Monday, October 13, 2008

The Corner on National Review Online

The Corner on National Review Online:
"As for the 'old' vs the 'new' McCain, I've had little use for either.......Clearly, he's found it difficult (to put it mildly) to make the transition from running against his party to running for it. There's a lesson there: 'Maverick' is an attitude, not a coherent worldview, which is why McCain has been unable to make maverickiness (maverectomy?) into a viable electoral platform. Of course, 'hope' and 'change' are attitudes, too, but so fluffy as to float free of the constraints of reality."

BARONE: The coming liberal thugocracy

BARONE: The coming liberal thugocracy: "These attempts to shut down political speech have become routine for liberals."

Liberal Outrage: A Pro-McCain March In Manhattan

The MSM templet of GOP hate and liberal love precludes this video from inclusion on TV.

Middle class finds itself buried in debt

Middle class finds itself buried in debt
"Like a lot of bankruptcy filers, Berthet, a 51-year-old Dearborn Heights resident, saw his problems mount not from a profligate lifestyle but from simple misfortune linked with perhaps too-easy credit."

The general MSM consensus is that debtors aren't at fault.
Sort of like they have a disease buy don't have health insurance.
And now they need wealth insurance,,,,,,,,

Detroit Free Press front page bullet points:

Steps to keep borrowing costs down
Standard of living squeezing middle class
Wealthy people still seeing incomes soar
Cheaper care is across border
More on our falling standard of living
Videos: How Americans are coping with a reduced standard of living

All negative. America a disaster. Rich getting richer. Mexico even better!

Paul Krugman Wins the Nobel Economics Prize - WSJ.com

Paul Krugman Wins the Nobel Economics Prize
"American Paul Krugman won the Nobel economics prize on Monday for his analysis of trade patterns and location of economic activity.
Mr. Krugman, born in 1953, and a professor at Princeton University in New Jersey and a columnist for The New York Times, formulated a new theory to answer questions about free trade, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said.
'What are the effects of free trade and globalization? What are the driving forces behind worldwide urbanization? Paul Krugman has formulated a new theory to answer these questions,': the academy said in its citation. 'He has thereby integrated the previously disparate research fields of international trade and economic geography,' it said."

The final dumbing down of a once great Nobel institution?
Probably not the final dumbing....

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Michelle Malkin » Crush the Obamedia narrative: Look who’s “gripped by insane rage”

Crush the Obamedia narrative: Look who’s “gripped by insane rage”
"The Obamedia is attempting to set yet another false narrative: The narrative of the McCain “mob.” McCain-Palin rallies are out of control, they wheedle. Conservatives are mad! They’re yelling mean things about Obama and calling him names! It’ scaaaaary!"

JammieWearingFool

JammieWearingFool: "While the media obsesses over a couple of isolated comments at McCain/Palin rallies, the angry left is busy throwing Molotov cocktails at McCain supporters."

GOP frets about McCain's strategy, prospects

GOP frets about McCain's strategy, prospects: "Several Republicans, who spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid angering McCain, said the campaign should have sought to plant doubts about Obama's associations with 1960s-era radical William Ayers and others months ago, rather than waiting until the campaign's final weeks. Doing so now, they said, makes the 72-year-old McCain come off as angry, grouchy and desperate, playing into Democrats' hands."

Saturday, October 11, 2008

Granholm says Michigan must 'ride out' tough times #2

Granholm says Michigan must 'ride out' tough times
"Turmoil on Wall Street should abate once the presidential election signals what direction the next administration will take on economic policy, Gov. Jennifer Granholm said Friday."

..."Although not anticipating the recent market free-fall, Granholm said her administration made cautious revenue estimates for the current budget and is continuing tight-fisted policies on hiring and spending.
The budget should have a small surplus at the end of the year, "but we are still going to be extremely conservative in how we operate," she said.
Granholm said the Michigan Economic Development Corp. would provide a $400,000 grant in support of the partnership between Mariah Power, based in Reno, Nev
., and Manistee-based MasTech Manufacturing LLC.
Mariah produces the Windspire, a 30-foot-high, vertical-axis wind turbine that sells for $5,000 each and can produce enough power to meet 25 percent of the typical home's needs. The company next year will release another model designed to provide 100 percent of the average home's energy, CEO Mike Hess said."

"tight-fisted"?????

