Where is my new van?

Is it asking too much? A 2010 Dodge minivan ? Actually, I'd love to be able to reward Ford for staying in the free market and not becoming part of the state automobile industry run by a car czar. But they don't make minivans anymore, plus, even when they did, the seats were horrid.

I've looked at the Chrysler models online, and usually the web page bumps me back to 2009, which is not a good sign. I haven't see a van on a lot in a year (except for used). I do not want to be squished and smashed into a small car where instead of seeing over the traffic at Ohio cornfields I'm looking at mudflaps and dead deer.

My Dodge 2002 is very comfortable and at 26 mpg on the highway I haven't seen anything out there to match it. I suppose my son can keep it running another 10 years (Jack Maxton) but really I'd rather get a 2010.

Have cash will deal. Call me (do I sound like Gleen Beck?). I can give you a good price on a sweet, lovingly cared for, used van with good tires and mileage driven by a little old lady librarian. But I want my new one first.

Putting on the kid gloves for the jobs report

In today's WSJ there's a real sentimental softy worthy of the 2008 campaign coverage on the stimulus and jobs. Louise Radnofsky opens with this grabber:

"The number of jobs the Obama administration credits to federal stimulus money could be overstated by at least 20,000 of the 640,000 claimed, a Wall Street Journal analysis found.

If 20,000 were the only mistake, I'd probably take it. But there's so much more. Did you think when he touted this "recovery" that the money would go for "Head Start" jobs--a program that's been in place for 40 years, absorbing billions of dollars, and has yet to show any academic improvement for minorities, so they've moved the goals to nutrition and health? But according to Ms. Radnofsky, who apparently didn't dig very deep, it was misunderstanding how to report that caused the misreporting. Maybe the directors were victims of their own programs?

But then, what's the excuse for colleges and universities who misreported jobs created and saved, counting part time and work study students as discreet numbers instead of FTEs? And how about those low-income housing landlords, who've been on the federal dole for decades. Do you really think they'd want to show no jobs? How would they get their next installment? And those confusing forms and no accountability? Who designed that, Louise? Was that Bush's fault too? Or the money that went for raises and bonuses. Yes, I suppose you could say it's a job saved--except where would they have gone?

If it clunks like car loan, or crashes like a $8,000 mortgage credit, or bails like a rich bank lobbyist, let's call it what it is. F-A-I-L-U-R-E.

Thomas Frank on Glenn Beck

You've probably never heard of Thomas Frank. He's a "real" journalist--I think. I read him in the WSJ. He also writes for Huff and Puff and NYT, all their opinion all the time. He's really pissed at Glenn Beck, who has a fatter subscription list than the NYT. It's that red phone shtick-- doesn't set well with him, because it's only for the White House and not for Frank's progressive sources. Why not attack the black boards or blue curtains? So he spouts the White House mantra. Beck is odious, Beck is a panic peddler. Beck is (play scary music here) Fox! Through some mysterious, closed-minded reasoning that infects many liberal writers/journalists/bloggers/entertainers, Frank suddenly gets a revelation that "ideas have consequences," which is exactly what Beck says too, but better, and with higher ratings. So here he is, on that side of the fence where only warm fuzzies for Obama grow, lobbing stones at a guy who actually uses the investigative methods that journalists could be, but aren't. Guys like Frank have to play it safe. If they don't, the White House will come after them like they did Fox.

Ohio approves crime and disaster at the polls

They've really got the Obama Flu. He has so dispirited Americans that they seem to think things will never, never get better, so let's bring out of state gambling interests and plump the state coffers with something besides federal pork. Sad story at Columbus Dispatch

Only the people voting NO made any sense at all in their choices:

"Many voters who cast "yes" ballots noted that thousands of Ohioans gamble in other states without benefiting their home state. The casinos would jump-start economic development in the state's largest cities and retain tax money in Ohio, they said.

"I don't go to casinos, but lots of people go elsewhere to gamble, so they might as well keep the money here," said Regina Lee, 35, of Westerville. "We need the tax dollars and the jobs."

