Porkopolis on Ohio 2nd Election

A lot of buzz out on the political blogshpere on the upcoming special election in the Ohio 2nd.

For readers visiting this site via links from other blogs looking for coverage on the election, a link to With all due respect Major Hackett and Candidate Jean Schmidt is conveniently provided.

Update: Reading BizzyBlog's excellent coverage, I was reminded of my posts Paul Hackett on Taxes and Candidate Paul Hackett wants to increase middle-class Social Security taxes by up to $7,440 per year.

Whatever the outcome, let's appreciate the fact that we have an opportunity to participate in a representative democracy. A privilege some take for granted and many in China, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Cuba, North Korea and many more are not afforded.

That about sizes it up

Via BizzyBlog:

In search of intelligence beings

Remember this rant expressing frustration that our $25 billion a year 'intelligence' service had yet to determine if newly elected Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, was once involved in the U.S. Embassy hostage crisis?

Well, there's an update. Here the latest from the world's most expensive intelligence service:

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The State Department on Friday called on Iran to respond clearly to allegations that its incoming president was a leader of the student movement that orchestrated the takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran in 1979.

"It is the responsibility of the Iranian government to respond to these charges frankly and clearly," said spokesman Sean McCormack.

The White House said Thursday that Iran's incoming president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, was a leader of the student movement during a fundamentalist revolution that overthrew the pro-U.S. Shah and held 52 Americans hostage for 444 days.

Six former hostages have identified the president-elect as one of their captors.

McCormack said those former hostages "have talked very specifically about what they remember as his participation in interrogations."

"I don't think that we have heard definitively from them on that score," he said of Iran's leaders.

An ongoing U.S. investigation has not produced "anything that would contradict what these former hostages have said," McCormack said.

'An on going U.S. investigation'?!? ...This guy was running for the leadership position in one of the 'Axis of Evil' and nobody over at the CIA thought of preemptively putting together a dossier on him?

Porkopolis doesn't believe this for a minute. Why is the White House being so coy at sharing what it knows with everyone else? They have not produced "anything that would contradict" what the former hostages have claimed. Why don't they just simply say that they have information that supports the former hostages' claims? Is Iran, charter member of the 'Axis of Evil' worthy of this diplomatic pussyfooting?

Sin of Omission

This theme (Sin of Omission) is a continuation (see: Sin of Omission for 5/22/2005). The New York Times' Suggestions of Strength in Economy discusses the robust economy and the prospects for growth through year end. What's missing?; Any mention of the Bush Tax cuts.

Would anyone argue that if the deficit wasn't going down and the economy wasn't showing steady and substainable growth that The New York Times would not be raking the Bush administration over the coals right about now? How about a little credit where credit is due?

Can we afford the energy bill?

It's bad enough that the energy bill now working its way through Congress may cost taxpayers close to $36 billion over the next five years. Worse, it actually contains provisions that would increase the cost of energy in the years ahead. Can we afford the energy bill?, Washington Times

Update:

Most egregious is the gigantic transfer of wealth from car drivers to Midwest corn farmers (and Archer-Daniels-Midland) via a new 7.5-billion-gallon-a-year ethanol mandate, which will raise gas prices by as much as a dime a gallon on the East and West coasts. Oh, and don't forget the $15 billion (a 155% increase) in federal home heating subsidies, $100 million for "fuel cell" school buses, and $6 million for a government program to encourage people to ride their bikes... Capitol Hill Blowout

Government: A bottomless pit

Relying on unexpected revenue to keep deficits down is like hoping an unexpected arrival of alcohol will help a drunk toward sobriety. The availability of money encourages free-spending Republicans and Democrats to find new programs, or pad old ones, for the purpose of extending their political careers. Cal Thomas in townhall.com

Hat Tip: Wizblog (Does Federal Mean Forever?)

Ohio 2nd Political Cartoon

Hat Tip: BizzyBlog

House Democrats propose Social Security plan

From U.S. Newswire:

WASHINGTON, July 26 /U.S. Newswire/ -- House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi joined Reps. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Earl Pomeroy (D-N.D.), Ron Kind (D-Wis.), and Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.) at a news conference this afternoon to unveil House Democrats' new retirement security plan, AmeriSave.

Details on the plan aren't available yet, but does anyone think tax increases are not involved? Anyone?...Anyone?.... Didn't think so.

More:
House Democrats roll out retirement plan CNN
Democrats to Offer Retirement-Savings Plan Washington Post
Democrats introduce savings plan MarketWatch
AmeriSave: Recycled Good Ideas that Avoid the Main Problem Heritage Foundation
Here's the Dem's "plan" in place of Social Security reform Social Security Choice

Update: Neal Boortz also comes to the conculsion that tax increases are in the cards. (Hat Tip: WMD)

Out-of-the-box thinking with Coal

Tech Central Station has an extremely well written article entitled 'Green Coal?' making the case for exploiting our nation's coal supply with coal gasification technology.

Coal Gasification is a good backgrounder on the process.

Along with Eastman Chemical Co. (referred to in the article), investors researching companies that transform coal should also look at Sasol. (Full disclosure: Porkopolis currently holds a stock position in Sasol).

Leaks in the Democratic Party

Top Secret Democrat Party Strategy Meeting - Exposed! is to funny to be missed.

Good Question

Weapons of Mass Discussion asks, "What Good is a Spending Cap if it Can Be Overridden?"

"They're just doing it for spite."...Duh, that's the point!

"We would act just as these cities have been acting in seizing properties. We would give Souter the same sort of deal," said Logan Darrow Clements of Los Angeles. A rival proposal from townspeople would turn Souter's land into a park commemorating the Constitution.

Souter has declined to comment on the matter, but he has defenders, such as Betty Straw, his sixth-grade teacher. "I think it's absolutely ridiculous," she said. "They're just doing it for spite." (For Souter, Seizure Ruling May Hit Home, Washington Post)

Someone get Eleanor Clift a copy of the Constitution

Last night on the McLaughlin Group, Eleanor Clift had to be reminded by John MchLaughlin that the Supreme Court does not make the laws, it just interprets them (See: Article I, Section 1 and Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution).

