tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-51844692012-01-17T09:36:41.447-06:00Stuck in the Middle: Free-range Editorialism and Random Observations from the HeartlandTullynoreply@blogger.comBlogger2081100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-78963082683115304512012-01-17T09:35:00.001-06:002012-01-17T09:36:41.454-06:00

Ron Paul Quietly Plots Backup Strategy While Seeking the Nomination If the campaign comes up short at the convention, Benton says the plan is to use all the delegates awarded to Paul as a bargaining chip to force the Republican Party to stick to its limited government platform.Ya think? This has always been a prime object of running for those who know they're massive underdogs. The scramble for

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-44616142003132584122011-12-01T11:47:00.000-06:002011-12-01T11:47:03.291-06:00

A lot of hair-tearing and drum-thumping and bloody-shirt-waving out there in wingnutterland about Senate Bill 1867, the Senate version of House Bill 1540, and its provisions regarding detainees. This is the Defense Autorization Act, and the sections under contention in this behemoth of a bill are (respectively) sections 1031 and 1032 in S.1867, and Section 1034 in H.1540. The hysterically

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-83241881755347196942011-11-09T11:42:00.001-06:002011-11-09T11:49:36.717-06:00

Having been excoriated by women for pointing out the obvious, I feel compelled to jot a few notes down. You needn't feel compelled to read them. But don't expect a polished blog post. Cain is accused of being a sexual harasser, one of those modern crimes that in some circles are considered worse than actual physical violence resulting in serious physical injury. Cain may or may not have

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-46278356230550312782011-10-31T11:44:00.006-05:002011-11-02T10:15:02.346-05:00

Holy Carp, Batman! I almost let a month go by without an entry. Blame it on the real world, which insists I have higher-priority obligations than entertaining my seven regular readers. Speaking of the real world, it seems that Jon Corzine has done to MF Global what he almost managed to do to New Jersey:MF Global files for bankruptcy after deal unravelsMF Global Holdings Ltd, the futures broker

Tullynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-5538911275342918452011-09-23T11:46:00.002-05:002011-09-23T11:51:30.410-05:00

DUH.Patients to wait longer for care under new health lawMy favorite bit:Expanding insurance coverage without a corresponding increase in the number of primary care doctors, though, could create problems with access to medical careYa think? Tell me if this all sounds kinda familiar ...

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-19554005946777365582011-08-18T16:42:00.004-05:002011-08-19T11:05:51.761-05:00

... the more they stay the same. White House, Senate Democrats clash over campaign cash Senate Democrats are increasingly concerned that President Barack Obama’s campaign money machine is sucking up so much cash that it will cut into the party’s aggressive campaign to hold on to the Senate next year, several Democratic sources say. Democratic senators have already pressed Obama campaign

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-51481530798750070512011-07-18T17:13:00.002-05:002011-07-18T17:16:08.475-05:00

San Francisco To Shutter Courtrooms; Lay Off 200 WorkersThe San Francisco Superior Court announced Monday that it's laying off more than 40 percent of its staff and shuttering 25 courtrooms because of budget cuts.Presiding Judge Katherine Feinstein said the actions were necessary to close a $13.75 million budget deficit caused by state budget cuts. She said the cuts mean it will take many more

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-46860162180644392792011-06-08T12:30:00.003-05:002011-06-08T12:36:34.842-05:00

Questions surround feds' raid of Stockton homeNothin' says HopeyChange!™ quite like a federal SWAT team from the U.S. Department of Education breaking into your home and hauling you off to jail when you're not even the person they're looking for.And seriously ... SWAT teams for student loans? Was there any reason to believe that Wright's ex-wife was an armed desperado who would violently resist?

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-24341918406169170252011-06-01T12:31:00.003-05:002011-06-01T13:00:31.321-05:00

Admittedly the choices are both numerous and bipartisan, but for this week I nominate the new chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), who recently said:" ... the Republican solution that I’ve seen in the last three years is that we should just pack them all up and ship them back to their own countries and that in fact it should be a crime and we should

Tullynoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-6202022524502478772011-05-20T20:04:00.002-05:002011-05-20T20:22:42.519-05:00

Netanyahu Urges U.S. Return To 1845 BordersIsraeli PM calls for “just solution” to end the conflict.Aboard Air Force Aleph (Reuters) – Speaking to reporters accompanying Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on his long flight to the United States tonight, Netanyahu spoke of the injustice and hardship Mexicans have endured since American forces annexed Texas in 1845. “Tens of thousands of

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-76960680240489492252011-04-23T21:58:00.003-05:002011-04-23T22:12:02.274-05:00

...by Don Surber.Large demand divided by small supply equals high prices.You don’t even have to sleep at a Holiday Inn Express to know that.Even if you're Paul Krugman.

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-71528635467031050382011-04-08T12:52:00.002-05:002011-04-08T12:53:09.002-05:00

Kinda says it all, doesn't it?