Granholm says Michigan must 'ride out' tough times

Granholm says Michigan must 'ride out' tough times
"That makes it all the more important to continue promoting industries such as wind power, she said while announcing a partnership that will mass produce wind turbines in Manistee for home and business use.
'For Michigan, this is the long-term strategy,' Granholm said.
The Democratic governor has made alternative energy the centerpiece of a push to diversify a state economy long dependent on automobile manufacturing. Disclosures that GM may announce more plant closings and production cuts next week provided a fresh reminder of that linkage."

None of the "new" business sell a product that has buyers unless the product price is subsidized..... by us taxpayers in Michigan.

None of these businesses would even be in business if we taxpayers in Michigan didn't subsidize their existance.

They pay ZERO net taxes to our state.

Just another Ponzi scheme that will collapse as soon as the publice scam money runs out.

Friday, October 10, 2008

elementary particle jokes

The Volokh Conspiracy
"Lightening Up:
A genre of humor of which I was previously unaware (courtesy of my daughter):
elementary particle jokes.

So a neutron walked into a bar and says, 'i'd like a beer, please.' And the bartender gives him one and the neutron says, 'thanks, how much?' and the bartender says, 'For you? No charge.'

So one ion runs into another ion and says, 'Hey, can you help me? I think I lost an electron.' And the second ion says, 'Wow, are you sure?' and the first one says, 'Yeah, I'm positive!'
28 Comments"

Sorry, Dad, I'm Voting for Obama - The Daily Beast

Sorry, Dad, I'm Voting for Obama
"The son of William F. Buckley has decided—shock!—to vote for a Democrat.
Let me be the latest conservative/libertarian/whatever to leap onto the Barack Obama bandwagon. It’s a good thing my dear old mum and pup are no longer alive. They’d cut off my allowance."

Holy shirt!

Thursday, October 09, 2008

Most area school buses pass safety inspections

Most area school buses pass safety inspections
"Of Muskegon Heights' 11 buses, four were given red tags and seven passed. The school district's transportation supervisor could not be reached for comment."

Wednesday, October 08, 2008

American Thinker Blog: Archives prove Obama was a New Party member

American Thinker Blog: Archives prove Obama was a New Party member: "Fusion, fortunately for the country, died in 1997. William Rehnquist, writing for a 6-3 Supreme Court, found the concept was not a protected constitutional right. It was two years too late to stop Obama.

Obama's career bears many signs of being helped along by the radical left. At the critical moment when he entered electoral politics, he was part of a movement to take over an established political party and direct it to the task of building a socialist America."

Interesting!

Panzerschiffe


Nifty WW2 German ship site.

Congress mulls major 401(k) changes


Congress mulls major 401(k) changes
"A wide range of sweeping changes to the 401(k) system were proposed Tuesday at a hearing on how the market crisis has devastated retirement savings plans.
Chief among them was eliminating $80 billion in tax savings for higher-income people enrolled in 401(k) retirement savings plans.
This was suggested by the chairman of the House Committee on Education and Labor.
“With respect to the 401(k), it appears to be a plan that is not really well-devised for the changes in the market,” Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., said."

And just who are those "higher income people" who will lose their 401k and Roth IRA promises from our wonderful government?

Investment advice in a time of angst


As some of you may know, old Gordo has decades of experience in the investment world.

As a novice investor, stock broker and the new moniker, "financial advisor".

Now a retiree, I have fiscal and physical health recommendations for all of you.

I want to give al the visitors of MuskegonPundit my best advice concerning the stock market collapse AND some timely health advice.

When your monthly September statement from your 401k or brokerage account arrives, do this:
1. Do not open the envelope.
2. If you access your account via the web, change your password AND login name to something you will never remember...... until notified by GordoM.
3. If you receive your statement via mail, do NOT open the reverse, sticky side of you envelope.
4. Take your monthly statement (in the unopened envelope) to your shredder.
5. Shred the ENTIRE statement AND unopened envelope.
6. Take a breath, have a drink.
7. Repeat as often as necessary until notified by GordoM.

GordoM-rarely-offers-advice-so-do-this-NOW

Why Did The Chicken Cross The Road?


