Yet Another Reason To Cancel Your Ryerson Rag Subscription

It seems the leftwing Gannett droids at the Indianapolis Star never give up on their march towards the left (and irrelevancy).

The campaign manager wrote a letter to the editor with a response to the Star's endorsement of (and free advertisement for) his Democrat opponent. Who doesn't seem to have money for rent much less a congressional campaign.

The Star initially agreed to published the letter until "Superior editors" - in other words likely Denny himself - spiked it.

Hoosier Access has the letter in its entirety.

Obama's Chicago

One wonders who really will be the Emperor and who will be the Servant in a potential President Barack Hussein Obama administration. I've had the sinking feeling that Obama was King Richard II's pawn in the grand scheme that is Chicago politics and King Richard II is about to find himself within the circle of influence on a worldwide scale. The same King Richard II whose father ran the city of Chicago from 1955 until his death in 1976. The same King Richard II whose city boasts the highest taxes of any city in the United States, including New York. Whose city also has the highest crime rates among large cities in the United States but continually blames it on firearms.

He disarmed the citizenry, so that only leaves the criminals with the firearms. And this accomplishes what?

Though I have my ideological differences with Gary Welsh on some issues, this time he hits the nail squarely on the head. It's worth the read.

"No Goddamned Way"

Keep talking Murtha, you and Plugs are becoming the GOP's best friends.

If it's for free, it's for me!!!

Well, here we go.

Government gives out free money to everybody on Wall Street who wants it. 9 banks get billions from you and me. GM, $15 billion. No fine print... this is too good to be true... we are so getting hosed.

Can I get some love from the USG? Can I get a couple hundred grand? I mean, really. Give me an effin' beak. Banks and insurance companies - all of whom had a near-death experience - are sucking on the government teat so they can continue doing what they do. Do you actually think these banks are going to actually spread this cash around? Hardly. Does the word "Hoard" ring a bell with anyone?

Gawd, I want to strangle some of these knuckleheads. And I am not being a populist here. I would like to think that I am being pragmatic. FULL DISCLOSURE: I am not an economist. But I pay taxes ... a lot of taxes ... and I am pissed that my tax dollars are going to help Bank A do a merger deal with Bank B so they can have your deposits to make them more solvent than they were before the merger. I am pissed that AIG is getting a ton of cash because they are "to big to fail" or some other such moniker.

Viva la Credit Union and Community Bank. These guys actually do due diligence.

Gonz O. Defenestrater: My Economic Stimulus and Market Bailout Plan. "Let's win one for the little guy."

OK. Here it is. I am tired of bending over and taking the long, lean, "Sheldon" without the courtesy of either a reach-around or some lubricant.

Here's the Gonzonater's Economic Stimulus and Market Bailout plan:

Every single taxpayer who filed a tax-year 2007 return should get a debit card with a $500,000 USD balance. If you use all or some of the cash to pay off your mortgage or buy a home, TAX FREE. If you all or part of the money to pay off college loans or pay tuition, TAX FREE. If you use all or part of the money to pay off short term, unsecured debt (e.g. your credit cards), TAX FREE.

If you use all or part of the money to open a (for lack of a better term) "401(x)" account, in which you agree to invest that money until a certain age, e.g. 70 or 71, you get to put the money in tax free and take it out at guaranteed rate of 5 or 10% - but - for every dollar you get from your 401(x) you get one less dollar from your social security benefit.

If you use all or part of the money to invest in a Health Savings Account (HSA) you get the money TAX FREE, but you get the same dollar for dollar reduction in Medicare benefits.

Let's do some math. $250 million v. $700 billion. Oh, but wait, the government doesn't think that you and I could spend that money in a wiser and more prudent fashion than "they" can.

But wait! If you let people pay off the mortgage, the mortgage crisis would go away, right? and if they paid off the short term debt - poof! No credit crisis. If they paid off their college loans, poof! MORE MONEY TO LOAN OUT TO NEW STUDENTS TO GET AN EDUCATION!

Oh, and by the way, if you have paid off your mortgage, college loans or tuition, and credit card debt, you'd have all that extra money every month that you are now spending on debt service to actually spend in the economy, to maybe - I dunno - buy a new car, or a refrigerator, or take your family out to St. Elmo's for a really great shrimp cocktail! Can you say "Flat Screen HD?" Oh, I hear HH Gregg getting a woody!

How about bailing us hard-working stiffs out for a change? And the whole scheme is progressive! You give the same amount to everybody and the folks who really need it get the most benefit. For the really rich, $500K is beer money. For a guy like me, $500K is a game-changer.

