Quote of the Day
Books, the children of the brain.
Jonathan Swift
Follow-Up: Civility Project Is Closing Down:
Thumbs DOWN!
Thumbs DOWN!
On the eve of President Obama's inauguration, Mark DeMoss, President of a Christian-oriented public relations firm, and a Jewish liberal Democrat, Lanny Davis, initiated a bipartisan effort called the Civility Project which focused on a simple pledge, which I promoted in my blog last March:
1. I will be civil in my public discourse and behavior.
2. I will be respectful of others whether or not I agree with them.
3. I will stand against incivility when I see it.
Last May, DeMoss and Davis sent a copy to every member of Congress and governor, asking for them to sign in; only 3 did--two GOP House members (Sue Myrik (NC) and Frank Wolf (VA)) and one Senator (Joe Lieberman (I-CT)) did so. Finally, a disappointed DeMoss closed down the project last month. This is what has become of the post-partisan Presidency of Barack Obama...
Someone besides me who makes reference to "shared sacrifice"... I love when he mentions raising the age eligibility for social security and notices that the world didn't come to an end... Chris Christie is a LEGITIMATE leader whom confronts real problems with plain talk and proactive action, not "finger-in-the-wind" politics, empty rhetoric, and delegating the tough issues to Congressional partisans. (Christie is spot on when it comes to discussing Obama's undue emphasis on political candy like high-speed railroads and wireless Internet.)
President Obama Threatens Resolution Veto /
Government Shutdown: MAKE OUR DAY!
Government Shutdown: MAKE OUR DAY!
"The bill proposes cuts that would sharply undermine core government functions and investments key to economic growth and job creation, and would reduce funding for the Department of Defense to a level that would leave the Department without the resources and flexibility needed to meet vital military requirements." - OMB Statement
Barack Obama has finally found something he wants to veto: a $61B cut of a record projected $1.65T deficit. This is something less than 4% of the budget. I'm absolutely convinced that Obama thinks he can pull off a Bill Clinton-Newt Gingrich showdown (decided in Clinton's favor).
I don't think it'll work this time. There are several reasons. First, Obama and the Democrats, when they had super-majorities in Congress, never submitted a budget for FY2011. Elections have consequences. After raising budgets by 25% or more, Obama is going to argue that losing 4% of the budget is worth a shutdown?
Whatever the situation of 1995, things are different today: we didn't have a national debt then at a point that actually reduces growth, as I mentioned in an earlier post; the Republicans won by greater numbers last November; we didn't have the retirement of the baby boomers well underway with looming reckoning dates for the entitlements. Plus, the Democrats control the Senate--so whatever reaches his desk is, by definition, bipartisan.
Trains to Nowhere: An Update: Thumbs WAY UP!
From my January 29 post:
Some studies show relevant passenger fares only cover about 20% of costs. I think some cost analyses of a long-dreamed connection between Los Angeles and San Francisco have fared poorly. New Wisconsin Governor Walker and Ohio Governor Kasich have canceled high-speed rail projects in their states, and I'm hoping Florida Governor Scott will do the same for the ultimate boondoggle Orlando-Tampa Bay rail project.
Florida Governor Rick Scott has done me proud! What an unbelievable great bumper crop of great, politically courageous leaders we have at the state level: Chris Christie (NJ), Scott Walker (WI), John Kasich (OH), and Rick Scott (FL), just for starters. Sorry for an admittedly incomplete list, but I have a severe case of governor-envy: I'm stuck with Martin O'Malley...
I have to excerpt Rick Scott's press release here because of how well it eviscerates the Obama Administration's pushing-on-a-string case cost-justified with suspect numbers:
- Historical data shows capital cost overruns are pervasive in 9 out of 10 high speed rail projects and that 2/3 of those projects inflated ridership projections by an average of 65 percent of actual patronage. Capital cost overruns from the project could put Florida taxpayers on the hook for an additional $3 billion. It is projected that 3.07 million people will use the train annually. Keep in mind that Amtrak’s Acela train in Washington, D.C., Boston, Philadelphia, New York and Baltimore only had 3.2 million riders in 2010. And that market’s population is 8 times the size of the Tampa/Orlando market.
- Ridership and revenue projections are historically overly-optimistic and would likely result in ongoing subsidies that state taxpayers would have to incur. (from $300 million – $575 million over 10 years) – Note: The state subsidizes Tri-Rail $34.6 million a year while passenger revenues covers only $10.4 million of the $64 million annual operating budget.
Political Humor
First lady Michelle Obama told "Regis & Kelly" she was expecting jewelry on Valentine's Day. She said it wouldn't be anything extravagant because Barack tends to be responsible when he's spending his own money. - Jay Leno
[Unfortunately, the Valentine's Day Massacre (Obama's federal budget) was too extravagant because Barack tends to be irresponsible when he's spending the taxpayers' money.]
Lindsay Lohan said she had plans to open her own jewelry store. Apparently she was getting inventory one piece at a time. - Jay Leno
[Well, President Obama was looking for a piece of jewelry to buy Michelle and noticed the fetching necklace Lindsay Lohan was wearing. Lindsay was willing to let him have it at her cost...]
Musical Interlude: My Favorite Groups
The Bee Gees/Tavares. "More Than a Woman". I remember the story about this: the Bee Gees were intending to release their original version, when Tavares' version hit the charts, the Bee Gees pulled their own release to give Tavares the opportunity to chart higher.
[In a rare criticism of the Bee Gees, I thought the gimmick of Barry's falsetto was overused during the disco era; to a certain extent, because of the loss of Maurice, perhaps this will never happen (or maybe Barry and Robin have done this, and I don't know about it), but just like Neil Sedaka remade his original bouncy "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do" into an adult ballad, it would be interesting to see the Bee Gee's remake their disco material within their original style and/or a different arrangement. (I do think the falsetto works in my favorite song "Tragedy", although I would have been more selective in its use.) Now granted, there's a risk in that--I positively HATE Clapton's unplugged Muzak version of "Layla"... But then again, as a fan, if I went to a Springsteen concert, I want him to play B2R as I remember it with the original frenetic arrangement, not as a Tony Bennett style remake. Of course, after one has sung the same song in public thousands of times the same way, it must get a little boring to perform...]
