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Saturday, February 28, 2009
Friday, February 27, 2009
Palin the early GOP leader for 2012
Palin 29%, Huckabee 26%, Romney 21%, Jindal 9%.
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/02/27/cnn-poll-gop-2012-gender-gap-use-this-version/
It's obviously way too early for it to mean much - its as much a poll of name recognition as it is of strength at this point. But it has to be good news for Democrats that this is the best of what's out there so far for the GOP.
On a somewhat related note, I saw a news headline today that said "Worst GOP in 26 years". My first thought was "makes sense", followed by "wait - how are they measuring that?", followed by "they can't write that in a news article, can they?". Turns out it said "Worst GDP". But I think that's mostly a consequence from having just gone through the worst GOP for the last 8 years.
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/02/27/cnn-poll-gop-2012-gender-gap-use-this-version/
It's obviously way too early for it to mean much - its as much a poll of name recognition as it is of strength at this point. But it has to be good news for Democrats that this is the best of what's out there so far for the GOP.
On a somewhat related note, I saw a news headline today that said "Worst GOP in 26 years". My first thought was "makes sense", followed by "wait - how are they measuring that?", followed by "they can't write that in a news article, can they?". Turns out it said "Worst GDP". But I think that's mostly a consequence from having just gone through the worst GOP for the last 8 years.
Wouldn't it be awesome to nuke Chicago?
Uhmmmm, no, John Bolton- it really wouldn't. But you are the latest in a great line of Republican comedic riots.
Think Progress has the details.
Think Progress has the details.
Who da man?
Rep. Michele Bachmann’s (R-Minn.) makes an idiot of herself yet again. At the CPAC dinner that she was emceeing, she told RNC Chairman Michael Steele " You da man. You da man."
No Michele, we already know who the man is:
No Michele, we already know who the man is:
No wonder newspapers are going out of business
The homepage for the LA Times shows:
The economy completely tanked in Q4.
Unemployment is shooting up.
California is in a drought (again).
The only good news is that the Octo Mom turned down a porn offer.
If she had accepted, that might just have caused the end of the world.
The economy completely tanked in Q4.
Unemployment is shooting up.
California is in a drought (again).
The only good news is that the Octo Mom turned down a porn offer.
If she had accepted, that might just have caused the end of the world.
Iraq combat mission to end by August, 2010
There's an end in sight for the war that has now lasted longer than WW II.
The NY Times reports on the President's speech.
“Let me say this as plainly as I can,” the president told thousands of Marines stationed here. “By August 31, 2010, our combat mission in Iraq will end.”
The NY Times reports on the President's speech.
“Let me say this as plainly as I can,” the president told thousands of Marines stationed here. “By August 31, 2010, our combat mission in Iraq will end.”
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Obama as economic leader
The NY Times profiles Obama as economic steward of the nation: Now Mr. Obama is building a case that an era of Republican dominance has bequeathed a set of problems that demand a more active government capable of restoring fairness to the American model of democratic capitalism.
One reason I have confidence in Obama is based on how his Presidential primary campaign was run. He appointed a strong group of people, assigned tasks and then held them accountable. Considering that his two major rivals for the Presidency, Hillary Clinton and John McCain, both had campaigns that went broke, I'm glad we have the person who actually managed to pay out bonuses post-election because he had a surplus (special note: don't expect to see that word very often) from his campaign funds.
One reason I have confidence in Obama is based on how his Presidential primary campaign was run. He appointed a strong group of people, assigned tasks and then held them accountable. Considering that his two major rivals for the Presidency, Hillary Clinton and John McCain, both had campaigns that went broke, I'm glad we have the person who actually managed to pay out bonuses post-election because he had a surplus (special note: don't expect to see that word very often) from his campaign funds.
Retail deaths
The SF Chronicle (which is circling the drain and could be shut down by the Hearst Corp.) reports that the Virgin Megastore in downtown San Francisco will be shut down. In the last few months, Stacey's Books and the Sony megastore have also announced plans to shut down. I'm not shocked that Virgin is shutting down- the last time I bought a CD in a store was probably 1998. But it is a daunting sign that well-known retailers are failing.
What are you seeing in your area?
What are you seeing in your area?
Joe the Plumber running for office?
