of crude from the ground. For one, fossil fuels ARE a replenishing resource, they just happen to be created over thousands, sometimes millions of years. The second reason we'll never extract the last drop of oil is that it will simply be too expensive. By the time you get to that point, oil would be at $100,000/barrel in 2006 dollars. At that level, it's probably cheaper to power your car off some kind of nuclear power source.
Take off the ideological blinders for a second and realize that this is real and that failing to take action will result in TRILLIONS of dollars per year in losses just in our economy.
One last thing, there seems to be a central objection about 'freeloaders', namely India and China who'll not comply with the treaty. The objection goes that since they aren't going to do it, why should we.
The answer, for all you supposed conservatives, is that it will be cheaper. For one thing, biofuels are already cheaper than traditional petroleum based fuels. And they take carbon out of the air. Carbon put into the air by India and China. As we convert more and more to biofuels, we'll leave them behind... and get their carbon emissions for free.
Posted by mcblogger at 11:17 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 19, 2008
Winning the stupid olympics
There is NOT some giant, trillion barrel reserve under the Rockies. Or ANWR. Or the Gulf. Oh sure, there's a ton of oil down there but it's expensive to bring up. Too expensive by far to help us out. So quit lying to people, Joe Barton. And lose some weight because you're getting hella fat. Assweavil.
Hey MSM... ask Kay Granger what the per barrel cost will be to produce oil out of ANWR and how much it could realistically produce in a year. Watch the steam come out of her ears. Yes, Reporters, things really are that goddamn simple. Ask any analyst. Better yet, since you won't believe my blogging ass, ask Matt Simmons.
WP has more including information on Burgess' little Energy Expo which just sounds precious. If you like pandering bullshit and lies. Someone go and tell us if he actually says prices will fall immediately.
Hava Goodun!
Posted by mcblogger at 01:45 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Help Democrats TODAY
Posted by mcblogger at 12:53 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 17, 2008
The Republican Convention
Well, I'm sad to report that no one from Team McBlogger made the trip to Houston for the Republican Convention. The excuse I heard most often (other than "Are you fucking kidding me?") is that we don't like funerals. Or the walking dead. Apparently, neither do Republicans since they had around half as many delegates as the Democrats did at their convention.
This post over at BOR tells the story...and leads me to a question. If the Republicans and the Democrats and the Libertarians are against the TTC, then WHY THE HELL DO WE STILL HAVE THE TTC? Is it just 39%'s massive ego?
Apparently, the R's also aired this video. It shows Sen. Cornyn play acting like a real Texan. Yeah, we know all about that. Now run on, Jr. John, and play with your little shotgun.
Finally, is Newt Gingrich going senile? I mean, senility is the only plausible explanation for thinking we can drill for oil to make ourselves energy independent. Then again, fantasy is the basis of Republican reality.
Come on... I can't be the only one who remembers such classics as "Deficits don't matter/pay for themselves" and "The Iraq invasion will pay for itself".
Y'all need a whole new set of bullshit free leaders. Check that, you just need to vote for Democrats.
Posted by mcblogger at 08:04 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
More good polling out of CD10
Matt over at BOR has some details. When polling head to head with issues, LJD is beating McCaul. Which is some really good news.
Posted by mcblogger at 11:53 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Culberson steps in poop
This is a not-so-brill article about members of Congress and their staffers using BlackBerry's, basically saying that they are addicts (full disclosure : SO AM I AND MILLIONS LIKE ME) in constant contact with lobbyists, etc. Which is bullshit, but someone in the comments called that out.
And they make Rep. Culberson (R-Asshat) a hero. For using Twitter. When I read it I thought, "Surely it's not that asinine thing that Pink Lady got me wrapped up in that's currently showing me playing with my balls while sitting in a Starbucks. Which is what I'm most definitely NOT doing". But, alas, it was. Which means Rep. Culberson is wasting untold amounts of time detailing the minutiae of his daily actions.
The comments are truly enlightening for a thoroughgoing indictment of Culberson. And leaves us with only one question... Why is Culberson afraid of Michael Skelly? Well, that and WHY THE HELL DO POLITICOS GET ON BLOGS?!?!?!
Posted by mcblogger at 08:55 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
June 16, 2008
What smart people do about immigration...
In Spain, they use it to their advantage. Here, we act like it's the worst thing ever. And you know who complains the most? Transplants, not native Texans.
This dovetails rather nicely with this report that shows the real, positive economic impact of immigration.
Sorry about the brevity. It's Monday and I'm feeling it.
Posted by mcblogger at 11:15 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 12, 2008
In other news...
June 12, 2008 * 5:30-7:00
Scholz Beer Garten
$20 Donation Suggested
GET OFF YOUR MOTHERFUCKING ASS AND ANNOUNCE.
Jesus. If you make us wait again for some lameass kick off speech at UT where you'll talk about video game violence, I will bitchslap you AND Stanford. Either that or I'll run you down with my car. That speech was a BIG part of the reason I ended up supporting Gammage in the primary.
BE YOURSELF AND RUN. You'll win.
Hava goodun!
Posted by mcblogger at 10:52 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
June 06, 2008
We went drinking
And by WE, I mean I. AND I TRIED TO DRINK EVERY THING AT CEDAR DOOR.
I'd like to take this opportunity to apologize to absolutely no one. Except Eileen who came late after suffering through the Clinton party.
I'm sorry for laughing at you.
OH MY GOD, was I the only one freaking out a little at the number of people at the Blogger's Caucus last night? And, yes! I've already been informed that I was 'a little embarrassing'. I don't need you to remind me.
Right now there's a song by Eazy E going through my head...
I gotta get drunk before the day begins before my mother starts bitchin about ma friends
To whoever 'supplemented' the tab last night at Cedar Door, my thanks.
Posted by mcblogger at 10:29 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
If Gene Kelly and Rhett Smith had a child...
THIS is what that child would grow old to be.
Like Gene Kelly, he has run for office on a lark a gazillion times. Like Gene Kelly, he is about a gazillion years old. Like Gene Kelly, he has really pissed off a major party by actually winning a primary and fucking up whatever longshot hope they had of maybe winning the general. But notice how he changes parties every damn time he runs for something? That, my friends, is vintage Rhett Smith....
Or am I thinking of Carole Strayhorn?
Posted by hbalczak at 08:05 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
June 05, 2008
Shhhh... don't anyone tell Sen. Cornyn how much Rob Jesmer sucks
Rob Jesmer works for Sen. Cornyn. He's not the sharpest tool in the shed, but then again neither is Sen. Cornyn (the man with a hardon for ladies' firearms) which may explain why Cornyn hired him to send out inane emails like this one. Even the old, standard "let's beat up on the Democrat by calling him a librul" is just so goddamn tired I want to fall down right now and sleep.
Really, Rob? This is the best you fucko's can come up with?
You know, it's pointless talking about how many jobs will be created by this bill. Or how well Texas will do because of it. It's not even worth discussing the benefits to us all of arresting, then reversing, the carbon load in the atmosphere. Why bother even considering that this will help free us from dependence on foreign energy sources, saving us close to $1 TRILLION PER YEAR (and, coincidentally, defunding terrorism).
Let's forget about all that because it's really a point by point refutation. Let's just look at one simple fact...
CORNYN IS A LIAR
This is, after all, one of the people who told us the Iraq Invasion would pay for itself. The same guy who has claimed that tax cuts pay for themselves. It's also the same idiot who has let the utility companies bleed Texans dry.
Needless to say, as a real Texan would put it, your credibility (and that of your boss) is shot all to shit. I'd sooner believe Ralph Nader than John Cornyn, any day of the week and twice on Sunday.
While you're good and irritated, go throw Rick a few bucks.
Posted by mcblogger at 11:41 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
The Convention Post We Can No Longer Avoid
Right now, as I write this (and while I'm enjoying MY LAST BOWL OF CAUCUS CRUNCH ... THANK GOD), thousands of people are gleefully packing their bags in preparation for a trip to Austin for the Democratic State Convention. They are earnestly working through their tackiest accessories in an attempt to come up with the most repulsive thing they have which will let all who see them know that THEY ARE DEMOCRATS. Very, very tacky Democrats, but Democrats nonetheless.
I'm not one of THOSE Democrats. I'm one of the "Oh my God, when can we get done with this so we can get to the bar" Democrats. I really don't look at the convention any differently than, say, Tuesday. But that's me. If you it's you as well, email me at mcblogger@mcblogger.com. I might tell you where we'll be drinking. Or I might email you porn. You wouldn't BELIEVE some of the japscat I have on my blackberry.