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-18658248029427330362011-03-26T10:10:00.010-05:002011-03-26T11:30:35.417-05:00

When Judge Maryann Sumi enjoined the Wisconsin Secretary of State from publishing the just-passed union legislation (just before leaving on vacation) the desperate union left rejoiced. One little problem -- it looks like she enjoined the wrong party, and the law was published anyway.Wisconsin Union Law Published Despite Court OrderWisconsin officials couldn't agree Friday about whether an

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-42973930621973427682011-03-25T11:01:00.002-05:002011-03-25T11:16:13.212-05:00

San Francisco becoming a child-free zone as youth population declinesDespite efforts to stem the tide of family flight, the population of children in San Francisco continues to ebb. ...The decrease is disappointing news for city officials, who have attempted to counter the family-flight trend by creating more affordable housing, improving schools and cutting costs, such as a college savings

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-34793800116960033912011-03-14T08:17:00.002-05:002011-03-14T08:19:54.661-05:00

Kaplan's Law of the Instrument states: "Give a small boy a hammer and he will find that everything he encounters needs pounding." I was amused to stumble over Gabriel Malor's variation: "If your only tool is a hammer, then all your problems start to look like people that need to be beat with a hammer."

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-45465678194012011932011-03-12T10:18:00.006-06:002011-03-12T13:57:19.793-06:00

I don't have a lot to add to the screaming in Wisconsin (Ann Althouse and hubby Meade have already done a fine job of on-site reporting) other than a few observations. One of which is this:UNIONS THREATEN BUSINESSMarch 10, 2011Mr. Tom Ellis, PresidentMarshall & Ilsley Corporation770 N. Water StreetMilwaukee, WI 53202SENT VIA FASCIMILE AND REGULAR MAILDear Mr. Ellis:As you undoubtedly know,

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-83196409970836140792011-02-25T21:14:00.001-06:002011-02-25T21:16:06.112-06:00

Sex, cocaine, air pollution, anger, caffeine and alcohol among top causes of heart attacks: studyCome between me, my woman, and my rum & cola and you're a dead man. The rest you can have.

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-71406297651413434402011-02-22T12:32:00.005-06:002011-02-22T17:36:26.032-06:00

LIAR LIAR, PANTS ON FIRE!Despite the copious reporting from respectable sources that the White House was up to its lymph nodes in the Wisconsin protests, the White House is now denying involvement. Administration officials said Sunday that the White House had done nothing to encourage the demonstrations in Wisconsin — nor was it doing so in Ohio, Florida and other states where new Republican

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-53341193107051065552011-01-31T20:23:00.003-06:002011-01-31T20:50:54.509-06:00

We were assured that objections to the constitutionality of the individual mandate were frivolous. Judge Vinson found them quite convincing, especially the objection that if the individual mandate is not limited by the Constitution, then damn near nothing is. He found the individual mandate unconstitutional. With prejudice.In subsequently dealing with the issue of severability, Vinson wholly

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-42751949552990091682011-01-21T10:00:00.000-06:002011-01-21T10:01:56.813-06:00

Is it that time of year again? Why, yes it is!I have registered to play in the PokerStars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker! The WBCOOP is a free online Poker tournament open to all Bloggers, so register on WBCOOP to play.Registration code: XXXXXX 946373

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-7427381455612877782011-01-20T09:52:00.000-06:002011-01-21T10:03:13.920-06:00

As reported by IowaHawk:As you may have read recently, a panel of 100 scientists is now warning that the state of California faces the risk of severe “superstorms” that could inflict more that $400 billion in economic damages to our state economy. According to these predictions, such storms could bring more than 120 inches of rain to the Central Valley, and last as long as 40 days. And, possibly,

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-52150209519420113912011-01-14T09:44:00.001-06:002011-01-21T09:48:14.432-06:00

In the aftermath of the Tucson shootings, the contention of the left that heated rhetoric on the right and on the part of Sarah Palin in particular is somehow a root cause of this tragedy is, to say the least, disingenuous. Sheriff Dupnik in particular deserves to be singled out for scorn in this regard. A review of the available evidence shows that not only was jared Loughner not a right-wing

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-14666233261245342662010-12-30T12:40:00.009-06:002011-01-01T11:21:23.381-06:00

Ezra Klein on the proposed reading of the Constitution on the House floor:Let's watch him palm that card and not-so-subtly shift the subject to the leftist worldview of the infinitely malleable Constitution. Money quote in whole, with no Dowdification: "Yes, it's[1] a gimmick. I mean, you can say two things about it[2]. One is that it[2] has no binding power on anything. And two, the issue of the

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-71280295085174280182010-12-25T22:48:00.003-06:002010-12-25T22:57:24.833-06:00

...in a non-gay admire & respect sort of way. Best. Unemployment. Advisor. EVAH.The hits just keep on comin'. I look forward to the inevitable Best Of anthology.

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-5226616319918287522010-12-21T17:50:00.001-06:002010-12-21T17:51:43.128-06:00

Why? Because I'm evil.