Note: Previously posted on July 25 and updated with text of official transcript now available.

The transcript is now available on the show's web site here (search on the July 22, 2005 program). Here's the discussion in question:

MR. MCLAUGHLIN: Well, don't you think "settled law" means that he would think it would be unconscionable to be activist in trying to overturn Roe v. Wade?

MS. CLIFT: But the forum in which he said that was to be appointed to a court where you don't make law, you just interpret law. Now, he's going to the Supreme Court, where you do make law. So it's a very different situation.

MR. MCLAUGHLIN: Well, the Supreme Court interprets the law, according to the legislature and the Constitution.

Pork in Highway Bill weakens us in the War on Terror

The President should veto the Highway bill to show he's serious about pork barrel spending. Porkopolis supports the Club for Growth and its Open Letter to President Bush.

As noted earlier, Pork is the terrorist's friend; diverting resources from those that defend us and legitimate initiatives in the War on Terror.

The elimination of pork barrel politics is just another front on the War on Terror. As the Scottish proverb on the sidebar says, "Willful waste makes woeful want".

Update: Roll out the pork barrel:

Huge as the bill was, it wasn't quite huge enough for Representative Don Young of Alaska, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. ''It's not as big as what he'd like," a committee spokesman said, ''but is still a very good bill and will play a major role in addressing transportation and highway needs."

One wonders what more Young could have wanted. The bill funnels upward of $941 million to 119 earmarked projects in Alaska, including $223 million for a mile-long bridge linking an island with 50 residents to a town of 8,000. Another $231 million is earmarked for a new bridge in Anchorage, to be named -- this is specified in the legislation -- Don Young's Way. There is $3 million for a film ''about infrastructure that demonstrates advancements in Alaska, the last frontier." The bill even doffs its cap to Young's wife, Lu: The House formally called it ''The Transportation Equity Act -- a Legacy for Users," or TEA-LU.

The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few

This post is a must read to put the tragedy of all innocent deaths in the war on terror in perspective: The cold calculus of fighting terrorism.

The Sinkhole Grows

In the 1990s, the Republican party sought to abolish the Department of Education as an inappropriate intrusion into state, local, and family affairs. The GOP platform was clear: "The Federal government has no constitutional authority to be involved in school curricula or to control jobs in the market place. This is why we will abolish the Department of Education."

Ever since President Carter created the Department of Education, the GOP had wanted to get rid of it. But today, with President Bush leading the way, the GOP is embracing the idea that the federal government should play a larger role in education. Sounding like the evil twins of 1990s Republicans, President Bush and his administration speak with great pride about increasing federal funding for education. .. (Via Tech Central Station)

Pork is the terrorist's friend

Call this another confirmation of the sorriest rule in American politics: In Washington, it is easier to pass a bad bill than a good one. National security and American lives may be at stake -- but the forces of pork-barrel spending will win out. Debra Saunders -- Townhall.com

Great Joke

Via Club for Growth:

A woman, in a hot air balloon, realized she was lost. She lowered her altitude, and spotted a man in a boat below.

She shouted to him, “Excuse me. Can you help me? I promised a friend I would meet him an hour ago. But, I don’t know where I am.”

The man consulted his portable GPS, and replied, “You’re in a hot air balloon, approximately 30 feet above a ground elevation of 2346 feet above sea level. You are at 31 degrees, 14.97 minutes North latitude, and 100 degrees, 49.09 minutes West longitude.

She rolled her eyes, and said, “You must be a Republican.”

“I am,” replied the man. “How did you know?”

“Well,” answered the balloonist, “everything you told me is technically correct. But, I have no idea what to do with your information. And, I am still lost. Frankly, you have not been much help to me.”

The man smiled and responded, “You must be a Democrat.”

“I am!”, replied the balloonist. “How did you know?”

“Well…”, said the man, “You do not know where you are or where you are going. You have risen to where you are, due to a large quantity of hot air. You made a promise, that you have no idea how to keep. And, you expect me to solve your problem. You are in exactly the same position you were in before we met. But somehow, now it’s all my fault.”

Excellent Political Analysis

Democrats' partisan descriptions of `red state' lifestyles don't stand up to serious analysis

Mega Hat Tip: Betsy's Page

Taking side bets on this prediciton

If you want to know what Democratic Party talking points are, I've found that one way is to listen to Juan Williams on Fox News roundtables. Today he trotted out a new line of attack on Judge Roberts. According to Williams, Roberts is really just a corporate, big business lawyer and Bush's choice of Roberts is in line with this entire administration's pattern of coddling big business. Expect Enron and Halliburton to be flashed subliminally in the attack ads. Betsy's Page

Karl Rove strikes again

How else can you explain this melt-down from the left. Only the diabolic mind of Karl Rove could have Machiavellianly engineered Ms. Givhan to write An Image A Little Too Carefully Coordinated as a comment on this scene:



By the way, where was Ms. Givhan and her similarly minded leftists on John Edwards' kids:

So far, Rob Portman appears clueless on Intellectual Property rights.

Porkopolis strongly agrees, and has advocated (see: I'll buy that), a strong aggressive policy of international intellectual property (IP) rights protection. BizzyBlog rightlyfully utilizes (IP) in formulating question #3 on his Weekend's Unanswered Questions:

QUESTION 3: Why is the idea of allowing Unocal to be sold to a company 70% owned by the Chinese government still in play, while China’s intellectual-property
outrages go unchecked?

Like BizzyBlog, Porkopolis is anxious to see former Ohio 2nd Representative Rob Portman apply some Midwest sensibility; posthaste.

Blogsphere does it again: thought provocation

An Argument Against NYC Bag Searches

Update: A debate over security profiling on John Kasich's Heartland (video).

What do you get when more time is spent planning the wedding than the marriage?

'Til Death Do Us Part' Is Dying Out

A liberal could not put up a more destructive site to the cause of conservatism

This site is not what conservative Americans stand for. This way of thinking is no better that islamofacist terrorism. True conservatives should denounce such rhetoric.

And true conservatives know, that like the Colorado River making its way to the sea through the landscape of the southwest, the truth will eventually wear down the illogic of the left.