See y'all this weekend!
Posted by mcblogger at 09:14 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
June 04, 2008
Thank you, Hillary!
We couldn't agree more. The only thing we'd add is the hope that Sen. Obama will look to Sen. Clinton for advice on how to trip up Republicans.
It's not like she hasn't been doing it since 1992.
Posted by mcblogger at 02:34 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
TXDOT, Tolls and riding off into the Sunset
Some interesting things floating 'round the sphere...
"While I am looking forward to addressing this issue [transportation] when the Legislature meets in 2009, " Perry said, "the state cannot afford to repeat 2007. Members of the Legislature must understand that 'no' is not a solution to this challenge. It is an abdication of responsibility." Perry made clear his determination to defend the renting of state right-of-way to private companies in exchange for a fee and building and operating a toll road.
Actually, you ridiculous twerp, selling off your roads IS AN ABDICATION OF RESPONSIBILITY. Not only that, but you and your appointees are so incompetent or corrupt that you didn't even get us a good price. Probably because you're, again, either too incompetent or corrupt to calculate the present value of a revenue stream over time.
This preceded their new Statement on Toll Projects which I'll take a moment to summarize and explain.
1) Not selling the tolls roads... This is pretty dumb since a 50 or more year lease is widely considered a functional sale. In my industry, we call it a leasehold.
2) No roads will be owned by foreign entities. No, but the leases will be held by them.
3) We'll have a way to buy back the roads. Sure, but at what price? I don't expect the crack team at TXDOT to do a good job negotiating this. They're completely out of their element, just as former Commissioner Williamson clearly was.
4) Tolls will be initially set by TXDOT, with formulas and government input for increases. Input isn't control. Nice try, Deidre, but only an idiot would fall for that turn of phrase.
5) No restrictions or non-competes? I'll believe it when I see it, Deidre.
6) Freeways not converted... but if we shrink down the freeway lanes to add a lane, we'll call that added capacity and we'll toll it
This, my friends, is the translation. If you're dumb enough to fall for ANYTHING from this Commission, then you really don't deserve any spot at the table.
All in all, this pretty solidly leaves corporate welfare proponents in the drivers seat and continues to ignore the most cost effective solution, which Burka NAILED.
At the end of the day, this is so transparently a 'Let's give a perpetual revenue stream to a campaign contributor (ZACHRY)' that it surprises me so many 'fiscal conservatives' are in favor of it. Wonder if they're getting paid by Zachry as well. I already know 39% is.
Hava goodun!
Posted by mcblogger at 10:04 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
June 03, 2008
Will she or won't she?
Here's the obligatory link to the news... Whether it's tonight or this week, it seems likely Clinton's out. Which shatters my belief in justice, truth and the strange idea that the seemingly impossible can happen (or is real).
Which means I'm also fucked on the Easter Bunny, Santa Claus and Environmentalist Republicans (which I'm convinced exist). Not to mention that whole winning the lottery plan which, up until now, has been my retirement strategy. And yes, I do underwrite loans for a living.
So, what's next? Some think that both Clinton and Obama may be here this weekend for the convention. Others, like me are PISSED AS HELL because now EVERYONE is going to be running as an Obama delegate. Which means delegate selection will be ENDLESS. Which, in turn, will delay my arrival at a bar of my choosing. While I won't be running for national, I will be voting so, a word to the wise, if you're in SD 14 KEEP.IT.SHORT.
I'm very persuasive and will shit can the first person who goes over 60 seconds. Seriously, who are you, why do you want this, and what will you do when you return. That's what we need to know. Anything more is ego masturbation and an automatic 'I hate you'. We also won't tell you where we're going to drink which will mean you'll be forced to enjoy Bennigan's on Riverside. BY YOUR SELF.
Finally, I'm not particularly glad this is over. I still have serious doubts about Sen. Obama in the general. That doesn't mean I won't vote for him or that I don't think he's a swell guy. However, I do have doubts about whether he's mean enough. Many of you out there are true believers. Take some time to convince me.
And do it without using the words 'hope' or 'change'.
Posted by mcblogger at 11:35 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 25, 2008
Energy and Reality (Or, What to do about high gas prices)
With gas prices approaching or exceeding $4.00 all over the country, it's pretty obvious we're all in for some rough times. I know I've had to make sacrifices (moving from Grand Marnier to Cointreau) and I'm sure you've had to make adjustments as well. Like getting the kids to like cat food instead of Cheerios.
Politically, it's the Democrats year as long as gas stays above $3.00/gal. Actually, I think the pain threshold is probably around $2.50/gal. That being said, this isn't a post about high gas prices and hurray for Democrats in November. This is about what the hell we're going to do.
This is going to be a little different from my usual posts. This is policy and not terribly exciting. I'm going to break things down into two areas of focus... what to do in the short term and long term fixes. Obvs, this issue touches on a hundred issues and disciplines, so please bear with me. While it may not be readily apparent where I'm heading, I promise it'll all come together.
The Short Term Solution
People are hurting now and something has to be done. Sure, it's great to focus on CAFE standards and expanding public transportation. Both of those things have to be done, but before they'll start affecting things, gas will be $9.00/gal. Both of these take years to cycle through the economy.
What? You doubt me? Think about hybrids and diesels. Both are available now and have been for about 4-5 years. Still, they haven't made a dent in demand. Because people are pretty strapped right now and spending money on a car is, for many, impossible. That being said, what do we do?
Remember that thing about disparate ideas coming together? Here it is. Basically, in the energy markets right now there is a tremendous amount of money sloshing around due to lax policy from the Fed. That's creating inflationary pressures in various classes of investments which is especially evident in commodities. Low capital gains taxes are making it extremely easy for people to trade the market and constantly make profits. Who wouldn't like to be able to invest $1 mn and come away in 6 months or less with $10 mn? Oh, and pay practically nothing in tax?
Low capital gains and lax monetary policy are driving speculation in the energy markets. The only way to stop it is to tax the hell out of it and starve out the short term traders. That will deflate the bubble and take us down to around $95/bbl.
The second part, balancing the federal budget, will help to stabilize the dollar and lead to it's reappreciation. That should strip about $20-35 out of the price of oil, taking us down to a far more manageable $60-75/bbl. YES, it will mean raising taxes. Get used to it. We've been paying in the minimum for years and as a result our infrastructure is crumbling, our schools are deteriorating and our currency is in functional freefall. It's about time liberals AND conservatives come together and realize we need to make some investments in the future.
The next part is a little more tricky...
The Long Term Solution
We've now got oil down to more affordable levels and we didn't even have to go begging the Saudi's. So why isn't it back down in the $20's? Simple. There's still instability in many areas of the world where we get oil and demand is still high. That's the dirty little secret... we've apparently reached global peak and new discoveries aren't offsetting declines in major fields. In other words, while we're not running out of oil, we're running out of cheap, plentiful easily marketed oil. Which means we have to do something now before we go through something analogous to the worst of the 70's dystopia movies.
We could start drilling in ANWR. It contains about as much oil as we use in 18 months and the costs to produce it full out could top $75/bbl. Not exactly a bargain and it's not a long term solution, despite what the R's may have told you. And everyone else.
What about shale oil in the Rockies? Sure. There's a ton of oil trapped in shales, but the cost to produce will easily top $90/bbl. Why do you think none of the major integrated oils are clamoring over the prospect? Oh, yeah, and it also tears up the mountains. And pollutes the hell out of the environment BEFORE you've even had a chance to refine the first gallon of gas.
Oh, but the Athabasca oil sands (not to mention those in Venezuela's Orinoco Belt) are our savior, right? Sure, the oil there's being produced for around $30-40/bbl. Which is fantastic until you realize the environmental damage that's done to get at that oil. That, and it's not exactly the yummy West Texas Intermediate Equivalent that we've all come to know and love. Nah, this a dead end with escalating costs and nasty environmental effects.
All of the 'solutions' mentioned above do nothing but exacerbate the increase in atmospheric carbon. Even in the case of Athabasca, where they are using nuclear power, just pulling the oil up releases carbon. Before you even refine a gallon of gas, you're already increasing the carbon load.
The only solid long term solution is biofuels. Forget soya diesel and corn ethanol, two biofuels that are about as useless as tits on a boar. The future is cellulosic ethanol made from miscanthus and biodiesel made from cassava. The best solution is algae and cyanobacteria. However, there's a lot of land that should be converted from corn and cotton production (hello West Texas) to biofuels. And you can do it in a way that will lessen water requirements and make farming more dependable and profitable. Still, the biofuel panacea is going to be either cyanobacteria or algae held in suspension and contained in mile after mile of snaking tubes.