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-8327987364944565912010-11-21T16:46:00.003-06:002010-11-21T16:59:11.276-06:00

The New York Times discovers the Law of Unintended Consequences:Consumer Risks Feared as Health Law Spurs MergersWhen Congress passed the health care law, it envisioned doctors and hospitals joining forces, coordinating care and holding down costs, with the prospect of earning government bonuses for controlling costs ...... Consumer advocates fear that the health care law could worsen some of the

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-86498457183303276132010-11-13T09:44:00.004-06:002010-11-13T09:56:29.636-06:00

Shannon Love at Chicago Boyz almost but not quite notices Tully's Corollary in action:The Keynesian idea of stimulus has no empirical basis, but the only active tool the government has in a time of economic downturn is its ability to borrow and spend. Surprise, surprise: during the Great Depression, governments fell all over themselves to embrace Keynes’s idea of borrowing and spending to “

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-2588031193601641482010-11-03T08:49:00.016-05:002010-11-03T11:00:18.650-05:00

My initial predictions for Congress over the last few weeks were GOP gains of 62-68 seats in the House and 6-8 seats in the Senate. As I write this, known GOP gains are 61 seats in the House with 12 seats still unreported, and 6 seats in the Senate with 3 still unreported. One of those unreported Senate seats (Alaska) is somewhat problematic from the "GOP gain" standpoint, as it's down to

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-48142302516621721892010-10-20T23:20:00.005-05:002010-10-20T23:35:03.949-05:00

They certainly are.French strike to save 'birthright' of privileges"We want to stop working at 60 because it's something our parents, our grandparents and even our great-grandparents fought for," says Gilly, 50, a union representative at Saint-Pierre Cemetery, the largest in this bustling Mediterranean port city."And over the years ... you can see that we're losing everything they fought for. And

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-40167572202639647282010-10-19T08:55:00.003-05:002010-10-19T09:04:50.086-05:00

Geithner vows U.S. will not devalue dollar"It is not going to happen in this country." Geithner told Silicon Valley business leaders of devaluing the dollar......On Friday, the dollar index hit a 10-month low against a basket of major currencies, while the greenback has been plumbing fresh 15-year lows against Japan's yen.Do not buy a used car from this man.

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-85917483510839770822010-10-12T13:34:00.002-05:002010-10-12T13:41:12.275-05:00

One-Legged Goose Wins Ass-Kicking Contest

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-83500969177311545842010-09-03T09:19:00.009-05:002010-09-03T11:32:30.560-05:00

OK, I couldn't resist the title & pic combo. But it IS nice to finally see a small suggestion of a bright spot in the employment situation. Below is a chart from the Mercatus Center at George Mason U. regarding temp staffing contrasted with payroll employment. While the short text implies the fall in temp staffing is a bad sign, I have a somewhat different take seeing the two stats together*. The

Tullynoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-60761746076513454762010-08-31T07:45:00.002-05:002010-08-31T08:15:38.358-05:00

... the more they stay the same, or why I am bored with the hyperbolic squabbling over the Ground Zero Mosque.Namely, because despite the hysteria and demagoguery and posturing, the same arguments in slightly different forms are the same ones heard all the bloody time in every city in America. It's a land use flap over a by right usage, and I've heard it all countless times before. Hells' bells,

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-33968366435957492162010-08-25T14:23:00.003-05:002010-08-25T14:27:45.016-05:00

Class act.

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-28773200299177047762010-07-17T13:34:00.002-05:002010-07-17T13:36:34.831-05:00

Personally, I believe that anyone who has more than a couple of bumper stickers of any kind on their vehicle is likely to be somewhat deranged. Experience has to date supported this view.

Tullynoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-47570793123467978062010-06-22T13:06:00.005-05:002010-06-22T14:05:19.960-05:00

...and he insists on sharing his joy with us in The Nation.Goodbye Keynes, Hello HooverThe first fundamental failure of Keynesian economics occurred forty years ago during the Vietnam War when the economy was overheating but the political system failed to take the corrective steps that would restrain price inflation—that is, raise taxes and reduce federal spending. The decade of economic

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-13677512238521810642010-06-06T13:20:00.004-05:002010-06-06T19:30:39.373-05:00

About as I predicted.Stimulus aside, we're not seeing increase in jobsThe economy will kick into gear again when the private sector begins adding jobs. Investors were spooked Friday because it isn't doing that yet. Of the 413,000 jobs added in May, just 41,000 of them were in the private sector, barely a fifth of what economists expected, and many of those jobs were temporary ones. Speaking of

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-36879091208901740002010-06-03T18:28:00.003-05:002010-06-03T18:34:56.644-05:00

Well, I tried to warn you. No need to elaborate, the headlines of ongoing corruption and incompetence already tell the tale. I just wanted to say I told you so.Since I'm too busy to post much if any for the near future, I'd urge all five of my regular readers to avail themselves of the blogroll on the left sidebar to feed their blog jones. And if you're inclined, you can visit my minimalist

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-36207101144568335682010-04-26T10:58:00.011-05:002010-04-27T09:58:23.544-05:00

As campaign season starts to really gear up, we are once again entering the fact-free zone where the only factor most people pay attention to is how appealingly snarky their own side can manufacture sound-bite insults to lob at the other, or how emotionally appealing their own policies can be framed, regardless of how abysmal said policies perform in any truly objective context -- especially that