Good to see Joe the Plumber (who is actually neither a licensed plumber, nor named Joe) still in the news, this time at the Conservative Political Action Committee giving quotes about the state of the Republican party and how he may run for office someday.http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2009/02/26/1812082.aspx
Rush Limbaugh, Sarah Palin, Bobby Jindal, Michael Steele, and Joe the Plumber. It's quite a crew the GOP have over there as their public face. I feel like its almost a waste to be using a political superstar like Barack Obama during this era. Kind of like trotting out Kobe Bryant for your office hoops game. Heck, even Walter Mondale is looking at these guys and thinking to himself "I'd get at least 300 electoral votes".
Senator Byrd objects to Obama's czars
Apparently Senator Byrd, who is 91 years old and in his 50th year in the U.S. Senate, is upset that President Obama is appointing too many "czars" to head various areas of U.S. policy.http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/02/25/byrd-gives-obama-heat-over-czars/
The crazy thing to me is the fact Robert Byrd is so old he was born in a year where there was an actual tsar - Nicholas II - ruling Russia. (Although he abdicated just a few months before the Senator was born.)
I also find it fascinating that Robert Byrd has been around for 41% of America's entire history.
Part of me is also curious what the old Russian emperors would have thought if you had told them that hundreds of years from their time the world would still have tsars - only instead of ruling large empires, they would be stuck trying to oversee reform of health care bureaucracy.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Craziest US Senator
Tom Coburn has his moments, but Jim Bunning is the craziest person in the US Senate. In addition to be known as one of the worst/laziest Senators, Bunning has just plain gone off the deep end. He's now threatening to sue his own party if someone runs against him in the primary. Even Norm Coleman had the decency to wait till after the election to start suing people. But good old Jimbo has decided he'll sue early and often.
From AP: In his call, Bunning said that if the National Republican Senatorial Committee backed a Republican challenger in the primary, he would have grounds for a lawsuit.
"In the bylaws of the NRSC, support of incumbents is the only reason for their existence. If they recruited someone and supported them in a primary against me I would be able to sue them because they're not following their bylaws," Bunning said.
From AP: In his call, Bunning said that if the National Republican Senatorial Committee backed a Republican challenger in the primary, he would have grounds for a lawsuit.
"In the bylaws of the NRSC, support of incumbents is the only reason for their existence. If they recruited someone and supported them in a primary against me I would be able to sue them because they're not following their bylaws," Bunning said.
California to legalize the wacky weed?
Assemblyman Tom Ammiano has proposed that California legalize and then tax the sale of marijuana. It is estimated that the state could garner $1.3 billion from its cut. So perhaps we'll puff, puff, pass our way out of the $42 billion deficit.
Bobby achieves bipartisan consensus
Democrats, Republicans and volcano monitors all agree that he bombed. Nice to see him bringing the people together.
From the AP: Insane. Childish. Disaster. And those were some of the kinder comments from political pundits about Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and his response to President Barack Obama's speech to Congress on Tuesday night
From the AP: Insane. Childish. Disaster. And those were some of the kinder comments from political pundits about Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and his response to President Barack Obama's speech to Congress on Tuesday night
Jindal's political stock
As fivethirtyeight.com pointed out, the betting on intrade on Bobby Jindal to be the 2012 GOP Presidential nominee pretty much says it all.
Interestingly, the graph also looks a lot like the recently published "tracking poll of Bobby Jindal's approval rating among volcano safety officials".
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Bobby
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
Aside from being anti-volcano monitoring, Bobby thinks that the problem during Hurricane Katrina was that the government was too involved.
GOP 2012 Scorecard reads:
Bobby? No. Palin? No. Mitt? No.
They may have to do a Weekend at Bernie's with Fred Thompson's corpse in 2012.
Bobby vs. the Volcano
That sound you heard tonight was the collective sighs of relief from thousands of Democrats across the country who had read the press on Bobby Jindal and were secretly afraid that maybe the Republicans had found their own Barack Obama.By all accounts Jindal is a great story - the Indian-American son of immigrants who became a Rhodes Scholar and then Governor. But wow, what a horrible speech. It's not just that he sounded like Kenneth from 30 Rock when he spoke - its that he had nothing original to say, his jokes fell flat, and he looked completely out of his league following Barack Obama. If I remember right, he came out against monitoring volcanoes. Which is certainly a novel political argument. If there is one thing I always thought about volcanoes - its that we needed less warning about them blowing. Bravo. Maybe its a swipe at Obama's native Hawaii? Maybe after Katrina the GOP is looking for interesting new ways to screw up natural disasters? Maybe they are going after the anti-volcano vote? It's so out of left field, I really don't know.
