It’s about safety

Posted on March 26, 2009 by ChrisA

Tennessee state legislatures want to increase the yellow light timing to 5 seconds on intersections with red light revenue cameras.

Tennessee Legislators Rep. John Litz and Senator Steve Southerland have introduced bills to set a mandatory 5-sec minimum yellow light time where red light revenue cameras are installed at traffic signals.


And a traffic engineer says…

Jeff Branham, Morristown city engineer, has stated that the 5-second yellow is a bad idea. Branham says changing laws based on “political pressure” is “messing with public safety.”


Well Jeff, if your city was more interested in safety then revenue, the politicians wouldn’t be floating a law like this.

Five seconds is a long time. If the time is increased to 5 seconds, I would be willing to support a large fine for running yellow lights at intersections with red light camera. It’s important to prevent people from “gunning” the yellow lights. I remember many years ago, in the city I grew up they lowered the yellow light timing, and I think it was the “gunning the yellow” issue.

Posted in Boulder is stoopid, Traffic control | Leave a comment

Americorps

Posted on March 26, 2009 by ChrisA

Expanding the power of Americorps.

With almost no public attention, both chambers of Congress in the past week advanced an alarming expansion of the Americorps national service plan, with the number of federally funded community service job increasing from 75,000 to 250,000 at a cost of $5.7 billion. Lurking behind the feel-good rhetoric spouted by the measure’s advocates is a bill that on closer inspection reveals multiple provisions that together create a strong odor of creepy authoritarianism. The House passed the measure overwhelmingly, while only 14 senators had the sense and courage to vote against it on a key procedural motion. Every legislator who either voted for this bill or didn’t vote at all has some serious explaining to do.

Last summer, then-candidate Barack Obama threw civil liberties to the wind when he proposed “a civilian national security force that’s just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded” as the regular military. The expanded Americorps is not quite so disturbing, but a number of provisions in the bill raise serious concerns.


So how did our Colorado representatives votes?

Posted in stoopid government | Leave a comment

Cold Fusion lives

Posted on March 26, 2009 by ChrisA

Naval researchers have evidence of cold fusion, neutrons included.

In a paper presented on Monday, chemist Pamela Mosier-Boss told the annual convention of the American Chemical Society in Salt Lake City that her team had gotten “very significant” evidence of some sort of nuclear reaction.


Cool! 😉

Perhaps it only happens every 20 years or so?

Posted in science, the weekend | Leave a comment

What’s news?

Posted on March 25, 2009 by ChrisA

The political reporters no longer get to decide. Hmmm, we certainly live in interesting times!

Posted in msm | Leave a comment

The flip side of the AIG bonuses

Posted on March 25, 2009 by ChrisA

Jake DeSantis, executive VP at AIG shows the flip side of the hysteria over the AIG bonuses.

You can read the entire letter here.

Posted in bailout, stoopid politicians | Leave a comment

Free ride

Posted on March 23, 2009 by ChrisA

MSM is becoming concerned that Obama isn’t taking the financial crisis seriously enough. Look in the mirror.

No, don’t go complaining the people did that. You did it. Obama is your man, your hero. You never vetted, never examined him in any depth at all, even though the candidate had hardly any experience other than running for office. (Oh, yes, he was a “community organizer.” So was I, in a sense. You want to elect me?)

Posted in media bias, Obama | Leave a comment

Global warming myth

Posted on March 23, 2009 by ChrisA

Power line has an excellent synopsis of why global warming hysteria should be taken with a grain of salt (to put it mildly). Here are some graphs but follow the link.



Posted in Boulder is stoopid, global warming, idiocy | 1 Comment

Republican hypocrites

Posted on March 23, 2009 by ChrisA

We voted against it, but we’re sure glad we got the money anyway!

GOP leaders took great pride in the fact that every House Republican voted against the $787 billion economic-stimulus bill and that all but 16 opposed the spending bill. They battered Mr. Obama and other Democrats, saying the spending bill increased outlays by 8% over the 2008 fiscal year. They also criticized its numerous earmarks, the special items inserted by lawmakers for their districts.

Now many of the Republicans who opposed the bills are highlighting earmarks they inserted or other benefits the bills bring to their states.

You can’t make this stuff up!

Posted in stimulus, stoopid Republicans | Leave a comment

Got Gold?