Some who voted against Issue 3 cited the potential for crime and other social problems as well as exaggerated promises of jobs from casino proponents.

John Goettler, 45, an Upper Arlington consultant for nonprofit organizations, said he is opposed to expanded gambling in Ohio. He is worried the casinos could bring more crime and other problems and thinks the pro-casino television ads promising thousands of jobs contained "blatant lies."

"As bad as the economy is ... legalizing casino gambling is not the answer," he said.

Ohio voters had rejected gambling issues four times before, including twice in the past three years. Last year, nearly 63 percent of voters rejected a proposal for a casino in Clinton County."

The casino owners and union bosses got out the vote in our already crime ridden, struggling major cities.

"The measure benefited from a strong appeal by unions and urban politicians to get voters in the four casino cities - Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati and Toledo - to the polls. The measure carried by large majorities in the Cleveland and Cincinnati areas, won with a smaller majority in Toledo, and lost in Franklin County."

Our neighbor Detroit has 70,000 abandoned buildings. Doesn't it have casinos bring in billions? One of the pushers set to benefit (besides our former Methodist pastor governor) is Dan Gilbert, owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers and owner-to-be of two of the casinos. And they said Rush Limbaugh was unfit to own an NFL team?

Not a referendum

That's the talking point direct from the White House, why, Gibbsy didn't even stay up to watch. And the media, every one of them, are repeating it right on cue. They know their lines and their role. Actually, I agree. Two governors and a district in NY are hardly a landslide for Republicans/conservatives. Especially since it's hard to get a piece of dental floss between the parties. But if this were 2006 and Bush were in the WH--Oh my, would they be singing spinning a different story.

Flutrina

Tonight we were watching the evening news coverage of the H1N1 vaccine lines here in Columbus. It looked like a miserable day for parents of young children (who stood in line for hours, and probably didn't get to the polls). "Do you remember your small pox vaccination?" I asked. He didn't. I do. We lined up at school and got it from a nurse. Same for the polio vaccine in 1955. In a town of less than 3,000 that probably had 2 doctors and a few RNs. If they could do it in the 40s and 50s, with Truman and Eisenhower in charge, what in the world is wrong with this bunch of clowns who want to take over, not just shots for a disease that may be blown out of proportion by the media, but health care for the whole nation?

"So here you have it, a dry run for the Obama Administration’s performance on nationalized health care. All vast governmental forces were focused on a single disease rather than the entire gamut of America’s health care problems. There was no greedy, profit–riddled private sector in this fight, only the saintly public option. The program had universal coverage and no pre–existing condition exclusions.

The result? Missed deadlines, rationing, incompetence, blame–shifting, arbitrary decisions, random displays of authority and don’t forget: long lines.

There’s a word for this preview of socialized medicine under Obamacare.

Call it Flutrina."

Story by Michael Shannon at The Absurd Report

How the public option is working in Florida

You've probably read about insurance companies pulling out of Florida, and wondered about that. Well, Florida has a "public option" for property insurance. How's that working? They're waiting for the big one, and other policy owners are paying a surcharge to support the public option. Sound familiar? From the Beacon Blog)

"After Hurricane Andrew hit Florida in 1992 some Floridians were having difficulty purchasing homeowners’ insurance. (The reason: rates are regulated, and at the regulated rates some properties are too great a risk.) So, the state government formed Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, which is owned and operated by the State of Florida.

As originally envisioned, Citizens would charge rates above those charged by private insurers, to make Citizens the insurer of last resort. Nevertheless, Citizens found plenty of customers.

After two bad hurricane seasons in 2004 and 2005 property insurance rates in Florida rose, and in his campaign for the office, current Governor Charlie Crist promised voters that if elected he would see that their property insurance bills “dropped like a rock.”

One tactic he used was to change Citizens’ rate structure so it was competitive with private insurers. His idea, like President Obama’s idea with health insurance, is that with a public option, private insurers would have to keep their rates in line or risk losing customers to the government insurer.