Timetable?...yeah right!

The next time someone demands a timetable for the war in Iraq, ask them to name just one war — anywhere — that had such a thing. Random Thoughts

Hat Tip: Cleveland Townhall

Ohio State University staff member caught red-handed attempting to suppress free speech.

Apparently, someone has been obscounding free, paper copies of the conservatively oriented OSU Sentinel: Sentinel Bandit: OSU Staff has photo evidence. This is probably an advertising opportunity...Read the paper that some have gone to extreme lengths to keep away from you.

Weekly Standard: The Four-Day War

The Four-Day War (Who did Saddam Hussein turn to after President Clinton launched Operation Desert Fox? Osama bin Laden.) starts off with the following two quotes and then explores the Saddam-Osama connection.

"The British and the American people loudly declared their support for their leaders decision to attack Iraq. It is the duty of Muslims to confront, fight, and kill them." -Osama bin Laden, as quoted in various press accounts, December 26, 1998

"Oh sons of Arabs and the Arab Gulf, rebel against the foreigner . . . Take revenge for your dignity, holy places, security, interests, and exalted values." -Saddam Hussein, January 5, 1999

Hat Tip: Wizblog

Alternative Minimum Tax...days hopefully numbered

Michael Meckler has a good post on the AMT getting a close look by the President's commission reviewing the tax code. Now if we can only get working on a Flat Tax, which Porkopolis strongly supports and Michael opposes. Evidence is mounting that the Flat Tax is starting to gather steam; at least in Europe:

Flat-tax advocates - and there are many here - say the reform has encouraged tax compliance and added to the flow of foreign investors.

And from The flat-tax revolution:

THE more complicated a country's tax system becomes, the easier it is for governments to make it more complicated still, in an accelerating process of proliferating insanity—until, perhaps, a limit of madness is reached and a spasm of radical simplification is demanded. In 2005, many of the world's rich countries seem far along this curve. The United States, which last simplified its tax code in 1986, and which spent the next two decades feverishly unsimplifying it, may soon be coming to a point of renewed fiscal catharsis. Other rich countries, with a tolerance for tax-code sclerosis even greater than America's, may not be so far behind. Revenue must be raised, of course. But is there no realistic alternative to tax codes which, as they discharge that sad but necessary function, squander resources on an epic scale and grind the spirit of the helpless taxpayer as well?

Economist Mag: George Bush's education reforms may be working

Now for the good news:

THERE is no shortage of bad news for the White House these days. The Washington press corps is on death watch outside the house of Karl Rove, George Bush's chief adviser, and the car bombs continue to explode across Iraq. Yet last Thursday also saw some rare good news. It is buried in a pretty obscure place, in a report published by the National Assessment of Educational Progress. But it has some big implications—not only for Mr Bush's much-maligned claim that he is a different sort of conservative, but also for the future health of American society.

Any doubt that if the report referenced in this article showed a negative trend in test scores, Bush would be blamed?

Paul Hackett on Taxes

Via Project Logic:

Paul Hackett's record after three years on the Milford City Council:

Voted to increase cemetary rates. (Ordinance No. 96-1705)
Voted to increase water and sewage rates. (Ordinance No. 96-1711)
Voted to increase fees for building permits. (Ordinance No. 97-1786)
Voted to adopt a transient occupancy tax (Ordinance No. 98-1905)
Voted to increase sewer rates again. (Ordinance No. 98-1853)
Voted to increase water rates again. (Ordinance No. 98-1852)
Voted twice to authorize new tax levies.

Senator Kennedy feels the heat at Guantanamo

Soldiers from Massachusetts and Hawaii who work at the U.S. military detention facility at U.S. Naval Base Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, gave visiting home-state senators a piece of their mind last week.

The Air Car

Cool new technology that claims 2,000 km (approx. 1,200 miles) driving range.

Check your sales receipts

Stores collecting too much tax...Corollary to Murphy's Law: if there's an error, it won't be in your favor.

I, Pencil

I, Pencil is a thoroughly thought provoking essay published in 1958 that compliments Libertarianism.

Mega Hat Tip: Club for Growth

French Lies Sink British Ties

Great post title (which can't be improved upon) by CQ and great post, French Lies Sink British Ties:

The French continue to isolate themselves in the war on terror. First they allegedly concocted the forged documents that came to the CIA and caused a row over the State of the Union speech. Now they have gone out of their way to lie about sensitive information in the middle of the London bombing case simply to score a couple of political points, enraging the British and threatening to end cooperation between the two countries on intelligence:

Update on Cobell v. Norton

A few weeks ago, Porkopolis posted Cobell v. Norton and commented on the mismanagement at the Interior Department.

U.S. Berated Over Indians' Treatment is an article in the Washington Post that starts as follows:

In a scathing rebuke of the federal government's treatment of Native Americans, a federal judge yesterday ordered the Interior Department to include notices in its correspondence with Indians whose land the government holds in trust, warning them that the government's information may not be credible.

U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth, who has presided for nearly 10 years over a class-action suit on behalf of 500,000 Indians whose land the government has leased to mining, ranching and timber interests, issued one of his most strongly worded opinions on the case...

...The Interior Department, in a statement, said the opinion "contains intemperate rhetoric uncommon to jurisprudence, but made common in this case" and pointed out that the District Court's opinion has been overturned in the three most recent appeals filed.

Newseum's Front Pages

Newseum's Front Pages is being added to the Blog roll. It has a graphically rich interface to the Newspaper front pages.

Pay defenders of liberty more with savings from eliminating pork barrel spending

Porkopolis stronly agrees with Ben Stein's argument that:

...people in uniform should get more pay.

But Porkopolis strongly disagrees

...that upper-income people like me (and I am a welfare mother by Wall Street standards) should pay more tax...

is a solution. At least not until we have fully exhausted the elimination of wasteful pork barrel spending and outdated government programs as a revenue source.

Elimination of pork barrel spending alone would be an immediate source of revenue that can put directly into salaries for the people in uniform that protect us.

