The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

Remind Me Again Why The Income Tax Is A Good Idea?

Posted on | February 22, 2012 | 13 Comments

by Smitty

Looking at “Obama approaches the key 50% mark” at Legal Insurrection, I’m wondering: given all the class warfare grief it brings on, as well as the opportunity for graft, what is the argument in favor of the temporary income tax again?

It’s not like taxing income is some key input to balancing a budget. We no longer have serious budget input from the executive, or input at all from the Senate. And even in the old days when we had budgets, it’s not like any party in power really balanced them–I’m not sure Newt’s claims to have balanced the budget aren’t delivered without significant mental gymnastics. Let’s say the budget isn’t balanced in any over-all, common sense sort of way.

So, other than keeping a few thousand IRS agents off the street, and the ‘industry’ that’s grown up in tracking the Byzantine hijinks of the tax code, just what is this monstrosity doing for us, again?

One of my most productive days was throwing away 1000 lines of code.
Ken Thompson

Load the shotguns and start pumping rounds into this tax code, say I. Its undead existence cannot continue.

Category: Taxes

LIVE AT FIVE – 02.22.12

Posted on | February 22, 2012 | 2 Comments

— compiled by Wombat-socho


TOP NEWS
Administration To Propose Lowering Corporate Tax Rate To 28%

TurboTax Timmy mugs for the cameras

“Loopholes” and “subsidies” to be eliminated

Carney Says Assad’s Actions “Demand Response”
More mush from the wimps; arming the resistance “hinted at”

Kabul Embassy On Lockdown As Zealots Continue To Freak Out
Rioting over burned Korans continues



POLITICS
Santorum On The Attack: Blasts Obama’s Motives And Intentions

Rick Santorum says the Pledge of Allegiance at the Maricopa County Lincoln Day luncheon

Rips Obama on competence; accuses President of being concerned more about power than people

Supremes To Hear College Admissions Case, Consider Racial Preferences



Prop 8 Backers Ask 9th Circuit To Reconsider

Evangelist Franklin Graham Questions Christianity Of Obama, Romney

Santorum Criticizes Drudge Report Item On 2008 Speech

Christie Proposes $32.1 Billion Budget For NJ, Tells Buffett To Shut Up



THE ECONOMY, STUPID
Gold Steady Off Two-Week High; Greece Still A Concern
Oil Trades Near Nine-Month High As Iran Tension Counters Economy
Eurozone Crisis Live: Greece Braced For Bailout Riots
Dow Jones Touches 13,000 But Can’t Hold On
J&J CEO Weldon To Retire
Kraft Profit Up 54% Thanks To North America
Cordray Announces Probe Into Bank Overdrafts
Peugeot, GM In Alliance Talks
Watchdog Rebukes Fannie, Freddie On Legal Bills
30-Year Treasuries Fall For Fifth Day
Sony Playstation Vita Launches
Sorry, Playbook 2.0 Still Isn’t Worth Your Money
New Nook Tablet Steps Into Kindle Fire Territory
Google’s AR Glasses To Hit Market This Year?
Cisco: We’re Not Trying To Dump Our Set-Top Box Business
Microsoft Denies Office For iPad Report



SPORTS
#1 Kentucky Survives Scare From Mississippi State

Kentucky guard Darius Miller guards the Bulldogs' Rodney Hood in the second half

Down 41-28 at halftime, the Wildcats roar back in the second half to pull out 73-64 win

Blazers Crush Undermanned Spurs 137-97

Coyotes Eye Playoff Slot, And More



Hype Already at Height As Heat Await Linsanity

Seton Hall Upsets #9 Georgetown, 73-55

NFL Concussion Fallout Raises Red Flags In NASCAR

Pens Stifle Sputtering Rangers 2-0

Bobby Valentine Takes BoSox Pitchers Back To Basics

Bryce Harper Wants To Give Nationals A Tough Decision



FAMOUS FOR BEING FAMOUS
Is Drew Barrymore Expecting?

Drew Barrymore and fiance Will Kopelman

Jumping into marriage and motherhood?

Adele Gesture Sours Brit Awards Success

Brit Press Gets Verklempt Over Duchess’ Dog



Megan Fox Reveals Muscular Bikini Body

Jennifer Aniston Finds Nude Scenes Liberating

“Heroes” Alum Milo Ventimiglia To Star In TNT Pilot “L.A. Noir”

Eliza Dushku On Vacation



FOREIGNERS
Kevin Rudd Quits As Aussie Foreign Minister
Gunfire Wounds 26 In Afghan Protests Over Koran Burning
Reports: Two Western Journalists Killed In Syria
UN Nuke Official: No Way Forward With Iran
Norks Call Seoul Nuclear Summit A “Childish Farce”
Strauss-Kahn Faces New Questions After A Night In Jail
Cancer Recurrence To Derail Chavez Reelection Bid?
Uighurs Protest As PRC’s Xi Visits Turkey
Azerbaijan Security Busts Pro-Iranian Group