The beauty of the debit card is that you can restrict what the money can be used for. It can be made to only work for certain transactions. Thereby preventing dumb-ass rednecks and the mentally challenged from spending the whole wad in a bait shop or roadhouse.

WTF? $700 billion? Why not let the little guy hit the lottery rather than Paulson's pals on Wall Street. Hell, they get the $500K just like the rest of us... let them use it to pay off their margin calls.

It'll never happen, but it would be nice to get some juice from the Treasury like the Wall Streeter's do. I'd just love it if the government would show me some love like the guys at AIG got.

Fred On A Barack Obama Presidency

Shame that his contract with Dick Wolf and NBC kept him out of the running - and by the time he could get in it was too late.

Traitors For Obama

Yep. The traitor who served as the President's press secretary, left, then wrote a "tell all" book has publicly endorsed That One for President.

First, former Secretary of State Colin Powell and now Scott McClellan have joined the list of former Administration officials that have gone turncoat.

Surprise in PA-12: Boot Murtha Alert!

New poll has John Murtha down 48-35 to his opponent GOP newcomer William Russell. Mr. Russell has enjoyed mainly online support from places like Free Republic. This is one of the first polls from PA-12 that show Murtha down.

No matter how invincible you think you are, no matter how the political winds are blowing. You can't make an ass of yourself by calling your constituents "racists" and "rednecks" and expect to win elections.

Is There Life After Death?

Steal another one of this person's yard signs and find out for yourself.

(H/T Angry White Boy)

"Well, that just about does it."

Ryerson pretty much stuck a fork in the once proud hometown newspaper this time.

Do you seriously think they have even the pretense of objectivity and any even basic journalistic integrity left?

As our colleagues Hailstone and Gillespie point out in their earlier posts on this topic, (See Gillespie here and Hailstone here) the local cage-liner has actually endorsed a candidate who is

(A) pending a court appearance for an eviction hearing (the day after the election ... convenient, huh?). It appears that she hasn't paid her rent in a year or so. Good fiscal management skills - she'll fit right in with the bailout crowd;

(B) has foisted off a resume that is (to be kind) "embellished" - well, actually, largely fabricated. Good thing Pelosi doesn't do background investigations on her caucus, huh? And;

(C) apparently, the Cage-liner ed board didn't realize that their endorsed candidate doesn't know or understand campaign finance/election law. No worries here either - well, except for those pesky ethics investigations.

So this is the candidate that the Ryerson crowd thinks will best represent the good people of the 5th CD? As Hailstone points out, they used the massive Wall Street bailout bill as the benchmark ... and only endorsed the guys who voted against it when they knew there wasn't a snowballs chance in West Texas they'd be defeated. One wonders about their judgement. Rather than look at the totality of votes over the past two years, they choose one or two that fits their agenda. That's what I call objective, and you?

No wonder Burton doesn't give these idiots the time of day. No wonder they can't sell newspapers for anything other than an inexpensive alternative to store bought puppy "piddle-pads".

Hailstone was right. They're full of something ... but the aroma is less than intoxicating along Penn St.

And if that wasn't enough ... Cardwell on Kool-Aid for the Masses!

Hooray!! More people are on Food Stamps!!

John Cardwell and his merry bunch of family members have been traveling the state complaining that not enough people are on food stamps. For them, this indicates a failure on the part of the state’s Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA).
Tell me what’s wrong with this picture?

First of all, since when is it good news when MORE people are on welfare? This is a twisted standard of success isn’t it?

Second, just because someone wants food stamps doesn’t mean we are obliged to give them to them. Fundamentally, isn’t our deal pretty simple? If you absolutely can’t take care of yourself the government will give you assistance. If you are a healthy, capable individual who can’t demonstrate proof that you are destitute you don’t DESERVE food stamps. Cardwell’s complaints smell an awful lot like he believes that 1/5 of Hoosiers are entitled. They aren’t. My thought- if Cardwell wants to give everybody welfare checks why not let he and his liberal buddies pay for it.

Worst of all, Cardwell’s not complaining because there are LESS people on food stamps than before. He’s actually complaining because the increase has not been as significant as he would like. According to the FSSA, there are nearly 62,000 more Indiana residents on Food Stamps right now than the same time last year.
FSSA spokeswoman Elizabeth Surgener told The Associated Press on Tuesday the number of households receiving food stamps statewide is up. Last year, the number of households receiving food stamps was 494,778. This year, it is 556,646 households, she said.

Surgener said the new system increases flexibility and offers more options to serve the needs of clients. If they need the assistance of a caseworker, “they still have that option.”

Surgener said many community agencies have volunteered to help clients in navigating the new system.