I will say that if the best example of "waste" you can find in a 1000+ page stimulus bill is spending to protect citizens by monitoring volcano eruptions, Barack Obama and his economic team have done an amazing job keeping pork out of this bill. I mean normally there is something truly bizarre sounding in there like $100 billion to teach fish how to sew or something like that.
While it wasn't Sarah Palin interview bad, this speech was pretty bad. Jindal is young enough where he has plenty of time to improve his reputation. But the first impression he made on the American public is one he would no doubt like to soon forget.
A mausoleum? Really?
The latest Roland Burris news is that apparently he is promising not to run again in 2010. Given that most Illinois voters have already promised not to vote for him if he ran in 2010, this is probably a good idea, assuming he even makes it to 2010 in the Senate.
But I still can't get over the news from a few weeks back that he set up a mausoleum for himself:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/12/31/burris.memorial/index.html
A mausoleum? I thought that kind of thing was for Kings, heads of state, famous world leaders, and people at that level. Not random Illinois politicians. My favorite part though was the list of accomplishments he has chiseled already onto the granite side of it, to be preserved for posterity.
"The memorial also notes that Burris was the first African-American exchange student to Hamburg University in Germany from Southern Illinois University in 1959."
That's what he wants to world to remember? That's not something that goes on a mausoleum. That's barely something you would use to pad a resume prior to your first job interview after college.
He did leave room at the top for future accomplishments though, so "first African-American Senator from Illinois to be unceremoniously tossed out from the Senate in connection with state scandals" may still end up there.
2-1 odds say we will hear the word "mummified" in the same sentence as "Roland Burris" sometime in the next 20 years.
But I still can't get over the news from a few weeks back that he set up a mausoleum for himself:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/12/31/burris.memorial/index.html
A mausoleum? I thought that kind of thing was for Kings, heads of state, famous world leaders, and people at that level. Not random Illinois politicians. My favorite part though was the list of accomplishments he has chiseled already onto the granite side of it, to be preserved for posterity.
"The memorial also notes that Burris was the first African-American exchange student to Hamburg University in Germany from Southern Illinois University in 1959."
That's what he wants to world to remember? That's not something that goes on a mausoleum. That's barely something you would use to pad a resume prior to your first job interview after college.
He did leave room at the top for future accomplishments though, so "first African-American Senator from Illinois to be unceremoniously tossed out from the Senate in connection with state scandals" may still end up there.
2-1 odds say we will hear the word "mummified" in the same sentence as "Roland Burris" sometime in the next 20 years.
Sober Assessment
ABC reports: President Obama will give the nation a "sober assessment" about the status of the country's economy tonight as he assures Americans that there are "better days ahead," according to White House spokesman Robert Gibbs.
I wonder if this is meant to imply that Bush had fallen off the wagon and was drunk when making some of his assessments....It would explain a few things.
I wonder if this is meant to imply that Bush had fallen off the wagon and was drunk when making some of his assessments....It would explain a few things.
Romney or Palin in 2012?
Oh, please, please let one of them be the GOP nominee in 2012. And the idea of them on same ticket leaves me downright giddy. The Mittster is throwing some coin out to GOP congressman who are Dem targets in 2010.
LA TImes states: But anytime you see these guys like Romney, and more recently Gov. Sarah Palin, create their own PACs to support like-minded politicians (and their own political forays), they're also creating a financial means to accumulate owsies from those fellow party members they help for use down the road.
And in a sign of just how horrific the economy has gotten, Mitt is selling off two of his mansions. Nice pic.
LA TImes states: But anytime you see these guys like Romney, and more recently Gov. Sarah Palin, create their own PACs to support like-minded politicians (and their own political forays), they're also creating a financial means to accumulate owsies from those fellow party members they help for use down the road.
And in a sign of just how horrific the economy has gotten, Mitt is selling off two of his mansions. Nice pic.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Learning the wrong lesson from 2008
Update from Brian: Added the pic above because the best thing about Michael Steele is that he is the uncle of Mike Tyson's kids.
Reading all these articles about Piyush "Bobby" Jindal giving the Republican response tomorrow, made me wonder just what the GOP thinks the lesson of the 2008 election really was. First they select one of their few (only?) prominent elected African-American members, Michael Steele, as the new RNC Chair. Then they choose Jindal, an Indian-American, as their public face for the national address.
The Democrats look at their big wins in 2008 and see it as a vindication of their push for more progressive policies, competent leadership, and responsible government. The GOP seem to have looked at the 2008 election and thought "Our policies were great. We just needed less white guys".