LA Times caught red-handed...again

L.A. Times Airbrushes Web Version of Article to Fix a Substantive Error Without Issuing Correction

Pin the 'tale' on the donkey

Hat Tip: Say Anything

This will make you proud

This excellent tribute to Captain Brian Chontosh is worth visiting. Captain Chontosh received the Navy Cross Medal (the second highest award for combat bravery the United States can bestow) in May of 2004.

It's hard not to get even a bit chocked-up while viewing the tribute.

Thanks to Eric Minamyer for pointing it out.

Oh, what a tangled web we weave...

Editorial Malpractice commented on The New York Times' too cute by half correction of an Op-Ed pieced by Captain Philip Carter. The correction text was as follows:

The Op-Ed page in some copies yesterday carried an incorrect version of an article about military recruitment. The writer, an Army reserve officer, did not say, "Imagine my surprise the other day when I received orders to report to Fort Campbell, Ky., next Sunday," nor did he characterize his recent call-up to active duty as the precursor to a "surprise tour of Iraq." That language was added by an editor and was to have been removed before the article was published. Because of a production error, it was not. The Times regrets the error.

The Times' Public Editor, Byron Calame, wrote a piece today attempting to further explain the correction. As you will see momentarily, the article is ironically entitled 'When an Explanation Doesn't Explain Enough'. Where's the irony? Consider the following:

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We must go back to early June to start finding answers to these questions. That's when Captain Carter, then still a lawyer in a San Francisco firm, submitted a 700-word Op-Ed piece that urged President Bush to make a military recruiting speech. The analysis had already been edited when Captain Carter sent an e-mail message to the paper on June 22 that said the Army had "recalled" him for duty in Iraq.

Captain Carter's message led The Times that same afternoon to propose the textual changes that alluded to the surprise of his call to active duty, the officer said. "Within 10 minutes" after receiving the changes, he recalled, "I said, 'No way.' Those were not words I would have said. It left the impression that I was conscripted." His call-up was "not a surprise," he told me, because he had actually "volunteered" for mobilization. (It's not clear when the editors first learned that he had volunteered for active duty.)

The emphasized text above, in context, should seem strange to the seasoned blogger. Why is Mr. Calame explaining the genesis of the "surprise" statement in the following way?:

Captain Carter's message led The Times that same afternoon to propose the textual changes that alluded to the surprise of his call to active duty, the officer said.

Why is it "the officer said" and not "Editor Shipley said", who is referred to later in the article? Wouldn't you think if the New York Times created the error, Mr. Calame would try to get the explanation straight from the horse's mouth; the editor that inserted the "surprise" statement?

Why don't we have a direct quote from the editor saying something to the effect of, "After receiving Captain Carter's email, the 'surprise' statement was added"? Is it because at that point Mr. Calame would have to start exploring the editor's state of mind and what evidence Mr. Carter's email gave for the recall to be categorized as a "surprise"?

Instead the 'explanation' continues with this:

An e-mail response from his editor later in the day continued to press for mentioning the call to active duty. "O.K.," it said, according to Captain Carter, "but we need the personal reference. Not only does it make the piece stronger, we otherwise would not be forthcoming with the readers."

What's with the "according to Captain Carter" thing again? Doesn't Mr. Calame have access to the email sent out by the Times editor?!?

We then get this juicy paragraph:

In subsequent telephone conversations, Captain Carter told me, "I indicated I would pull the piece before having textual references added." David Shipley, the editor in charge of the Op-Ed pages, confirms the officer's threat. So the version of the article with the suggested "surprise" phrases in the text was cast aside. It was then agreed that a reference to active duty would be included in the author identification that ran with the article.

Sounds like the editor Mr. Carter was working with was being fairly insistent on the "surprise" statement and Mr. Carter had to threaten to pull the piece before the Times backed off.

The 'explanation' at this point goes on to detail the mechanics of how the "surprise" statement was left in for the final copy having totally missed (or purposely avoided) an opportunity to deal with the proverbial elephant in the room.

Public Editor Calame's explanation of the explanation is lame, wanting and brings up more questions that need to be addressed.

Update: FUNNIEST SENTENCE EVER PRINTED IN THE NY TIMES... by Michelle Malkin

Update 2: Power Line notes that the explanation's "facts suggest an almost unbelievable persistence on the part of the Times in putting the desired words in the officer's mouth..."

Update 3: Say Anything: "Mistakes happen, we can all understand that, but the problem at the heart of this issue is not that a mistake happened but that it reveals an inherent bias at the heart of the Times editorial staff."

Update 4: Rathergate.com: "No bias here, just idiocy. Move along, until the next time we have to lower ourselves to answer to you."

Update 5: Regret the Error hones in on this quote from editor David Shipley in the piece which is worthy of a comment:

This sort of give-and-take is standard practice on the Op-Ed pages. "We try to clarify and improve copy," said Mr. Shipley. "We do this for the benefit of our contributors, many of whom are not professional writers. We do not impose language on them - if they want something out or something in, we accede to their wishes. They have final sign-off."

One can understand the "give-and-take" of an editorial process, but how about the mind reading? Right at this point there was an opportunity for Public Editor Calame to explore the insertion of the "surprise".

Wasn't Mr. Calame the slightest bit curious during the interview with Mr. Shipley of how he (Mr. Shipley or whichever editor inserted the "surprise") had the insight into Captain Carter's state of mind? What evidence was there to conclude that Captain Carter would have feelings of "surprise"? If, as is suspected, there was no evidence, the "surprise" was literally and figuratively all in the Times editors' head.

Update 6: Too Rich: the NYT Explains Actively Biasing a Story

Great site for history buffs

Digital History's interactive Timeline is part of the University of Houston Digital History project. A great site for students and American History buffs. It would be great to see a similar project for World History.

Sci Fi Channel Videos

Check out the SciFi Channel promotional videos. 'Ballon Dog' in particular is defintely ROFLMA material. Very creative stuff; requires QuickTime.

Invertebrates posing as Republican Congressman and Senators

The Open End notes and comments on our spineless representatives' inability to cut off funding for Public Broadcasting. At the very least, NPR should get off of the public dole.

The Best Family Show on Television

With all the junk that's on television, it's nice to find a show that the whole family can watch and that actually has something for everyone; young and old. The Dog Whisperer on National Geographic is just this type of show.

