VP Joe Biden was in town yesterday urging a united front in the war against cancer. Sen. Orin Hatch quickly responded that because Biden was a lame duck vice president, no no proposals from him should be considered. Had stated that any such consideration should await the inauguration of a new vice president after the November elections.
In other local news , senator Margaret Dayton opposed proposed legislation that would prohibit former government employees from going to work for companies they had been regulating until a year had passed. Sen. Dayton thus kept intact her perfect record of being on the wrong side of every legislative question that has come before her.
Saturday, February 27, 2016
Friday, February 26, 2016
Latest televised Republican food fight
What occurred last night was deplorable, even judged against what normally occurs in these so-called debates. The moderators completely lost control. Under their rules, each time a candidate was mentioned by another he was allowed to respond. That meant we had nothing but Trump, Cruz and the Rubio hurling insults at each other. Regrettably, the one sane and responsible candidate, John Kasich, was allowed to say very little. How any republican of even moderate intelligence could support anybody on that stage other than Kasich is beyond me.
To add to the insanity, the pundits afterwords and this morning we're talking about what good performances Rubio and Cruz had. Apparently hurling insults at Trump, a buffoon of the first order, constitutes presidential behavior. Other than Kasich, the candidates persist in claiming that the present state of the United States is the book of Revelation come to life. I nearly always vote for Democrats, but I could see voting for Kasich in a contest with Hillary Clinton, Primarily because the Republicans will control the House of Representatives and even were Clinton to be elected, she would be unable to do anything. I have doubts about Kasich's economics but they are certainly less wrong than any of the other republican candidates. If a Republican be elected Pres., and their economic programs don't work, perhaps there could be a general house cleaning in 2020.
The Democrats sorely need to develop some new young talent. Nobody appears on the horizon.
To add to the insanity, the pundits afterwords and this morning we're talking about what good performances Rubio and Cruz had. Apparently hurling insults at Trump, a buffoon of the first order, constitutes presidential behavior. Other than Kasich, the candidates persist in claiming that the present state of the United States is the book of Revelation come to life. I nearly always vote for Democrats, but I could see voting for Kasich in a contest with Hillary Clinton, Primarily because the Republicans will control the House of Representatives and even were Clinton to be elected, she would be unable to do anything. I have doubts about Kasich's economics but they are certainly less wrong than any of the other republican candidates. If a Republican be elected Pres., and their economic programs don't work, perhaps there could be a general house cleaning in 2020.
The Democrats sorely need to develop some new young talent. Nobody appears on the horizon.
Thursday, February 18, 2016
The South Carolina Follies
Rumor has it that today Donald Trump instructed his lawyers to send a cease and desist letter to the Pope. Trump has demanded that the Pope recant his statement that Trump is not a Christian and that additionally he say five Hail Marys. Ted Cruz stated that the Pope asked him to represent the him in this legal struggle. Mario Rubio said that was a lie and that the pope had asked him. Ted Cruz rejoined that Mario Rubio was the liar.
On the campaign trail, Jeb Bush stated that not only his brother but his mommy and daddy also want him to be president. Jeb said his mom he did not think it was fair that his brother got to be president if Jeb didn't. Bill Clinton stated that because the Bush family already had two presidents, it was the Clinton family's turn. Descendents of the Adams family said they were next.
The Fox network announced a new reality show,"The biggest liar." The first contestants will be Cruz Rubio and Trump. In order that there be fair and balanced questions, the questionnaires will be Rush Limbaugh and Rachel Maddow.
On the campaign trail, Jeb Bush stated that not only his brother but his mommy and daddy also want him to be president. Jeb said his mom he did not think it was fair that his brother got to be president if Jeb didn't. Bill Clinton stated that because the Bush family already had two presidents, it was the Clinton family's turn. Descendents of the Adams family said they were next.
The Fox network announced a new reality show,"The biggest liar." The first contestants will be Cruz Rubio and Trump. In order that there be fair and balanced questions, the questionnaires will be Rush Limbaugh and Rachel Maddow.
Monday, February 15, 2016
Donald Trump's platform
The centerpiece of Trump's platform is, of course,"I'm great so trust me." Most of the rest is vague and undefined. However, there are a few relatively specific proposals.
The first is The Wall. Trump is correct in saying that before his comments little was set about immigration by the other Republican candidates. The reason for that is that immigration is not now a serious problem. The Obama administration has deported more illegal immigrants then any other recent president. The result is that in the past few years, net immigration has been negative. Economists who have studied the effect of undocumented immigrants on the economy of this country have consistently for at least 20 years concluded they are a net benefit. There is also a little if any evidence that they are taking jobs away from American citizens, very few of which desire to become migrant agricultural workers.
