Boulder is a Stoopid Place

Snow in United Arab Emirates

Posted on January 25, 2009 by ChrisA

Snow fell in the UAE for only the 2nd time in recorded history.

Good thing it’s only weather and not climate.

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Timothy Geithner == Idiot

Posted on January 25, 2009 by ChrisA

1. Hired an illegal alien
2. Cheated on his taxes taxes
3. TARP fund was his idea (certainly he can’t take full credit for that!).

He doesn’t have the trust and credibility to be Treasury Secretary.

Also, good insight on Mr. Geithner in the letters to the editor section of today’s Wall Street Journal.

Rob Augusta from Simsbury, CT states…

…Therefore, it is my view that Mr. Geithner’s behavior admits only two possibilities. Either he intentionally committed several years’ worth of tax fraud, for which he should face prosecution, or the man is dumber than a box of rocks. In neither case should the job of Treasury Secretary await him….

From Jeffrey Fleman of Beachwood, Ohio…

My friends employed at the Internal Revenue Service state that if they committed the same of similar violations for even shorter periods of time as Mr. Geitherner, on federal, state or local tax laws, they would be terminated, let alone get hired of a new job….”

Ron Kunzelman, Sun lakes, AZ…

Mr. Geithner seems to be a member of the Leona Helmsley culture: “Taxes are only for the little people.” What a farce.

Posted in financial crisis, politics | Leave a comment

Public debt to the penny

Posted on January 24, 2009 by ChrisA

As of January 22nd it was

10,618,718,703,374.78

Updates available via the Bureau of Public debt.

Posted in finance, the weekend | Leave a comment

Longmont near “breaking point”

Posted on January 24, 2009 by ChrisA

Longmont Times call reports that the Longmont is near the “breaking point”. I’m not impressed. Here are some snippits…

This makes sense too me…

“Let’s look at it realistically, not with rose-colored glasses but not with the outlook that the world is going to end,” she said.

Others said that optimism is great but being cheery doesn’t change the need for the city to be prepared to deal with a potential budget crisis.

Councilman Gabe Santos said the City Council must prioritize the needs and wants of the community and define the role of city government in meeting those.

“We want our garbage picked up. We want our water to work. We want our police and fire to respond,” Santos said. “We’re going to have to really look at what is our function, what are we supposed to provide everyone.

Here’s the explanation of “the breaking point”…

City manager Gordon Pedrow said Longmont already has been doing all it can to cut costs and improve efficiency, including a selective hiring freeze that’s been in effect for more than a year.

But the city is close to a breaking point, and something has to give: either staffing levels or service levels.

“There is a point when things break. I’m just saying we are near that point. … We can’t continue all the services at the same level,” Pedrow told the council.

My goodness, they might have to downsize and they call that a “breaking point”? Get over it. Just off the top of my mind I can think of many local companies that have downsized such as Seagate, Sun, LSI and Crocs.

I find the idea that downsizing city government is a “breaking point” very troubling. Perhaps they should reinvent themselves instead?

Posted in financial crisis | Leave a comment

Message for global warming zealots

Posted on January 23, 2009 by ChrisA

Your fellow citizens are NOT impressed, global warming in NOT a priority.

This is good.

Posted in Boulder is stoopid, enviro wackos, global warming | Leave a comment

The Boulder vision

Posted on January 23, 2009 by ChrisA

Boulder city manager Jane Brautigam expressing her plans for the city…

“I want to lift up my hope to the skies that with the new Obama administration and their focus on infrastructure building and green technology, that some of these multi-modal corridors that aren’t currently funded will find funding,” she said.

Well during this financial crisis I hope she remembers basic city services like plowing the streets, although that’s never been a Boulder strong point.

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Seagate cuts dividend

Posted on January 22, 2009 by ChrisA

Seagate cutting the dividend can hardly be a surprise. What is surprising is that they didn’t eliminate it or cut it to a token rate of 1 cent as the banks have.