Posted on March 23, 2009 by ChrisA

The government printing presses are running at full tilt. Hedge fund manager Bill Fleckenstein makes a good case for owning gold.

I’d like to take a few moments to talk about the Federal Reserve’s latest act of irresponsibility in a continuing series of irresponsible actions (i.e., buying $300 billion in longer-term Treasurys, an additional $750 billion in mortgage-backed securities and — just for grins — $100 billion of government-sponsored-enterprise debt).

As a friend noted, Wednesday was the functional equivalent of Pearl Harbor for the U.S. dollar and fiat currencies in general. He said — referencing that people might pay less for their mortgages — that they’ll pay much, much more for everything else. I would certainly agree.


If you’re at least open to the idea that the government can’t fix all problems, you should read this article from Bill. If you like it, I suggest reading his other postings. Bill called this whole financial fiasco.

  • No, I didn’t follow his advice
  • I’m not getting any money for saying this
  • I don’t know Bill, but there’s no doubt that he has a very sharp mind
  • I did subscribe to his daily “rap” for awhile, but it’s been well over a year since my subscription ended.
Posted in dollar, gold, stimulus, stoopid government | Leave a comment

Boulder liberals

Posted on March 23, 2009 by ChrisA

This post by RC Lloyd is a great example of the depth of the typical liberal thought process. Obviously Sarah Palin has given RC an itch that he can’t quite get rid of…

Alaska Governor, and former Republican Vice Presidential candidate, Sarah Palin has turned down roughly one third of the stimulus money designated for her state. A few snippets of what she has elected not to fund with these monies. $13 million in special education money and a similar amount for programs that serve economically disadvantaged children coupled with $7.2 million for public safety to assist victims of domestic violence possibly stemming future crime in her state. That Sarah; she certainly has her priorities in order. Oh, and one other minor item…She currently owes an Anchorage Law Firm over $500,000 in legal fees for defending her against ethics complaints. You go girl!!!


I’m not quoting this article to defend Sarah Palin, I have no idea if the claims above are valid or not, it’s really not imporant for this post. I do feel confident that regarding the budget decisions she has an explanation that most reasonable people, while perhaps not agreeing with her, would consider credible. One simliar to this one from Marc Sanford, Republican governor of South Carolina.

Posted in Boulder is stoopid, Boulder libs, idiocy | Leave a comment

Mainstream media bias

Posted on March 23, 2009 by ChrisA

Would the Daily Camera have reported these two protest incidents any different than the Connecticut Post? I seriously doubt it.

Forty “professional” protesters upset about AIG vs. 300 true protesters demonstrating against the bailout bill and the stimulus plan.

Judging that the DC made such a big deal about a “couple dozen” demonstrators protesting the 6th anniversary of the war in Iraq, a cause that the editorial staff is no doubt supports the protesters, I believe the coverage would have been the same.

Regarding the coverage by the Connecticut Post, Don Surber observes…

Not that after 30+ years in this business that I know anything about newspapers. I mean, after all, I do not think that the most important news story in the state of Connecticut would be the agitprop theater of federally financed lefties (ACORN takes grants) protesting executive salaries.

That involved 40 people including some from Washington. This is what they do for a living. They are professionals.

AP originally reported the reporters and news crews outnumbered the Paid Protesters 2-to-1.

The Conn Post gave this item two big pictures, a main story, and a side story.


The DC didn’t have a “competing” demonstration, but they certainly proved they were capable of giving plenty of undue publicity to a demonstration they favor that had a “couple dozen” participants. Is it news? Yes. Does it deserve front page coverage? I suspect most Boulderites would agree that it does. Not me.

Posted in ACORN, auto bailout, Boulder is stoopid, media bias, stimulus | Leave a comment

40 upset with AIG, 300 with Chris Dodd

Posted on March 22, 2009 by ChrisA

Protestors that is. Bet you won’t hear about that in the MSM. I like the odds too.

Posted in media bias, stimulus, stoopid politicians | Leave a comment

Ludicrous and insane…

Posted on March 22, 2009 by ChrisA

Jim Rogers shares his opinion that the economic rescue plans being put forth by Gordon Brown and Barack Obama are “ludicrous and insane”.

1. The idea that you can solve a problem of too much debt and too much borrowing by more borrowing and more consumption and more debt in my mind is ludicrous, insane….”

Posted in bailout, stimulus | Leave a comment

“The challenge for your generation will be to keep it.”