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-26352632386069551852010-04-16T08:32:00.014-05:002010-04-21T13:39:32.619-05:00

Peter Beinart of The Daily Beast indulges in some Lakoffian framing to "explain" how the Tea Party movement isn't "populist." All he has to do to get there is redefine populism and by implication recast the federal government under the current administration as being the little guy. Seriously! Here, let's watch him stack the deck...In American history, populism has a specific meaning: It’s our

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-1007638815087390812010-04-06T11:43:00.009-05:002010-04-06T14:27:43.900-05:00

If like me you have a solid background in advanced real-world empirical economics, you're probably getting rather annoyed by now with the creatively optimistic interpretations of every stat release that comes out. This is generally a manifestation of confirmation bias, the tendency on the part of somewhat naive ideologues to see everything as evidence of their own wishes manifesting rather than

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-83590116878978204422010-04-01T13:59:00.003-05:002010-04-01T14:13:38.696-05:00

Georgia's 4th Congressional District must be so proud of him! I admire the admiral's forbearance. The really scary thing is that Johnson is a major improvement over the previous member to hold that seat. Even scarier, while he's not the sharpest knife in the drawer, the odds are excellent that he's not the dullest either.

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-28062198832605065172010-03-29T08:10:00.010-05:002010-03-29T15:21:55.319-05:00

The Law of Unintended Consequences never sleeps, but to call the following real-world consequences "unintended" or "unforeseen" when those of us who live in the REAL WORLD have spent the best part of a decade pointing them out as inevitable results of certain actions ... well, there's good reason those words are in quotation marks. I TOLD YOU SO. Repeatedly.Let's start off with what happens when

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-7136064769684427052010-03-26T11:57:00.004-05:002010-03-26T12:02:32.658-05:00

It is said that an honest politician is one who keeps his promises, and who stays bought.After health care vote, Stupak 11 request billions in earmarksA day after Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., and ten other House members compromised on their pro-life position to deliver the necessary yes-votes to pass health care reform, the "Stupak 11" released their fiscal year 2011 earmark requests, which total

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-11428579247971940102010-03-19T17:21:00.002-05:002010-03-19T17:23:48.475-05:00

Federal Reserve Must Disclose Bank Bailout RecordsThe Federal Reserve Board must disclose documents identifying financial firms that might have collapsed without the largest U.S. government bailout ever, a federal appeals court said. The U.S. Court of Appeals in Manhattan ruled today that the Fed must release records of the unprecedented $2 trillion U.S. loan program launched primarily after the

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-7129117610887022622010-02-24T09:48:00.011-06:002010-02-24T12:05:02.688-06:00

Many have likened politics to a high-stakes poker game. The analogy pervades the popular culture, as do many poker analogies. Politics and Poker, Politics and Pokershuffle up the cards and find the jokerNeither game's for childrenEither game is roughDecisions, decisions, like:who to pick how to playwhat to betwhen to call a bluff!*The ability to properly read the cards, the board, and the other

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-489290082978770772010-02-15T12:07:00.006-06:002010-02-17T05:47:14.868-06:00

To hear the panicked left tell it in their best Alinskyite echoes, the Tea Party Movement (TPM) is just the latest lemming-rush of evil crazed Republican right-wingers, driven into a frenzied angst by the ascendancy of the One True Faith in Washington. Certainly the GOP would love to rope the TPM in and harness them to the party wheel, but the leftist view just ain't so. With very few exceptions,

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-17387523047864801982010-01-29T21:47:00.001-06:002010-01-29T21:52:15.668-06:00

Obama Said to Seek $54 Billion in Nuclear-Power LoansPresident Barack Obama, acting on a pledge to support nuclear power, will propose tripling U.S. loan guarantees for new reactors to more than $54 billion, an administration official said. I'll believe it when I see it. But it would be a start.

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-66376551704086195752010-01-25T09:16:00.009-06:002010-01-25T10:11:59.340-06:00

Lamar Alexander has an intelligent take on the problems of biting off more than you can chew:Step by StepIncremental improvements are better than comprehensive reformsThe Democrats’ comprehensive immigration, climate-change, and health-care bills have been well-intended, but the first two collapsed under their own weight, and health care, if it doesn’t do the same, will be a historic mistake for

Tullynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-50002910482137624242010-01-24T15:07:00.004-06:002010-01-24T15:26:53.854-06:00

Obama endorses deficit commission planTrying to win the votes of fiscal moderates, President Barack Obama formally endorsed legislation Saturday creating an independent commission with the power to force Congress to vote on major deficit reduction steps this year, after the November elections.Excuse me? Can anyone point me to that section of the Constitution that permits Presidents to issue

Tullynoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-7601430813485871982010-01-22T08:10:00.007-06:002010-01-22T09:53:44.436-06:00

Given the apparently unlimited reality-denial capacity of wingers on both ends of the political spectrum, it's refreshing to see some common sense in the political blogosphere. (Not that Megan McArdle is a winger!) I've been pointing this out for years, and getting the predictable responses from True Believers.Taking the Ball and Going HomeHere's the thing that Democrats just learned in