The show offers so much on many different levels. It has drama, life lessons (like goal setting, discipline, responsibility), comedy, realisms (not made-up reality), and much more. Each episode is not only for the dogs that are helped, but for the dog owners/partners as well.

You don't have to be a dog owner to enjoy this show. It's a tail wagging experience for all.

Michigan Gov. Granholm has a hissy fit

Looks like Democratic Governor Granholm of Michigan didn't like the WSJ calling her out on her tax raising policies: Of Taxes and 'Treason'.

Hat Tip: Instapundit

ABC News claims Saddam-al Qaida link

If you remember this post (WMD: Saddam was the WMD) , one of the points made in support of Matt Hurley's argument was this from the Joint Resolution authorized by Congress (voted for by both Republicans and Democrats):

Whereas members of al Qaida, an organization bearing responsibility for attacks on the United States, its citizens, and interests, including the attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, are known to be in Iraq;

This January 14, 1999 (as in Clinton Adminstration era) video news report by Sheila MacVicar (realPlayer) shows that ABC News also felt there was a clear connection established between al Qaida and Saddam.

(Hat Tip: Roger Simon)

Update: Power Line also is posting on this.

Update 2: Betsy's Page also comments and points us to Stephen Hayes's article 'The Mother of All Connections'

Happy Birthday Matt Maupin

Happy Birthday Matt Maupin. Ohioans of all political stripes hope for your quick and safe return. A diligence to Matt's return should be a priority for aspiring Congresswoman Jean Schmidt.



Update: Ohio 2nd asks a fair question; though the link to 'priority' alluded to the answer. To be more specific, the representive of the 2nd District should be monitoring our government's efforts to find Matt. Reminding the Commander in Chief of the situation is a very important step in this effort.

Think of how many others, when given an opportunity to meet with the President, would try to veer the conversation to a favorite pet project or some other agenda. Ms. Schmidt used that opportunity to remind President Bush about Matt Maupin and she should be commended for that.

Another thing Ms. Schmidt could do is take Rob Portman's lead in activities like this. Were Hackett to be sent to Washington representing the district, we should expect no less from him on behalf a of a neighbor and constituent.

Congressman Cunningham

Remember Congressman Cunningham? Looks like he won't be seeking re-election as a result of the ethical mess he has gotten himself into.

Political Cohones

So Joe Wilson is asking for Karl Rove's firing. Talk about political cohones; especially when you consider the evidence of Wilson's disingenuousness.

Some may be reminded of similar audacity from a burgular suing a homeowner.

Aren't secret agent double-oh-you're-such-a-zero Wilson's 15 minutes up yet?

Update: Now this is some serious fisking.

Update 2: Fire Rove? How about Jail Wilson?

Update 3: Plame security breach? It just ain't so, Joe

As I wrote in this space a year ago, an ambassador, in Sir Henry Wootton's famous dictum, is a good man sent abroad to lie for his country; this ambassador came home to lie to his. What we have here is, in effect, the old standby plot of lame Hollywood conspiracy thrillers: rogue elements within the CIA attempting to destabilize the elected government. If the left's view of the world is now so insanely upside-down that that's the side they want to be on, good for them. But ''leaking'' the name of Wilson's wife and promoter within the CIA didn't ''endanger her life'' or ''compromise her mission.'' Au contraire, exposing the nature of this fraudulent, compromised mission might conceivably prevent the American people having their lives endangered.

Hat Tip:Kudlow's Money Politic$

Who said math can't be funny?

HISTORY OF TEACHING MATH

Hat Tip: Club for Growth

Woodshed?; More like put through the woodchipper

From Power Line:

Hugh Hewitt takes the Washington Post to the woodshed. It's a mismatch. As Hugh says, the mainstream media just make up the news to fit their political preconceptions. This is beyond embarrassing, and beyond incompetent. If there is someone out there who wants the Post to survive as an institution, the time has come to carry out an intervention.

Power Line v. New York Times

Halfway through reading Power Line's 'Is Hypocrisy Still Considered A Vice?' you may start feeling sorry for the New York Times and the pounding it's getting....NOT!

Update: JustOneMinute piles on...it's like a scene from a boxing movie in super-slow-mo where one boxer's face deforms around the glove of his opponent.

(Hat Tip: Michele Malkin)

The Rapidly Declining Deficit

Michael Darda (Chief Economist at MKM Partners) was on C-SPAN's Washington Journal this morning discussing his recent article for the National Review entitled 'The Rapidly Declining Deficit'.

According to the Treasury department, the U.S. government took in a single-day record $61 billion in tax receipts on June 15. This surpassed the previous single-day high of $56 billion set on December 15, 2000. The recent surge in tax revenues is not just a one-day event. Fiscal year to date, total government receipts are up 15.5 percent, the fastest rate of increase on a comparable FYTD basis since 1981.

This is also noteworthy:

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Unfortunately, the finer points of dynamic scoring escape the “logic” of the no-growth neo-Malthusian Democrats and the root-canal contingent in the Republican party. Both would be well advised to look at the record of the Baltic states, some of which have had flat taxes for over a decade. Flat-tax countries have experienced superior macroeconomic performance and rapid tax-revenue growth despite undergoing the same unfavorable demographic trends that have plagued Western Europe and Japan. This is no accident.

Update: The Laffer Curve Strikes Again

Wanting our cake and eat it too

The NYT's article Cancer Drugs Offer Hope, but at a Huge Expense whines about the cost of new cancer drugs being developed. Porkopolis offers some food for thought to balance the article:

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• The article states that "The government does not control drug prices, and Medicare is prohibited from making coverage decisions based on cost; it must base its decisions solely on the drugs' performance."
  
  The reader is referred to a study entitled 'Are Drug Price Controls Good for Your Health?' in which it states:
  
  "Collecting national data for the U.S. for 1960–2001 and using multiple regression analysis, we find that from 1992 to 2001 a 10 percent increase in the growth of government's share of total spending on pharmaceuticals was associated with a 6.7 percent annual reduction in the growth of pharmaceutical prices. Two new laws, OBRA of 1990 and the Veterans Act of 1992, aimed at controlling drug prices under public programs, account for much of this impact."
  