Luczo said the restructuring and wage cuts will save Seagate $300 million per year. Seagate also cut its dividend to investors from 12 cents last quarter to 3 cents, which will result in savings of another $175 million over the next year.

Of equal concern is the issues they are having with their recently released Barracuda drives…

In addition, last Friday Seagate confirmed firmware problems were causing failures of its 1 TB Barracuda 7,200 rpm drives, approximately two months after it was revealed that 1.5 TB Barracuda drives were freezing.

Yikes.

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The simplistic Boulder/progressive mindset

Posted on January 22, 2009 by ChrisA

Lora Hansen-Beard has advice for Presdent Obama…

From my simple down-home view, what this country needs most is a connection to their citizenship economically. This includes access to ALL possible health care.

I suggest Mr. Obama set out two executive orders upon taking office. The first is that all citizens are entitled to health care of their own choosing with licensed caregivers. Set this up through the Department of Defense, as terror attacks in the future are more likely to be with germs and toxins than with guns and bombs.

The next order of business is to establish a Citizen Stipend. This is what it says, no more, no less. Every citizen receives it, and its the same set amount for everyone, on an annual basis. The citizen him/herself can choose a weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, bi-annually or annual dispersal. Like any other income, it can attached for legal redresses before being dispersed.

Access to ALL possible health care? For “free” no less? Does health care grow on trees?

Give money to citizens? Why?

And if you’re not a citizen…

For those children whose parents or caregivers are not citizens, financial guardians through Social Services can be provided. The parent’s home nation’s aide can be deducted for the maintenance costs. With these in place, this nation will recover quickly from its problems. People will have both pride and secure pocketbooks. Then if Mr. Obama is as smart has he seems, he’ll keep himself and his government friends out of the recovery’s way!

The last sentence is by far the most palatable of the

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Boulder looks to cut budget

Posted on January 22, 2009 by ChrisA

Boulder’s dependence on the city sales tax is coming back to haunt it as the economy weakens. I wholeheartedly agree with the commenter, Buzz, who states..

Budget cuts are one of the best things that could happen to the City.

It will be most interesting to see what services undergo the brunt of the budget cutting as city officials seek to reduce the February budget by $1.8 million. Hopefully saving prairie dogs will be at the top of the list.

Don’t miss the to 10 list by commenter starskyandgut.

Another commenter, Bing, made the point of more traffic tickets.

Aside from being one of the most dangerous places to drive, between the cyclists and the pedestrians that both believe they own the road, drivers also have to worry about photo radar and red light cameras. Boulder truly is a “special place”.

Posted in Boulder is stoopid | Leave a comment

UN and child pornography

Posted on January 22, 2009 by ChrisA

The United (Useless) Nations can’t fix their own problems.

The uselessness of the UN gets displayed yet again as a “human rights worker” at Turtle Bay got arrested for carrying child pornography through an airport. The arrest of Clarence Dias provides only the latest example of the sexual exploitation of children by UN affiliates, although the first time such behavior has been caught in the US:

Disgusting. Where is the shame from this organization?

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At least it wasn’t Judge James Klein

Posted on January 22, 2009 by ChrisA

When I first saw the link on the DC web site, the first

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Your retirement money’s safe with us

Posted on January 22, 2009 by ChrisA

Darren over at Right on the Left Coast brings us an update on the safety of the California state teachers retirement system (CalSTRS)…

*Defined benefits, like yours with CalSTRS, can deliver the same level of retirement income to groups of employees at a lower cost than individual 401(k)-type accounts.
*Public Pensions Unfairly Blamed for Financial Woes
*…(D)efined benefit pension plans are better, more economical, and efficient.
*Remember, your defined benefit is safe. It’s mandated by law and guaranteed for your lifetime. Your pension is based on a formula, not on how much you’ve been able to invest as an individual.