BLOGS & STUFF
Sister Toldjah: Where’s The Lefty Outrage Over Obama Using Christianity As A Basis For Policy?
Rich Lowry: The Effrontery Of Rick Santorum
The Sundries Shack: Romney’s Plan – No Spending Cuts. No Tax Reform. No Bueno.
Protein Wisdom: Gallup – Women Give Santorum 10-Point Lead Over Romney
William McGurn: Sex, Lies, And Rick Santorum
Atlas Shrugs: OWS Letter To The Editor Says “We Will Storm Wall Street With Guns”
Babalu: Chavez To Employ More Castro Care
Israel Matzav: Robert Wright And A Nuclear Iran
The Lonely Conservative: Carney Blames GOP For Obama Nixing Keystone XL Pipeline
Rush Limbaugh: Obama Wants High Gas Prices
Contentions: Ultrasounds Already Part Of Planned Parenthood Abortion Procedure In Virginia
Tina Korbe: The Left’s Outrageous Outrage At Ultrasounds Revisited
Weasel Zippers: Americans’ Satisfaction With Country’s Direction Worst Since Jimmy Carter
Jeffery Lord: Is Media Matters Obama’s Watergate?


SOTD: Sloth

Category: Live at Five

Franklin County, Ohio, GOP E-Mail Encourages Volunteers for Romney

Posted on | February 21, 2012 | 18 Comments

When I was first told about this, I could scarcely believe it, but the e-mail was forwarded to me by an Ohio Republican:

From: Doug Preisse and Brad Sinnott
Date: Fri, Feb 17, 2012
Subject: Volunteer Opportunities for Mitt Romney
To: [Redacted]

Dear Fellow Republican,
We here at the Franklin County Republican Party are committed to informing you about opportunities to learn more about or get involved with the various presidential campaigns. As we receive information from the campaigns and requests to pass information along, we will do so.
The Romney campaign has recently asked us to inform supporters about volunteer opportunities with their efforts for Ohio’s March 6 Primary:

Get Involved With The Mitt Romney Campaign!
The Ohio primary is only a few weeks away and Mitt Romney needs your help.
If you are interested in volunteering or getting more information about the campaign in your neighborhood, please call or email, Andrew Vila at
(904) 210-7048 [email protected]
Want to learn more about Governor Mitt Romney, his family, and his plan to put this Country back to work? Click here to see his website.
Sincerely,

Doug Preisse
Chairman, Executive Committee

Brad Sinnott
Chairman, Central Committee

– – – –

The person who sent this to me said it is “the only candidate-based email I have seen from the FCRP.” So it would appear that these officers of the Franklin County GOP are using their official e-mail list to solicit volunteers for exactly one candidate, and expecting recipients to believe that none of the other campaigns have bothered to ask Priesse and Sinnott for similar aid.

And we all believe that, don’t we?

Category: Election 2012, Mitt Romney, Ohio

You Should Only Vote Against The GOP Nominee If Your Name Is Pyrrhus

Posted on | February 21, 2012 | 23 Comments

by Smitty

I don’t care if Ron “How About My Idiotic Newsletters?” Paul takes the GOP nomination: as you care about your country, you really want to support the GOP nominee.

Two words to those who’d speak otherwise: “Judicial Nominees”. The thought of #OccupyResoluteDesk plucking a couple more wise female softballers from his. . .back pocket should give you pause. Aren’t you projectile vomiting ill at the idea of hearing Yet Another Progressive Nitwit go before the Senate, swear to respect our Constitution as written, and then proceed to treat it like Rosanne Barr treats music?

To paraphrase the famous South Park jingle,

Let’s get out and vote,
Let your voices now be heard,
We are going to embrace a douche,
To retire incumbent turd. . .

The three viable candidates are all variations on the theme of big government. Our best effort is to keep the nominee’s feet firmly fast to the fire, knowing that PROGRESSIVISM DELENDA EST, and the Tea Partiers aren’t fannying about.

This statist pit wasn’t dug in less than a century; conservatives have to play the patient game, go to battle with the meat puppets we’ve got, and play the long, anti-Gramsci game. Temper tantrums about this or that candidate are unhelpful; they all suck. We suck. Get over it, and fight on, as you cherish your liberty.

Update: linked by That Mr. G. Guy

Category: Bill Quick, Election 2012

Radtke To Issa: WTF, IRS?