This is some twisted loony.

Really!?! - The Hoosier Access/Weird Pro Version

Really!?! Star Editorial Board. In your tradition of giving out political endorsements you actually backed the Democrat who is running against Dan Burton in a district that last went Democrat before the extinction of the dinosaurs.

Really!?! You didn’t endorse Congressman Burton because he was the lone vote against an ethics reform bill that he didn’t think went far enough (and also contained bad legislation, but heaven forbid you actually report that), but you endorsed his opponent who hasn’t paid her rent all year and is scheduled to appear before a Grant County judge for said refusal of paying rent the day after election day. The Marion Chronicle-Tribune reported that, but for you, that would have required doing work now wouldn’t it.

And Really!?! You endorsed a candidate who claims that she will begin running ads on Comcast soon, but has yet to fill out a single FEC report (individuals) (committees) explaining how she would have the money (in kind, self loan{wait, what about rent?} or normal donation) that would explain how she could afford such an ad let alone pay for two campaign offices, yard signs and her fancy website?

(Btw, since you threw out investigative reporting a long time ago, here is the FEC rule of which the Congressman’s opponent appears to be in violation of….saves you the time from having to do real actual work…you can thank me later)

House and Senate Candidates. All campaigns that have a reporting obligation must file quarterly reports in 2008. Generally, an individual becomes a candidate for federal office, thus triggering registration and reporting obligations, when his or her campaign exceeds $5,000 in either contributions received or expenditures made.

If the campaign has not exceeded the $5,000 threshold, it is not required to file reports. See 11 CFR 100.3(a)(1). See also 11 CFR 100.3(a)(2) and (3). The authorized committees of House and Senate candidates must also file pre-primary election and pre-general election reports before any election in which the candidate runs in 2008. These committees also must file a post-general election report if the candidate runs in the general election. 11 CFR 104.5(a)(2).

Honestly, your poor attempt to see the congressman defeated has moved to the level of “just sad”. Even though I’m a proud supporter of Congressman Burton’s I’ll admit that the best chance to beat the him was in this years primary. But to endorse a candidate who has a good a shot of defeating Congressman Burton as Mark Leyva has of beating Pete Visclosky shows just how petty your paper has become even after the Congressman has attempted to reach out to you and offer an olive branch on more than one occasion this year despite your constant attacks.

Childish. Just childish.

At Least He Finally Admits It....

At last. Dennis Ryerson the senior editor at the Indianapolis Star, known affectionately around here as the "Ryerson Rag", has admitted the left-wing bias of the Rag's editorial board.

"Though The Star long has had a right-of-center editorial page voice, we've moderated considerably over the years."

So that what you call the 40-yard dash towards the far left?

Speaking of those endorsements for Congress, what did you use for your litmus test? The pork barrel financial bailout package. Those who voted against it, you railed them and gave an endorsement only if the opponent has no chance in hell of winning. Though exception is for Congressman Dan Burton. I'm sure the Congressman's opponent appreciates the free advertising as she apparently can't afford ads on her own. Or her rent.

"Nonetheless, many liberals still say we pitch conservative nonsense"

Who? The Daily K00ks? Moron.org? Those are full fledged wings flapping in the breeze Moonbats.

"[M]any conservatives say we are full of liberal noise."

That's not all you're full of......

Priceless.

NY Times: Hawaii Health Care A Model For The Nation

A New York Times article on Hawaii's Health Care System.

Hawaii's universal health-care system, which insures 96.5 percent of the state's residents and costs less than health care in other states and Canada, could serve as a national model, health officials from Hawaii say in a new report.

The report also says that requiring employers to provide insurance for employees who work at least 20 hours a week has not bankrupted small businesses, as some feared when the plan went into effect 19 years ago.

"In fact, some indirect indicators suggest that the effect may be positive," said the report, to be published on Wednesday in The Journal of the American Medical Association.

Unemployment since 1974 has markedly declined in Hawaii, where 97 percent of businesses have fewer than 100 workers, the report said. By 1990, new-business start-ups per capita had reached the third highest rate in the nation, it said. Near Top in Health Status

Only 3.5 percent of Hawaii's 1.1 million residents lacked health insurance in 1989, compared with 11.7 percent who lacked hospital coverage in 1971 and 17.2 percent who lacked physician coverage then, the report said.

Hawaiians rank at or near the top in health status compared with other Americans, the health officials said.

"We believe a considerable amount of this success is attributable to direct and indirect effects of Hawaii's employer mandate," they said, adding that the state's approach receive serious attention as a task force headed by Hillary Rodham Clinton considers health-care changes.