The best part? While it's making the transportation fuel, it's also scrubbing the atmosphere of CO2. You could even sequester CO2 from utility plants to juice growth. All around, it's THE solution, at least until we have practical fusion, solar panels with 70% efficiency that are commercially produced and ultra high density capacitors and batteries. While this doesn't do a lot to get rid of the carbon already floating around, it does put a stop to emissions growth. At that point, the environment will take care of the rest.
Now that we have the blue sky solution, how the hell do we implement it. Therein lies the rub... it's not easy and it'll take the kind of political acumen that few in Washington have. On our side. The Republicans are absolutely hopeless, bleating on as they are about offshore drilling, ANWR and shale.
For one thing, increasing the capital gains rate is going to make the investment banks and hedge funds very angry. Short term gains are their bread and butter, they're rich and they love donating money. And spending some of it on lobbyists. Still, our long term prosperity depends on shifting from a focus on short term to long term gains. In all honesty, if we allow them to buy into what's going to be the next big growth industry, they'll fall into line. And that's the key... the horse trading on this is going to be an absolute nightmare and the reality is that it's going to require getting everyone to buy in. Most of the integrated oils will, but Exxon will be unhappy with any solution.
That's where the power of government comes into play. Until now, it's been used to hold back advances in public policy that will benefit the country. This time, we can use to play hardball with those companies that are uncooperative. Don't like our solution? Forget about patent protection, for example.
The market is eventually going to go with this solution. However, it'll take them 20-30 years. That's why we need the government to step in and force the market's hand. This is going to require some monstrously intelligent people. The good news is, we have them. The bad news is that most of them are narrowly focused on one solution, not to mention that the vast majority of them have extraordinarily shallow knowledge bases. They're going to have to stop listening exclusively to the echo chamber composed of their fellow classmates from grad school.
Finally, what's all this going to cost? My estimates are upwards of $2 trillion after you hand out all the lulu's and get everyone happy with the outcome. You can do it now, but that kind of borrowing in addition to current fiscal insanity would promptly drive interest rates up to 12% or more. That would put consumer rates in the 17-20% range which would effectively kill commerce in the US. And employment. That's where that whole fiscal responsibility thing comes from and the certain knowledge that this will have to gradual so as not to cause a sudden shock to an already shaky financial system.
Of course, there's something else that makes the cost palatable. Biofuels keep our existing infrastructure mostly in place which reduces the cost to build out the production facilities. It also creates jobs which we desperately need, it lowers the cost of transportation fuel AND strengthens the dollar just from the simple fact that we'll not have to send as many of them out of the country to buy energy.
There will be moaning and whining about this from all sides. We'll have to ignore it, especially when it comes from the National Review, The Washington Times and R candidates. Eventually though, it'll become evident that this is a good solution that will readily benefit everyone.
Posted by mcblogger at 11:40 AM | Comments (12) | TrackBack
May 23, 2008
The Republicans beg for money
I'm on the RPT's email list (YAY ME!) and just got this today. It's inline with their other emails, which Coby over at BAH has been tracking (here and here). Today's missive is from TinaFish herself, Empress of all the Republicans. I decided to translate from Republicanese to English but if you want to see the raw text, it's in the supersize.
Dear Sucker,
You love you some Barack Obama, but we're still going to stick to the lame talking point that he insulted everyone in Texas when he told a group of San Francisco donors...
“People in small towns cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.”
We know, we're pulling things way the hell out of context, but there are still like 20 of you out there who will send us a few bucks every time we mail this shit out. Y'all are like little human ATM's and we love you for it. Especially because we're broke and could really use the money. As offensive as our pandering is, the mainstream media is totally passing it up and focusing on dumb shit Obama said. Kinda like us.
Michelle Obama’s out of context comments from earlier this year are still making headlines mostly because we keep screaming that they were 'un-American'. You know what else is un-American? Making us eat at motherfucking Taco Bell which is all we can afford right now.
“For the first time in my adult life, I am really proud of my country, because it feels like hope is making a comeback.”
Yeah, we know we're stretching this like Linda Harper-Brown trying to wedge into a girdle, but damn! We gotta do something! Sure, we're embarrassed by her honesty (and even know how she feels ... we have been, after all, the ones dismissing 'hope' for almost 30 years and focusing on pandering and hatred), but Obama’s campaign kept explaining how we and the media were taking this out of context (which we really are all the time doing). AND YOU KEEP LISTENING TO HIM! DON'T YOU REALIZE HE'S BLACK?!?!?! WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE?!?!?!
And we’ve all heard the sickening comments of Obama’s minister, Reverend Jeremiah Wright (it's a strategy we call Fun With Partial Quotes). We know you've heard them because we've been like a goddamn broken record with that shit. Once again, we're hoping it'll shake the money tree so we can make rent this month. At first Obama dismissed Rev. Wright’s comments. That's when we smelled blood in the water. Then the Democrats did the unthinkable... they brought up McCain's support from that psycho Hagee. AND YOU LISTENED TO THEM? What do we have to do? Fake a terrorist incident to get you people to pay attention to us?!?!?!
Sucker, I refuse to sit back and watch you keep your money. I NEED a lot of it and frankly, it'll help me more than it will you. We keep trying to make you understand that Barack Obama and his allies are trying to tear down everything we hold so dear. You just refuse to believe us. That makes us mad. Especially because if you keep your money we'll be poor. And we CAN'T have that.
If you agree, then I urge you to make a special emergency contribution of $25, $50, $100 or more to our Republican Party of Texas today. Seriously, I had to eat chili out of a can today and it was hella gross. This is really an emergency.
www.texasgop.org/donate
Not only are you and I in a battle for control of the White House (with us on one side and the rest of the country on the other), the United States Senate and the House of Representatives…
We’re in a battle for the survival of that conservative bullshit you've been buying from us for 30 years, too. Don't make us retool our message and strategy... we REALLY don't want to. That takes work and we're nothing if not lazy.
Here in Texas we don’t “cling” to anything (except your money), but we are guided by faith (in your stupidity) and believe deeply in the time-honored values (like taking your donations) that have made this nation the greatest on the face of the Earth. Well, it was before we took over and let our friends come and rape everything. Thank you all so much for voting for Perry in 2006. Now we can give back to the Spanish some of what we took from them. Viva La Reconquista!
But the Democrats clearly have quite a different view of the world than you or I. They keep fighting diligently for your rights and freedoms, not to mention your economic security. And unless you give us money now, they're likely to win overwhelmingly in November. And then we'll have to find real jobs and our skills are kinda the suck.
Through literature drops, and calls and targeted mailings to undecided voters, your special emergency gift of money will help us expose just how nasty and stupid we can be. It'll also help pay our tab at Ruth's Chris.
And if you can help now, we’ll have the funds for that awesome vacay we've been planning to Bali. It'll also, if there's any left over, contrast our so-called conservative values with the strong, all-American ideals of the Obama Democrats.
www.texasgop.org/donate
Together, we’ll stop the Obama Democrats from disrupting our stranglehold on power and corruption. With your money, we'll also be able to pay off the bills the Speaker ran up redecorating his apartment. And pay off our Amex.
Sincerely,
Thanks and God Bless,
TinaFish, State Chairman
P.S. I’m sure you’re shocked and appalled by how craven we are. We know you're impressed by the ideas being put forth by Barack Obama and his campaign. I am, too. But really, we have do something about it as we can't allow you people to think for yourselves. Will you help me protect my privileged position by making a special gift to the Republican Party of Texas?
Dear Friend,Support our conservative ideals - Support RPT Today!
Barack Obama insulted everyone in Texas when he told a group of left-wing San Francisco donors...
“People in small towns cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.”
As offensive as that shocking statement is, the mainstream media dismissed Obama’s ideas because they share his views.
Michelle Obama’s anti-American comments from earlier this year are still making headlines.
“For the first time in my adult life, I am really proud of my country, because it feels like hope is making a comeback.”
Embarrassed by her candor, Obama’s campaign tried to divert attention by saying that her remarks were taken out of context.
And we’ve all heard the sickening comments of Obama’s minister, Reverend Jeremiah Wright. At first Obama dismissed Rev. Wright’s comments. But only recently, bowing to political pressure, has he criticized them.
Friend, I refuse to sit back and watch the unchallenged agenda and words of Barack Obama and his allies tear down everything we hold so dear.
If you agree, then I urge you to make a special emergency contribution of $25, $50, $100 or more to our Republican Party of Texas today.
www.texasgop.org/donate
Not only are you and I in a battle for control of the White House, the United States Senate and the House of Representatives…
We’re in a battle for the survival of our common-sense conservative ideals, too.
