tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-51075662012-02-01T16:55:02.306-05:00<br> <b><i>Rambling thoughts on who knows what... Because not everything is as the conventional wisdom would have it...</i></b>stevenoreply@blogger.comBlogger38371100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-31935233796966430552012-02-01T16:49:00.002-05:002012-02-01T16:55:02.318-05:00

I know why Republicans are getting excited over a poll showing Obama with approval ratings of under 50% in a bunch of battleground states... and I think they're making a mistake in doing so.You have to factor in the number of unhappy Democrats. Whatever their reasons for not being happy with Obama, they're going to vote for him in November. So to the extent that Obama is underwater in a

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-17952265234301648512012-01-31T10:25:00.003-05:002012-01-31T11:58:31.185-05:00

Here's an article on NRO from someone defending the current tax treatment of so-called 'carried interest".In particular, I refer to his claim that "Paying carried interest rather than salary simply reallocates the two types of income among the two types of partners.... Nothing gets turned into anything else." I think this is misleading and I dare say, probably intentionally so.Here's why:Take a

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-47218098845919129132012-01-26T09:03:00.004-05:002012-01-26T09:08:04.601-05:00

A REJOINDER TO OBAMA'S CAMPAIGN THEME OF RAISING TAXES...It's common sense you can't solve a problem unless you've first correctly identified the problem.Let me tell you that low taxes is not the biggest problem facing America. It's not even in the top ten.Low taxes are not the reason millions of people have lost their jobs over the past three years. It is not the reason that your homes are

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-36825915767573230432012-01-23T15:29:00.003-05:002012-01-23T15:42:34.907-05:00

Let's see... I didn't overborrow to buy my house... I didn't overstate my income on my mortgage application... I didn't buy my house at the height of the housing bubble... I didn't make a zero down as a down payment... I didn't take all the equity out refinancing... I didn't go for one of the interest only mortgages... and I didn't stop making mortgage payments when the value of my house dropped

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-37266504403264102342012-01-23T11:34:00.002-05:002012-01-23T12:32:40.442-05:00

If the Romney campaign was to ask...Gingrich is moving up because voters think he's the real deal... the conservative theorist who has the tactical skills to take on both the Democrats and the media... in other words, he is who we've (allegedly) been waiting for.How can voters not respond to the (GOP) messiah?Romney shouldn't try to take Gingrich on the issues. Nor should Romney try to '

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-28363258446981135352012-01-17T22:48:00.003-05:002012-01-17T23:07:02.359-05:00

Here's an idea that you can use to help some nice conservative bloggers make some money...Google has a program where they place ads on different websites (saving the website owner the hassle of running their own ad placement program) and pay the website owner some amount of money when visitors click on the links. It's usually not a lot of money per click, but paraphrasing the expression, a few

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-87907563153763633152012-01-15T21:10:00.003-05:002012-01-15T21:12:09.496-05:00

It's probably good that I cancelled my subscription to Newsweek somewhere near 10 years ago... saves me the trouble of cancelling it this week.And I guess this proves that Newsweek figures nobody on the right reads the magazine... you're not insulting your readers if you have no readers among those you've insulted.

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-63080002157313410622012-01-12T15:50:00.003-05:002012-01-12T15:54:00.193-05:00

I'm not generally in favor of government social programs, even those that purport to help people find jobs, but if we're going to spend money in this way, shouldn't we first try to help find jobs for those who haven't broken the law? Every twenty million dollars spent helping a felon find work is twenty million dollars that aren't available to help those who have played by the rules.

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-11055727095431386052012-01-09T10:41:00.002-05:002012-01-09T10:48:26.234-05:00

ALL of the discussion that is going on regarding Romney's time at Bain is irrelevant.The question is NOT whether Bain was a net creator of jobs... or whether he made a bunch of money while some people lost their jobs.I'm not looking, nor should any other self-respecting conservative, for the President to 'create' jobs. For one thing, this plays into the myth of government as a creator of jobs.

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-40600052144167648552012-01-08T12:39:00.003-05:002012-01-08T12:54:04.837-05:00

Today's winners of 'The Business Article Written By Someone Who Doesn't Understand The Subject' goes to Elisa Martinuzzi and Vernon Silver of their Washington Post for their badly written article about how the big bad banks are screwing small towns...The subject is interest rate swaps a number of municipalities bought to (in these cases) change their fixed rate debt to a variable debt. And now

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-87930260354809274052012-01-04T16:43:00.004-05:002012-01-04T17:00:56.259-05:00

I have two questions about Obama abusing the recess appointment power to appoint new members at the NLRB and CFPB...1) How will the Senate Democrats react? Will they choose to act as Senators, concerned with protecting the power of their chamber, and join in protest (and possible litigation) against Obama's action? Even if they approve of the appointees themselves, they ought to be upset at the

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-28241941023705038202012-01-02T20:44:00.003-05:002012-01-02T20:52:59.430-05:00

With the EEOC wanting to declare that an employer can't require job applicants to have even a high school diploma*, would anyone dispute labeling the Obama Administration as one of the most hostile anti-business Adminstrations ever?Technically, the EEOC is only warning employers against not hiring an applicant whose lack of a high school diploma is the result of the applicant being disabled...