Trumps other relatively specific proposal is his tax plan. He proposes massive tax cuts, Nearly all of which will benefit the wealthiest people in the country. For instance, according to the analysis of the Tax Policy Center the top 1% of tax payers will see a a decrease in the amount of taxes they pay of 17.6% . The top one 10th of percent of taxpayers will see a decrease in the amount of taxes they pay of the 18.3%. Trump also proposes cuts in business taxation. The bottom 75% of taxpayers will see very little reduction in their taxes.The results of this will be massive deficits. We may safely assume that Trump will claim that his plan will provide such a massive stimulus to the economy that deficits will quickly be eliminated. He will undoubtedly find some organization or economist to approve this plan. As it is the case with all of Trump'S nonsense, the problems with his tax plan probably will not hurt his chances in the election, at least at the primary level.
The first is The Wall. Trump is correct in saying that before his comments little was set about immigration by the other Republican candidates. The reason for that is that immigration is not now a serious problem. The Obama administration has deported more illegal immigrants then any other recent president. The result is that in the past few years, net immigration has been negative. Economists who have studied the effect of undocumented immigrants on the economy of this country have consistently for at least 20 years concluded they are a net benefit. There is also a little if any evidence that they are taking jobs away from American citizens, very few of which desire to become migrant agricultural workers.
Trumps other relatively specific proposal is his tax plan. He proposes massive tax cuts, Nearly all of which will benefit the wealthiest people in the country. For instance, according to the analysis of the Tax Policy Center the top 1% of tax payers will see a a decrease in the amount of taxes they pay of 17.6% . The top one 10th of percent of taxpayers will see a decrease in the amount of taxes they pay of the 18.3%. Trump also proposes cuts in business taxation. The bottom 75% of taxpayers will see very little reduction in their taxes.The results of this will be massive deficits. We may safely assume that Trump will claim that his plan will provide such a massive stimulus to the economy that deficits will quickly be eliminated. He will undoubtedly find some organization or economist to approve this plan. As it is the case with all of Trump'S nonsense, the problems with his tax plan probably will not hurt his chances in the election, at least at the primary level.
Sunday, February 14, 2016
Republican contestants in the Saturday night fight cage
I haven't watched much of the debates thus far. In the primary debates, the contestants are fighting for the so-called base of the party. As a result there is a lot of mischaracterizations, misstatements exaggerations and BS, and not first class BS either. Because in the past, South Carolina primaries we're known for more than rough-and-tumble tactics, in fact downright dirty tactics I thought I would watch Saturday night. Although I have never been politically active I hardly ever vote for a Republican. Nonetheless, I thought I could fairly judge the comparative merits of the candidates on the Republican side, even though it was highly unlikely I would ever vote for any of them.
I've seen a lot of presidential debates, starting with Nixon and Kennedy in 1960. Never have I seen such a disgusting display. By far the worst was Donald Trump, a bloviating buffoon. The thought that this guy could actually be the president of United States is something I cannot wrap my mind about. Cruz and Rubio were not much better. What was disheartening was to listen to the talking heads afterwords. They seem to say that Trump had not heard his chances , Rubio might have upped his chances and Cruz did fine. So, I guess this election will prove that the definition of a democracy as one in which the the people get the government they deserve will hold true, particularly if the Republican candidate is not either Bush or Kasich, as it becomes increasingly likely that the Republicans will win the presidency and surely will control the House of Representatives.
I've seen a lot of presidential debates, starting with Nixon and Kennedy in 1960. Never have I seen such a disgusting display. By far the worst was Donald Trump, a bloviating buffoon. The thought that this guy could actually be the president of United States is something I cannot wrap my mind about. Cruz and Rubio were not much better. What was disheartening was to listen to the talking heads afterwords. They seem to say that Trump had not heard his chances , Rubio might have upped his chances and Cruz did fine. So, I guess this election will prove that the definition of a democracy as one in which the the people get the government they deserve will hold true, particularly if the Republican candidate is not either Bush or Kasich, as it becomes increasingly likely that the Republicans will win the presidency and surely will control the House of Representatives.
Saturday, February 13, 2016
Don't cry for me, New Hampshire
The good people of New Hampshire have spoken and, with apologies to WB Yeates the center did not hold. The Democrats elected Bernie Sanders, a self-styled democratic socialist who wishes to increase the scope of government activity and raise taxes on the wealthy and particularly the financial sector. The Republicans elected Donald Trump who has very few specific proposals but promises that his greatness is all the country needs to succeed beyond our wildest expectations. Were Sanders to be elected, the Republican-controlled house which is almost a dead certainty to continue after the 20 16th election would allow none of his proposals to be enacted. Trumps only specific proposals are to build a wall to solve a nonexistent immigration problem and a crazy tax plan which is totally inconsistent with his message. The roadshow now moves primarily to South Carolina, in the heart of the Bible Belt where the Pentecostal preacher Ted Cruz hopes to regain the ascendancy. On the Democrat side, Hillary Clinton looks strong. Unfortunately, her economic and budgetary proposals have no chance with a republican House of Representatives either.