This is a great time though to be one of the few elected minority leaders in the GOP - you are basically guaranteed lots of airtime and your choice of major roles.
Bush declines hardware store job
Seems Bush was recently offered a job at a hardware store in Dallas, Texas:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7904222.stm
"The owner of the Texas chain made the offer earlier this month in a letter published in a Dallas newspaper. But despite not yet having a publisher for his memoirs, Mr Bush decided on reflection to turn the job down."
Of course he didn't take it, but I had some great mental images of George Bush, 2 weeks into his job at the hardware store, with shelves and display tables collapsing all around behind him as the store manager was busy filing for bankruptcy.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7904222.stm
"The owner of the Texas chain made the offer earlier this month in a letter published in a Dallas newspaper. But despite not yet having a publisher for his memoirs, Mr Bush decided on reflection to turn the job down."
Of course he didn't take it, but I had some great mental images of George Bush, 2 weeks into his job at the hardware store, with shelves and display tables collapsing all around behind him as the store manager was busy filing for bankruptcy.
Deficit reduction
If you said a year ago that a Democratic President would talk about having a deficit of more than $500 billion in the last year of his term, I'd assume that the President would be on his to losing an election in Mondalian style.
Bloomberg: His budget will increase taxes on the wealthy and cut spending for the war in Iraq to lower the budget deficit to $533 billion, according to administration officials.
Obama is treated as a deficit hawk because he is going halve the deficit down to a mere half trillion dollars.
Bloomberg: His budget will increase taxes on the wealthy and cut spending for the war in Iraq to lower the budget deficit to $533 billion, according to administration officials.
Obama is treated as a deficit hawk because he is going halve the deficit down to a mere half trillion dollars.
Bipartisanship?
If I had told you on November 3, 2008 that within the first month of his term the new President would push through the largest tax cut in history, send tens of thousands more troops to Afghanistan, would fight nationalizing banks by stressing that a privately held banking system is critical, and would be unwilling to go after former Bush officials for abuses of power - which party would you have thought won the election?
I mean this mostly tongue in cheek - Obama has been championing many progressive causes in the early days of his Presidency, and those items above were all pretty much things he had campaigned on. But it goes to show just how ridiculous the Republican party is when they claim Obama is too radical and won't work with them. They have decided to spend the next few years as the obstructionist party - the much needed stimulus plan passing without a single Republican vote in the House. But Obama has reached out to them, both symbolically with multiple visits to GOP leaders and members, and substantively as noted above.
More to the point, I'm getting tired of seeing politicians on both sides claiming "the American people want bipartisanship". Really? Last I checked those same American people voted in a Democratic President, Senate and House - and all by landslides. That's like saying the 1972 election showed that the American people really wanted George McGovern to play a major role in U.S. policy. Right now people want progressive leadership and policies.
I mean this mostly tongue in cheek - Obama has been championing many progressive causes in the early days of his Presidency, and those items above were all pretty much things he had campaigned on. But it goes to show just how ridiculous the Republican party is when they claim Obama is too radical and won't work with them. They have decided to spend the next few years as the obstructionist party - the much needed stimulus plan passing without a single Republican vote in the House. But Obama has reached out to them, both symbolically with multiple visits to GOP leaders and members, and substantively as noted above.
More to the point, I'm getting tired of seeing politicians on both sides claiming "the American people want bipartisanship". Really? Last I checked those same American people voted in a Democratic President, Senate and House - and all by landslides. That's like saying the 1972 election showed that the American people really wanted George McGovern to play a major role in U.S. policy. Right now people want progressive leadership and policies.
America's Not Greatest Senator
This week, Senator Richard Shelby (R-Crazytown) apparently told a group of constituents that he wasn't sure if President Obama is actually a U.S. citizen or not:
http://www.cullmantimes.com/local/local_story_052203445.html
“Well his father was Kenyan and they said he was born in Hawaii, but I haven’t seen any birth certificate,” Shelby said. “You have to be born in America to be president.”
The U.S. Constitution indeed requires all Presidents to be natural born citizens. But this ridiculous rumor has been thoroughly debunked throughout the 2008 campaign, with Obama's original Hawaii birth certificate even being produced and verified. However, much the way the extreme right tried to pretend Clinton wasn't a legitimate President because he "only" got 43% and 49% of the vote in two 3 way races (forgetting their own candidates got a paltry 37% and 41%), they have now latched on to this out there notion to justify their position that Obama isn't legitimate either. This raises a few questions for me:
1) Does Senator Shelby normally see Presidents' birth certificates? At what point does he usually check them out? When you win your party primary? After election night?