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-15105363390786477272012-01-01T17:50:00.002-05:002012-01-01T17:52:56.657-05:00

In case the Romney campaign needs any help, their response to Obama's expected attack on the layoffs that took place while Romney ran Bain Capital should be to point out that far, far, far more people have lost their jobs while Obama has been President.

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-55741268928656181272011-12-30T17:54:00.002-05:002011-12-30T18:00:48.698-05:00

Former Congressman Artur Davis laments the growing polarization of the two political parties and claims that supposedly conservative Democrats such as Ben Nelson of Nebraska and Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas should get credit for keeping Obamacare from being even crazier than it is.But if Nelson and Lincoln weren't in office their seats would more than likely have been held by Republicans (as

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-43107071770958162622011-12-23T08:24:00.002-05:002011-12-23T08:39:54.230-05:00

Just as a tree falling in a forest makes no noise, a 'victory' that is unnoticed by anyone who matters is not a victory that is going to count for much when it matters...Obama may have won a 'tactical victory' in the kerfuffle over the extension of the payroll tax cut, but so what?The only people paying attention right now are inside-Beltway types and political partisans, all of whom have already

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-53062104788482243592011-12-06T15:38:00.002-05:002011-12-06T15:43:29.753-05:00

Not only is sitting next to Al Gore "taxing" and "unpleasant", it turns out that we can blame our current economic problems on Gore.For those slow on the upload, remember it was Gore who invented the Internet.

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-3183699873663722292011-11-30T16:29:00.002-05:002011-11-30T16:43:04.311-05:00

Someone who claims to have been molested by former Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky is suing Sandusky and claims he is doing so, according to the article, "because he doesn't want other kids to be abused".An admirable thought, indeed. But... this particular string of abuse ended way back in 1996.... FIFTEEN YEARS AGO!If he didn't want other kids to be molested by Sandusky, one might think that he

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-27286499271101137582011-11-21T12:03:00.003-05:002011-11-21T12:08:11.567-05:00

While nobody can ever say for sure why the stock market goes up or down on a particular day, I am very, very, very skeptical of claims that the market drop today is because of the collapse of the so-called 'supercommittee'...It's been apparent for a while now that the supercommittee wasn't going to come up with some universally accepted solution to the country's spending problems. In fact, there

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-5809082313025891652011-11-15T16:01:00.003-05:002011-11-15T16:17:14.948-05:00

I have long argued that only military action will keep Iran from developing and using nuclear weapons... and I realize that any attack on Iran won't be completely clean and free of negative aftershocks... but I totally am not worried that Iran would even try to shut down shipping in the Persian Gulf if attacked by Israel, as this article claims is the case.Doing so would shift the conflict from a

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-69880993119492956822011-10-27T17:24:00.002-04:002011-10-27T17:56:05.639-04:00

Every day I think that I ought to write something witty and insightful about the silliness of the Occupy Wall Street movement(s)... and yet I don't, as these protestors have so little going on upstairs that mocking them would be quite unsporting.It seems like I'm watching a twist of 'This is Spinal Tap' or an episode of South Park, in which the screenwriters do a masterful job of depicting just

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-1399508073432017062011-10-24T11:39:00.002-04:002011-10-24T11:59:06.784-04:00

If Obama's goal is to appear as if he's 'doing something' about problems in the housing market, then he'll probably suceed, as there are more than a handful of voters who mistakenly think it is good to 'do something'... even if they have no clue as to what is supposed to be accomplished.If, however, he hopes to actually accomplish anything substantive, then his reported plan to allow underwater

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-77476491563957237312011-10-21T16:08:00.002-04:002011-10-21T16:14:51.515-04:00

In the category of 'just because you can sing doesn't mean you're smart'...Singer Jon Bonjovi is opening a restaurant in which patrons will only pay if they want to pay... and only what they want to pay.I'm sure there will be those who for some reason will pay more than what would be deemed a 'fair price' for the meal. But I reckon there will be far more people who pay far less.It's human nature

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-33216319250589877002011-10-12T15:26:00.002-04:002011-10-12T15:32:16.510-04:00

While a $70,000 federal grant to market syrup is relatively small change compared to Solyndra, conservatives should oppose it for some of the same reasons: if it made economic sense, someone in the private sector would have stepped up to do it themselves.At best (or worst?), this repays Vermont businesses for an expenditure that they should have been glad to make on their own.