Why Did The Chicken Cross The Road?
"GEORGE W. BUSH:
We don’t really care why the chicken crossed the road. We just want to know if the chicken is on our side of the road, or not. The chicken is either against us, or for us. There is no middle ground here.
COLIN POWELL:
Now to the left of the screen, you can clearly see the satellite image of the chicken crossing the road…
ANDERSON COOPER - CNN:
We have reason to believe there is a chicken, but we have not yet been allowed to have access to the other side of the road.
JOHN KERRY:
Although I voted to let the chicken cross the road, I am now against it! It was the wrong road to cross, and I was misled about the chicken’s intentions. I am not for it now, and will remain against it.
NANCY GRACE:
That chicken crossed the road because he’s GUILTY! You can see it in his eyes and the way he walks."

READ IT ALL!
Too funny!

Cox presses for more openness in state government

Cox presses for more openness in state government
"Attorney General Mike Cox wants Michigan residents to be a click away from learning how state government spends every tax dollar and is pushing for a Web site to make that possible.
Cox and three state representatives touted more 'transparent' government during a brief press conference today in Detroit.
With the state fiscal year starting this week, Cox said residents should be able to see how Michigan will spend an estimated $42 billion."

Brave man!
Excellent idea!

‘Mail Goggles' might prevent regrets



"Here's the scenario: It's Friday night, and what began as an innocent happy-hour margarita morphed into a few pitchers. After all, those tacos were salty.
Bidding friends adieu, you jump in a cab, head home and decide a quick e-mail check is in order. And there it is: a message from your ex. Or your boss. Or that friend you're secretly mad at.
If you're the kind of person who types tipsy and regrets it in the morning, Google's Mail Goggles, a new test-phase feature in the free Gmail service, might save you some angst.
The Goggles can kick in late at night on weekends. The feature requires you to solve a few easy math problems in short order before hitting “send.” If your logical thinking skills are intact, Google is betting you're sober enough to work out the repercussions of sending that screed you just drafted."

Granholm named possible supreme court candidate


Granholm named possible supreme court candidate
"Gov. Jennifer Granholm is on the short list of potential supreme court nominees that could accompany a Barack Obama presidency, The Washington Post reported."
Imagine a lifetime job for Jenny......

State's foster system gets fed monitor

State's foster system gets fed monitor
"A court-appointed monitor will oversee what a federal judge on Tuesday described as a historic agreement to improve the health and safety of Michigan's 19,000 foster children.
The deal approved by U.S. District Judge Nancy G. Edmunds ends a class-action lawsuit brought in 2006 by Children's Rights, a national advocacy group based in New York, alleging Michigan's foster care system was broken and harming kids.
It also could mean $50 million a year in additional costs for cash-strapped Michigan's Department of Human Services."

Our state is bankrupt and now unelected judges are demanding we spend ANOTHER $50 million!

And yet, state spending continues to increase!

Macomb County budget cuts fail!

Macomb County budget cuts go slowly
"As the budget clock continues to tick for Macomb County to eliminate a record $33-million deficit next year, commissioners cut about $650,000 Tuesday but acknowledged they have a long way to go with little time left.

"Tuesday's cuts largely came from freezing vacant positions throughout the county.
"We're chipping away, but we still have a lot of cutting to do," Commissioner Andrey Duzyj, D-Warren, said after the Budget Committee meeting.

As the Dec. 31 deadline nears to adopt a balanced budget -- as required by law -- some commissioners expressed frustration that cuts weren't deeper.

"This deficit is not going to magically disappear," said Commissioner Peter Lund, R-Shelby Township. "We're talking about a $33-million deficit, and we cut just about 2%. That's not big enough. When are we going to find ways to save millions of dollars?"

Commissioners said after the meeting that they have no idea how they will eliminate the deficit.
The only plan to cut a significant chunk from the deficit hinges on labor unions agreeing to concessions on health care benefits for employees and retirees at a savings of $6 million.
But unions aren't budging
, and commissioners now say they doubt a new contract will be inked by Dec. 31.
That leaves commissioners, who have resisted a tax increase, with less than two months to eliminate the county's largest-ever deficit.
Commissioners are to consider plans this morning to reduce a projected $7-million subsidy next year to keep afloat the county's nursing home, Martha T. Berry Medical Care Facility in Mt. Clemens.
Fueling the budget shortfall are drops in revenue from declining property taxes and rising pension costs for some employees who can retire as young as 50 years old.

Tuesday, October 07, 2008

Dr. Seuss and the Bailout Plan

Dr. Seuss and the Bailout Plan:
"That Uncle Sam!
That Congress-man!
We do not like your bailout plan!
We do not like your taxing plan!