2) Has anybody seen his? Sure, he claims he was born in Alabama, but I've yet to personally see any proof. And rumor has it that he was actually born on the outskirts of a small Mongolian farming village. Feel free to pass that one around.
3) Wasn't that clause put into the Constitution to prevent a questionable individual from assuming the power of the Presidency and then systematically ruining the country? Didn't I just watch a former drunk and failed businessman lead us to 8 years of war, deficits, economic collapse, major cities drowning, environmental ruin, and the trampling of Constitutional rights? Wasn't he from Connecticut?
http://www.cullmantimes.com/local/local_story_052203445.html
“Well his father was Kenyan and they said he was born in Hawaii, but I haven’t seen any birth certificate,” Shelby said. “You have to be born in America to be president.”
The U.S. Constitution indeed requires all Presidents to be natural born citizens. But this ridiculous rumor has been thoroughly debunked throughout the 2008 campaign, with Obama's original Hawaii birth certificate even being produced and verified. However, much the way the extreme right tried to pretend Clinton wasn't a legitimate President because he "only" got 43% and 49% of the vote in two 3 way races (forgetting their own candidates got a paltry 37% and 41%), they have now latched on to this out there notion to justify their position that Obama isn't legitimate either. This raises a few questions for me:
1) Does Senator Shelby normally see Presidents' birth certificates? At what point does he usually check them out? When you win your party primary? After election night?
2) Has anybody seen his? Sure, he claims he was born in Alabama, but I've yet to personally see any proof. And rumor has it that he was actually born on the outskirts of a small Mongolian farming village. Feel free to pass that one around.
3) Wasn't that clause put into the Constitution to prevent a questionable individual from assuming the power of the Presidency and then systematically ruining the country? Didn't I just watch a former drunk and failed businessman lead us to 8 years of war, deficits, economic collapse, major cities drowning, environmental ruin, and the trampling of Constitutional rights? Wasn't he from Connecticut?
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Where we should spend stimulus money
Falling somewhere in between Thomas Friedman and Fred Wilson, I'd say that two of the best places to spend the stimulus money are in higher education and increasing SBA loans.
Silicon Valley is in part a product of the massive investment that California made in higher education during the 50s and 60s. The UC system became the premiere educational system in the world and companies knew that they had a highly educated work force and executives knew they'd have great schools for their kids. We've fallen way down from that standard.
Also, SBA loans can be very cumbersome to obtain. I previously worked as employee number 4 at a company that grew to about 35 people before being sold last year. We did get a small SBA loan at one point, but it took a ton of paperwork and months of delay. We were a profitable company all along and if we could have obtained a larger loan in a shorter period, we could have created even more jobs.
These are two areas where even more of the dollars need to go- as a taxpayer, they are my best hope of seeing an ROI.
We need to see more of this.
Silicon Valley is in part a product of the massive investment that California made in higher education during the 50s and 60s. The UC system became the premiere educational system in the world and companies knew that they had a highly educated work force and executives knew they'd have great schools for their kids. We've fallen way down from that standard.
Also, SBA loans can be very cumbersome to obtain. I previously worked as employee number 4 at a company that grew to about 35 people before being sold last year. We did get a small SBA loan at one point, but it took a ton of paperwork and months of delay. We were a profitable company all along and if we could have obtained a larger loan in a shorter period, we could have created even more jobs.
These are two areas where even more of the dollars need to go- as a taxpayer, they are my best hope of seeing an ROI.
We need to see more of this.
$20 Billion for VCs????
Thomas Friedman proposes giving a billion dollars each to 20 different VC firms to invest in start-ups. His rationale is that it stands a much greater chance of success than just throwing more money at the Big 3 Auto makers.
"G.M. has become a giant wealth- destruction machine — possibly the biggest in history — and it is time that it and Chrysler were put into bankruptcy so they can truly start over under new management with new labor agreements and new visions. When it comes to helping companies, precious public money should focus on start-ups, not bailouts."
Fred Wilson, one of the coolest and smartest VCs around (he gave me half an hour of his time to help me with business school project and he was the first one to tip me to Kings of Leon), responds that this would be a horrible idea.
I'm really curious as to what other people think about this one.