Hawaii's health-care system emphasizes prevention and early treatment. Without rationing or a ceiling on costs, Hawaiians are hospitalized only 90 percent as often as other Americans, undergo surgery only 61 percent as often and visit emergency rooms only 48 percent as often, the report said. Comparing Heat-Care Costs

Health-care costs, including government expenses for Medicare and Medicaid, were only 7.8 percent of the gross state product in Hawaii, compared with 11.2 percent of the gross national product for the United States, a 1992 study found. The figure was 8.6 percent in Canada, 9 percent in Sweden, 8.5 percent in the Netherlands and 8.2 percent in Germany, the report said.

The health officials dismissed the argument that Hawaii was a special case because of its mild climate and a healthy genetic stock of Asians and Pacific Islanders. Rather, they said, Caucasians have the best relative health among racial groups, and the state's reduced health-care expenses from lack of cold weather are offset by higher rates of skin cancer and ocean injuries.

Because Hawaii is a gateway for immigration from Asia and the Pacific islands, it has the nation's second highest rate of tuberculosis and ranks among the top 10 states in new AIDS infections, the officials said.

Hawaii is seeking Federal approval to combine its Medicaid and state insurance programs for those who do not qualify under Medicaid or the employer mandate. Gov. John Waihee 3d, a Democrat, hopes that will save even more.

But Walter Zelman, an adviser to the Clinton Administration's task force on health care, said in a telephone interview from Washington that Hawaii's system was not directly applicable to other states.

Hawaii is in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, he noted, so businesses that dislike its laws cannot easily move. And Hawaii's two biggest insurers are not-for-profit companies, so the state is free of some "predatory" practices found elsewhere, he said.

"There's a lot to be learned from Hawaii," Mr. Zelman added, "but it may not provide the whole answer."

This article is dated from 1993. Last week, this system was scrapped because too many people dropped their paid coverage for this socialized medical system. Hmmm 15 years of socialized medicine before the whole thing became pear shaped? Thankfully the US never adopted Slick Willie's health care plan back in 1993.

Tune In Saturday, October 18th @ 3 PM

Live TV : Ustream

The Obamassiah: ACORN will shape my agenda

Listening to most conservatives favorite radio talk show host, Rush, played a sound bite by The Anointed One. He is preaching a sermon proclaiming upon ascension to his throne on 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, he will call back Congress into session and bring in community organizations (in other words - ACORN) to shape Obamassiah's agenda for his reign upon his loyal subjects.

For one I was not aware a President-elect had the authority to call Congress into session. But I digress.

Did you ever wonder ...

Fellow Flacks, Hacks, and Devoted Dumpster Divers

ACORN has decided that you just don't have the intellectual capacity to vote your convictions. Therefore, it appears, that they are going to vote for you. Especially if you live in Nevada, Ohio, or Indiana. I find that interesting.

McCain, rightly so, has been trying to point out the connection between the Obamamama-mia and the Acorn/New Party crowd. He's getting the same response he did to the whole Ayers/Rezko thing.

So, let's review. ACORN is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the lefties and the Obamamama-mia team. ACORN thinks that voter fraud is a constitutional right if it elects their guy. TheObamamama-mia thinks that anybody who calls into question his associations is a racist-bigot-unenlightened-troglodyte without the capacity to understand that he was "only 8 years old" when Ayers was blowing thins up.

OK. I'll bite. Why doesn't it make a difference? Just because the guy hasn't blown something up in a few years, does that mean that his radical ideology has changed? Explain it to me, Barak.

It might not make any difference if it was just one thing. If it was just Ayers, or just Rezko, or just Rev. Wright, or just his New Party affiliation, or just his ACORN ties, or ... well, you get my point.

"You are known by the company you keep."

"Birds of a feather flock together."

And, why do the police use "Known Associates" to track down criminals?

These are just some of the things I am wondering about this afternoon.

Raw Video of Palin Speech in Wilmington, OH

How I spent my Weekend ...

Well, occasionally, we get to do something out of the ordinary around here. So I thought I'd share a few of the photos I took on my little trip into the Chesapeake Bay over the weekend ...

Veteran Assaulted Protecting McCain/Palin Sign

Seriously, some people are unhinged during this election cycle.



(Originally posted to Hoosier Access)

Will You Look At This?