Should we pay so stocks don’t tank?
Should we pay for Barney Frank?"

read the rest.....funny in a scary sort of way.

Granholm signs Mich. energy package into law


Granholm signs Mich. energy package into law
"Gov. Jennifer Granholm on Monday signed into law a package that will require more electricity to come from renewable sources, raise residential rates, restrict competition among power companies and encourage energy efficiency.....
Among other provisions, the package requires that 10 percent of Michigan's power come from renewable sources by the end of 2015. More than half of U.S. states have such requirements or goals, causing concerns that the state was falling behind."

Remember Jenny when your electric and heating bills skyrocket.

Thursday, October 02, 2008

Study: Wind turbines could boost energy tenfold

Study: Wind turbines could boost energy tenfold
"Michigan could produce more than 10 times the amount of current peak electricity if nearly 100,000 offshore wind turbines operated on the Great Lakes, according to a new study."

State grant makes fluorescent bulbs cheap

State grant makes fluorescent bulbs cheap
"Starting Wednesday, about 500,000 compact fluorescent bulbs will be available for as little as 99 cents at Kroger, Meijer and Menards stores across the state. They also will be sold at Ace Hardware stores in the Lansing area and Upper Peninsula.
The bulbs are cheaper thanks in part to a state grant."

Interesting Michigan facts

MICHIGAN

Detroit is known as the car capital of the world.

Detroit's Davidson Freeway is the oldest expressway in the U.S.

Alpena is the home of the world's largest cement plant.

Rogers City boasts the world's largest limestone quarry.

Elsie is the home of the world's largest registered Holstein dairy herd.

Michigan is first in the United States production of peat and magnesium compounds and second in gypsum and iron ore.

Colon is home to the world's largest manufacture of magic supplies.

The state Capitol with its majestic dome was built in Lansing in l879.
Although Michigan is often called the ( Wolverine State ) There are no longer any wolverines in Michigan. (However, on e was spotted in 2007, so there are some.)

Michigan ranks first in state boat registrations. (This was true till two years ago. The sagging economy now has Florida a little ahead of Michigan.)

The Packard Motor Car Company in Detroit manufactured the first Air-conditioned car in 1939.

The oldest county (based on date of incorporation) is Wayne in 1815.

Sault Ste. Marie was founded by Father Jacques Marquette in 1668. It is the Third oldest remaining settlement in the United States.

In 1817 the University of Michigan was the first university established by any of the states.
It was founded by priests. Originally named Cathelepistemian and located in Detroit, the name was changed in 1821. The university moved to Ann Arbor in 1841
.
The city of Novi was named from its designation as Stagecoach Stop #6, or No.VI.

Michigan State University has the largest single campus student body of any Michigan university.
It is the largest institution of higher learning in the state and one of the largest universities in the country. Michigan State University was founded in 1855 as the nation's first land-grant university and served as the prototype for 69 land-grant institutions later established under the Morrill Act of 1862. It was t he first institution of higher learning in the nation to teach scientific agriculture.

The largest village in Michigan is Caro.

Michigan's state stone, The Petoskey is the official state stone. It is found along the shores of Lake Michigan.

The Mackinac Bridge is one of the longest suspension bridges in the world. Connecting the upper
and lower peninsulas of Michigan. It spans 5 miles over the Straits of Mackinac, which is where Lake Michigan and Lake Huron meet. The Mighty Mac took 3 years to complete and was opened to traffic in 1957.

Gerald R. Ford grew up in Grand Rapids and became the 38th president of the United States . He attended the University of Michigan where he was a football star. He served on a World War II aircraft carrier and afterward represented Michigan in Congress for 24 years. He was also an Eagle Scout, the highest rank in Boy Scouts.

The Kellogg Company has made Battle Creek the Cereal Capital of the World. The Kellogg brothers accidentally discovered the process for producing flaked cereal products and sparked the beginning of the dry cereal industry.

The painted turtle is Michigan's state reptile.

The western shore of Michigan has many sand dunes. The Sleeping Bear Dunes rise 460 feet above Lake Michigan. Living among the dunes is the dwarf lake iris the official state wildflower.

Vernor's ginger ale was created in Detroit and became the first soda pop made in the United
States. In 1862, pharmacist James Vernor was trying to create a new beverage when he was called away to serve our country in the Civil War. When he returned, 4 years later, the drink he had stored in an oak case had acquired a delicious gingery flavor.