Posted on | February 21, 2012 | 11 Comments

by Smitty

To summarize Radtke, “Why The Flagellation?“:

U.S. Senate candidate Jamie Radtke has asked the Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform to launch a formal investigation into abusive actions by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) toward Tea Party and Patriot organizations.
On Friday, Radtke sent a letter to Congressman Darrell Issa describing IRS actions toward conservative organizations currently seeking IRS non-profit status as “an assault by the Internal Revenue Service on Tea Party and Patriot groups.” As an example, Radtke mentioned the plight of Richmond Tea Party, which applied for 501(c)(4) non-profit status more than two years ago. After waiting two and a half years for approval, the IRS recently communicated a new set of overly-burdensome and invasive demands for information that exceed the scope of the IRS code.
Radtke told Issa she is familiar with other groups that are having similar experiences with the IRS. Radtke wrote, “There is a pattern of IRS activity toward Tea Party and Patriot organizations that includes unwarranted delays and overly burdensome information requests that divert the energy and resources of those groups from their missions. This behavior chills the exercise of free speech and free association by the groups’ members and supporters.”

Jamie is a true Tea Party warrior. While still carrying a great deal of respect for George Allen, I can’t say that George has connected with the conservative base as well as Jamie.

I have heard Radtke speak, and her command of the detail on the issues is enough to send wee Timmy Kane running to hide behind momma. Truly an impressive lady, Jamie Radtke. About the only question I have is whether Issa should take time away from Fast & Furious to go after the IRS.

Jamie Radtke for Senate

Category: Tea Party, Virginia

Memo From the National Affairs Desk: Meanwhile, Back on the Campaign Trail …

Posted on | February 21, 2012 | 19 Comments

Since I returned home from Florida three weeks ago, people have been going nuts, and the stress of being caught in the middle of the escalating insanity is undermining my health. (The sniffles haven’t turned into pneumonia yet, but I’m still worried.) This means there’s only one thing to do: Road trip.

Get back on the campaign trail, where at least the internecine hatred and madness are supposed to serve some political purpose.

My hope had been to attend Wednesday night’s debate in Arizona, but the travel plans didn’t work out. So the backup plan is now in effect: I’m renting a car and driving to Michigan, with a planned stop-over in Ohio. This should be the start of a two-week excursion that carries me all the way through Super Tuesday, March 6. I’m not sure exactly where I’ll be going during this trip, except that I hope I won’t be going crazy, which is what might happen if I sat around here for the next two weeks.

In all honesty, I had expected that by the time we finished the Florida primary — the end of my extended 37-day campaign expedition that began the day after Christmas — there would be some kind of clarity in the GOP primary campaign. But Mitt won Florida, then Newt melted down in Nevada, then Rick Santorum won a hat-trick on Feb. 7 and, at this point, we’re starting to hear serious discussions of a “brokered convention.”

Lord, help us!

Good News: Santorum has an 11-point lead in Washington State, which votes on March 3 (the Saturday before Super Tuesday) and if he can hold on to that, Santorum stands a good chance of emerging as the winner at Tampa.

More Good News: William McGurn of the Wall Street Journal is defending Santorum against the “extremism” attack. That should help re-assure Republican donors, who are prone to freaking out about stuff like that.

Now, if only we can avoid more lunacy among those of my friends who are either trying to destroy each other, or else trying to destroy me, maybe we can finally get some resolution in this seemingly endless GOP primary campaign which is, I suspect, at the root of this epidemic outbreak of psychodrama within the conservative online community.

Whether or not my blogger friends can stop gnawing at each others’ necks, I’m going to hit the road and try to go cover some actual news, which will have the therapeutic effect of:

A. Distracting me from the online insanity; and
B. Giving me the mental health benefit of driving the highways at high speed, an enormous stress-reliever.

Right now, I’m going to go take a nap and ask you, please, dear readers: Hit the tip jar! 

UPDATE: Is the Drudge Report working for Romney? Or could it be that Satan is really out to get us?

 

 

RECENTLY:

Category: Election 2012, Michigan, Ohio, Rick Santorum, Shoe Leather Fund

Campaign Cash Shows Unsustainable ‘Burn Rate’ for Romney and Gingrich

Posted on | February 21, 2012 | 21 Comments

Why is Rick Santorum surging in national polls and leading in key primary states? A big part of the explanation is that, during the long months when he campaigned relentlessly despite low poll numbers and a lack of major media attention, Santorum’s operation developed a resourcefulness that his rivals don’t have.

Necessity is the mother of invention, and the low-budget Santorum campaign — which kept going throughout 2011 on a mere $2.2 million — was required to find ways to build a successful grassroots organization without the big money other Republican candidates were collecting.