Here in Texas we don’t “cling” to anything, but we are guided by faith and believe deeply in the time-honored values that have made this nation the greatest on the face of the Earth.
But the Democrats clearly have quite a different view of the world than you or I. And unless you want to see them seize total control of our federal government, Texas Republicans must step up to the plate like never before.
Through literature drops, and calls and targeted mailings to undecided voters, your special emergency gift of will help us expose the liberal Obama agenda for all Texans to see.
And if you can help now, we’ll have the funds for media opportunities that contrast our timeless conservative values with the radical, anti-American bias of the Obama Democrats.
www.texasgop.org/donate
Together, we’ll stop the Obama Democrats from ruining everything that has made Texas and America great.
Sincerely,
Thanks and God Bless,
Tina J. Benkiser
Tina J. Benkiser, State ChairmanP.S. I’m sure you’re shocked and appalled by some of the ideas being put forth by Barack Obama and his campaign. I am, too. Let’s do something about it. Will you help me protect our conservative cause and make a special gift to the Republican Party of Texas?
Posted by mcblogger at 02:58 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
People die every single day...
Why aren't any of them that lying sack of shit Rick Santorum?
We get it, Rick. You don't like the homo's. Why not just say that rather than make up some ridiculous lie (that's easily discovered) about how gay marriage has 'destroyed' Norway? It'll stop me from claiming that 30% of the time your awful haircut turns 25% of the women who see it into lesbians.
Posted by mcblogger at 10:40 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 22, 2008
Dear Kevin McLaughlin
Hey Kev (or, is it is Kevster, Kevina or Kevaroonie?)!
We've never really talked and frankly, this is hella awkward. Obvs, no one is giving you the advice you need to be a good Republican spokespuppy in this day and age. You really need to sit down and have some drinks with Scotty McClellan... if he's not still curled up in the fetal position rocking back and forth.
If I may be so bold, you might find more gainful employment in another area. You kinda suck at the whole 'defending your boss' thing. Now, of course, we're willing to acknowledge that your boss is a waste of skin. And hair. And teeth. And air. But honestly, you don't have to make it EASY for us to tear him down by calling Sen. Webb and Lt. Col. Noriega members of the 'Anti-War Crowd'. These two guys served in war. Your boss didn't. You've just allowed everyone and their dog to make that contrast over and over again in the context of rebutting your retarded remarks. The opponent of your boss actually SERVED in Afghanistan. Meanwhile your boss was out hunting with a ladies shotgun.
Then, of course, there is Cornyn's lack of support for the 21st Century GI Bill which would help our troops returning from war. Your boss is saying he doesn't like it because it spends too much money. Which is funny because he wasn't worried about that when we voted to cut the hell out of capital gains taxes which benefited the wealthy and turned the focus of our equity and commodity markets from investment to speculation. Guess which will cost taxpayers more?
On second thought, you REALLY shouldn't go there because I'll shred the amateurish talking points you've diligently memorized from Heritage and the AEI.
Here's the thing... Cornyn is going to lose and you'll be out of a job. If you go down with the ship (or, in this case, the walking dead) you could be out of work for a while. And welfare isn't what it used to be so you'll be pretty much broke (ask former AG Gonzales). Best idea is to get out while you can. Before you flub up even worse.
HAVA GOODUN!
McB
Posted by mcblogger at 12:56 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Help Them Help You
Thursday, May 22, 5 - 7 PM
Aquarelle Restaurant, 606 Rio Grande Street, Austin
hors d'oeuvres & refreshments
Requested Donation:$50 (but all contributions gratefully accepted)
Sponsorships$2,500, $1,000, $500, $250, $125
For information: 512-535-1235
Or, if you're a good person, you could just click here to donate. I first met Sherrie in 2006 and LOVE her.
Until we put these two in the House, they can't do much for you other than complain. Help elect them today by throwing them even $5. You really will feel better about your self. And maybe women (or men) will want to meet you and get to know you 'in a special way'.
I'm not promising anything but I'll admit I'm more inclined to view someone's advances favorably if they give money to good causes, like Democratic Candidates. If they give money to the GOP, they're worthy of a donkey punch. See how that works?
Posted by mcblogger at 10:55 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
A fat douche says what?
Ladies and Gentleman, I give you a clearly delusional Rush Limbaugh
“I don't think my ‘profile’ needed elevation because it never waned with my audience and my audience is for whom I do my show,” Limbaugh wrote. “Not the MSM. So when the MSM decides to acknowledge my existence it doesn't mean anything to me.”
A couple of things... I'm thinking he's back on the drugs. I also think he's desperate to remain relevant to his dwindling audience (and it is dwindling, a fact which he refuses to acknowledge). All in all, it's funny as hell.
Posted by mcblogger at 08:48 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 21, 2008
Leo Berman : The Prince of Hypocrisy
Sal Costello has the story on Leo Berman's promise to kill the TTC next session...
Mr. Costello:A number of legislators are committed to killing the TTC next session. Sen. Kevin Eltife and I have gone public with that commitment. Both of us will work hard toward that end.
Sincerely,
Leo Berman
State Rep. District 6
What little old Leo isn't saying is that he VOTED TO BUILD THE DAMN THING NOT ONCE BUT TWICE.
TWICE
We at McBlogger would like to welcome Berman to the fight against the TTC and toll roads. We'd like to start by asking him to commit to making the remaining sections of Loop 49 NON TOLL.
Yeah, we knew he'd balk on that. Idiot.
Berman, a word of advice. Don't grandstand on this. You vote and that's it. Hey, it's nice and all for you to finally be paying attention to your constituents, instead of CradDICK, but you need to know no one really likes you.
Beside, you'll have very little power in January. You'll be part of the minority. Better be wise and join in with the Democrats on this. If you don't, a replacement will be easy to find in 2010. And I've already seen the oppo book on you.
Posted by mcblogger at 02:13 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
We're done with you
Is 2008 a transformative year? It's hard to say but I'm thinking that in 20 years we'll look back and see that this was the year where things started to change. No, it's not about Obama or Clinton or the lackluster Democratic Congress constantly stymied by incompetent and petty Republicans and a childish President completely out of touch with the country he leads.
It's about people waking up and realizing that the 'conservative' agenda of the radical right over the last 28 years was a massive, unadulterated failure, as much if not more than the Great Society which did much but ultimately failed to achieve the goals set for it.
Reality is a bitch as many are learning on a daily basis when they go to fill up the gas tank or when they try desperately to figure out how they will be able to feed their family. In the harsh light of that reality, two men getting married thousands of miles away is pretty irrelevant. Worry about abortions, the number of which was always grossly exaggerated, is a distant second to how to buy the $7 box of Cheerios. The realization that constant tax cuts lead to deficits and higher interest rates, not to mention a massive failure to invest in our future through new infrastructure, has certainly hit many like a bag of hammers. Every month when the credit card bills come.
Burka on Sunday posted a memo from some R Congressman who understands just a small fraction of what's happening. Even Rove is apparently getting it. Their solution? Pound on the Democrats about gas prices by pointing out that they don't support drilling in ANWR (with a projected production cost of $50-60/bbl and not enough of it to affect prices) and destruction of the Rocky Mountains to get at oil shale (at a cost of more than $90/bbl and, even when combined with ANWR, not enough to affect prices).
See how I did that? I'm one blogger, I don't work in the energy sector and even I know how ridiculous the Republicans (especially Cornyn and Hutchison) are on energy policy and what needs to happen to fix the constantly accelerating consumer costs. This isn't hard to understand unless you're incapable of looking at things through anything other than a partisan, ideologically tinted, glass.
On the economy and tax cuts, the Republicans are decimated by Democrats. On National Security, they poll better but still heavily damaged. Just wait until Americans learn just how much of Afghanistan we really control. The R Congressman Burka posted about wants to talk about FISA, especially if there's another terrorist attack (a prospect he views with glee as he's of the opinion it will help Republican chances in November). For the FISA debate, feel free to bring it up. It's not like we aren't ready. By the time that debate is over, the American people will be looking for convictions of those in the Administration who aided and abetted the illegal wiretapping.
Again, I'm just one blogger. There are others, like Eye on Williamson, that are seeing the same damn thing.
There is a baseline from which things will stabilize for the Republicans. We've yet to reach it. You'll see the crescendo this year when angry people confront Republican candidates loudly and unyieldingly. Once one voice is heard, others will chime in and soon it will become a chorus. Many of you are incredibly weak people who have never faced a really angry crowd. You're going to get to this year and, frankly, you deserve every bit of the verbal and written abuse coming to you.