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-21581204008338469982010-01-20T19:16:00.007-06:002010-01-24T13:04:17.761-06:00

It's really tough to get more DENSE than this. Obama today in an exclusive interview with ABC's George Stephanopolous (EMPHASIS mine):"If there's one thing that I regret this year is that we were so busy just getting stuff done and dealing with the immediate crises that were in front of us that I think we lost some of that sense of speaking directly TO the American people about what THEIR core

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-42638270790369184052010-01-14T12:19:00.004-06:002010-01-14T12:25:03.798-06:00

An excellent short piece from Michael J. Boskin in WSJ:Don't Like the Numbers? Change 'Em Politicians and scientists who don't like what their data show lately have simply taken to changing the numbers. They believe that their end—socialism, global climate regulation, health-care legislation, repudiating debt commitments, la gloire française—justifies throwing out even minimum standards of

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-24176306410361209832010-01-12T08:22:00.003-06:002010-01-23T16:27:54.811-06:00

Kim R. Holmes has some on-target Reality Check going on here:When he promises an America in which “no one will die because they don’t have health care” or no one is poor, he is invoking an image of a world that simply cannot exist. But this matters little because in the world of imagination, anything is possible, and truth and reality spoil the mood....But “real” idealists are not utopians.All

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-40657338268536026172010-01-08T16:31:00.002-06:002010-01-08T16:37:35.385-06:00

Stewart Rips Obama's Broken Promises, Especially C-SPANSTEWART: Oh, yeah we're going TO DO IT ON MOTHERF**KING C-SPAN. I got my 3-d glasses. I got my snacks. By the way, I always buy my popcorn at the movie theater and sneak it home because it tastes so much better when it's ridiculously expensive. Alright, let's turn on the C-SPAN and watch some healthcare negotiations. Alright, it's not on

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-70657454266536934192010-01-08T13:15:00.007-06:002010-10-14T10:26:00.091-05:00

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-51389418197097937672010-01-07T15:45:00.002-06:002010-01-07T15:47:26.129-06:00

That's gotta sting. Especially considering the source.

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-43353004759792509982010-01-07T09:31:00.004-06:002010-01-07T09:39:24.119-06:00

I had meant to write about this this week, but the Wall Street Journal beat me to it.Married Couples Pay More Than Unmarried Under Health BillThe built-in "marriage penalty" in both House and Senate healthcare bills has received scant attention. But for scores of low-income and middle-income couples, it could mean a hike of $2,000 or more in annual insurance premiums the moment they say "I do."

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-78208272074382222992010-01-05T12:56:00.007-06:002010-01-07T10:28:53.494-06:00

Democratic Leaders Plan Secret Health Reform DeliberationsCompare with:No comment necessary.Not comment really, just update:Pelosi tells C-SPAN: 'There has never been a more open process'C-SPAN wrote a letter to congressional leaders Tuesday asking that TV cameras be allowed to film negotiations to reconcile the House and Senate versions of healthcare reform legislation.But Pelosi said Congress

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-10394169578305620162009-12-16T07:53:00.002-06:002009-12-16T08:00:39.403-06:00

The Worst-Run Big City in the U.S.Despite its good intentions, San Francisco is not leading the country in gay marriage. Despite its good intentions, it is not stopping wars. Despite its spending more money per capita on homelessness than any comparable city, its homeless problem is worse than any comparable city's. Despite its spending more money per capita, period, than almost any city in the

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-75699557631662484572009-12-11T15:38:00.005-06:002009-12-12T10:57:37.086-06:00

Physics Group Splinters Over Global Warming ReviewThe scientist who will head the American Physical Society's review of its 2007 statement calling for immediate reductions of carbon dioxide is Princeton's Robert Socolow, a prominent supporter of the link between CO2 and global warming who has warned of possible "catastrophic consequences" of climate change...."It is Socolow whose entire research

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-44049853646154954692009-11-06T08:24:00.004-06:002009-11-10T12:39:25.813-06:00

The Return of the Inflation TaxIn order to raise enough money to make their plan look like it won't add to the deficit, House Democrats have deliberately not indexed two main tax features of their plan: the $500,000 threshold for the 5.4-percentage-point income tax surcharge; and the payroll level at which small businesses must pay a new 8% tax penalty for not offering health insurance. This is a

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-91473454747753932212009-11-03T18:47:00.004-06:002009-11-03T21:39:32.852-06:00

I'm kicking back with a bowl of popcorn to watch the results come in, for much the same reason a hardcore baseball fan will go watch a Little League game rather than hang out in a bar. The pundits and partisans have spent weeks or months telling us what all the results will mean, and they're pretty much all full of crap. Without having turned on the newsfeed yet, I can tell you that Virginia is

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-24244955191414374252009-10-27T09:05:00.003-05:002009-10-27T09:11:18.525-05:00

Tax refugees staging escape from New YorkMore than 1.5 million state residents left for other parts of the United States from 2000 to 2008, according to the report from the Empire Center for New York State Policy. It was the biggest out-of-state migration in the country. The vast majority of the migrants, 1.1 million, were former residents of New York City -- meaning one out of seven city