Waiting in the wings is Nevada witch is appropriate in this cycle as it is primarily a sort of a fantasyland.
Waiting in the wings is Nevada witch is appropriate in this cycle as it is primarily a sort of a fantasyland.
Tuesday, February 9, 2016
Strange days in New Hampshire –February 9 2016
As Bilbo Baggins and the other residents of the Shire vote, there have been mighty strange occurrences in the Shire. At the big debate Saturday night, it emerged that Marielle Rubio believed he was running against Barack Obama in the 2016 election. His complaint about Obama, which he reiterated time after time, was that Obama "knew exactly what he was doing ". There is unanimous agreement among the Republican candidates that everything that Obama did was wrong, if not despicable. Apparently these candidates are against saving jobs in the US by giving government help to General Motors, giving more Americans access to healthcare, not starting another war in Syria, providing cleaner air and and providing stimulus to the US economy by a three-pronged program of tax cuts, providing federal funds to the states and federal construction programs. This seems somewhat odd as the economic proposals by all the republican candidates consist primarily of tax cuts and increased distribution of federal funds to the states. Rubio is also apparently dead set against a president knowing what he is doing.
Those of us who are older, can remember Mohammad Ali claiming" I am the greatest".He had nothing on this group of candidates, particularly Donald Trump. The who is the greatest debate appears primarily to center on the question of the meaning of the term " conservative ". Each of the candidates tends to look at the others and say "Ha, look who thinks he's a conservative".
Meanwhile, the two Democratic candidates argue about who is the most "progressive".
God help us, there are 48 states to go.
Those of us who are older, can remember Mohammad Ali claiming" I am the greatest".He had nothing on this group of candidates, particularly Donald Trump. The who is the greatest debate appears primarily to center on the question of the meaning of the term " conservative ". Each of the candidates tends to look at the others and say "Ha, look who thinks he's a conservative".
Meanwhile, the two Democratic candidates argue about who is the most "progressive".
God help us, there are 48 states to go.
Thursday, February 4, 2016
The great Utah land grab of 2016
Things are brewing in this here state of Utah that will make the Oklahoma Landrush of 1889 pale in comparison. Although the contours of and players in this landgrab are still nascent, some aspects are beginning to emerge. The state of Utah seeks to lay claim to all or nearly all of the federal lands within the boundaries of the state . At the same time, ranchers in this state are saying au contraire, we own in these lands out right that we have been leasing from the federal government. As things develop, we may expect more claimants to emerge. For instance, holders of Federal mineral leases, oil and gas leases, timber cutting permits, Ski resorts, marinas and perhaps such users as backcountry outfitters, River floaters and the like.
A commission of the Utah Legislature has engaged the legal services of a reverse carpetbagging firm from New Orleans., This is not entirely clear because the spokesman of the firm claims they only represent the chairman of the commission. One wonders if this chairman is on the hook individually for the legal bills. Apparently the chairman and his legal eagles are unwilling to share the legal analysis with the Democrats in the Utah legislature. Whether the attorney general of the state of Utah has been made privey to this analysis is unclear, at least to me.
Wholly apart from the merits, if any, of these novel legal claims, is the question of how litigation would be structured. Would the plaintiff be the state of Utah or the chairman of the commission, perhaps acting ex rel? In either case there would be an interesting standing issue. Currently before the United States Supreme Court is a case that should shed light on the ability of states to bring actions as plaintiff disputing actions taken by representatives of branches of the federal government claimed to injure the state. Were the chairman to be the plaintiff, standing would be even more problematic.
As far as the claims of the State of Utah, there would seem to be other preliminary issues before the merits could be reached. For instance, even if framed as an action for declaratory relief, there would seem to be a question of whether there is an actual case or controversy ripe for adjudication. Given that there does not appear to be a dispute over the title to any particular property arising out of a specific claim by the state of Utah, what would seem to be requested would be a type of an advisory opinion that the federal courts do not provide. Also might the political question doctrine be implicated?
Actually, an individual plaintiff claiming title to a particular Parcel of Federal land might assert a claim more ripe for adjudication .
What would be a truly wonderful spectator sport, would be an action by the state of Utah seeking to require the federal Government to relinquish and convey to the state of Utah title to all federal lands within the boundaries of the state. Then, perhaps all the individual claimants could intervene. Something like a general adjudication as occurs in cases of contested water rights might happen. This is, obviously, highly unlikely but it certainly would be in the nature of a relief act for lawyers.