"G.M. has become a giant wealth- destruction machine — possibly the biggest in history — and it is time that it and Chrysler were put into bankruptcy so they can truly start over under new management with new labor agreements and new visions. When it comes to helping companies, precious public money should focus on start-ups, not bailouts."
Fred Wilson, one of the coolest and smartest VCs around (he gave me half an hour of his time to help me with business school project and he was the first one to tip me to Kings of Leon), responds that this would be a horrible idea.
I'm really curious as to what other people think about this one.
Can Meg Whitman take a punch?
It sounds more and more like she'll be running for Governor of California. Her biggest assets will be her assets (she's a billionaire) and the fact that eBay is generally regarded as one of the great Silicon Valley success stories. Her two most likely competitors for the GOP nomination are Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner (also loaded) and former Congressman Tom Campbell. Campbell was most recently the Dean of the Haas Business School (Go Bears!) and is probably one the five smartest people I've ever met.
Campbell has long been a moderate voice within the Republican ranks and Poizner and Whitman tend to lean that way as well. It will be interesting to see if someone moves to the right or if a movement conservative candidate emerges. Maybe Moose Lady wants to move down from Alaska.
Can Meg Whitman emerge as the nominee or will she flame out like Al Checchi did in 1998?
NY Times profiles her here.
Campbell has long been a moderate voice within the Republican ranks and Poizner and Whitman tend to lean that way as well. It will be interesting to see if someone moves to the right or if a movement conservative candidate emerges. Maybe Moose Lady wants to move down from Alaska.
Can Meg Whitman emerge as the nominee or will she flame out like Al Checchi did in 1998?
NY Times profiles her here.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
America's greatest Senator?
You can make a pretty damn good case for Ted Kennedy. The Boston Globe begins a multi-part series on his life.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Senate Crystal Ball
Larry Sabato takes a look at the 2010 election cycle.
"But that's about the only good news for Republicans in the early Senate going. Remarkably, even after losing six net Senate seats in 2006 and another seven or eight (pending the Minnesota resolution) in 2008, the GOP still has more seats up (19) than Democrats (17) in 2010."
"But that's about the only good news for Republicans in the early Senate going. Remarkably, even after losing six net Senate seats in 2006 and another seven or eight (pending the Minnesota resolution) in 2008, the GOP still has more seats up (19) than Democrats (17) in 2010."
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
The California budget mess
If we don't get a deal soon, Arnold is threatening to fire 20,000 state workers.
From the Chronicle:
The state's leaders also are considering setting a limit on state spending that would be calculated in part by using the state's revenue figures from the prior 10 years, according to sources who were briefed by Democratic budget staffers.
Additional revenue collected beyond that limit would go to a rainy-day fund.
I love the talk of the rainy day fund- seems to me like we are in a freaking monsoon already.
From the Chronicle:
The state's leaders also are considering setting a limit on state spending that would be calculated in part by using the state's revenue figures from the prior 10 years, according to sources who were briefed by Democratic budget staffers.
Additional revenue collected beyond that limit would go to a rainy-day fund.
I love the talk of the rainy day fund- seems to me like we are in a freaking monsoon already.
Review of the press conference
And some people were worried that Jon Stewart wouldn't have anything to make fun of with Bush out of office:
Why 58 or 59 will be good....
The Dems came up just short of the magical 60 seats in the Senate, but it is probably better for them that way. If the Dems had the votes to overcome filibusters, expectations would be even higher for the Obama administration. The fact that a couple of GOP votes will be needed for key legislation is probably a good thing.
Washington Post takes a look at Susan Collins and the power broker role she may play over the next two years.
Washington Post takes a look at Susan Collins and the power broker role she may play over the next two years.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Where the heck does California's money go?
I'm at a bit of a loss to explain how we have this $42 billion deficit in calendar considering that we are one of the few states that has sales tax, property tax and state income tax. On top of that, we rank 47th in per capita spending on education.
State Senator Mark Leno recently tried to explain where the money went in a Chronicle article.
State Senator Mark Leno recently tried to explain where the money went in a Chronicle article.
The budget deficit
Take a look at the graph above and then explain to me how the Republicans are the party of "fiscal conservatism". We truly misunderestimated W. Bush and his ability to turn the Clinton surplus into the largest deficit in history. Remember Bush came to office saying that we needed the tax cut because the surplus was too big.
Bush and Congressional Republicans insisted on massive tax cuts for the super-rich at the same time that we've spent $100s of billions in Iraq. Combine that with a complete indifference to energy independence and total ineptitude in fiscal oversight- I give you the Bush years.