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-66927837380326412132009-10-26T16:22:00.003-05:002009-10-26T16:27:57.665-05:00

Pelosi: Health care 'public option' needs new nameA government-sponsored "public option" for health care lives, though it may be more attractive to skeptics if it goes by a different moniker, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Monday.In an appearance at a Florida senior center, the Democratic leader referred to the so-called public option as "the consumer option." Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz,

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-83516922150770832672009-10-23T09:33:00.009-05:002009-10-23T14:41:15.427-05:00

Maddow/Olbermann Invited to White House Chat with Obama, But Fox Isn't a News Organization?The White House has sent TVNewser the complete list of those who attended the off-the-record briefing Monday: Eugene Robinson, E.J. Dionne, Ron Brownstein, John Dickerson, Rachel Maddow, Frank Rich, Jerry Seib, Maureen Dowd, Keith Olbermann, Bob Herbert, Gloria Borger, and Gwen Ifill. Several members of the

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-73996928750818514012009-10-21T10:16:00.003-05:002009-10-21T10:20:00.376-05:00

Jonathan Turley notes the Obama admin's support for speech restrictions:Perhaps in an effort to rehabilitate the United States’ image in the Muslim world, the Obama administration has joined a U.N. effort to restrict religious speech. This country should never sacrifice freedom of expression on the altar of religion.Seems that "wall of separation" between church and state is highly selective in

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-49961337260806828182009-10-20T19:19:00.000-05:002009-10-20T19:20:24.488-05:00

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-32862213476499139142009-10-20T15:42:00.003-05:002009-10-20T19:19:18.640-05:00

Not as long as we still have some actual journalists, such as Jake Tapper.

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-86092037727613828932009-10-13T08:01:00.002-05:002009-10-13T08:09:05.114-05:00

It seems like there really should be a Giant Wooden Rabbit involved here somehow....That, or a horror film jointly produced by Sam Raimi and Hugh Hefner.

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-27359196913147163502009-10-04T13:03:00.004-05:002009-10-04T13:08:25.698-05:00

Don't f*** with Patterico.As an associate producer of the documentary about Roman Polanski, you do not cover yourself in glory by coming on my blog and spamming a dozen identical anonymous comments that baselessly insinuate that I have a) bribed a witness on this case; b) blogged this issue on County time; c) written these posts to improve Mr. Cooley’s re-election chances; or d) engaged in “

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-84822667096341432652009-09-25T14:17:00.002-05:002009-09-25T14:21:41.839-05:00

NEA Scrubs ‘Health Care Resource’ From WebsiteNot only has the NEA completely removed the link to what was essentially a lobbying demand for health care reform, but the AHIRC did a little scrubbing of their own to nudge the rhetoric closer to 501(c)(3)-ey territory…...Without a word, the NEA, an agency that survives off our hard-earned tax dollars, is just allowed to disappear a direct link to a

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-39299824207173520112009-09-22T09:05:00.003-05:002009-09-22T09:08:17.599-05:00

...at least on the Democratic side of the aisle.How Missouri Cut Junk Lawsuits We showed how to do malpractice reform, if Congress wants a model.Tort reform works. Missouri's medical malpractice claims are now at a 30-year low. Average payouts are about $50,000 below the 2005 average. Malpractice insurers are also turning a profit for the fifth year in a row—allowing other insurers to compete for

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-34030800683164482472009-09-01T08:52:00.007-05:002009-09-02T00:37:41.474-05:00

The real deal, as shown in this video of an HCAN organizer explaining to his team how to prevent constituents from asking embarrassing questions at town hall meetings, by shouting them down and blocking them off.Remember this when leftists tell you Tea Party people are not grassrooters.UPDATE: This just keeps getting better and better. From the same town hall, video of a different HCAN organizer

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-7457993061355684272009-08-30T14:38:00.002-05:002009-08-30T14:42:58.688-05:00

Democrats win landslide in historic election...voters swept the opposition to a historic victory in an election on Sunday, ousting the ruling conservative party and handing the untested Democrats the job of breathing life into a struggling economy....ushering in a government that has promised to focus spending on consumers, cut wasteful budget outlays and reduce the power of bureaucrats....The

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-53353024590528688462009-08-25T09:42:00.004-05:002009-08-25T09:55:54.277-05:00

What you're not hearing from Obama's young supporters...at least according to Beth Fouhy's WaPo article today.OK, Fouhy doesn't say that. What she does say is that Obama's younger scocial-networking supporters see health care as an old-folks issue. Fouhy seems to miss the idea that their notable lack of enthusiasm may also be related to more direct causes than slacker ennui. Namely that so many

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-86848467572045740082009-08-23T15:18:00.012-05:002009-08-23T17:24:57.428-05:00

Matthew Continetti has the story.When things aren't going his way, the Angry White Liberal wails and gnashes his teeth, rends his garments, and hurls invective at the opposition. His rhetoric and prose is so heated, it's gotten to the point where you need to put on oven mitts before opening the paper. He is so convinced of the righteousness of his positions that he lashes out uncontrollably at