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-2997374690169679282011-10-05T15:52:00.002-04:002011-10-05T16:05:24.153-04:00

Why I'm not impressed with or worried about the Occupy Wall Street crowd, even if their numbers are growing...It takes a critical mass of people to effect change in America... and there's nothing to suggest that, despite their claim to speak for the 99%, they represent anything more than a odd fringe. (Unlike the Tea Party, which had support far beyond the relative few who attended a protest,

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-34416179097282845152011-10-04T22:11:00.003-04:002011-10-04T22:51:34.705-04:00

NYT columnist Joe Nocera seems puzzled as to why alternative energy companies can get private financing at the 'good idea' stage but not for the far more expensive process of commercializing the innovation.Allow me to clear it up for poor Joe. Like the cliche, there are two kinds of innovation, those that work and are profitable and those that don't and aren't... but it isn't always apparent at

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-71456116974275657992011-10-03T15:27:00.002-04:002011-10-03T15:32:38.686-04:00

If the GOP had a brain...They'd have someone following Obama on his visits to GOP swing districts to tout his so-called 'jobs bill'.There's no good reason the GOP should let Obama have the local stage to himself, to let monopolize the local newspapers and evening news programs. They should have someone - anyone - showing up at the same time offering up their rebuttal not only to Obama's bill but

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-13862701719688576542011-10-03T14:54:00.003-04:002011-10-03T14:58:11.730-04:00

According to Howard Kurtz, Obama 'tested' with reporters his attacks on the so-called 'corporate high fliers and hedge-fund managers'.Funny, I thought the job of a reporter was to report on what was happening, not to serve as a sounding board for a particular candidate's campaign strategy.

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-46319468552925370532011-09-29T15:12:00.002-04:002011-09-29T15:30:10.524-04:00

It is neither surprising nor a scandal that loan guarantees are going to solar firms that are connected in one way or another to the Democrats...After all, given that the entire industry is built on the liberal delusion that alternatives to dirty energy are just around the corner and there is not now and likely never will be a business model that has these alternative energy firms making a profit

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-10366983989476772962011-09-21T15:41:00.002-04:002011-09-21T15:53:26.555-04:00

How much more were patients at the University of Chicago Medical Center charged for their care in order for UCMC to cover the $670,833 it paid to Eric Whitaker, an Obama crony who fills the incredibly important (/sarcasm) positions of 'executive vice president for strategic affiliations' and 'associate dean for community-based research'?And presuming that Whitaker isn't the exception at UCMC,

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-66871415145262223522011-09-20T13:05:00.003-04:002011-09-20T13:29:21.947-04:00

Warren Buffett's complaint that his secretary pays a higher percentage of her income in taxes than he does has (justifiably) received a lot of criticism (sample), most of which focusing on the fact that his income is in the form of capital gains and dividends, both of which are taxed at a lower rate than is ordinary income.I have another complaint: why hasn't Buffett allowed his secretary to do

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-60939954170791517122011-09-20T08:52:00.002-04:002011-09-20T09:04:19.037-04:00

If the GOP hopes to win popular support for defeating Obama's plans to raise taxes, they're going to need some better arguments than Larry Kudlow's argument.If, as Kudlow argues, the tax would affect a relatively small number of people and only to the tune of $19 billion a year, why and how would it be so devastating to the economy? Wouldn't it have to hit more than 22,000 people and/or hit them

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-17460371153655942802011-09-13T06:53:00.000-04:002011-09-13T09:05:57.213-04:00

Two, somewhat related thoughts:Two years ago, Obama spent close to a trillion dollars on a stimulus plan that didn't produce much of anything in the way of jobs.So now he is pushing another $450 million in more of the same stimulus spending... and at the same time pushing to such $450 million out of the pockets of the most productive members of the economy.Even if the 'jobs' programs he is

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-61716267396222892142011-09-12T14:09:00.003-04:002011-09-12T14:17:57.556-04:00

Obama, in pushing his latest 'jobs' plan, describes it as insurance against a second recession.Talk about setting your goals low! What happened to the (his) idea that his proposal was going to spark a whole new round of hiring and spending? Where's the optimism? Where's what the Good Professor (mockingly) refers to as that "hopey-changey stuff"?Instead, we have some sales guy giving us the

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-55293257535951519302011-09-12T08:18:00.002-04:002011-09-12T08:37:03.647-04:00

Misc thoughts...While cutting the payroll tax may not a terrific job creating measure, raising it right now is a bad idea. One of the last things we need right now is the government sucking more money out of people's pockets... and eliminating the 'temporary' tax break would do just that. And it's rich to see critics complain that this tax cut has a negative impact on social security when they

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-91852802823253392232011-09-11T20:11:00.002-04:002011-09-11T20:14:47.712-04:00

Originally posted as a comment at PowerlineI think a good part of what George Will alludes to is attributable to people elevating in importance what happens to them and in their lives over that which happened earlier. Nirvana one of the greatest rock bands? Tarantino one of the greatest directors? Last year's Green Bay Packers one of the greatest football teams? Derek Jeter (who I like) one of

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-39029427772411254192011-09-09T09:18:00.002-04:002011-09-09T09:26:45.588-04:00

I think the GOP is making a mistake in opposing Obama's 'jobs bill' on fiscal grounds, rather than on the basis that it won't do what the country needs...Yes, one of the last things that the country needs right now is another $500 billion of government spending.But the bigger reason to oppose Obama is that none of what he is proposing will do anything to restore our nation's confidence. In fact,

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-36439730254950445672011-09-07T18:31:00.001-04:002011-09-07T16:02:43.991-04:00

Growth comes from increases in spending and production. Increases in spending and production can only come from people and businesses who have the money and motivation to do so. The key therefore is to get these people to open up their wallets.With this in mind, and not that he will listen, but here are some things Obama could push in his 'jobs' speech on Thursday night...* Make it easier for

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-72693010840932945192011-08-31T19:42:00.000-04:002011-08-31T19:42:00.128-04:00

Sorry, while I agree with their conclusions that the Obama stimulus was a failure, I think the writers of this study are chasing the wrong dog up the wrong tree in trying to figure out how many people were hired by firms receiving stimulus dollar. Here's why: Let's start with my outside-the-mainstream position that the conventional wisdom is wrong on what a stimulus is supposed to accomplish.