The Detroit Zoo was the first zoo in America to feature cageless, open-exhibits that allowed the animals more freedom to roam.

Michigan is the only place in the world with a floating post office. The J. W. Westcott II is the only boat in the world that delivers mail to ships while they are still underway. They have been operating for 125 years.

Indian River is the home of the largest crucifix in the world. It is called the Cross in the Woods.

Michigan has the longest freshwater shoreline in the world.

Michigan has more shoreline than any other state except Alaska.

The Ambassador Bridge was named by Joseph Bower, the person credited with making the bridge
a reality, who thought the name ( Detroit-Windsor International Bridge ) as too long and lacked emotional appeal. Bower wanted to symbolize the visible expression of friendship of two peoples with like Ideas and ideals.

Michigan has more than 11,000 inland lakes and more than 36,000 miles of streams.

Michigan has 116 lighthouses and navigational lights.

Seul Choix Point Lighthouse in Gulliver has been guiding ships since 1895. The working light also functions as a museum, which houses Early 1900's furnishings and maritime artifacts.

Forty of the state's 83 counties adjoin at least one of the Great Lakes . Michigan is the only state that touches four of the five Great Lakes.

Standing anywhere in the state a person is within 85 miles of one of the Great Lakes.

Michigan includes 56,954 square miles of land area; 1,194 square miles of inland waters; and 38,575 square miles of Great Lakes water area.

Sault Ste. Marie was established in 1668 making it the oldest town between the Alleghenies and the Rockies.
Michigan was the first state to provide in its Constitution for the establishment of public libraries.

Michigan was the first state to guarantee every child the right to tax-paid high school education.

Four flags have flown over Michigan - French, English, Spanish and United States.

Isle Royal Park shelters one of the largest moose herds remaining in the United States.

Some of the longest bulk freight carriers in the world operate on the Great Lakes. Ore carriers 1,000 feet long sail Michigan's inland seas.

The Upper Michigan Copper Country is the largest commercial deposit of native copper in the world.

The 19 chandeliers in the Capitol in Lansing are one of a kind and designed especially for the building by Tiffany's of New York . Weighing between 800-900 pounds apiece they are composed of copper, iron and pewter.

The first auto traffic tunnel built between two nations was the mile-long Detroit-Windsor tunnel under the Detroit River.

The world's first international submarine railway tunnel was opened between Port Huron,
Michigan, and Sarnia, Ontario, Canada in 1891.

The nation's first regularly scheduled air passage service began operation between Grand Rapids and Detroit in 1926.

In 1879 Detroit telephone customers were first in the nation to be assigned phone numbers to facilitate handling calls.

In 1929, the Michigan State Police established the first state police radio system in the world.

Grand Rapids is home to the 24-foot Leonardo da Vinci horse, called Il Gavallo. It is the largest equestrian bronze sculpture in the Western Hemisphere.

Was that interesting or what ?

Wednesday, October 01, 2008

Analysis: Fact-Checkers Fall Short in Criticizing NRA's Anti-Obama Ads

Analysis: Fact-Checkers Fall Short in Criticizing NRA's Anti-Obama Ads
"But what are the facts? Were the NRA ads this bad? How accurate are the fact checkers? FactCheck.org, which is regularly relied on by FOX News, had the longest critical discussion of the ads. Here is a review of their most critical comments."

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

No bidders?

The talk of the federal "bailout" perplexes me.

Why do "we" need a federal bailout?

I don't get the illiquidity of the giant mortgage pools.

They're not illiquid at all.

The owners of the mortgage pools simply want more money for the pools than the market will pay.

My proof?

I'll offer $100 (CASH) for every $10 billion of "illiquid" bunch of mortgages the wizards of wall street can't sell.
Maybe Warren Buffet would outbid me, probably.

But my point is that there ARE bidders for these mortgages but the sellers (Wall Street crooks) want more money than anyone will pay. More money than they are currently worth.

And they think they can con us dopey taxpayers into paying our tax dollars to buy their crappy investments for far more than they are worth.

Much like homeowners who say "my house is worth $xxxx and I won't sell it for anything less".

The difference is that dufus homeowners can't get innocent taxpayers to bail them out.

Wall street crooks can....maybe......

Only if our elected politicians allow it.

And only if we voters let them do it to us again.