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-986916299699876202009-08-21T09:46:00.009-05:002009-08-21T10:52:15.302-05:00

The Vast Right-Wing Conpiracy is BACK!And you don’t even actually have to be a Right-Winger to be a member. Centrist/pluralists also seem to be welcome. In fact, pretty much anyone who challenges the Holy ObamaDogma in the least degree can qualify, even liberals! At least, judging from the accusations and vitriol poured upon me by liberals about the blogosphere for simply noticing that the words

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-31388635951699958692009-08-19T08:06:00.015-05:002009-08-19T09:10:22.232-05:00

Cornell Law Professor William Jacobson points out that in both the House and Senate versions of Obamacare, enforcement of the "individual mandate" requirement would be assigned to the tender mercies of the fine folks at the Internal Revenue Service. These reporting provisions would allow the IRS to cross-check income tax returns and health coverage filings, and withhold tax refunds or utilize

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-91605461050278923272009-08-16T11:55:00.003-05:002009-08-16T22:18:26.214-05:00

The predicted HopeChange™! backtracking has begun.Public insurance plan not essential: SebeliusThe government-run health insurance option favored by President Barack Obama is not essential to a healthcare overhaul as long as the final measure boosts competition, a top U.S. health official said on Sunday....Democratic proposals in Congress for a government-run insurance option have sparked intense

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-81064589986524881212009-08-14T16:23:00.000-05:002009-08-14T16:33:24.310-05:00

Well, that's what it feels like, with some Democratic Senators oh-so-gently suggesting that perhaps, just perhaps, this is not the right time to attempt to cram through cap & trade legislation.Climate Change Measure Should Be Set Aside, U.S. Senators Say Climate legislation would require 60 votes in the Senate. Most Republicans have said they oppose the cap-and-trade measure, and at least 15 of

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-90604827483417447722009-08-12T13:46:00.000-05:002009-08-12T13:55:32.780-05:00

2003:2009:"These disruptions are occurring because opponents are afraid not just of differing views — but of the facts themselves. Drowning out opposing views is simply un-American." -- Nancy Pelosi, Steny HoyerWe await the "facts" of the several competing health care "reform" bills. The one thing we are positive about is that we are NOT getting them from the White House, or from Congressional

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-3930210853365976442009-08-11T12:49:00.000-05:002009-08-16T19:39:21.994-05:00

Faced with massive opposition, the Obama admin appears to be about to do something that Pelosi and Reid won't be able to do. Namely, backtracking from cram-down on health care and moving to a "dialogue" position.Expect some serious reconciliatory HopeChange™ in the near future as the polls and events continue to move strongly against the Dem's steamroller cram-down approach.UPDATE: Further

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-68928048842777030752009-07-27T14:49:00.000-05:002009-07-27T15:08:18.206-05:00

Apparently it pays very well to be a Senatorial spouse when "reform" is on the table...Susan Bayh an issue in fight over health careIn 2 years, she earned $2.1M on health company boardsBut for Bayh, health care isn't just the latest high-stakes political fight in Congress. It's also a substantial part of his family's income.As the debate over health-care reform intensifies, Bayh's wife is

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-71313552822348566782009-07-11T21:32:00.000-05:002009-07-11T21:38:24.756-05:00

Broken PromisesWhen the New York Times published the story, five bills had been presented to the president and were awaiting his signature. Four more were presented to him after the story’s publication. All nine are now law. And for the life of me, I can’t find where any of them have been posted on Whitehouse.gov.Because they haven't been. But hey, that's just recent history. And it’s becoming

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-45985112398205265402009-06-26T14:43:00.000-05:002009-06-26T15:01:13.446-05:00

Conyers abandons plan to probe ACORN:'Powers that be decided against it,' he saysPittsburgh lawyer Heather Heidelbaugh, whose testimony about ACORN at a March 19 hearing on voting issues prompted Mr. Conyers to call for a probe, said she was perplexed by Mr. Conyers' explanation for his change of heart. "If the chair of the Judiciary Committee cannot hold a hearing if he want to [then] who are

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-30869595470037115402009-06-24T15:08:00.000-05:002009-06-24T15:14:18.118-05:00

Stay Tuned for More of 'The Obama Show'After the obligatory first question from the Associated Press, Obama treated the overflowing White House briefing room to a surprise. "I know Nico Pitney is here from the Huffington Post," he announced. Obama knew this because White House aides had called Pitney the day before to invite him, and they had escorted him into the room. They told him the

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-47598357894872354592009-06-21T11:48:00.000-05:002009-06-21T11:54:05.739-05:00

...comes from Patterico.How You Know We're Not Really In A Budget Crisis...Because if we were, Obama wouldn’t be spending money on stuff like this:The federal government is spending $423,500 to find out why men don’t like to wear condoms . . .I’ll tell you for half that.