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-87069124500001331352011-08-31T09:04:00.003-04:002011-08-31T09:10:26.494-04:00

With Obama blaming everything from tsunamis to earthquakes to European finances for the lousy economy, here's something to keep in mind... Anybody can look like a genius when events are breaking your way and everything is falling nicely into place. The true test of a leader is how well he performs when things aren't going quite so well. Does he rise to the challenge? Or does he whine about

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-33121747795445069332011-08-30T11:40:00.002-04:002011-08-30T11:55:39.543-04:00

Boy, if the best that Dana Milbank can come up with to illustrate the benefits of Big Government is NOAA correctly predicting the path of Hurricane Irene and FEMA pre-positioning hurricane relief supplies, then that isn't really a defense of Big Government, is it? Together, as best as I can figure (here and here, FEMA and NOAA spend around $10 billion a year.... a tiny portion of the more than

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-64677444596963291452011-08-29T16:56:00.002-04:002011-08-29T17:04:57.090-04:00

And they (California) wonder why we laugh at them... With all of their problems, one of the nuts (specifically, Alan Lowenthal, a Democratic state senator) wants to make it even more expensive for California based businesses to conduct business by banning their use of foam containers. Lowenthal might be right that they're ugly and last for thousands of years. But when California is one of the

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-60227561388603407812011-08-15T18:08:00.000-04:002011-08-15T14:36:20.714-04:00

Politico thinks Obama has a 'vision' problem... I, on the other hand, think he's perfectly clear on what he wants to do. His problem is that the path he is on won't get him where he wants to go... and he is too blinded to realize that this is the case. Someone (I don't remember who) once wrote something to the effect that 'Democrats love to demonize businesses... failing to realize that

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-78571885823153449952011-08-15T09:01:00.002-04:002011-08-15T09:15:43.569-04:00

After hundreds of billions of dollars and thousands of American lives and limbs, it is nice to see how these days Iraq is a place where one can walk the street without fear of a car bomb blowing them to bits. What, that isn't the case, people are still getting killed, and by the dozens at a time? So what exactly did America get for our money.... and our lives? Oh, that's right, Obama. Had it

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-85714188004926648992011-08-10T22:45:00.002-04:002011-08-10T23:22:12.639-04:00

Here's why the Obama stimulus didn't work... We need to first understand what a recession is and why it happens. A recession is simply a cutback in spending and production and usually takes place because of some event that leads to consumers and businesses holding on to the cash they have and to businesses cutting production in anticipation of a drop in demand for their products. Events can

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-74530337228598696232011-08-10T21:36:00.000-04:002011-08-10T17:11:29.632-04:00

BENEFITS, BENEFITS, BENEFITS... Everybody in marketing knows you can't count on your audience to figure out for themselves the supposed benefits of their buying your product or service. You have to make darn sure you spell out for your prospects just how they're going to benefit from buying your product. You can't count on them to figure things out for themselves, to connect the dots to

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-52371111470853978242011-08-09T08:24:00.003-04:002011-08-09T08:34:14.061-04:00

I realize bloggers are under tremendous pressure to come up with something witty that stands out from all the dreck that is being written... and sometimes that pressure leads to writing something dumb. Today's example is this writer, trying to analogize Maureen Dowd's dissatisfaction with Obama to Walter Cronkite's souring on Lyndon Johnson's management of the Vietnam War. Johnson's remark "If

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-85263935185147575372011-08-08T20:54:00.002-04:002011-08-08T21:02:25.603-04:00

Much has been made lately about how liberals don't really think that highly of their fellow Americans. But it isn't as if we (royal 'we') haven't given them ammunition to think so little of us... I cite as Exhibit 1 the more than 50% of voters in 2008 who voted for Obama. And the 60% of the public who gave Obama high approval ratings earlier in his Presidency. And the more than 50% in several

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-85457096269947713242011-08-08T20:04:00.002-04:002011-08-08T20:54:27.313-04:00

Michael Moore is calling for Obama to arrest the CEO of S&P (presumably, for having issued the downgrade)... Moore doesn't specify the crime the CEO is supposed to have broken. At its heart, the downgrade is an opinion of S&P that the United States doesn't have its act together. Right or wrong, it is an opinion, and opinions are supposed to be protected speech. Aren't they? It would seem

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-34546031142050790432011-08-06T13:58:00.002-04:002011-08-06T14:12:58.902-04:00

If the best thing Joe Nocera, a fan of the so-called Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, can say is that it "might have prevented millions of Americans... from being gouged by mortgage companies" (italics mine), then I'd argue that's not much of a justification for the hundreds of millions of dollars in direct costs and the hundreds of billions of dollars in indirect costs that this agency is