Posted by mcblogger at 08:53 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
May 20, 2008
Really, Michael? Really?
Texas Railroad Commission Chair Michael Williams isn't the sharpest knife in the drawer, nor is he the dullest. In fact, he's not a knife at all. He's a rusty bottle opener in a world full of twist offs and every bit as worthless.
There's been a lot of action regarding the RRC in the last couple of weeks. As always, TXSharon over at BlueDaze is keeping a watch on coverage around the 'sphere.
For my part, Williams' defense of big oil's record profits betrays a stunning naivete at best, willful ignorance (or a willingness to lie) at worst.
Who’s getting fat from higher crude oil and gasoline prices?The Saudi, Russian, Venezuelan, etc. nationalized oil companies. They own 75% of the world’s crude oil reserves. Exxon, the veritable villain for high gasoline prices, controls less than 3% of world reserves.
The pump price is comprised of four components. The main one is the cost of crude oil. As a share of the retail price we pay at the pump, the cost of crude oil has risen dramatically to historic levels since 2000.
Which means the Saudi royal family, Chavez and others are making money hand over fist as the recipients of the lion’s share of what we pay at the pump
For Mikey to be right, Exxon and the other integrated oils (that's the technically correct name for oil companies that control everything from production/sourcing all the way to consumer sales/marketing) would have to be buying oil at NYMEX spot prices. And we all know that's not happening. Why? BECAUSE THEY'RE STILL MAKING A PROFIT. You see, all these large oil companies have extensive long term contracts with suppliers like, for instance, Saudi Aramco. Not to mention the fields around the world they control where they pay royalties as low at 15% at a contracted price.
This brings their cost of crude to significantly less than $130/bbl. I'd put it closer to $58-65/bbl on average. There's probably a clause in the contract that puts it in a band based on spot, probably no more than 75% of spot and no less than 50% of spot.
You and I, however, don't get the benefit of this great deal. We get to pay spot prices because we're instant, on-demand (not contract) consumers. I'll even go Mikey one better and tell him that I don't expect Exxon to sell me gas based on their cost of crude. I know I'm a consumer and I have little or no bargaining power so I'm not gonna even whine about that.
I will scream at the top of my lungs about their tax breaks and credits. Oh yeah, that's pretty useless to us, especially since these companies are making billions PER QUARTER and can easily afford to prospect for more crude*. Mikey doesn't address that. He does go on to some really, really, funny stuff...
• Distribution and marketing costs and profits slid from a high of 13% in 2000 to about 8% today; and
• Refining costs and profits have remained at about 8% from 2000 through 2008.
He means as a percentage of the price at the pump. Refining costs have remained constant at about 8%. So, in 2000 it was roughly 9 cents/gallon and now it's more than 33 cents/ gallon. What changed? It's not like some super new and expensive refining process has been invented. It's not like they refiners are paying their employees much more.
It's profit. Pure and simple. Part of me wonders if even Mikey believes this crap. As for the distribution, lets keep in mind that the oils now own a much larger number of service stations than they did in 2000 and have shut down a large number as well. They control the retail channel and have squeezed margins to starve out independent convenience stores. Oh, and while the percentage may have changed, the dollar amount today is still higher... 13.9 cents in 2000 per gallon vs. 29.6 cents today. How's that for a nice inflation adjusted return?
Is this REALLY the best you Republicans can do? Really? Tina Fish, is this the man you want to be your standard bearer? Someone who's either too dumb to get how capitalism works or lies just for the hell of it?
My prediction? No one in the real world is dumb enough to believe Williams. And they're going to turn on him on November. And I'll laugh and laugh.
*On the subject of exploration, the integrated oils aren't doing a lot of prospecting because they know what Matt Simmons over in Houston has known for a while. We're running out of cheap, readily exploitable oil. These profits the oils are piling on are going to be used for something and I'm damn sure it won't be drilling a dry hole in West Texas. Which means their tax cuts need to be repealed. Bless Mikey's heart, I bet he hasn't even come to that conclusion. Poor dumb thing is probably waiting for the next strike near Humble.
Posted by mcblogger at 01:49 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
A duck is a duck is a duck
The Institute for Legal Reform is a new organization dedicated to changes at the national level to restrict what they think of as frivolous lawsuits.
What no one from any of these groups has ever been able to explain to me is how you tell a father who sued a doctor with a history of substance abuse who, while inebriated, operated on and killed his daughter, that his lawsuit is frivolous?
Here in Texas, we've had 'tort reform' which has allowed us to 'stop lawsuit abuse' for years. It's meant that corporations can mistreat their customers as much as they'd like with no fear of reprisals. It's meant that insurance companies can increase their profits astronomically while doctors continue to pay through the nose and the cost of health care is still unbelievably high.
In other words, it's failed to do anything... except keep consumers from suing when they've been wronged. Oh, but they can go to the State regulators, right? That's pretty funny considering that most of them are industry shills appointed by a Republican Governor (39%) who's been taking money from these business and industry groups for years.
Oh, but don't take my word for it... go visit the nice people here.
As for the new organization, you'll see their commercials soon. They are all about the small business owners who've been 'hurt' by 'lawsuit' abuse. I think they should be hurt by a consumer boycott. This group isn't funded by small business owners... it's funded by big business and the insurance industry. And any small business owner dumb enough to get sucked into this deserves to have some problems.
Posted by mcblogger at 08:48 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 16, 2008
Bless Junior John's Heart!
Poor, stupid, pathetic idiot...
Recent polls have claimed Senator Cornyn is in a much tighter race than many of you may have thought possible.We don’t put much validity in either poll, but Democrats certainly are. Liberal bloggers and Democrat partisans alike have pounced on the results, claiming they spell doom for Senator Cornyn this fall.
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, lead by liberal New York Senator Chuck Schumer, proclaimed in an email that the polls show “John Cornyn in serious trouble…”
Ultra-liberal blogger Daily Kos, who commissioned and paid for the second poll, called the results “nothing short of remarkable,” and claimed they “hint that this may be a top-tier race before long…”
No one can deny that our opponent and his allies are in desperate need of anything to help them raise resources and give national Democrats reason to invest untold millions into the race, and we must stop them.
Please contribute $10, $25 or $50 to help debunk the myths our opponent and his liberal allies are trying to tell about Senator Cornyn.
The facts are clear, the extreme left is energized and unscrupulous, and our opponent is shamelessly aligned with them and will say and do anything it takes to gain much needed relevance and resources.
Your contribution of $10, $25 or $50 will go a long way towards setting the record straight. It will also send a loud and clear message to national Democrats that Texans won’t fall for their dirty tricks, deceit and deviousness.
Please give what you can to make sure we re-elect John Cornyn and ensure our true Texas values are represented in Washington!
This is funny as hell since Junior John already has a significant funding advantage over Noriega. Even with that money, we have two solid polls that make it clear this election is about getting rid of old caca. And of course Junior John is scared. Just watch this video which makes it pretty clear they ARE taking the polls seriously.
Thursday's California court ruling striking down that state's ban on gay marriage will spark a fresh push to add a nationwide ban to the U.S. Constitution, Texas Sen. John Cornyn said shortly after the ruling was announced."It's certainly surprising. Many of us thought that the efforts to overturn the tradition marriage laws would be confined just to Massachusetts," said Mr. Cornyn, a chief backer of a push to enact a constitutional ban, which failed in 2004.
The California Supreme Court issued a 4-3 ruling Thursday that overturned a voter-approved ban on gay marriage, finding that domestic partnerships laws are an inadequate substitute for allowing same-sex couples to enter into formal marriages.(DMN via Texas Blue)
Here's the thing... I don't think, if the election were held today, that an anti-gay marriage amendment would pass in Texas again. Oh sure, folks in East and West Texas are just as homophobic as they always were (don't get mad at them, they don't know gay people and it's all strange and foreign to them). The difference is, THEY'RE ALL SICK OF PANDERING AND NONSENSE ISSUES. With gas near $4.00 a gallon, people know there are more important things to worry about. They also know that they can't afford six more years of fancy John Cornyn taking care of himself while he lets important business slide by.
Hava Goodun! Junior John sure as hell won't!
Posted by mcblogger at 08:29 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 14, 2008
Defending Obama... Again.
You know, some of you so busily tracking 'how Obama can definitely win the nomination' and projecting an easy win in November need to understand that victory is far from assured. In fact, if you're telling yourself that 'Hope Changes Everything', then come closer and let me hit you. In the head.
