Friday, July 4, 2008

Barack "They Call Me Flipper" Obama

The list of Barack's "Flipper" moments keeps growing longer than Pinochiobama's nose.



Check out the list of irreverent reversals by clicking on the image of our little friend above.

Hey liberals, how's your messiah now?

HT to Matt at WMD for maintaining the list.

Stephanie What's Her Name Still Being Considered For Republican AG Ticket

From the Columbus Dispatch:

As Ohio Republicans move closer to naming their candidate for attorney general, the name Stephanie McCloud seems to be floating to the top of a small pool of contenders.

McCloud, 37, was a senior deputy attorney general serving then-Attorney General Jim Petro, whose term ended at the beginning of 2007. McCloud is also known as the daughter of one of Ohio's most influential Christian conservative activists, Phil Burress.

More...

She needs to stay on the ticket for Franklin County Treasurer. With a no-name candidate like this, the run for AG for the Republicans is only going to serve as a drain for valuable GOP resources.

Thursday, July 3, 2008

For Highland County In General And The Republican Party In Particular, This Fiasco Is Finally Over

From the Times-Gazette:

Hoskins the first sitting judge in modern judicial history in Ohio to be removed from the bench

COLUMBUS (AP)- In a move rare in Ohio and across the country, the state Supreme Court on Thursday disbarred a county judge accused of money laundering and other ethics violations.

With the court's action, Highland County Common Pleas Judge Jeffrey Hoskins becomes the first sitting judge in modern judicial history in Ohio to be removed from the bench.

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For those of you who are not familiar with this case, you can read the complaints against Hoskins here, here, and here.


Finally, this episode is over. Jeff is a genuinely nice guy. However, he was a genuinely bad judge who made bad decisions. For that he has paid the ultimate price in so far as his career goes. But, he has his health, his family and if he is a God fearing man, his faith. With those things he can move on. As can Highland County and the Republican Party.

We have nominated another genuinely good man to replace Hoskins on the Republican ticket for the Court of Common Pleas. I have worked with Fred Beery since I became Auditor for the city. You can find no one more dedicated to his profession and he will make a fine judge. His opponent is a good guy too. But he is a Democrat and that party has set a course for this nation that is not in it's best interests. Therefore, I do not believe any Democrat at any level should be rewarded with an elected position.

I will work hard for Fred and soon I hope I can honor him with the title of judge.

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

There's Been Pawlenty Of Tax Increases In Minnesota

From Government BYTES:

Pawlenty’s record on taxes can rightly be characterized as a disaster for Minnesotans. There have been no broad-based tax cuts in Minnesota and the largest reduction during Pawlenty’s time in office is only $28.7 million.

Overall, during Pawlenty’s tenure, taxes have increased $1.74 billion (with a b). Some supporters might attempt to describe these increases as merely fees, but consumers and corporations nevertheless have to pay the bill. To his credit, Pawlenty has proposed a modest $77.3 million reduction in sales taxes for FY 2009, but this is more than offset with $138.7 million in other tax and fee hikes.

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And this is the so-called front runner in McCain's Veepstakes? Pawleeese.

McCain Game Plan Worries Insiders

From Politico.com:

Four months have passed since John McCain effectively captured the party nomination, and the insiders are getting restless. Top GOP officials, frustrated by what they view as inconsistent messaging, sluggish fundraising and an organization that is too slow to take shape, are growing increasingly uneasy about the direction of the McCain presidential campaign.

Further...

“What’s the political strategy when you allow your opponent, who has just had a grueling four months, time to catch their breath, regroup, fundraise and start to define himself?” asked a Republican strategist who helped lead a past presidential campaign. “It’s politics 101.”

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I thought this was the kind of guy they wanted. This is something we dumb grassroots hacks knew several months ago. Welcome to the party "insiders".

How To Talk To A Blogger

Matt Lewis has an interesting post on his blog titled "How Your Campaign Should Reach Out To Bloggers: 7 Thoughts".

If you're a blogger you may want to pass the tips on to candidates you support. Or, wait and see how many candidates are savvy enough to do these things on their own. On second thought, that might be a little disappointing. Contact them with the helpful hints.

What Does Obama Have In Common With Chris Dodd And Kent Conrad?

Other than their political affiliation, they all received discounts on their mortgages.

From The Los Angeles Times:

Shortly after joining the U.S. Senate and while enjoying a surge in income, Barack Obama bought a $1.65-million restored Georgian mansion in an upscale Chicago neighborhood. He secured a $1.32-million mortgage from Northern Trust in Illinois.