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-54779147057001176182011-08-05T08:10:00.002-04:002011-08-05T08:23:36.713-04:00

It is always nice when someone on the other side says something that makes your point as good or even better than you could do yourself... and it's even nicer when it is someone who is supposed to be one of the best and the brightest the other side has to offer.Ezra Klein, writing in today's Washington Post and attempting to explain what is happening with our troubled economy, says the following:

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-43300527420536841442011-08-04T19:01:00.000-04:002011-08-04T16:13:27.226-04:00

First of all, someone with the word "Producer" in their title is not someone I would look to as someone to explain the stock market to me.Second, despite his title, 5 Reasons Investors Are Fleeing The Stock Market, there really is only one reason the market is going down...And that is because those who now own stocks have absolutely no confidence whatsoever that there are going to be buyers in

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-88177221283099778902011-08-03T22:27:00.003-04:002011-08-03T22:49:24.379-04:00

Instead of complaining that liberals are calling conservatives 'terrorists', may I suggest we use that to our advantage?While we aren't always faithful to the maxim, it is conservatives who don't like negotiating with terrorists.... while liberals have no problem giving in to the terrorists' demands.So it would seem that having the liberals think of us as terrorists can get us a good chunk of

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-6069661216176354952011-08-03T19:34:00.001-04:002011-08-03T20:16:55.324-04:00

As Obama turns his attention back to the economy, it is important that the GOP have their act together. Granted, Obama doesn't have a lot of credibility on the 'job creation' front, but the GOP can't sit back and let Obama take the lead...Here's what the GOP needs to do:* Undercut any public enthusiasm there might be for yet another stimulus. Not, as the GOP is likely to do, by arguing that

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-25978935114198523242011-08-02T12:01:00.002-04:002011-08-02T12:13:11.236-04:00

Here is why Obama lost the battle over raising the debt limit (hint, it's not for the reason the talking heads are citing)...There is NOTHING in the deal that is going to make America come out of its economic shell. Just as in the 1950s, where fear about nuclear war led Americans to stockpile canned goods, uncertainty today over the economy are resulting in American businesses and consumers

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-90230339950982507182011-08-02T07:41:00.003-04:002011-08-02T08:03:54.857-04:00

I don't know how anyone can proclaim the debt limit agreement as evidence of the "death of the Socialist left".The agreement takes but a tiny bite out of government spending. It reduces by a sliver the percentage of GDP consumed by the government. And this happens only if the terms of the deal are not scuttled by future Congresses and Presidents. Given that there's no guarantee that the

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-28954716838124093722011-07-30T22:36:00.003-04:002011-07-30T22:51:22.159-04:00

Rubio gives a nice speech, but although he comes close, he doesn't connect the dots between raising the debt limit, the issue that is consuming Washington, and jobs, the issue that is most important to everybody else.The debt, and the deficit, are two of the reasons that there are no jobs. Who in their right mind would increase hiring when it looks like Washington is going off the rails? And of

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-37837528937211793542011-07-30T18:44:00.002-04:002011-07-30T19:09:48.209-04:00

It doesn't matter how enthusiastic your marketers are, if your product s**ks and customers know your product s**ks, then it is a giant waste of effort trying to convince the people who know your product s**ks that they ought to buy it...And that, rather than a lack of using his 'bully pulpit', as Robert Reich argues, is the reason that Obama can't get any traction for whatever it is that is his

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-87911392871187917312011-07-30T07:59:00.002-04:002011-07-30T08:12:09.692-04:00

What a surprise it was, reading that Iraq is deadlier now than it was a year ago..... NOT!As I predicted*, a HUGE part of the reason Iraq was as quiet as it was back then was because the crazies were just waiting us out... and as soon as we left, they'd get back to killing each other, the way they've been doing for hundreds of years.And this seems to be exactly what is happening. Our presence

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-67901778563906515842011-07-28T16:48:00.002-04:002011-07-28T16:59:08.836-04:00

They may or may not have considered this in their thinking, but the House GOPers who oppose the Boehner plan may actually make it more likely that the eventual deal will contain fewer - and softer - cuts in spending than would be the case with the Boehner plan currently before the House.Huh?For any number of reasons, Boehner is determined to make a deal to raise the debt ceiling (one reason is he

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-59046801755917206532011-07-26T19:05:00.002-04:002011-07-26T19:19:16.373-04:00

John Boehner goes on television and declares we need to 'stop spending so much money' (something along those lines).Yet, his plan provides for increases in spending every year, both in entitlements and in discretionary spending.I am profoundly puzzled why someone on the GOP doesn't simply call for freezing spending - on everything - at current levels. One, it cuts the deficit a whole lot more

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-43660097804195720972011-07-26T17:12:00.002-04:002011-07-26T17:31:22.909-04:00

Reportedly, some employers are not even bothering to consider applicants who are currently unemployed.As 'unemployed' is not a federally protected category, an employer is legally able to exclude them from the pool of potential hires (I'm not saying this is a good idea, just that they're legally able to do so).But here comes the EEOC, which is looking into whether employers have adopted this