I do that from time to time with stupid people who refuse to realize there's nothing new under the sun.
Many of you are worried about quasi-racist attacks that imply Sen. Obama is some sort of ultra-black nationalist. Or a strident Muslim. Or the love child of Malcolm X and Mary Tyler Moore. Just to alleviate some of your worry and concern, these are stupid things you don't need to worry about. They'll persuade 5% of the electorate and those people weren't going to vote for him anyway.
What you need to watch out for are ginger columnists in swing states like Will Manly. Will got his panties in a twist over the small town comment but there's so much more there...
I couldn’t vote for you — but not because of your funny name or your lunatic pastor. I couldn’t vote for you because you say we should raise taxes (even on the rich, who I’m convinced already pay too much), and because you say we should abandon Iraq (which I’m convinced would be surrendering a war we must win), and because you don’t respect the Second Amendment (which I’m convinced should disqualify any politician from any office).Still, I’ve liked your message of unity and your ability to inspire. And, since your rise I’ve hunted, quite frantically, for young conservative leaders with your talent. (To my relief, I found Bobby Jindal.)
Whoa. Where to begin... First off, Taxes. Will's obvs unaware that the rich pay less than him or me. Wait. What am I thinking? HE'S a newspaper columnist and they don't make shit. Let me rephrase...
THE RICH PAY LESS THAN ME.
On average, the rich pay around 18-20% of their income in taxes. On average, most of us pay 25-30%. Which makes our current tax system regressive, not progressive. However, let's forget all that for a second and just acknowledge one critical reality. We need a massive amount of investment in public infrastructure and services. From public schools to mass transit, we need to set ourselves up for the next 30-50 years of economic growth. That means higher taxes. Why would we want to pay higher taxes? Because that investment in our future makes sure that we're able to enjoy prosperity in 2025. That's what this debate is about... higher taxes and long term prosperity and growth or lower taxes and poverty well into the future.
And don't get me started on higher taxes being necessary just to balance the budget. But then, Will's a Republican so he's not real concerned with balancing the books... why should he be when he can keep running up Daddy's credit card? I love it when 'fiscal conservatives' are more worried about taxes than the deficit. I guess no one ever bothered to explain the linkage between interest rates, federal debt and real disposable income. I should throw the value of the dollar and oil prices in there as well but I don't want to fry little Will's rat brain.
As for abandoning Iraq, what's left to achieve? A military force is good at one thing... eliminating an enemy. Ours did that. Everything that has followed has been a waste of time. Still, none of us can turn our back on Bush's mistake. However, that doesn't mean we have to be trapped there for a generation. It's time for the Iraqi's to stand up and the only way that will happen is if we start to leave.
On the subject of the Second Amendment, why not use the Fourth Amendment as your yardstick for holding public office? Bush has trampled all over that one. Or the First which Bush has also used to neatly wipe his ass? Just curious, but what I really want to know is exactly WHERE Sen. Obama talked about not respecting the Second Amendment. Will would be the only one who has the story since I couldn't find anything except a speculative "what if..." work of fiction masquerading as news on NewsMax. So, Will's made the accusation, now we want to see his evidence. Cough it up, Manly.
As for finding Bobby Jindal, I wouldn't get too excited, Will. He's way more our style than yours. For one thing, he's not a nut.
Just in case you thought Will was done, he goes on to discuss some areas where he's been disappointed with Obama...
First came your wife’s comment about being proud of America for the first time — conveniently, right after you started winning primaries. Then came your own words about your grandmother, who is just a “typical white person” — a racist, or at least someone with racist tendencies. (I’m a “typical white person,” I suppose, and I’m no racist. In fact, little makes me angrier than when it’s insinuated I am.)
Don't you just know that Will's the kind of guy who has said "some of my best friends are black" in the past to deflect calls that he's a bit of a racist?
The rest of his piece is a rambling defense of small town America from someone who obviously views the world in start black and white. It's also clear he's completely unfamiliar with Peyton Place. Still, followers of the Obamessiah, this is the kind of attack you're going to have to learn to defend against.
That's why I'm supporting Clinton. There's a reason this little prick hates her and it's because she'd eat him alive.
Posted by mcblogger at 09:05 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
May 13, 2008
JUST like a football game...
Making fun of Chris Matthews and Tim Russert is surprisingly easy. However, some manage to screw it up. Much like McBlogger with his Chris Matthews impersonation which is analogous to a bad blow job. You had high hopes at the beginning, maybe you were even anxious with anticipation. But then, well... there were teeth and in the end you find yourself just praying it will be over soon.
What? Too graphic? Sorry about that...
These people have created the best satire of MTP and Hardball I've ever seen. Here's an excerpt:
Chris: Let’s bring on Tim Russert here. Tim, don’t you think this election is just like a great FOOTBALL GAME?Tim: You said it. A real barnburner, Chris.
Howard: Jesus.
Tim: You know, it reminds me a lot of when my dad, BIG RUSS, and I watched Bills games together. Just one of those real back-and-forth games. You had Jim Kelly, the great, All-pro quarterback. And you had Thurman Thomas, the wonderful running back. Those were real competitions. And that’s what we have here. A REAL competition. With Barack Obama, whose this sort of great, unpolished talent. Very much like Vince Young, the quarterback down in Tennessee.
Chris: I agree. I think he’s just like Vince Young, right down to the gay throwing motion. This REALLY is astounding. I’ve always said politics is just like football, and it’s showing here.
Tim: Actually Chris, you have deviated from that platform on occasion. I have a quote here that YOU gave to MSNBC just two months earlier where you said, quote: “I think this election is just like a GREAT HEAVYWEIGHT BOXING MATCH,” unquote. So you said boxing match back then, and now you’re saying football. How do you reconcile those two positions?
Chris: HA! That’s amazing, Tim! God, you’re just like a GREAT TENNIS PLAYER! Always volleying back and forth with all kinds of moves. It’s amazing! Let’s bring on Senator Clinton here for a moment. Senator Clinton, don’t you think you’re just like BILL BELICHICK? Always scheming, sort of seeking out that winning edge any way you can find it? In fact, don’t you and your husband combine to represent Belichick perfectly, with your knack for evil plotting and your husband’s penchant for hot cougar tail?
Seriously, you'll want to read the whole thing.
Posted by hbalczak at 09:33 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
May 07, 2008
McCain and Cornyn stand up to put down Vets
WOW. And you only thought Hillary was going a little tone deaf. As many of you already know, the GI benefits to which veterans are entitled have been shrinking for a number of years, so Senator Webb decided to do something about it and even managed to line up bipartisan support.
Two Republicans noticeably absent? Why none other than John McCain and our own John 'I hunt with a 28 gauge' Cornyn. McCain put up his own, woefully inadequate bill that the President likes. Because it spends $4 billion less than Webb's bill. And doesn't provide nearly as much for the people who are actually, you know, fighting the war on terra. Cornyn just likes screwing over vets, we suppose. We can't think of any other rationale since he's been wholly unconcerned with fiscal responsibility. President Bush is using that excuse which is kind of like a serial killer claiming to be worried about abortion.
As for McCain, there's no excuse. These men and women are worth whatever money we have to spend. If y'all hadn't focused so much on handouts to the oil companies, we wouldn't have to worry about paying for it. If you'd get out of the way and return taxes to where they should be, we'd easily have the money.
Or if we just stopped wasting BILLIONS in Iraq.
Posted by mcblogger at 08:45 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 06, 2008
Oh, Cornyn... Really? This is what you want to talk about?
OMG... you know, you're not a good Senator. You were a piss poor AG. You're a terrible columnist and now we can add bad natural science teacher.
Posted by mcblogger at 08:57 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
May 05, 2008
Noriega within FOUR POINTS of Cornyn?
According to Rasmussen... yes. Even HRC and Obama are within a few points of McCain in Texas putting us solidly in play.
Keep in mind, Noriega is a relative unknown with little name ID. This is a PARTY ID poll and it's clear that whatever advantage the R's had in the past has evaporated under the heat of rank incompetence.
Posted by mcblogger at 10:40 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 01, 2008
We tell you how you should vote (Austin City Council Ed.)
Why bother calling them 'endorsements' when we really mean 'This is how you should vote'? The election is, of course, May 10th but that's a Saturday and it's right before Mother's Day so don't even bother waiting (EV locations here, Mobile Voting here).
Place 1 - Demling - First Choice, followed by Leiffingwell.
No votes for Meeker. I know that will come as a hooooooge surprise. This was nearly a unanimous vote. Except for Harry who voted for the man referred to by some as a human narcolepsy canon.