Interesting list of who received the most contributions from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Name S/H State D/R Total PAC Individual

Dodd, Christopher J S CT D $165,400 $48,500 $116,900
Obama, Barack S IL D $126,349 $6,000 $120,349
Kerry, John S MA D $111,000 $2,000 $109,000
Kanjorski, Paul E H PA D $96,000 $57,500 $38,500
Reed, Jack S RI D $78,250 $43,500 $34,750
Reid, Harry S NV D $77,000 $60,500 $16,500
Clinton, Hillary S NY D $76,050 $8,000 $68,050

The Obamassiah Channel Now On Dish Network

Yep that's right fellow WPBHQ drinkers. I thought I was out on a bender of too many Jack & Cokes when I read about it on Free Republic. The Obamassiah bought a whole channel of Dish Network for The Anointed One's Followers and Faithful featuring non-stop praise and worship for The Presidential Massiah (mis-spelling intentional)

So joining traditional religion on Dish such as Daystar, EWTN, TBN, Joel Osteen, and others preaching gospel, The Obamassiah is preaching his new age religion of Marx, Lenin, Ayers, and Moore nonstop.

Sorry, you still must provide your own koolaid.

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Heard on the Street: "These guys are worse than crack whores"

IN the midst of the worse financial crisis arguably since (a) 1987 (b) 1973-74 (c) 1929, The US Senate has served up the quintessential "Pork Pie" and once again demonstrated they just can't resist loading up crucial legislation with perks for their pals. (For a great analysis, check out this post from our pals at Hoosier Access)

$193M (USD) for PR Rum? Hey, I like a cocktail just as much as the next guy - maybe more - but c'mon! Captain Morgan and ol' Ron Bacardi already have a corner on the Rum market. I know, "one man's pork is another man's project" and everybody earmarks, yeah, yeah ... just not in this kind of bill. Let's just have a clean bill with a responsible - market approach to stabilizing this thing.

Markets hate uncertainty. These traders are big Dudes (and Dudettes) and they can take bad news with the good. So let's give them the rules they need to play by and get the heck outta the way! Remember, the markets work because there is an equilibrium between Greed and Fear. The more you are willing to risk, the more you can gain - or lose. So let the losers lose, lick their wounds, then get back in the pit and fight their way out.

Changing Gears for Just a Moment:

This just popped into my mind. Let's just think for a minute about what happens when the USG takes over all these bad mortgages. Who's gonna manage all these properties? Whose going to fix the broken windows? Mow the grass? The mortgage holders are responsible, you know. Are we going to set up another bureaucracy? Will we create the National Real Estate Management and Disposal Administration? Does anybody think the USG can actually do this?

What about taking ownership stakes in private companies? Do we have some third tier appointees at Treasury sitting on the corporate boards? Does the USG get veto authority over the compensation committee? May I remind you, fellow taxpayers, that the Post Office is run by government bureaucrats. Anyone care to take a stab at the last time they turned a profit? (So much for the taxpayer making money on this deal.)

Back on Message:

So these freakin' Senators lard up this bailout - which, come to think of it, shouldn't be a news flash - almost as shamelessly as they turned every bloody personal pet project into a "National Security Priority" after 9-11-01.
Then, they get everybody going on TV and screaming "the world as we know it will come to an end" if we don't pass this "crap sandwich" by Midnight! If the bill was so bad the first time, what makes it less bad now? It's the same friggin' bill except now they have provisions for mental health insurance parity, an AMT patch, and all that pork. Hey look, I'm willing to argue that some or all of these things may or may not be good things. They deserve to be debated and voted on ... maybe ... but not in this bill! In fact, I don't even think this is a good bill. There is nothing in here but a taxpayer funded government takeover of the credit/commercial paper markets ... and all that pork.

In the end:

Bad News: Do we lose some value in our 401(k)'s? Likely. Will we lose some jobs? Yep. Will the really rich guys still be really rich? Count on it.

Good News: Gas is getting cheaper because oil is falling below 90/bbl. which means that Chavez and the Arabs are losing their shirts. See, there's a silver lining in every cloud.

In closing, I find myself asking "Where are all the limited government, free-market conservatives?" I see all these pols on TV saying things like, "I'm a free-market conservative, and I just hate this thing, but ..." But what? You either believe in these principles or you don't Senators. Stand for something and think about the next generation instead of the next election ... or your next fix, you pantie wastes.

THIS JUST IN ... (UPDATED 3:31pm EST) from the LA Times: "The bill wending its way through Congress would provide tax breaks worth more than $470 million over the next decade for movie and TV producers that shoot in the U.S."

Folks, that's $47M (USD)/year to shoot TV in the USA. Well, color me stupid, don't they do most of that here anyway? Gawd, it just keeps getting "worser and worser" as time goes by. These guys really are worse than crack whores - and that's almost insulting to the crack whores. Does anyone still wonder why these guys have a 15% approval rating?