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-81749840340770272242011-07-25T19:36:00.003-04:002011-07-25T19:37:43.920-04:00

Here's my response to James Capretta's suggestions on what the GOP should do next...Dear James:No offense, but this is too much of an inside-Washington perspective... too much focus on the details of a deal, an acceptance of conditions as they exist and failing to rally the public behind what we're trying to do so that we can get what we want and not have to settle for what we might be able to

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-51392210306827195442011-07-24T13:52:00.002-04:002011-07-24T14:17:44.892-04:00

What is it about Michael Kinsley that leads him to so totally misunderstand and/or misrepresent the topic(s) on which he writes?Today's example is his column in which he claims that refusing to raise the debt limit involves not honoring our obligation to pay the debt the country has run up. Kinsley claims that not raising the debt limit is akin to telling your bank that you're not going to pay

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-81826943561512938062011-07-21T16:51:00.000-04:002011-07-21T16:52:20.933-04:00

Happy Birthday, JERK!!!

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-48575594678351858782011-07-18T17:22:00.002-04:002011-07-18T17:41:41.646-04:00

As stupidity is defined as doing the same thing over again and expecting a different response, I won't make exactly the same arguments, I'll try to mix it up a bit...More than anything else, the GOP needs to connect the dots between Obamanomics and the sad state of the economy.The GOP needs to stop talking about the issues in the abstract. Obama's advisers are right in the sense that the public

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-77011092080847813022011-07-14T09:45:00.002-04:002011-07-14T09:54:44.520-04:00

From a conservative's perspective, dealing with the debt limit isn't that big a problem... it involves the concept of proximate cause.In layman's terms, and in this case, proximate cause involves looking at who is the one who had the most recent opportunity to keep the problem from taking place. In other words, the last one to say no is the one who gets blamed.To execute this strategy, the GOP

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-3828235869670548832011-07-12T16:25:00.002-04:002011-07-12T16:50:21.333-04:00

Apropos of the Obama adviser who said Americans don't base their votes on the unemployment rate, neither do they do so on the amount of government debt or deficit...Americans vote based on what we care about. There are voters who care so much about a particular social issue that they're going to vote for the candidate who shares their thinking on that issue, and regardless of the positions the

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-8916749156341549132011-07-11T15:42:00.002-04:002011-07-11T15:46:29.029-04:00

If the traditional definition of chutzpah is murdering your parents, then pleading for mercy because you're an orphan, I think adding trillions of dollars in new spending, then claiming it's only fair that any spending cuts be met with trillions of dollars in new tax hikes certainly meets the definition.

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-71693317945371035392011-07-05T21:55:00.003-04:002011-07-05T22:13:43.912-04:00

I'm as big a fan as there is of the changes Wisconsin made earlier this year, but there's something that doesn't add up in this report about how those changes resulted in one school district swinging from a $400,000 deficit to a $1.5 million surplus...According to the article, the district was able to create this $1.9 million swing from raising employee contributions for health care from 10

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-2376601616083902142011-06-27T13:45:00.002-04:002011-06-27T13:54:45.497-04:00

Clue to Politico...It isn't that New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is a brawler' that makes him popular, but rather his willingness to not be cowed into abandoning his campaign promises. We know that fighting for the sake of fighting is silly, but even worse is backing away from doing what needs to be done because of some desire for 'civility'.That is why Huntsman has no chance. We could care

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-52453139045729478472011-06-22T17:06:00.003-04:002011-06-22T17:40:06.407-04:00

Please allow me to explain to the clueless Ben Bernanke what is "causing the current fragility in the U.S. economic recovery"...It is because YOU'RE SCARING US!!!Let's review the basics: CHAPTER ONE: By definition, the economy grows only if/when businesses and consumers increase their spending. If they merely maintain their level of spending, the economy stagnates. And if they decrease their

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-91478920105574403852011-06-21T06:09:00.000-04:002011-06-21T16:17:44.198-04:00

It is no secret that I am puzzled why economists don't pay more attention to how critical business and consumer confidence is in determining which way the economy goes. It's as if, in the words of a pretty smart guy, they "focus on the engine and ignore the fuel".And sometimes, even when they do pay attention, they don't get it right.Today's example is Alan Blinder.According to Blinder,

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-11463320549432113922011-06-13T16:57:00.002-04:002011-06-13T17:05:12.901-04:00

The (unfortunate) punch line isn't that 'shovel ready' wasn't indeed 'shovel ready' but that Obama thought there was such a thingIt shows a remarkable disconnect with the real world that he (or anyone else) could have thought that in a NIMBY world of regulation and review and court challenge that any project could be thought of as 'shovel ready'.And it was because those of us who live and work in

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-19771318269021299162011-06-08T16:10:00.002-04:002011-06-08T16:13:41.800-04:00

What kind of idiot mother continually sticks her 4 year old daughter on a bus where the kid is beaten and bullied on a seemingly daily basis?It isn't enough to complain to the school. Filing a complaint doesn't satisfy the requirement that a parent do what they need to do to keep their kids safe.Why isn't the mom driving the kid to school? Why isn't the mom getting on the bus herself? Why

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-40809261420022098442011-06-08T11:50:00.002-04:002011-06-08T12:30:32.692-04:00

Martin Peldstein misdiagnoses the reasons the economy isn't doing well.... and thus, his proposed cures won't quite fix what ails us.The problem Feldstein has is the same that afflicts most professional economists: they view the economy as if it was an entity in its own right... rather than merely the aggregation of millions upon millions of people going about their lives and businesses on a day

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-61177565020091470112011-06-07T06:18:00.000-04:002011-06-07T14:19:51.012-04:00

Given that Obama has pretty much revealed himself to have no grasp of what works and what doesn't work economically, why should anyone be reassured by his comment that he doesn't fear a double dip recession?