Meanwhile, in common with the democrat members of the legislature, I would really like to see the $500,000 legal analysis, which I will undoubtedly as a tax payer pay for.
A commission of the Utah Legislature has engaged the legal services of a reverse carpetbagging firm from New Orleans., This is not entirely clear because the spokesman of the firm claims they only represent the chairman of the commission. One wonders if this chairman is on the hook individually for the legal bills. Apparently the chairman and his legal eagles are unwilling to share the legal analysis with the Democrats in the Utah legislature. Whether the attorney general of the state of Utah has been made privey to this analysis is unclear, at least to me.
Wholly apart from the merits, if any, of these novel legal claims, is the question of how litigation would be structured. Would the plaintiff be the state of Utah or the chairman of the commission, perhaps acting ex rel? In either case there would be an interesting standing issue. Currently before the United States Supreme Court is a case that should shed light on the ability of states to bring actions as plaintiff disputing actions taken by representatives of branches of the federal government claimed to injure the state. Were the chairman to be the plaintiff, standing would be even more problematic.
As far as the claims of the State of Utah, there would seem to be other preliminary issues before the merits could be reached. For instance, even if framed as an action for declaratory relief, there would seem to be a question of whether there is an actual case or controversy ripe for adjudication. Given that there does not appear to be a dispute over the title to any particular property arising out of a specific claim by the state of Utah, what would seem to be requested would be a type of an advisory opinion that the federal courts do not provide. Also might the political question doctrine be implicated?
Actually, an individual plaintiff claiming title to a particular Parcel of Federal land might assert a claim more ripe for adjudication .
What would be a truly wonderful spectator sport, would be an action by the state of Utah seeking to require the federal Government to relinquish and convey to the state of Utah title to all federal lands within the boundaries of the state. Then, perhaps all the individual claimants could intervene. Something like a general adjudication as occurs in cases of contested water rights might happen. This is, obviously, highly unlikely but it certainly would be in the nature of a relief act for lawyers.
Meanwhile, in common with the democrat members of the legislature, I would really like to see the $500,000 legal analysis, which I will undoubtedly as a tax payer pay for.
Wednesday, February 3, 2016
Homage to Io
In Russia there are the caucusus, a mountain range dividing the country. Although Iowa is flat it also has coccuses dividing the country. These caucuses are a sort of series of the tent revival meetings where the republicans and Democrats divide the country and indeed divide their own parties.
The republican caucuses were won by Ted Cruz whose message was a sort of book of revelations. His Pentecostal approach fell only just short of the handling snakes. He also had his preacher papa out at the churches, peddling his kind of reprehensible demagoguery. To add gravitas, Cruise also had Glenn Beck and the Star of duck dynasty. Oddly enough, Beck was unable to note the connection between the Russian in Iowa caucuses, clear evidence of some sort of dark left-wing conspiracy.
The runner-up Republican was Donald Trump. Trump, against all odds, managed to lower the intellectual content of his production by bringing in Sarah Palin. Her brand of unintelligible but authentic Alaskan gibberish has not changed over the years. Trump had hope to bring the America First party and Charles Lindbergh but was informed that they were no longer with us.
Marco Rubio managed to finish a close third by proclaiming his own greatness and straddling all issues. He thus became the mainstream, conservative, Tea party candidate.
The Democrats managed to finish in a virtual dead heat. Apparently this was a race between a socialist and a shill for Wall Street.
It is now on to New Hampshire, Home of the Manchester Union leader and the late William Loeb. It is also the state where prisoners at the State penitentiary produce license plates with the motto"Live Free or Die".
The republican caucuses were won by Ted Cruz whose message was a sort of book of revelations. His Pentecostal approach fell only just short of the handling snakes. He also had his preacher papa out at the churches, peddling his kind of reprehensible demagoguery. To add gravitas, Cruise also had Glenn Beck and the Star of duck dynasty. Oddly enough, Beck was unable to note the connection between the Russian in Iowa caucuses, clear evidence of some sort of dark left-wing conspiracy.
The runner-up Republican was Donald Trump. Trump, against all odds, managed to lower the intellectual content of his production by bringing in Sarah Palin. Her brand of unintelligible but authentic Alaskan gibberish has not changed over the years. Trump had hope to bring the America First party and Charles Lindbergh but was informed that they were no longer with us.
Marco Rubio managed to finish a close third by proclaiming his own greatness and straddling all issues. He thus became the mainstream, conservative, Tea party candidate.
The Democrats managed to finish in a virtual dead heat. Apparently this was a race between a socialist and a shill for Wall Street.
It is now on to New Hampshire, Home of the Manchester Union leader and the late William Loeb. It is also the state where prisoners at the State penitentiary produce license plates with the motto"Live Free or Die".
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