  OBRA: "Under the Omnibus BudgetReconciliation Act of 1990 (OBRA), drug manufacturers must provide rebates to state Medicaid programs for their outpatient drugs in exchange forMedicaid coverage. For brand-name drugs, the minimum rebate is 15.1% of theaverage manufacturer price (AMP). During fiscal year 1999, the rebates stateMedicaid programs collectively received amounted to about 19% of overallpayments for prescription drugs."
  
  Veterans Act of 1992: "The 340B Drug Pricing Program was established in response to the passage of Section 340B of U.S. Public Law 102-585, the Veterans Health Care Act of 1992. Section 340B of this law limits the cost of drugs to federal purchasers and to certain grantees of federal agencies. Significant savings on pharmaceuticals may be seen by those entities who participate in this program."
  
  While these controls are not in the much larger Medicare program the article refers to, it does illustrate that the government is already involved in drug price controls. What impact have these controls had so far?
  
  
• 'Are Drug Price Controls Good for Your Health?' makes a resonable assertion on the impact of current and prescribed (pun intended) controls:
  
  "Using these regression results, we then simulate how the prices for medicines would have differed throughout the period from 1960 to 2001 in the absence of any government influence. The simulation implied that the ratio of the pharmaceutical price index to the general price index would have been 1.27 rather than 0.94 in 2001, suggesting that pharmaceutical prices would have been about 35 percent higher, on average, in the absence of this government influence.
  
  Using the predicted trend in pharmaceutical prices without government influence and an established elasticity of R&D spending with respect to drug prices from prior research, we determined that the resulting government-induced loss of capitalized pharmaceutical R&D expenditures was $188 billion (in 2000 dollars) from 1960 to 2001. This "lost" R&D may be translated into human life years "lost"—literally, increased pain and suffering and shorter lives caused by the absence of new medicines and future research—by using results from recent econometric work on the productivity of pharmaceutical R&D in the U.S. over the same period. We conclude that the federal government's influence on real drug prices cost the U.S. economy approximately 140 million life years between 1960 and 2001."
  
  This makes economic sense...you limit the financial resources drug companies have for additional research and development, you limit the drugs that come out of that lost research and development. No resources/profits...no research; at least from private drug companies.
  
  
• Many will say that drug companies (executives, shareholders, doctors/reseachers, etc.) are just getting rich when they sell the results of their research at high prices. To that Porkopolis says: YES!; that's the idea. Along with getting rich they're also being motivated to keep managing (executives), taking investment risk (shareholders), studying hard and conducting research (doctors/researchers).
  
  If you advocate drug price controls, ask yourself this question...Why don't you personally stop whatever you're doing right now and go off to medical school, pay for all your tuition out of your own pocket, become a research scientist, go work for a pharmaceutical company and donate your salary to the cause of lower drug prices? The question is not meant to be snippy, but it does aspire to put you in an economic supply and demand mindset.
  
  Still have angst about all the profits being made? Then become a shareholder in drug companies creating all these new expensive, life saving drugs (by the way, don't forget there will be risk) and donate your profits to charitable institutions.
  
  If you're an individual that may need these life saving drugs in the future, consider becoming a shareholder yourself and utilizing future profits to pay for your treatment...almost like a hedge.
  
  
• Finally, one angle that should have been covered in the Time's article is personal responsibility. Many Americans to this day still lead unhealthy lifestyles; smoking, eating to obesity and not excercising. Should their fellow Americans subsidize these life choices when the result of their actions results in ailments that could be cured with expensive drug therapy? Many advocate government price control, why don't they also advocate government lifestyle control by saying, "Hey Mr. Two-Pack-a-Dayer, in light of the choices you made, we're not going to squander the Nation's resources in treating your lung cancer. You've made your bed...now lay in it." Oh....almost forogt, we're the 'want our cake and eat it too' nation.

Hear, hear!

WE CANNOT SURRENDER by Christopher Hitchens

Hat Tip: Instapundit

Cleveland Townhall

Cleveland Townhall has been added to the Ohio Political Blogroll...excellent conservative commentary.

As an example, check out this post entitled The Good, The Bad, And The...Liberal.

More Fake News

Q: What did Larry King say upon hearing that Anderson Cooper had floated away in the wake of Hurricane Dennis?

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A: I always thought that putz was an airhead.

The Daily Show of the Blogsphere

ScrappleFace has a warped sense of humor...enjoy.

Hat Tip: Rathergate.com

Looking forward to the day when...

Is anyone looking forward to the day when stories like 'Who are these women?', by Krista Ramsey, are a thing of the past? Specifically, viewing women (and men) myopically through a simplistic social-economic lens? Why doesn't the writer take a more holistic view?

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Many of the women written about are (or are striving to be) part of a greater social-economic whole; a loving and supportive family. When one considers that, the balance sheet Ms. Ramsey attempts to construct is incomplete. What economic value should we place on the reality for some (and the hope for others) of a woman's choice to stay home and raise her family's children?

Stay-at-home moms skew the social-economic statistics cited in the article, but would anyone argue that many of these women would respond 'priceless' to the question of what value the opportunity to stay home is to them? The raising of children for the next generation is the most important 'job' in our society and it is best done in a family setting for social and economic reasons.

Commentators/reporters like Krista Ramsey should go beyond using narrow beams from the journalist's flashlight in an attempt to bring illumination to social-economic issues. The spherical light emitted by a lantern would be more appropriate.

Non-story story is a non-story

The syllogism this post's title posits is apt when one considers the hyperventilating (THINGS THEY SEND YOU TO JAIL FOR) some bloggers are starting to exert over this NYTimes/Cleveland Plain Dealer non-story replete with angst.

In support of the axiom, consider this insightful and humorous post offering a different perspective.

July 8, 2005: Fight against illegal immigration into U.S. officially lost

How else can one explain the July 8, 2005 Wall Street Journal, page A1 article Bank Opens Doors To New Customers: Illegal Immigrants?

INSANITY!

Does the MSM give you this type of insight?