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-47894029194517942432011-06-01T13:31:00.002-04:002011-06-01T14:03:23.410-04:00

As a rule, Americans prefer to put off dealing with things that could go wrong, we prefer to wait until things have gone wrong...We didn't deal with overpriced housing and too-easy credit until they blew up in our faces. We didn't deal with Bin Laden until after 9/11.On one hand, taking pre-emptive action can head off problems. On the other hand, who can really know if something is a problem

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-25960167975284249932011-05-17T07:55:00.003-04:002011-05-17T08:10:38.249-04:00

I don't know what happened to sportswriter Sally Jenkins to make her so virulently anti-NFL owner, but in most (if not all) of the examples she cites in trying to depict the owners as greedy, she consistently overlooks one little point: the money the public spends on the NFL is done willingly.Nobody is forced to attend an NFL game; those paying $200 for standing room only at Cowboys games are

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-17817156192851437812011-05-16T20:40:00.002-04:002011-05-16T20:53:16.401-04:00

First, I am glad International Monetary Fund executive Dominique Strauss-Kahn isn't getting away with sexually assaulting a NYC hotel maid. It's nice to see that even the international elite have to behave while in the United States. Second, I am really bothered that the IMF, an organization which receives more money from the United States than any other single country, is headed by a

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-7808696652786280042011-05-12T09:05:00.000-04:002011-05-13T16:39:42.351-04:00

Value isn't determined by the number of hours worked, but rather by what one does in those hours...It's a shame that this web photographer works all that time for roughly $50 a day.But that is apparently all his pictures are worth. If they were worth more, someone would be paying him more. If not his current employer, someone else. But as no one else is paying him more, the only - yes, the

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-44538121215691222792011-05-11T22:16:00.000-04:002011-05-13T16:39:42.218-04:00

The story goes something like this: Churchill: Madam, would you sleep with me for five million pounds?Socialite: My goodness, Mr. Churchill! Well, I suppose – we would have to discuss terms, naturally.Churchill: Would you sleep with me for five pounds?Socialite: Mr. Churchill, what kind of woman do you think I am?!Churchill: Madam, we’ve already established that. Now we are haggling about the

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-85242485888153794002011-05-11T16:46:00.000-04:002011-05-13T16:39:42.052-04:00

Hint: the reason the public lost confidence in the financial markets wasn't because of people like Raj Rajaratnam... and thus, and counter to the assertion of this clueless business reporter, his conviction isn't likely to do anything to restore our confidence in those markets.There are a couple of reasons we lost confidence in the financial markets. One is that stuff we had bought - stocks,

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-26698621502998127552011-05-03T16:56:00.002-04:002011-05-03T17:14:26.844-04:00

Here's a question for anyone who would agree with Ezra Klein's claim that the 2001 and the 2003 tax cuts were the two biggest contributors to the federal budget deficit...How in the world do you justify that position? The 'deficit' is the amount by which spending exceeds revenue ('surplus' is the amount by which revenues exceed expenditures, a condition never to be seen again). Government

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-19267064862084700802011-04-28T08:58:00.002-04:002011-04-28T09:03:45.696-04:00

Having already voted for the Ryan budget once while in the House, why would recently appointed Nevada Senator Dean Heller have any issues with voting for it again?But from the perspective of a Democrat, the Ryan budget is toxic and damaging to anyone who voices support of it. Obviously, the GOP feels differently.And with the public indicating more support for the GOP's approach to the economy,

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-64168635469648563662011-04-25T13:39:00.002-04:002011-04-25T13:52:12.818-04:00

Two law firms. Two unpopular clients. Two different reaction.One major law firm just dropped a client because some people don't think highly of the client. A second law firm continues to defend their representation of a client notwithstanding that a lot of people aren't too happy with the then-client...The former? King and Spalding, announcing they won't defend the Defense of Marriage Act.The

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-82852948365220364272011-04-25T08:05:00.002-04:002011-04-25T08:07:32.648-04:00

Tell me again why it wouldn't be better to just shoot every Taliban on the spot rather than capture them only to let them escape?