Now that he is starting to look like a winner, serious money is coming in. My estimate is that the Santorum campaign got more than $5 million in the week following his Feb. 7 “trifecta” wins in Missouri, Minnesota and Colorado. The thrifty habits of the Santorum operation enable them to extract maximum value from their contributions, and an ABC News report about the GOP campaign finance report for January highlights Santorum’s advantage:

Rick Santorum for President
Raised: $4.51 million
Spent: $3.32 million
Cash on hand Jan. 1: $279k
Cash on hand Jan. 31: $1.47 million
Debts/obligations: $0

Romney for President Inc.
Raised: $6.54 million
Spent: $18.78 million
Cash on hand Jan. 1: $19.92 million
Cash on hand Jan. 31: $7.68 million
Debts/obligations: $0

Newt 2012
Raised: $5.59 million
Spent: $5.91 million
Cash on hand Jan. 1: $2.11 million
Cash on hand Jan. 31: $1.79 million
Debts/obligations: $1.73 million

In January, Gingrich spent everything he raised, and more, and finished the month with debts nearly equal to his cash-on-hand figure. Newt’s campaign was essentially broke after the Florida primary Jan. 31.

Meanwhile, Romney’s campaign had a negative “burn rate” — they spent more than they took in — to the tune of $12 million. And as Allahpundit noted in an item I linked in the headlines, for Romney to report a mere $7.7 cash-on-hand total as of Jan. 31 is very bad news for Team Mitt.

Ask your seventh-grader to do this math problem: If your spending exceeds your income by a margin of $12 million a month, how many days will $7.7 million last?

If the only way Romney wins primaries is when he can bury his opponents in an overwhelming avalanche of attack ads, his ability to win primaries may be nearly exhausted.

Of course, the pro-Romney “super PAC” entered February with a fat $16.3 million in the bank, but even his super PAC had a negative “burn rate,” spending more than twice as much in January ($13.9 million) as they collected in contributions ($6.6 million).

What does this mean? Right now, the Romney campaign is trying to hold on in his home state of Michigan with another one of its customary attack-ad blitzes against Rick Santorum, but Team Mitt can’t spend the kind of money now that they spent against Gingrich in December and January. Yet even if Romney can manage to win Michigan, his campaign may be headed toward a serious financial crunch before the “Super Tuesday” primaries in March.

Thus, when you look at the campaign cash numbers, the chatter about Romney’s “electability” is much less plausible, Sheldon Adelson’s big bets on Gingrich look like wasted money, and the fact that Santorum is gaining new “super-PAC” donors may be far more significant than it appears. Despite everything, Romney may yet prevail, but as we enter February’s final week — on the eve of Wednesday’s debate in Arizona — he certainly is no longer “inevitable.”


Category: Arizona, Election 2012, Michigan, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum

In Apologizing for Global Warming Hoax, Peter Gleick Blames His Victims

Posted on | February 21, 2012 | 35 Comments

The Heartland Institute was vicitimized by global warming fanatics who published stolen documents and at least one forged document in their attempts to portray the Institute as dishonest.

One of the central figures in this criminal hoax was Peter Gleick of the Pacific Institute, who uses the Huffington Post to offer an excuse:

My judgment was blinded by my frustration with the ongoing efforts — often anonymous, well-funded, and coordinated — to attack climate science and scientists and prevent this debate, and by the lack of transparency of the organizations involved. Nevertheless I deeply regret my own actions in this case. I offer my personal apologies to all those affected.

“It’s not my fault!” The end justify the means: The alleged evil of their opponents excuses any shoddy smear Gleick and his allies may perpetrate against them. And despite their admitted amorality, they wonder why we doubt their claims to “science”?

Permit a brief digression: For the past few weeks, my bedtime reading has been Robert Service’s Trotsky: A Biography. One of the last major works that Trotsky published was Their Morality and Ours: The Moralists and Sycophants Against Marxism. This was the exiled Bolshevik’s defense of revolutionary ruthlessness, in which he declared that the proletariat “must be completely free from the fictions of religion, ‘democracy’ and transcendental morality — the spiritual chains forged by the enemy.”

Think about that for a moment, and then remember that within two years of publishing that booklet, Trotsky got an ice-ax in the skull from KGB assassin Ramon Mercader, an agent of Stalin who was, needless to say, “completely free from the fictions of religion,” etc.

Once you begin to believe that the success of the Cause justifies deceit and theft, how long until you begin making excuses for other crimes committed on behalf of the Cause? I do not accuse Peter Gleick and his fellow fanatics of any Stalinist ambitions, but when we see them engaged in Stalinist methods — publishing forged documents to smear their critics — aren’t we justified in suspecting that they are not otherwise honest?

UPDATE: Linked by Da Tech Guy, Moose and Squirrel, Transterrestrial Musings, The Conservatory and Pirate’s Cove— thanks! — and welcome, Instapundit readers!

UPDATE II: Now a Memeorandum thread.

Category: Global Warming
« go back — keep looking »

    About

    This is an area on your website where you can add text. This will serve as an informative location on your website, where you can talk about your site.

    Subscribe to our feed

    Search

    Admin