That’s what’s happened in Florida. Today about 30% of homeowners’ policies are written by Citizens, which is the largest property insurer in the state. It’s about to get bigger too. The largest private insurer, State Farm, had a rate request rejected last year, and now is pulling out of the state altogether (for property insurance; they’ll still insure your car). As the largest private insurer pulls out over a three-year period (that period negotiated with the state), Citizens will get an even larger share of Florida’s property insurance.

Everybody in Florida knows Citizens is a fiscal time bomb. Already, every Florida insurance policy (on homes, boats, cars, etc.) pays a surcharge that goes to Citizens, but Citizens still doesn’t have sufficient reserves to weather a major hurricane. When one comes, Florida taxpayers will be on the hook for the bill.

Globe trotting Obama is too busy

"In his first year in office, Barack Obama has visited more foreign countries than any other president. He's touched ground in 16 countries, easily outpacing Bill Clinton (three) and George W. Bush (eleven). It's an itinerary befitting a "citizen of the world."

But there's one stop Obama won't make. He has begged off going to Berlin next week to attend ceremonies commemorating the fall of the Berlin Wall. His schedule is reportedly too crowded. John F. Kennedy famously told Berliners, "Ich bin ein Berliner." On the 20th anniversary of the last century's most stirring triumph of freedom, Obama is telling them, "Ich bin beschäftigt" - i.e., I'm busy."

See Rich Lowry at Real Clear Politics

This is a no-brainer for him. It wasn't all about him like the campaign event in Berlin, and 20 years ago was not a good time for Marxists.

Rocco Landesman's suit

Recently I saw a color photo of Rocco Landesman, Obama's appointee to head the National Endowment of the Arts, wearing a shiny, glow in the dark, cream colored suit. It gave me hope for the 3 piece outfit I recently bought at the Cancer Discovery Shop for three dollars which is sort of shiny and the color of baby formula spit up. Apparently "matchy matchy" is out for women, but not for men in government who've come up through the entertainment industry (he was the producer of Angels in America about aids, homosexuals, closets and religion). There's an article about him in today's WSJ by Lee Rosenbaum with easily arranged descriptive sentences.

• veteran Broadway producer
  
• free wheeling
  
• brashly candid
  
• provocative
  
• St. Louis native who demeans Peoria, Illinois
  
• ridicules past NEA efforts
  
• partisan agenda
  
• Obama operative
  
• baited congressional critics
  
• [not] politically savvy
  
• father owned Crystal Palace caberet
  
• abrasive, combative
  
• vendetta against some arts non-profits

I can hardly wait. Sounds like we're in for more crucifixes in urine art.

It's not about health, energy or the environment

All Obama's policies reflect a core liberal mindset that spans policies and endures decades, according to Heritage Blog (and mine too if you've been following it).

And that is, "the willingness to forego jobs and wages for American workers to achieve other goals liberal policymakers deem more worthy. In the case of tax rates, [Laurence] Summers admits growth will be sacrificed at the altar of a soak-the-rich mentality married to the need to fund Obama’s spending surge.

Health care reform has become an excuse to expand the reach of government and levy even higher taxes. The new House health care bill has yet higher rates than Summers was talking about: another blow to jobs and wages.

Cap and trade, a.k.a. pack and move for what it would do to the nation’s manufacturing sector, is an explicit, enormous trade off of lower economic growth for environmental goals. Recognizing the damage this policy would do to the economy, proponents anxiously argue that a few “green jobs” building subsidized windmills can compensate for the millions of real jobs destroyed if this legislation reaches the president." Read the entire piece here.