Place 3 - Kim - First Choice, followed by no one.
Randi, we love 'ya but we just don't completely trust 'ya. Jennifer can be a little impersonal and abrasive (who the hell isn't, especially on a SUNDAY MORNING WHEN I'M HUNG OVER AND NEED SOME EGGS AND HOTD, Julie) but she's also a terribly hard worker who has come together with some of her colleagues on the council to solve some serious problems. Policy wonk? Yep. And that, at this time, is what we need.
Place 4 - Cravey - First Choice, followed by Morrison and Gale.
We like Galindo as a person, but we find some of his ideology ridiculous and ideas patently absurd (community land trusts... great idea, an absolute motherfucker to finance. NOT a viable solution anytime in the next five to ten years). He needs some seasoning and a massive CTJ on housing in the central city. Morrison is a great lady who is very involved with the ANC... and apparently, not much else. Still, it's good that she IS involved especially since it pisses off Mike Dahmus and that always makes me laugh.
There was one vote for Gale and no, it did not come from me. I thought she was far too serious as a candidate this time. I frankly miss the whimsy of her previous campaigns. I think those people in Dallas did something to her... they turned her into someone kinda serious.
As for Osemene, we like you but there's MUCH less to city council than the Federalist Papers would have you believe. MUCH LESS.
In case we're not getting through to you and you stubbornly insist on doing your own research, Phillip over at BOR has the resource page we totally would have created if we had the time (and actually, you know, cared about these people and their campaigns). Go check it out.
But really, what we tell you should be enough.
Posted by mcblogger at 01:49 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
I've got gas (tax relief) like a mother!
So, Sen McThuselah proposes a gas tax holiday during the summer without proposing any way to pay for it. I know. It IS rather shocking that I've already given up on calling him Olden Times. I blame the media. And Hillary. Speaking of, she decided to AGREE with McThuselah about the gas tax holiday.
But wait... before you jump all over her for bad economic policy, at least she bothered to pay for it. That's a huge step up from McThuselah who apparently thinks his road to the White House should be paved with promises of FREE MONEY (cue Matthew Lesko). Of course, a gas tax holiday is just going to end up in Exxon's quarterly dividend (that's when GIANT oil companies send shareholders, the owners, some of the profit. It's one of only four times a year my father smiles) which kind of mitigates that whole 'we're helping people thing' since the savings won't, you know, be passed on to people.
Pandering? Yes. An empty gesture? Absolutely. Should they be focusing on this or this? Sure... well, that is, if you wanted to actually mitigate the economic costs of high fuel prices and stop using food to make fuel.
Meanwhile, Clinton and McCain criticized Obama for not going along with their little scheme.
Would someone please tell the Clinton folks that Obama is right? That'd be great! And then, could you fire the idiot on her policy team that keeps copying shit McCain does? It's embarrassing to those of us who, you know, SUPPORT HER.
Posted by mcblogger at 08:41 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 30, 2008
I listen to Rev. Wright as much as I listen to any preacher
Rev. Wright does his little song and dance, pisses up the media's leg and predictably they throw a fit about the whole thing. Why the hell does anyone care what this idiot preacher has to say? Is he the one running for President? No? Ok, then WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU ALL KVETCHING ABOUT?!?!!
I'm also sick of hearing how Clinton is behind the whole thing. It occurs to me that if the Clinton's were really as evil as some of you morons would have us believe, Bill never would have left office. What you really don't like is that Obama's preacher is a racist weirdo with delusional fantasies. Big deal. That makes him not much different from that freak Hagee whose ass is covered in soft kisses from that sycophantic loser, McCain.
Not all clergy are stupid, but many of the loud obnoxious ones certainly are. I prefer my faith with VERY little religion. Mostly because I don't believe any man speaks for God. Certainly not Rev. Wright and definitely not that fatass Hagee.
Maybe, just maybe, instead of focusing on what some asshole who claims to speak for God (or claims to have THE only legitimate interpretation of the Bible/Koran/Torah) has to say and playing guilt by association, why not take a moment to listen to the candidate?
Posted by mcblogger at 08:39 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Really? You're going to stick with that?
Sen. McCain, leaving a Tempe area Cracker Barrell at 5:45 this morning, revealed his brill health care plan which, as it turns out, is little more than the same one President Bush tried to float. Last year.
Apparently, Sen. McCain forgot that people already said not so much to it, just like he forgot that a 5% tip is really not so much a 'tip' as it is a 'pittance'.
So, what IS wrong with his market based plan? For one thing, it's predicated on medical savings accounts (where you pull pretax income from your paycheck and put it into an account for health care costs... the money expires annually, by the way). That works well when people have extra income they can save. Unfortunately, right now more than half the country is literally living paycheck to paycheck. There's not anything to put in these accounts AND save for retirement.
Oh, and delinking health care from the employer and making individuals select (that's called a 'market based approach!'). Because that'll really ignite the market as insurers fight over the healthiest people and refuse to insure the other 200 million of us.
When HMO's first were floated, they were touted as a way of keeping health care affordable. What they really did was juice insurance company profits. This has never been about 'affordability' or the market...which has consistently driven up health care insurance costs...it's about profits to the exclusion of all else. And FAT. Lots and lots of fat in bloated management structures. Who get's screwed? Everyone NOT in administration.
You really want to cut costs? Make insurance cheaper? Help doctors concentrate on medicine and forget the bureaucratic crap? THEN ELIMINATE THE HEALTH INSURANCE INDUSTRY.
Posted by mcblogger at 10:35 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 28, 2008
Thanks, Justice Stevens. No. Really. Thanks a lot.
Well, our Supreme Court has decided that Jim Crow is A-OK...
The 6-3 vote allows Indiana to require the identification when it holds its statewide primary next week. It also will give most state legislatures time to revise their voter laws for the November elections.This was perhaps the biggest voter rights case taken up by the justices since the 2000 dispute over Florida's ballots, in which George W. Bush prevailed to gain the presidency.
At issue was whether state laws designed to stem voter fraud end up disenfranchising large numbers of Americans who might lack proper documents to prove their voting eligibility. The case raised important constitutional questions, but also involved race and partisan politics.
Writing for the majority, Justice John Paul Stevens said any political issues considered by the state were mitigated by its desire to stop voter fraud.
"The state interests identified as justifications for [the law] are both neutral and sufficiently strong to require us to reject" the lawsuit, he wrote.
But in a toughly worded dissent, Justice David Souter said "Indiana has made no such justification" for the statute "and as to some aspects of its law, it hardly even tried."
Indiana Secretary of State Todd Rokita has conceded the state has never presented a case of "voter impersonation," which the law was designed to safeguard against. The 2005 Indiana law requires that a valid photo identification be presented by a person casting a ballot at a polling stations. Previously, most citizens needed only to sign a poll book to vote.
So, though there is no need for it, and in spite of it's cost which makes it a de facto poll tax, voter ID is good idea?
So much for this idea that the Republicans don't like activist judges. All the R appointees were in the majority along with old Justice Stevens. Seriously, man, why couldn't you have retired when Clinton was in office?
At this point, I don't want to hear another goddamn word from anyone about NOT voting for the Democrat in November, regardless of who that person is. Seriously, I'm ready to lose friends over this, mostly because I'm sick of your shit. If I can suck it up, so can you.
It's time y'all realize there's more than some petty soundbite at stake and stop playing the 'I don't like Obama/Hillary' song.
Posted by mcblogger at 01:53 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Movie Star
Check Out Robin Cravey's Movie!!! AND dont foget to VOTE!!!
Posted by Lovelie99 at 12:06 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Fun with the columnists
There have been some great columns out recently that you may have missed. You're so lucky I love each and every one of you for now, I will share them with you, my brilliant readers.
Oh, who the hell am I kidding... it's pearls before swine. Here's to hoping some of you learned how to read something more complex than my usual 'kindergarten words'.
First up, this piece in the NYT by David Leonhardt, a brill take down of Lou Dobbs. Make sure you also take a look at his analysis of the 'Bush economic boom' that's bypassed just about, well, everyone you and I know.
In part one of The Sun Rises In The West... Burka thinks it's a bad idea for Perry to run in 2010.
In part two, I agree with Gardner Selby. Well, at least on what a prolonged primary will do to the Democrats... absolutely nothing.
Finally, there's Frank Rich. Seriously, you need more than that to click the link?
Posted by mcblogger at 11:51 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 27, 2008
Roundin' up the TPA
Once again, it's time for the Texas Progressive Alliance Blog Round-Up. This week's round-up is compiled by The Texas Cloverleaf.