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-86142451535692984522009-06-18T15:23:00.000-05:002009-06-18T15:27:05.929-05:00

U.S. Commission on Civil Rights Demands Answers on Voter Intimidation Case DismissalThe Justice Department’s lawyers gathered evidence, obtained the affidavit of former civil rights advocate Bartle Bull, and filed a complaint. When the defendants did not respond and the court invited the Justice Department to file a default judgment, the case was inexplicably withdrawn.The U.S. Commission on

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-31025793879505942772009-06-16T10:02:00.000-05:002009-06-18T11:09:08.671-05:00

Will Democrats cover up the AmeriCorps mess?In dismissing Walpin, the president seemed to trample on the law -- a law he himself had co-sponsored as a senator -- that protects inspectors general from political influence and retribution. In addition, it appears that at least part of the reason Walpin was fired was for the tenacity he showed in investigating misuse of AmeriCorps money by a friend

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-75749792009123513902009-06-16T09:54:00.000-05:002009-06-16T09:56:11.170-05:00

Obama blocks list of visitors to White HouseDespite President Barack Obama's pledge to introduce a new era of transparency to Washington, and despite two rulings by a federal judge that the records are public, the Secret Service has denied msnbc.com's request for the names of all White House visitors from Jan. 20 to the present. It also denied a narrower request by the nonpartisan watchdog group

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-79295208047606829312009-06-13T10:46:00.000-05:002009-06-16T09:43:10.903-05:00

House Health-Care Proposal Adds $600 Billion in Taxes Health-care overhaul legislation being drafted by House Democrats will include $600 billion in tax increases and $400 billion in cuts to Medicare and Medicaid, Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel said. ...Asked whether the cost of a health-care overhaul would be more than $1 trillion over a decade, Rangel said, “the answer is yes.

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-81372325371171545112009-06-03T19:00:00.000-05:002009-06-03T19:15:27.824-05:00

Frank Schaeffer, son of Francis Schaeffer and with him one of the founders of the modern pro-life movement, has some words for the movement he left:My late father and I share part of the blame for the murder of Dr. George Tiller, the abortion doctor gunned down on Sunday. ...the same hate machine I was part of is still attacking all abortionists as "murderers." And today, once again, the "

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-86653997885157489992009-05-30T13:14:00.000-05:002009-05-30T13:32:25.873-05:00

Update on Recovery Act Lobbying Rules: New Limits on Special Interest Influence...we will expand the restriction on oral communications to cover all persons, not just federally registered lobbyists. For the first time, we will reach contacts not only by registered lobbyists but also by unregistered ones, as well as anyone else exerting influence on the process. We concluded this was necessary

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-45094951219127117282009-05-29T10:15:00.000-05:002009-05-29T10:19:55.568-05:00

Career lawyers overruled on voting caseBlack Panthers had wielded weapons, blocked pollsJustice Department political appointees overruled career lawyers and ended a civil complaint accusing three members of the New Black Panther Party for Self-Defense of wielding a nightstick and intimidating voters at a Philadelphia polling place last Election Day, according to documents and interviews....Career

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-68026871331394568462009-05-27T13:03:00.000-05:002009-05-28T12:38:52.978-05:00

Did anti-Obama campaign contributions dictate which Chrysler dealers were shuttered? To quickly review the situation, I took all dealer owners whose names appeared more than once in the list. And, of those who contributed to political campaigns, every single one had donated almost exclusively to GOP candidates. While this isn't an exhaustive review, it does have some ominous implications if it

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-66425797649806437072009-05-22T10:27:00.000-05:002009-05-22T10:35:18.515-05:00

Do You Want Your OTV?Read the TV pool report: "Your Pool was not allowed to go over and shoot POTUS with the team shooting hoops. We protested loudly."Now we know why: Obama White House officials decided to do their own media report on the visit, complete with cuts, interviews, and chyrons identifying who's speaking. Also, just like a network, they have their own little logo! NOT reported on OTV

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-73334374616215819252009-05-21T15:37:00.000-05:002009-05-21T15:40:57.132-05:00

Honda Insight 1.3 IMA SE HybridMuch has been written about the Insight, Honda’s new low-priced hybrid. We’ve been told how much carbon dioxide it produces, how its dashboard encourages frugal driving by glowing green when you’re easy on the throttle and how it is the dawn of all things. The beginning of days. So far, though, you have not been told what it’s like as a car; as a tool for moving you

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-91678188236714868402009-05-21T09:56:00.001-05:002009-05-21T11:00:43.461-05:00

Tracking Stimulus Spending May Not Be as Easy as PromisedShortly after the economic stimulus bill was signed, Vice President Biden was talking up the administration's Web site to track the spending, Recovery.gov, when he accidentally directed people to Recovery.org. As slip-ups go, this one had an upside: Unlike the government site, the privately run Recovery.org is actually providing detailed

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5184469.post-83037216899059963192009-05-20T11:15:00.000-05:002009-05-20T16:56:44.753-05:00

Megan McArdle speaks wisdomIs California Too Big to Fail?California will go bankrupt, muni and state debt will spike, the federal government will backstop humanitarian programs and very possibly all state and local debt, and eventually, California will figure out whether it wants higher taxes or lower spending. But we will not actually make the world a better place by enabling the lunatics in

Tullynoreply@blogger.com0