The blogsphere rocks; big time: D.C. Confidential...and don't miss the comment section as well.

Fuel for cynicism

In this post update, it was noted that the cover story ('The Great American Pork Barrel' by Ken Silverstein) for the July issue of Harper's Magazine was not available online.

After reading this review (Harper's wades into legislation's muddy waters) your cynicism may reach new heights and your desire to track down a copy of the article should be peaked.

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They say if you have a weak stomach, you shouldn't watch sausage or legislation being made.

That warning also could be applied to Harper's excellent July cover story, "The Great American Pork Barrel: Washington Streamlines the Means of Corruption."

Cynics, lobbyists and folks who already know what "omnibus appropriations bills" and "earmarks" are will find nothing surprising in Ken Silverstein's grisly account of the accelerating avarice of our public servants. The overly young or idealistic, however, might be shocked to read how last year congressmen of both parties used murky legislative processes to raid the federal treasury and give billions in boondoggles to their pals and supporters back in their home districts.

Last year during in a two-day frenzy, Silverstein says, a small gang of senators and representatives turned a huge appropriation bill called the Foreign Operations bill into "the biggest single piece of pork-barrel legislation in American history."

They did it by hastily inserting 11,761 extra pages -- or "earmarks" -- into the bill that authorized $16 billion in spending that included such things as $100,000 for goat research in Texas, $569,000 for "Future Foods" development in Illinois and $175,000 for obesity research in Texas.

What's worse, these lawmakers did everything in private. No public records exist to reveal who sought or got the earmarks, and Silverstein says congressmen on the appropriations committees conveniently have a blanket rule against blabbing.

In 2004, Silverstein says, Congress attached a total of 15,584 separate earmarks worth $32.7 billion to various appropriations bills. Not all of that taxpayer money went for grants, like the $443,000 somebody in Alaska got to study the development of baby foods containing salmon. Some of it went to arguably more worthwhile things such as locks and dams and social programs.

But Silverstein's piece, which explains how both parties crudely use their targeted boondoggles to help their incumbents stay in office, doesn't exactly instill hope in the future of restrained government spending...

The Vermontization of America

The Vermontization of American by Shawn Macomber (also check out his blog return of the primitive) was published by in March but it is timeless with insights like this:

Last week Earl Blumenauer, a Democratic Congressman from Oregon, was railing about the "body blow" that minor budget cuts in the Republican budget resolution would deal to the nation with "devastating impact." This week he's making the media rounds in near ecstasy about the $875 million being thrown at bicycle and pedestrian programs in the apparently misnamed "Highway Bill," gushing that "this is probably going to be probably the best bicycle bill in history."

Ohio 2nd highest in state tax increases compounded per capita since 2002

This analysis from the Americans For Tax Reform has Ohio coming in second (tied with Nevada), with $508, on a per capita basis for compounded tax increases since 2002.

Who's #1? New Jersey at $924 (ouch!...that's going to leave a mark) per capita.

Hat tip: Club for Growth

With all due respect Major Hackett

Paul Hackett has served his country and fellow Ohioans as an officer in the Marine Corps fighting in Iraq. Porkopolis thanks him for his service and for putting his life on the line. That being said, it appears he's using the recent terrorists bombings in London for political gain; particularly when he attempts to juxtapose the Vice President's recent comments on the Iraq insurgency being in its 'last throes'.

It's not clear if Cheney utilized the wording "last throes" or "death throes"; as Hackett notes in his press release.

Let's do a little Googling for each:

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For both Cheney - "last throes" and Cheney "death throes" it appears that every news report on Cheney's statement was specifically referring to the Iraq insurgency. In fact, he made the comment on the Larry King show. If that's the case, Paul Hackett conveniently takes the Vice President's statement and applies it to the larger global war on terror and "Al Queda" (he probably meant Al Qaeda) in general with the following statement:

Vice President Cheney said recently that Al-Qaeda is in its ‘death throes.’ An organization capable of carrying out coordinated operations to devastating effect is not in its death throes,” said Hackett.

That's too cute by half, Major Hackett. Candidate Hackett has every right to argue the merits of the policies and decisions in going to war, but he's not entitled to manipulating the statements of the Vice President for political gain. If anything, Cheney and the administration have said, and continue to say, that the global war on terror is a long term effort.

With regard to the merits of the Vice President's specific statement, it's not a totally unreasonable argument to say that the Iraq insurgency is in its "last throes". Evidence is starting to mount that even the local population is starting to get fed up with the foreign fighters (see: Red On Red In Iraq) . Could this be the reverse "enemy of my enemy is my friend" effect starting to take effect? That would be pretty last throe-ish.

Ohio "E" Award winners

Recently, 29 Ohio companies were recognized by Governor Taft with the "E" Award for excellence in exporting. The award ceremony was aired on cable by the Ohio News Network.

Here's a quick rundown of the companies recongnized; some with commentary. Most of the companies are private and many of them are family businesses. (Porkopolis is not affiliated with any of the companies commented on.)