The freshman Democratic senator received a discount. He locked in an interest rate of 5.625% on the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage at a time when such loans in Chicago averaged as much as 6%. The loan was unusually large, known in banker lingo as a "super super jumbo." Obama paid no origination fee or discount points, as some consumers did to reduce their interest rates.

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So, is this a standard perk for senators? Bet you won't hear much about it in the old 527 media.

What's The Matter With Ohio?

American Spectator has an interesting article that summarizes the history of the Republican Party in Ohio from 1990 to the present. It ends with this brief lesson:

Once a party loses its credibility, it takes more than one election to gain it back.

The icy grip of a long political winter may well be upon the Republican Party in Ohio.

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Barry O'Carter Wants To Take The Faith Out Of Faith-Based Initiative

All I've heard today on the 527 media is how Barry O'Carter is working to get the faith-based vote away from John McCain.

From the Heritage Foundation:

In his speech today on faith-based programs, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) proposed that religious groups cannot compete for government contracts unless they give up their freedom to consider religion in their hiring decisions, a radical proposal that effectively repeals Charitable Choice:

In order to receive federal funds to provide social services, faith-based organizations … must comply with federal anti-discrimination laws, including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Religious organizations that receive federal dollars cannot discriminate with respect to hiring for government-funded social service programs.

This is a complete reversal of the Charitable Choice language that President Bill Clinton signed in 1996. Obama’s plan says that when a faith-based organization takes federal dollars, it could be forced to hire an atheist or else lose its federal funding. Since people make policy, by losing the ability to control its people, the group would lose its ability to preserve its faith-based character. In other words, it would strike at the heart of the faith-based initiative.

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It sounds to me like he is trying to neutralize faith-based organizations and it should be something that members of those organizations should be very alarmed about.

ORP Having Trouble Finding An AG Candidate?

Last week the name du jour that was being mentioned as an Attorney General candidate to run against Rich Cordray was Stephanie McCloud. Everyone knows who she is, right? She's the daughter of what's-his-name.

It now appears that there isn't even a "what's-his-name". From the Canton Repository:

The party's central committee was supposed to vote on a candidate at its meeting June 21, but it had no one to vote on. That's because a 26-member screening committee meeting the day before didn't have anyone to interview or recommend.

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What a grand opportunity the ORP has in the possibility of defeating a big Democrat. Too bad they don't have anyone interested in the job. According to one rumor I have heard they actually have a candidate that is one of three individuals. The story line is that a phone survey was conducted on all three individuals and supposedly it was found that all three would be able to defeat Cordray. The storyline also says that the individual that has been chosen has never run for a statewide office. The clincher is that no one is talking.

I can only think of one person who fits that bill and I think he is still holding out on the prospect of being selected for the veep position- Rob Portman. The Republicans don't have to name a candidate until August 20th but if they intend to run a "no-name", as much time as possible will be required to get some semblance of name recognition. Portman transcends that requirement.

I don't think this is going to happen, so color me skeptical.

Monday, June 30, 2008

Always Trust Your Dog

A dog knows when something isn't right.....when impending doom is upon us.....they'll always try to warn us...!!



Sunday, June 29, 2008

American Jobs Of The Future

I'm posting this because my daughter is about to embark on an arduous seven year journey to become a full-fledged physical therapist. It's going to take a significant chunk of change to pay for her education, so naturally she was a little apprehensive as to whether she could pay for her education after college. (Actually, she had no clue about how much it was going to cost and whether she could make enough money in her chosen profession to pay for her education. I, being an accounting guy with a special liking to spreadsheets, made her aware of the cost and her ability to pay after college.)

From Growthology:

In my years of research on this topic, a one must-read piece stands out: the 2003 annual report of the Dallas Fed. This 1800-2000 time series chart of the percentage of the American workforce in 3 sectors is worth at least two thousand words:

Howamericaworks_2

Material production is becoming so automated that service consumption is the key to understanding future employment in terms of service production. So if you really think that everyone in the future will be flipping burgers, then you also have to believe that everyone will be consuming nothing other than burgers.

The trends show that major increases in consumption will be in health care, education, entertainment, art, and even the movies. And that's where the jobs of the future will be: health care, education, entertainment. More pro sports, more physical therapy, more nurturing of younger and younger children, more training, more video games.

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So, if she makes it the full seven years my little peanut should have no problems. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics physical therapists are starting out at $67,000 annually and that's enough to pay for college and actually have a life. She is, however, required to give her dad free leg rub downs after marathons. That's just part of the deal.

One side note: For those who think the manufacturing jobs were "shipped" overseas, that's not the case at all. America as a nation reached its peak production in 2007 while at the same time losing over 20% of its manufacturing jobs since 2001. Clearly America got more efficient in manufacturing.