Whitman exploring run for CA Gov.
Former Ebay CEO Meg Whitman announces she's exploring a run for Governor of California.
Apparently, Meg wasn't real big on voting until a couple of years ago, but, hey, making sure everyone can buy a Pez dispenser online is hard work.
Apparently, Meg wasn't real big on voting until a couple of years ago, but, hey, making sure everyone can buy a Pez dispenser online is hard work.
Monday, February 9, 2009
The Obama press conference
This clip starts of with an inane question- essentially, has Obama's honesty about the fiscal crisis made it worse? Uhmmmmm, no. I'd say that the 8 years of fiscal mismanagement by Bush were a lot more detrimental than having a President who recognizes and responds to a crisis.
And in case you forgot who got us here:
And in case you forgot who got us here:
Friday, February 6, 2009
Governor Ice Man
The LA Times reports that Val Kilmer is thinking of running for New Mexico Governor in 2010.
Could he be any worse than Arnold?
He already has the perfect campaign commercial:
Could he be any worse than Arnold?
He already has the perfect campaign commercial:
Thursday, February 5, 2009
There's a reason he won the Nobel Prize
Krugman nails it:
The American economy is on the edge of catastrophe, and much of the Republican Party is trying to push it over that edge.
He's not always the most cheerful read, but Krugman knows what he's talking about.
The American economy is on the edge of catastrophe, and much of the Republican Party is trying to push it over that edge.
He's not always the most cheerful read, but Krugman knows what he's talking about.
Pelosi's Hammer
After electoral triumphs in 2006 and 2008, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi now commands a strong Democratic majority. During here tenure, she has done a solid job of keeping the caucus unified. At times she may have alienated members of the liberal base by refusing to push things like the impeachment of George Bush and/or Dick Cheney. Despite these grumblings, she has received high marks from Democratic members of the House.
With the Democrats in control of all parts of government, Pelosi will have to work harder than ever to maintain party discipline. Blue Dog Democrats are determined to scale back spending in the stimulus package.
Politico looks at the barking of the Blue Dogs.
With the Democrats in control of all parts of government, Pelosi will have to work harder than ever to maintain party discipline. Blue Dog Democrats are determined to scale back spending in the stimulus package.
Politico looks at the barking of the Blue Dogs.
Andy Card has a problem with the dress code
According to the NY Times, former Bush Chief of Staff Andrew Card doesn't like the fact that Obama has adopted a more casual form of dress in the Oval Office.
Really, Andy?
Hmmmm, 8 years of ineptitude in domestic and foreign policy and this is your big concern? Maybe Andy failed in giving advice on Iraq, Katrina and the economy, but boy could he spot a nifty Windsor knot.
If Obama can fix the mess he inherited, I say the guy can wear a Speedo in the Oval Office if he wants.
Really, Andy?
Hmmmm, 8 years of ineptitude in domestic and foreign policy and this is your big concern? Maybe Andy failed in giving advice on Iraq, Katrina and the economy, but boy could he spot a nifty Windsor knot.
If Obama can fix the mess he inherited, I say the guy can wear a Speedo in the Oval Office if he wants.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Stay classy, Dick
Former VP Dick Cheney takes time out from sucking the blood of baby seals to announce that President Obama is not doing enough to prevent a terrorist attack.
Yup, he's back.
Yup, he's back.
The ugly Senate situation in 2010 for the GOP
The GOP is facing an increasingly difficult task to keep the Dems under 60 seats in 2010. When David Vitter, family man and prostitute connoisseur, is not even amongst the 5 most endangered seats, you know it could get ugly for the Republicans.
The AP breaks down the races.
The AP breaks down the races.
Blago wanted to be on Letterman in the worst way....
As much you may dislike that man, you have to love that hair. Disgraced former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich appeared on David Letterman last night.
AP reports:
"He told Letterman that he keeps thinking he'll wake up and people will realize "this is just one big misunderstanding."
I'm thinking not.
AP reports:
"He told Letterman that he keeps thinking he'll wake up and people will realize "this is just one big misunderstanding."
I'm thinking not.
NYT: With Goodwill, and Cookies, Obama reaches out
The cookie charm offensive.
http://mobile.nytimes.com/article?a=308529&f=21&p=0
http://mobile.nytimes.com/article?a=308529&f=21&p=0
Nice change from the so-called "Uniter, not a Divider".