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• American Augers, Inc. – Exporter of the Year; a division of of Astec Industries. This company manufacutures horizontal drilling equipment and noted upon receiving the award that China has shown a lot of interest in their offerings. Company's stock (ASTE) is up 36% in the last 12 months, has a P/E of 22, a forward P/E of 16, sales of $530 million and growing quarterly revenues at 19% with very little debt (debt to equity of 0.218). From their annual report it looks like earnings have not been consistent but it appears they will benefit from road construction projects (unfortunately, some of them being pork projects) making their way through Congress. American Auger and its parent company is worthy of further of research and placement on your watchlist of stocks.
• Astro Instrumentation LLC - A small, privately held medical instrumentation device manufacturer.
• Barco Simulation - a designer of large screen projection systems.
• Comet Automation Systems, Inc. - a private, international developer of plastic processing equipment.
• FirstEnergy Corporation - Large, Akron-based electric utility. Like most of the utility indusy, FE has had a pretty good stock price appreciation over the last few quarters. The company pays a nice dividend of 3.8% which was increased 10% at the end of last year. Another Ohio-based utility companies to look at in is Cinergy which will soon be acquired by Duke Energy.
• Honeywell / Grimes Aerospace Company - Contractors like Honeywell have generally benefitted from defense spending, but Honeywell has been basically flat over the last five years. GE attempted to buy Honeywell a few years ago, but European regulators killed the deal; too bad.
• IES Systems, Inc.
• Impulse Wear Inc.
• Kegler, Brown, Hill & Ritter Co. LPA - KBHR is a member of the State Capital Global Law Firm Group. Porkopolis senses some heavy duty political connections here.
• Lion Apparel, Inc. - a supplier of military equipment since World War II.
• Ludlow Composites Corporation
• Mayflower Vehicle Systems Inc. - A British-based corporation with facilities in Norwalk, Ohio.
• Nylonge Company - a sponge manufacturer in Elyria, Ohio.
• Ohio Willow Wood - a prosthetics manufacturer.
• PROSONIC Corporation - a drilling services corporation.
• Prospect Mold Inc. - manufacturing and engineering services.
• Replex Plastics - a plastics manufacturer.
• Rexarc International, Inc. - a welding services company.
• Richards Industries - an industrial valve manufacturer.
• Rite Track - a Cincinnati-based manufacturer of track systems for the electronics industry. Rite Track was mentioned by the Cincinnati Enquirer in April 2001 as part of a possible Midwest Silicon Alley.
• Schaefer Equipment, Inc. - a train brake manufacturer.
• Sensor Technology Systems, Inc. - a Dayton-based manufacturer of night vision goggles.
• Signature Worldwide - a business services company.
• Smiths Aerospace - an aerospace equipment and systems company.
• Spirex Corporation - plasticating systems and solutions.
• Sweet Manufacturing - an industrial and agricultural machinery manufacturer.
• The Cleveland Orchestra
• The Fremont Company - a company servicing the food packaging industry.
• Vellus Products Inc. - a private pet products manufacturer; a growing industry...just ask P&G.

Essay: Dependency on Government by Walter Williams

William Beach has just written a report for the Washington, D.C.-based Heritage Foundation titled "The 2005 Index of Dependency." Between 1962 and today, American dependence on government has more than doubled and shows little sign of abatement. The growth areas of dependency examined in the report are: welfare and medical care, housing, retirement income, education, and rural and agricultural services. The budgetary impact of dependency threatens perpetual budget deficits and high taxes, but to focus only on the budgetary impact is to trivialize the more devastating aspects of dependency. (Dependency on Government by Walter Williams)

Contrarian view on aid to Africa

A Kenyan Economist Says "Stop Aid to Africa"

Update: That is What Poverty Looks Like an inspiring read for free-market minded individuals.

Update 2: Mercenaries, Not Musicians, for Africa

Update 3: If you read just one post on this topic it has to be Live 8 Nonsense which leads one to the view: It takes a lot of establishment to be anti-establishment.

Update 4: Walter Williams sums it up eloquently in Aid to Africa (Hat Tip: Cleveland Townhall):

What Africa needs, foreign aid cannot deliver, and that's elimination of dictators and socialist regimes, establishment of political and economic freedom, rule of law and respect for individual rights. Until that happens, despite billions of dollars of foreign aid, Africa will remain a basket case.

Update 5: The United States of Avarice? details U.S. foreign economic aid.

Update 6: All Rock, No Action

Editorial Malpractice

Following up on a theme sometimes monitored here at Porkopolis (see Jounralistic Malpractice and More Jounalistic Malpractice), comes this little juicy development: The Secret Life Of Gray Lady Editors.

Update: More on this theme at Want to know how to defend yourself? Take a lesson from Power Line

Update 2: Then there's the 2005 Mapes Award for Stupidity nominees (Warning...do not attempt to drink any hot liquids while reading this post...threat of spilling them is very high!)

Update 3: Putting Words In People's Mouths

Funny stuff

BREAKING NEWS!!!

More pesky facts getting in the way of an argument

Today's L.A. Times editorial on Justice O'Connor opens with this statement:

"One fact sums up Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's pivotal role on the Supreme Court and the enormity of her resignation — she alone was in the majority of every one of the court's 13 5-4 decisions this last term."

Wow. That's really impressive. Except for one small problem . . . there were 24 5-4 decisions this Term, not 13 -- and Justice O'Connor was in the minority in quite a few of those cases.

From: L.A. Times Needs a New Fact-Checker for Those Editorials

Candidate Paul Hackett wants to increase middle-class Social Security taxes by up to $7,440 per year

From Hackett's web site:

...instead of capping Social Security taxes at $90,000 of income, let’s kick that number up to $150,000. (I’d like to take credit for the idea, but Warren Buffet thought of it first.) This simple step would eliminate much of the Social Security shortfall.

At the 12.4% rate (6.2% employer + 6.2% employee) that can be as much as an additional $7,440 (12.4% * 60,000) on middle-class Ohioans. If no additional benefits are included with this increase that's tantamount to stealing. Besides that, Raising the Social Security Payroll Tax Cap Does Not Fix Social Security.

Poll finds pollsters using leading questions should be scorned

Granted, the poll sited in the title of this post was for a survey sample of one; but that is no more idiotic than the push polling we see here with this recent Zogby Poll:

Impeachment Question Shows Bitterness of Divide

In a sign of the continuing partisan division of the nation, more than two-in-five (42%) voters say that, if it is found that President Bush did not tell the truth about his reasons for going to war with Iraq, Congress should hold him accountable through impeachment. While half (50%) of respondents do not hold this view, supporters of impeachment outweigh opponents in some parts of the country.

This emanates from the Downing Street Memos. The same memos that Prime Minister Blair claims paint a distored picture.

The extreme right has Vince Foster and the extreme left has DSM; illustrations of our political MAD policies at work. The only consolation is that it could be worse.

You gotta be kidding me!

So President Bush has 'questions' about the possibility that newly elected Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad played a role in seizing the American Embassy and holding 52 U.S. captives a quarter century ago.

Where the hell have the over $25 billion in annual intelligence dollars gone that we don't know the background of the newly elected president of one of the axis of evil?

Update: Still trying to determine the facts.

Update 2: ...claims swirling around Ahmadinejad are not his primary concern.