As Darren notes…

This newsletter strikes me as the captain of the Titanic telling everyone that everything’s fine. It doesn’t offer any real facts. I am not reassured.

Remember it’s mandated by law and guaranteed for your lifetime. Yea, guaranteed by the state that can’t send it’s citizens their tax refunds. Wonderful.

Posted in finance, retirement | Leave a comment

Stoopid Boulder pedestirans

Posted on January 22, 2009 by ChrisA

As the locals know, Boulder has installed flashing crossing lights at many crosswalks in Boulder. Tonight as I was driving home there was, once again, a Pedestrian crossing at a designated crosswalk, in the dark, dressed in dark clothing that had not pressed the crosswalk lights.

It seems where crosswalk lights are installed it should be mandatory that pedestrians use the lights. This is not the case as explained at this City of Boulder website explaining the crosswalk rules and regulations.

Pedestrian-actuated flashing signs are used primarily on multi-lane roadways where one car may shield the view of a pedestrian from another car approaching in the neighboring lane. The flashing yellow lights advise drivers to slow down and prepare to stop for possible crosswalk users even if they can’t see ahead of the cars in the neighboring lane.

Vehicles are always required to yield to pedestrians in a crosswalk whether there are flashing signs or not. The flashing signs are intended to provide additional warning to drivers that a pedestrian is present.

Studies have shown that these enhancements substantially increase the compliance of vehicles yielding to pedestrians and enable pedestrians to cross more quickly.

Since this is not the case, it seems to me that the City should light all crosswalks at night so that automobile drivers can see the pedestrians that have a death wish and don’t use the Pedestrian warning lights. Of course this is not going to happen since it’s Boulders goal to do everything legally possible to discourage driving in the City.

Bicyclists, please note…

A bicyclist is afforded the same rights as a pedestrian in a crosswalk when the bicyclist enters the crosswalk at walking speed.

It would also be a great thing if at night your bicycle was equipped with a front and back (preferably flashing) light and appropriate reflectors. Of course that would be asking too much wouldn’t it?

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At least the plane was parked

Posted on January 21, 2009 by ChrisA

Passenger Opens Emergency Door on Delta Flight

Thompson says the flight taxied into the gate at Sky Harbor Terminal 3. As people were getting off the plane, the man opened an emergency door and walked out on the plane’s wing. The man was later detained by runway personnel until police arrived.

The dude must have been off his meds or something.

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For the GW true believers

Posted on January 21, 2009 by ChrisA

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Boulder bicyclist serious injured

Posted on January 19, 2009 by ChrisA

You really hate to say anything bad when an accident and such a serious injury occcurs…

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Time is running out

Posted on January 19, 2009 by ChrisA

Devestating climate change threatens the earth as we know it. In my mind, this is proof it’s impossible to get fired from a government job.

Barack Obama has only four years to save the world. That is the stark assessment of Nasa scientist and leading climate expert Jim Hansen who last week warned only urgent action by the new president could halt the devastating climate change that now threatens Earth. Crucially, that action will have to be taken within Obama’s first administration, he added

and according to his wonderful computer models…

Hansen said current carbon levels in the atmosphere were already too high to prevent runaway greenhouse warming. Yet the levels are still rising despite all the efforts of politicians and scientists.

So all I want is some specific predictions from Mr. Hansen so that we can decide for ourselves if he knows what he’s talking about. BTW, whatever happened to the hockey stick prediction?

Posted in Boulder is stoopid, enviro wackos, global warming | Leave a comment

It’s about time

Posted on January 19, 2009 by ChrisA

President Bush, on his last day in office, commuted the sentences of convicted border patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso.

Here’s an explanation of the difference between a pardon and a commutation…

Bush has been cautious in his use of pardon powers, and particularly careful when it comes to commutations of prison terms. Where a pardon is an official forgiveness of a crime (typically requested at least five years after the completion of a prison term), a commutation is a reduction of sentence.

Posted in politics | Leave a comment