In honor of Income Tax day, Lightseeker at TexasKaos examines the Republican's tax cut claim here in Texas and discover that what it really amounts to is "tax shifting" and we are the ones getting shafted. Tax Shifting With Bohac's Assessment Cap as Our Example.
WhosPlayin notes that John McCain has proposed suspending the federal gasoline tax, and points out that McCain would do just as well to try to suspend the law of gravity.
The Texas Cloverleaf is helping to save the earth on Earth Day weekend with helpful tips for saving energy and your wallet, as well as picking up trash with Stonewall Democrats. Don't mess with Texas!
CouldBeTrue from South Texas Chisme wonders if all Republicans are Tom Craddicks in training. Listen to Nueces County Republican chair Mike Bertuzzi ignore all the 'Point of Order' calls at the county convention. Sound familiar?
John Coby of Bay Area Houston has the real press release from Rick Perry about his run for Governor in 2010.
Here are local activist Jose Orta's Impressions Of T. Don Hutto, Williamson County's immigrant detention facility, that were posted at Eye On Williamson after his recent visit.
At McBlogger, barfly analyses what's really important to the American voter in this hour of cultural brouhaha.
Off the Kuff takes an early look at the race for District Attorney in Harris County, which is sure to be one of the hottest local races this year.
Today is San Jacinto Day and PDiddie of Brains and Eggs will be at the commemorative ceremonies taking place at the battlefield near Houston.
BossKitty at BlueBloggin points out that Your $300 - $1,200 Economic Stimulus Payment Cost $767 Million
Hal at Half Empty questions whether one person running for President is actually temperamentally fit to be in that office.
Vince at Capitol Annex thinks it is terrible that Texas teacher salaries are so low that that more than a quarter of all teachers must work a second job to make ends meet.
North Texas Liberal reports on a homophobic journalist's question to White House Press Secretary Dana Perino, and the smackdown she gave in response.
George Nassar at The Texas Blue takes some time out of Friday's morning news roundup to point out that were the Bush administration to use a logical metric, it would be clear to them that the surge has failed.
Posted by mcblogger at 12:47 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 24, 2008
Them's Fightin' Words
And it sounds like most of Prince Charming's beefs are with his own party
Posted by mayor mcsleaze at 09:35 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 23, 2008
Hillary CRUSHES Obama
How's THAT for an inflammatory headline, mooks?
Hillary won PA. Yes, yes... we're totally excited. Mostly because the Clinton campaign is back to doing what it does best (winning) and also because it rains shit all over the little parade the Obama folks have had going (the more obnoxious ones, anyway) about how she should 'drop out'.
Lookit, folks, if you can't support the Democratic nominee over McCain, whoever it may be, you need to look closely at where you really stand on politics in general. This ain't all or nothing. There are things you have to accept about candidates you may not like. For example, while I love me some Strama (not THAT way, you freak) I have come to terms with some of his more lame ideas. Like his stupidiotic desire to tax cigarettes at $10 per pack.
Some of you clearly hate Hillary and wonder what the hell happened that made me turn to her. It's simple. She's mean. I think Obama is too nice and I can tell you from first hand experience, being the bigger son of a bitch is usually what wins. Or in this case, just simple BITCH.
Whatever your thoughts or fears on Hillary (however rational or irrational they may be), she's sharp, able and she's been an asset in the Senate. Those are three qualities she shares with Sen. Obama and which are completely lacking in Sen. McCain who has spent the better part of this decade as a maverick door mat for the corrupt President Bush.
Tone down the rhetoric. Let the primaries play out. You should be in love with this because the longer this drags out, the more air is sucked out of the McCain's moribund campaign. While our candidates were making national news last night, McCain was having dinner. At a Shoney's in Alabama. And even the local paper ignored it.
Posted by mcblogger at 10:36 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Just listen to me this time, K?
Well, folks, we can now say public consensus has made it official: Worst. President. Ever.
Be sure and congratulate all of your family, friends, coworkers and neighbors who hold the distinction of voting once or even twice for the person now officially known as "the president worse than Nixon."
I gotta hand it to you, though. You people might be responsible for bestowing upon our Nation the most colossal failure in the history of the White House - twice - but at least you didn't vote for that guy said to take credit for inventing the internet. Or that other guy who "flipflopped," windsurfed, and looked French. How utterly ruinous to the country would THAT have been? Not to mention embarrassing?
Lest we forget, insanity is when you keep doing the same thing over and over again, yet expecting a different result. Think about that between now and November, my friends.
Posted by hbalczak at 12:18 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 22, 2008
Gibson's capital-gains tax assertion during debate disputed
During the April 16 Democratic presidential debate, Charles Gibson asserted of capital-gains tax cuts that "in each instance, when the rate dropped, revenues from the tax increased. The government took in more money. And in the 1980s, when the tax was increased to 28 percent, the revenues went down." In fact, economists dispute Gibson's assertion.
The most interesting thing about this is that it betrays a deep lack of knowledge both of economics and tax policy, a glib and remarkable naive view of what capital gains really represent. For one thing, capital gains are the gains made on assets held for sale. Homes, stocks, bonds and commodities are all examples of assets that can be sold at a capital gain. In other words, they aren't usually considered regular income which is why they are treated differently. Just like all taxes, capital gain taxes are subject to the Laffer Curve meaning that there is a sweet spot at which you maximize revenue to the government with a minimal impact on economic activity. Cut it too far and you're starving the government, our government, of the revenue it needs to be build roads, hire police and firefighters and provide that national defense people are all the time talking about. Increase it too much and you'll stifle economic growth and starve the government. Gibson's ridiculous question ignores this little fact which is understandable since the Republicans have been ignoring the reality of Laffer's research for more than 28 years.
Still, there is another problem with Charlie's little question in that it ignores the very real effect of ultra low cap gain rates, especially on short term profits. They make people more willing to report their income as a capital gain and they increase speculation to near epidemic levels. The same speculation that has helped to drive oil to $117/bbl. The same speculation this is raising prices on a broad basket of commodities. You and I get to experience that at the grocery store. Of course, there's also another behavior which explains Charlie's numbers, namely that when the tax is increased, immediately before the increase goes into effect, revenues shoot up as people take advantage of the old rate. When the rate falls, people hold off on realizing gains until the cut goes into effect. And there's your boost. Over time, though, the revenues always return to nominal levels.
The simple answer is the one from Warren Buffett. His solution is to raise short term capital gain taxes to a very high level in order to starve off speculation and short term thinking in the market. Of course, this would reduce income to the government but it would be offset by longer term employment and a more vibrant economy that is capable of growing faster with less inflation (less speculation = less inflation). Frankly, speculation and the resulting price fluctuations and increases cost American businesses and consumers far more than any tax.
Posted by mcblogger at 12:03 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 20, 2008
How Well Do You Know The Republican Playbook?
Take the quiz!
Posted by mayor mcsleaze at 12:38 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 17, 2008
The Debate From Hell
Yes, Charlie you moron, the crowd IS turning on you. Wanna know why people are turning to blogs? Because we can strip off your bullshit and just link to you for background, Charlie. FDL has a series of good posts up about the debate last night which we mercifully missed.
Olden Times, thankfully, is learning to keep his mouth shut when it comes to his betters in the Democratic Party. That seems to be the one highlight.
Phillip has more on the reaction nationwide.
Posted by mcblogger at 11:23 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
City Council Candidates R Teh Phunnee
The ugly stepchild to the Primary (at least this year) is the City Council Election. I capitalize that because really it's quite awful and distinctive. I've been to three candidate forums/endorsement meetings/ tedious wastes of time and there's only one thing of which I'm sure...
Jason Meeker is a DOUCHE
Of course, we'll have endorsements later as we get closer to the start of early voting. I will say this, after last night's KAB forum, I like all the candidates a lot more. You all were excellent in the face of an adverse condition, namely the drunken jr. copywriters from GSD&M. If it's any consolation, they probably won't have jobs much longer and will be moving to Dallas.
I know, it totally makes me cry, too.
Posted by mcblogger at 09:05 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 15, 2008
Uhm, sure... whatev. Obama's still right.
You all know that The Mayor and I endorsed, voted and caucused for Clinton. We are both Clinton delegates to the state convo. So, understand that when I say Obama was spot on about this, it doesn't come from a supportive, "We LOVE us some Obama" place.
“You go into these small towns in Pennsylvania and, like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing’s replaced them,” Mr. Obama responded, according to a transcript of the fund-raiser published on Friday on The Huffington Post Web site.“And they fell through the Clinton administration, and the Bush administration, and each successive ad