Posted on March 22, 2009 by ChrisA

Free markets that is. They are not inevitable according to no greater expert than Milton Friedman.

We are trading in the invisible hand for the hand of government. A very very bad trade indeed.

Posted in capitalism, stimulus | Leave a comment

Media creates the news

Posted on March 22, 2009 by ChrisA

Gotta love it, not only are there more media than AIG protesters, the media (read Associated Press in this instance) can’t bring themselves to correctly describe the background of the demonstrators…

Rather than call this motley band of human debris what they are, the Associated Press calls them “working families” and “activists,” although by my definition those who work for AIG also qualify as working families since they have jobs and seemingly most of these protesters don’t.


Read Jammie Wearing Fool’s writeup on the busload of “activists.

One really has to wonder if the media is reporting or creating the news. Certainly their observation is altering what would be occurring if they were ignoring the protests. For example, the LA Times and other big media outlets ignoring the Tea Party movement.

Posted in media bias, stimulus, Tea Party | Leave a comment

Play our emotions

Posted on March 21, 2009 by ChrisA

I’m long past tired of it, realizing I’m on the bleeding edge here. Obama sure likes to play the emotions of the populace. First we have to pass the stimulus and omnibus spending bill because the economy is in dire straights. After it’s passed, oh never mind, think positive, things aren’t all that bad.

Now the administration wants to increase the monitoring of executive pay for all banks. What does this accomplish? who’s going to do it? Obama can’t create bureaucracy fast enough.

The trust in government truly boggles my mind.

Posted in Obama, Obamanomics, stimulus | Leave a comment

Government Ponzi scheme

Posted on March 21, 2009 by ChrisA

From Madoff to government ponzi scheme….

A government that will issue trillions of dollars of new debt to pay for this severe recession and socialize private losses may risk becoming a Ponzi government if–in the medium term–it does not return to fiscal discipline and debt sustainability.


It pains me to say this, but I don’t think there’s a chance of the government returning to fiscal discipline.

Posted in stimulus, stoopid government, stoopid politicians | Leave a comment

Budget pork vs. AIG bonuses

Posted on March 21, 2009 by ChrisA

Commons Sense from Neil Cavuto…

Selective rage. Played out before TV cameras capturing it all today. Politicians furious, absolutely furious, over the $165 million in bonuses doled out by AIG that represent less than a percent of the $175 billion taxpayers have spent bailing out AIG.

But not a peep about double that percentage in pork in that $410 billion spending bill. So two percent is nothing. One percent is something. Two percent of our money going to pork is no big deal. One percent of our money going to bonus pork is a big deal. $165 million: big deal; nearly $8 billion: no big deal.


This is the “slam dunk” line…

You can’t rail against one and ignore the other. Better to ignore both, because you can’t have it both ways.

I’m not saying citizens, the press and politicians shouldn’t be upset about the AIG bonuses. That said, the press sure as hell needs to turn the magnifying glass on our politicians. Go ahead, make my day.

Posted in bailout, stimulus | Leave a comment

Political fundraising

Posted on March 21, 2009 by ChrisA

In February, the GOP topped the Democrats in fundraising ($5.1m vs. $3.26m). That sure didn’t take long.

In this same time frame the Daily Camera virtual editorial board was worried about “Who’s on First” for the Republican’s. It’s becoming more obvious by the day that the Democrats need to be the one’s concerned about this.

Posted in politics | Leave a comment

What strings come with TARP money

Posted on March 21, 2009 by ChrisA

Is it really the right thing to do, single out a group of people for a special tax? If it is, who will be the next target? John Hinderaker of the Power Line blog expounds on that theme…

I’m stupefied to find that some people are defending the constitutionality of Nancy Pelosi’s discriminatory, confiscatory and retroactive tax on people who receive bonus income from companies that got TARP money. I would have considered it a bright line rule that the government can’t identify a class of unpopular people and impose a special tax on them. What’s next? A 100% income tax on registered Republicans, retroactive to last year? If Pelosi’s bill passes muster, why not?


Not surprisingly, the editorial page editor of the Daily Camera applauds the idea. I’m sure she believes this is one of the least controversial thoughts/tweets she’s had.

Yes! Some sanity. Obama asks to get the AIG bonuses blocked


Although the amount of the bonuses seem extreme our politicians should be very careful, this is a slippery slope with many unintended consequences.

Posted in bailout, stimulus | Leave a comment