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-74318990544681474912011-04-25T07:25:00.000-04:002011-04-25T08:42:53.609-04:00

A claim made by those who would tax employer provided health care benefits (either by deeming it income to the employee or disallowing the deduction by the employer) is that ending the current arrangement would give the employee an incentive to shop around for the cheapest coverage.Huh?Please point to a single company that currently provides health insurance coverage for its employees that isn't

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-83497846314509138752011-04-22T16:21:00.004-04:002011-04-22T16:40:17.884-04:00

I'm not sure what to make of complaints that BP gets to deduct its gulf clean up costs from its tax return...It certainly is legal to do so, those costs are definitely an expense that BP has incurred, and business expenses are legitimately written off against income. And if as a result of those costs, BP has no remaining net income, then it follows that BP isn't going to be writing a tax check

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-75370769173710744812011-04-22T08:46:00.003-04:002011-04-22T09:05:10.530-04:00

Here's some advice from a marketer to politicians (of both aisles): No matter what the topic is, whenever you cite your reasons for taking the position that you have, you absolutely positively need to make the public feel they have a vested interest in your accomplishing your goal.It doesn't matter what the subject is, the public just won't care if they don't think their lives are going to be

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-11382007045739168492011-04-13T20:42:00.002-04:002011-04-13T20:53:04.271-04:00

I neither watched nor listened to Obama's speech on how he is (not) going to tackle the deficit, but I can't help but think all his critics - both on the left and the right - are missing something: they weren't the target, Obama wasn't speaking to them... yet they're criticizing Obama from their perspective.This is a bit like some snobby film critic panning some throwaway action film; of course

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-19096625036703353062011-04-13T10:45:00.003-04:002011-04-13T11:30:48.999-04:00

Since 'to pivot' implies a change of direction, in what way is it an appropriate use of the word to refer to Obama's proposing to raise taxes?Hasn't he, pretty much from Day One of his presidential campaign called for raising taxes? When did he ever NOT want to raise taxes? Obama isn't 'pivoting' from not wanting to raise taxes to raising taxes, he is simply using concern over the federal

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-74420799321896187672011-04-11T17:00:00.002-04:002011-04-11T17:05:04.858-04:00

In the latest chapter of advice the GOP won't listen to, I suggest that they agree to raise the debt limit... but only by a specified amount... with that amount calculated as the amount by which expected tax revenues fall short of the spending the GOP wishes to authorize.If tax revenues are expected to come in at $1 trillion, then the GOP approves an increase in the debt of only $.5 trillion...

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-88032280839803487312011-04-04T17:35:00.003-04:002011-04-04T17:50:55.587-04:00

In a world where perception is reality and where perception is the product of presentation, then the loser of the budget fight is going to be the side that does the worst job of making its case to the American people. Put another way, the GOP can win the fight if it makes the Democrats appear to be the ones who are the ones screwing around.... as in, 'wehttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif'd

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-80225492184994718992011-04-04T14:38:00.002-04:002011-04-04T14:41:38.612-04:00

The funny thing about this report that the Obama Administration is complaining that Libya is a distraction from their economic message is that I figured they would have welcomed anything that distracted us from paying attention to their god-awful economic message.

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-79723263227938971282011-03-31T12:03:00.003-04:002011-03-31T12:11:15.103-04:00

What's missing from the following comment from Speaker Boehner?“It is our position and we will continue to fight for everything that is in it,” he said. “We are going to continue to fight for the largest spending cuts that we can get, to keep the government open and fund it through the balance of this fiscal year”What is missing is Boehner explaining the REASON for why the GOP is pushing cuts in

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-26553895465055800652011-03-29T12:29:00.003-04:002011-03-29T14:18:25.321-04:00

The continuing saga of 'If only the GOP had a clue...'They wouldn't be talking about Libya but rather devoting all of their energy and the airtime they could get to set the stage for the upcoming battle over government spending... and in particular, doing their best to portray the Democrats as the ones who should get blamed if the government shuts down as a result of the Democrats refusal to make

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-15184912533952588562011-03-29T05:08:00.001-04:002011-03-29T10:23:21.657-04:00

Maybe someone can explain the thinking of online advertisers who come up with ads such as this that are injected before you get to see the page you've clicked on. (if the ad doesn't display when you click, it is simply a pop-up ad that comes up for some number of seconds before moving on to the page you want to see)Do they think we're so easily distracted that we'll forget about getting to where

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-79900715671606043182011-03-22T06:15:00.000-04:002011-03-22T08:25:47.705-04:00

Let's be clear, there is one and only one reason that justifies committing American troops to any form of combat: to protect America and Americans from harm.And that isn't what is happening in Libya.The lives of our troops are not tools to be used in attempts to win the hearts and minds of the Arab world or to protect them from the depredations of their leaders.Here's the test: if sending our

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-70429456625798333592011-03-16T12:05:00.002-04:002011-03-16T12:08:15.082-04:00

If, as Jonah Goldberg argues, the situation in Japan doesn't warrant all of the hysteria, then is Obama worthy of the criticism he has received for not paying enough attention to the situation?

stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5107566.post-82561913525616879762011-03-16T05:54:00.000-04:002011-03-16T09:04:20.176-04:00

Sally Jenkins gets all whiny, arguing that public financing of NFL stadiums obligates the NFL to play this year.Well... unfortunately, the public wasn't smart enough to insist on those terms when it doled out the money. Nor were ticket holders smart enough to insist on those terms when they paid upfront for seat licenses and tickets for the 2011 season.I won't argue with Jenkins' assertions that

stevenoreply@blogger.com