New shoes and voting advice

This morning I went to Kohl's (15% off for seniors) to buy a replacement for my Nikes. This would be my third pair in 2009--having discovered that the way to combat hip pain in the middle of the night is to make sure I'm wearing sturdy shoes when exercising or walking during the day. So I did find an exact match for what I bought in the summer, Nike Steady VI, "Nike Steady VI Leather Women's Training Shoe, with textile upper and satin webbing detail." What attracted me to this shoe is its simplicity. It doesn't blink or bling, is plain white and relatively trim. Why women wear ugly fat purple and black shoes, I have no idea. If I do run an errand after exercise class I'm not embarrassed to walk into the grocery store. In fact, until I saw the photo, I didn't even realize the Nike logo was in grey--I guess I can't see it when I'm wearning them.

When I got to the check-out, the beautiful, young cashier noticed my "I voted today," sticker and asked me about the issues, because she was going to vote later--her first election. I told her there were 3 constitutional changes on the ballot, all unneccesary, and I specifically told her about Issue 2, because that's the one that has everyone confused by the conflicting ads. Is it pro-agribusiness or pro-animal rights? Or neither. I advised her (since that's what librarian types do) to vote no on all 3 because regardless of their merits or faults, it wasn't necessary to change the constitution to do what laws or regulations could do. The people in line behind me chimed in and agreed. They were in Columbus from a confluence of two other states that do have casinos (issue 3) and were vigorous in their condemnation of what happens, regardless of what money it brought to the state. Gambling always gets a foot in the door by pleading a good cause--like the lottery was going to solve all our education funding problems--but it's like opening the door to let out a fly, and bats, bees, and burglars come in.

I took a different route home because of the road construction in front of our house and you don't want to have to turn left going or coming. I passed a shopping center I used to frequent in my working days and was amazed by the changes, including a restaurant that is now under another name where my colleagues and I went many times.

Obama makes Bush his Blame Czar

"The Senior Adviser [Valerie Jarrett] seems to have forgotten that she is the power [fretting about the tea parties and town halls]. Admittedly, this is a recurring lapse on the part of the administration. There was Barack Obama only the other day, blaming everything on the president – no, no, silly, not him, the other fellow, the Designated Fall Guy who stepped down as head of state in January to accept the new constitutional position of Blame Czar. Musing on problems in Afghanistan, Obama blamed the "long years of drift" under his predecessor. The new president – OK, newish president – has been Drifter-in-Chief for almost a year but he's too busy speaking truth to the former power to get on top of the situation. It could be a while yet. In his more self-regarding moments, such as his speech to the United Nations, he gives the strong impression that the "long years of drift" began in 1776. Mark Steyn

Dear Mary Jo Kilroy

What are you people doing? HR3926 is even worse than the last one. And do you really believe that people your age with a serious illness like MS will be better served with Medicaid-lite? You are destroying one of the best health care systems in the world. Are you planning to give up your insurance and take the public option?

You have the worst e-mail template I've ever used. You don't use the extra 4 digits on your website--why do you want us to?

H.R. 3926

You can track it, or any legislation, here. Here is the pretty, but distorted and bloated, title: "To provide affordable, quality health care for all Americans and reduce the growth in health care..."

And there's a word of caution at the site: "This bill is very large, and loading it may cause your web browser to perform sluggishly, or even freeze. This is especially true for old and/or bad browsers. As an alternative you can download the PDF of the bill or read the text on THOMAS." And they were right. I clicked. It spun a bit, then sputtered.

If you can get to Washington by Thursday there is a protest being planned. They are ignoring our letters, phone calls and e-mail. Congress just doesn't get it. They should have cleaned up the mess in the government plans we already have wasting millions a year. But no. They wanted something even bigger and messier.

I don't know anyone who has had their health insurance cancelled for going beyond the limits of the policy, or for not disclosing a prior condition. I'm sure it happens. However, I do know several who have waited months or years through numerous appeals, and piles of documentation, waiting for some level of government to act on their case. We also know, that this bill will cut the benefits for seniors, and that will immediately put a burden on the "sandwich" generation who will then need to be doing more hands on care--along with that garden the President wants you to plant in the back yard, and the clothes line you'll need as we become energy starved. Oh, hope and change.