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Ambinder puts on his Bad Ideas Jeans
Mitt in the Cabinet?????
Not going to happen. First off, if there was a perception problem with Daschle, is the solution to appoint the multi-millionaire who has almost as many houses as McCain?
Let's not take this team of rivals thing too far- Lincoln didn't appoint Jefferson Davis to his cabinet.
The good news is that it gives me the chance to again share:
Not going to happen. First off, if there was a perception problem with Daschle, is the solution to appoint the multi-millionaire who has almost as many houses as McCain?
Let's not take this team of rivals thing too far- Lincoln didn't appoint Jefferson Davis to his cabinet.
The good news is that it gives me the chance to again share:
Next up at HHS?
HuffPo reports that former Senator Bill Bradley is also in the mix. Smart, nice guy. I still feel like he stole money from me in 2000- that was just a bad primary campaign.
They don't have bigger fish to fry?
ESPN reports that South Carolina police are considering charging Michael Phelps for his dalliance with the wacky weed.
Consider that Madoff is still out on bail for a $50 billion Ponzi scheme....
Update: I know the SC police don't have jurisdiction on Madoff, but they've got to have something more important than this to be investigating.
Consider that Madoff is still out on bail for a $50 billion Ponzi scheme....
Update: I know the SC police don't have jurisdiction on Madoff, but they've got to have something more important than this to be investigating.
Elizabeth Edwards writing a new book....
and it will deal with her husband's infidelity. Not sure how deeply she'll delve in to that subject (hoping not very deeply). That John Edwards interview where he admitted the affair was just painful to watch.
News and Observer story here.
News and Observer story here.
Won't this election just die already?
Seems like Stormin Norman is still hanging on by a thread. It remains very likely that we will soon see Senator Stuart Smalley (Al Franken), Norm Coleman has refused to give up. This latest legal ruling is the best piece of news that he has had in a while.
NH Gov names Gregg replacement
Bonnie Newman has been named to replace New Hampshire Senator Judd Gregg. The Republican Gregg will resign if the Senate confirms him as the new Commerce Secretary.
Governor Lynch indicated that Newman will not run for a full term in 2010. Democratic Rep. Paul Hodes is expected to declare his candidacy shortly.
This seat will be one of the top pickup ops for Dems in 2010 and is part of the favorable landscape for further Democratic gains.
Governor Lynch indicated that Newman will not run for a full term in 2010. Democratic Rep. Paul Hodes is expected to declare his candidacy shortly.
This seat will be one of the top pickup ops for Dems in 2010 and is part of the favorable landscape for further Democratic gains.
Dean for HHS?
He's smart and available- hopefully he has been paying his taxes the last few years. Former Governor and DNC Chair Howard Dean aren't particularly close, but that didn't preclude the President from picking Hillary Clinton to be his Secretary of State.
Feingold attacks undemocratic method of selecting Senators
Sen. Russ Feingold is pushing for a Constitutional amendment that would call for special elections to replace Senators instead of gubernatorial appointments. The recent controversies in replacing Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and Judd Gregg have added fuel to the fire.
“But the apparent behind-the-scenes deal-making that went on to determine who will fill Senator Gregg's vacancy is alarmingly undemocratic," Feingold said. "Once again, Americans will be represented in the Senate for nearly two years by someone they had no hand in electing."
Details at the Raw Story.
“But the apparent behind-the-scenes deal-making that went on to determine who will fill Senator Gregg's vacancy is alarmingly undemocratic," Feingold said. "Once again, Americans will be represented in the Senate for nearly two years by someone they had no hand in electing."
Details at the Raw Story.
Paul Hodes to run for Senate in NH
Rep. Paul Hodes is preparing to announce that he'll be running for Senate in 2010, for the seat that will soon be vacated by Sen. Judd Gregg (set to become Commerce Secretary).
Carol Shea-Porter is the other prominent contender on the Democratic side.
Drew Cline at the Manchester Union-Leader suspects they may slug it out.
Carol Shea-Porter is the other prominent contender on the Democratic side.
Drew Cline at the Manchester Union-Leader suspects they may slug it out.
Daschle's out
Tom Daschle has withdrawn from consideration for Secretary of Health and Human Services. The former majority leader recently disclosed that he had failed to initially pay taxes on his town car and chauffeur- not exactly something that the millions of people losing their jobs will have much tolerance for.
Good tips for future nominees over at Kos.
Good tips for future nominees over at Kos.
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