Third Party Power

All the talking heads and political hacks are painting the congressional race in NY-23rd as a rift in the Republican ranks. It is not. It is a third party candidate proving that the Republicans and Democrats can be made irrelevant in the face of tea party power. It is proving this in the full glare of the national spotlight. And the only way that the entrenched politicians can save their own bacon is by spinning the story to distract the public from the obvious truth. All the king-makers’ horses and all the king-makers’men cannot defeat an honest tea party patriot once ordinary Americans wake up.

Read about it at American Daughter.

Vote NO on Issue 2 Ohio

What is Issue 2?

Issue 2 is a ballot issue that Ohio voters will decide tomorrow, in the November 3, 2009 general election. The issue proposes an amendment to the Ohio Constitution that addresses the care of livestock in Ohio.

The ads are even more confusing than issue 3, sometimes making the same argument for and against. But having worked in the agriculture library for three and a half years and the veterinary medicine library for fourteen (yes, I know that's strange for a Russian major, Spanish/History minor), I'm very, very familiar with the animal rights organizations and agribusiness. Either way, I smell a rat. There is absolutely no need for this. All areas of agriculture and animal health are extremely regulated both for safety and health of humans and animals. No one needs to amend the Constitution for this any more than they need to amend the Constitution to fix sidewalks, repair sewers, or build wind mills.

It's important to remember--there is no definition for "family farm." Not in the dictionary, not in the state constitution. It's just a useful tool for advertising and can mean anything you want it to mean.

The Ohio Department of Agriculture already has the authority to do all the things this newly created board is supposed to do.

Ohio is well covered by animal cruelty laws.

No other state in the nation has anything like this, not even wacko California.

See "Legal Questions and Answers about Issue 2,
The Ohio Livestock Care Standards Board Ballot Issue"

Business Reply University of Illinois Foundation

Faculty Profile

The best and the brightest? Who?

"I don’t actually remember anyone accusing Obama’s team of being the best and brightest. I do remember one calling himself a Communist, another saying in public that Mao was her favorite philosopher, and another being Joe Biden. They were last seen picking a fight with Fox News that everyone agrees was idiotic, and getting in another public fight with their own handpicked general over the strategy they announced earlier this year." Dave Price at The blog formerly known as. . . commenting on Ted Sorenson's article

If you lived in the 60s, I guess all wars are Vietnam. Does anyone remember we abandoned our allies and sent millions to their deaths?

Isn't this how we got this mess?

Putting people into mortgages who couldn't afford them? And have you seen the fraud in the first period?

Administration Calls on Congress to Approve Key Housing Measures

"WASHINGTON, DC – Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan called on Congress to approve three important measures to improve housing and the housing market for Americans: extension of the First Time Homebuyers Tax Credit for a limited period, extension of higher loan limits for home mortgages, and secure funding for the Housing Trust Fund.

"We welcome efforts taken by Congress to extend the First Time Homebuyers Tax Credit for a limited period. This credit has brought new families into the housing market and contributed to three consecutive months of rising home prices nationwide," said Secretaries Geithner and Donovan. "In extending the credit, we urge Congress to include strict measures to combat tax fraud and protect responsible homeowners. We also urge Congress to act swiftly to extend the loan limits that currently apply to most mortgages, helping make rates more affordable for middle-class families. Finally, we will work with Congress to identify a financing source for the Housing Trust Fund, which will help provide decent housing for families hardest hit by the current economic downturn."

"These three measures will help support our efforts to stabilize the housing market by providing support for the recovery in housing prices, keeping mortgage rates low, and helping people who can afford their homes to avoid foreclosure," said Secretary Geithner.

HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan said, "These three measures provide comprehensive support to our recovering housing market and continued access to affordable housing. While extending the tax credit and higher loan limits will help promote homeownership, funding the Housing Trust Fund will provide assistance to renter households impacted by the economic crisis." " from U.S. Department of the Treasury, October, 29, 2009

It feels good to be a victim

AlfonZo has another one. Rapping about victicrats.

HT Michelle Malkin