Ryan: A Man, A Plan

If the President really thought that a Federal shutdown was "inexcusable", the remedy is at hand: pass the Paul Ryan Plan.

Sure, parts of it are a bit shaky. He underestimates the rise in medical costs, but a later repeal of ObamaCare probably takes care of that. It offloads some Federal costs to the states, but that may well turn out to be a good thing. Talk about "market choice!"

Et cetera.

The fact is, the Ryan Plan is the closest thing anyone has come up with that actually addresses the deficit and the realities of a government beset by debt costs and overly-generous entitlements. It works without setting off a firestorm of angry special interests (and least the significant ones). We could end up with a budget and then deal with the greater issues of entitlements and debt service.

If the GOP has an actual plan, imperfect though it may be, and the Democrats are doing the usual piecemeal shuffle, which would you choose? To reject the Ryan Plan when you have no real plan of your own is, in fact, "inexcusable."

The Redistricting Debacle

So, is Professor Alan Rosenthal, the alleged "neutral" 11th vote on the redistricting committee, just another Democrat flack, or did he really try to accept the Republican version of the map?

Probably a bit of both. Rosenthal has decades of writings to examine, all of which point to his bias towards "continuity" in representation. Why this is, is a mystery. Surely even a cursory examination of New Jersey history show thousands of counter-examples. The longer a politician is in office, the more likely he is to be corrupt and, worse, help institutionalize the corruption that is now ingrained in NJ government.

Since New Jersey is dominated by the Democrats, who have bankrupted the state, ruined its credit rating and given its residents the highest per capita taxes in the nation, anyone who values "continuity" over other factors, must be to some extent a flack for the big fat government advocates in the Democrat Party.

But Rosenthal's bias was well-known. In fact it was almost certain that he would value that criteria above all the other factors that allegedly enter into the equation, such as contiguity, maintaining county lines, etc. It would seem that the Republicans on the task force misplayed their hand.

And the result has crippled any chance they might have had to extend the resurgence they had with the Christie election. Morris and Somerset Countys, prime Republican strongholds, have been gerrymandered out of contention. What influence they had has been split off into surrounding areas, also Republican. Middlesex County has been punished for its effrontery in going for Christie. Ocean County has been weakened as well. Up and coming younger Republicans like Sean Kean and Denise Coyle have been thrown to the wolves.

It's now clear to any observer that the GOP in New Jersey is its own worst enemy. So long as it is led by pols as corrupt as Donald DiFrancesco or nebbishes like Tom Kean, Jr. the Dems will keep kicking them in the teeth.

A Double Scoop of Pork

One of the most powerful Democrat politicians in the state in Essex County Executive Joe DiVincenzo. And one of the ways you measure power is by the number of special privileges a pol has that are unavailable to the rank and file.

"Joe D", it turns out, has been retired for several months, but to paraphrase Mark Twain, rumors of his retirement have been greatly exaggerated. Turns out that by an act of the legislature, DiVincenzo can retire, start collecting his pension (over $5600 a month) and yet still keep his job and collect his salary.

When asked about it, DiVincenzo pulled out the dictionary and asked "how can it be unethical if it is legal?" This is a slightly different variation on the standard legal defense of indicted NJ pols: "hey, how can it be illegal if everyone does it?"

Note that no one asked if it was "wrong."

Another Drunken Bum

HAMILTON (Atlantic County) — A police report claims the deputy mayor of Hamilton Township in Atlantic County was charged with drunken driving after a January incident where he pleaded with police for "professional courtesy," according to a report on PressofAC.com.

via Atlantic County deputy mayor pleaded for 'courtesy' during DWI arrest, police report says | NJ.com.

"Professional courtesy"? Why? They were just cops, not fellow professional political assholes.

We're #1!

New Jersey residents were the highest-taxed in the country in 2009, giving 12.2 percent of their income to state and local taxes.

Wednesday’s report covers former Gov. Jon Corzine’s last full year in office, and it was New Jersey’s third consecutive year with the dubious honor.

via N.J. residents were highest-taxed in U.S. in 2009, report shows | NJ.com.

Trenton Makes... Trouble

Angered by what he says is a failure of Trenton Mayor Tony Mack’s administration to give out information on the city’s budget deficit and the whereabouts of confirmed business administrator Sam Hutchinson, Council President George Muschal is prepared to use subpoena power to get answers.

Muschal said Tuesday that both acting business administrator Elaine Adams and the mayor's communications director Lauren Ira have failed to respond to repeated phone calls made by himself and other council members requesting information.

via Trenton council president vows subpoenas to get answers from Mayor Tony Mack's administration | NJ.com.

Don't worry, folks. The tens of millions of tax dollars from the rest of the state will make everything better.

No More Carping From Carpiano

The now-retired former head of the New Jersey Association of Counties has decided she doesn't need unemployment benefits to supplement the $99,000 per year public pension she receives, according to a report on NorthJersey.com.

Celeste Carpiano said she plans to withdraw her request for unemployment because "it's not necessary," the report said. Although Carpiano was not a state worker, she was part of the government health and pension plan as result of a 1956 law that allowed some lobbyists to join because their work was deemed valuable to the public. She also received a Lexus for use as part of her job and cashed out more than $53,000 in unused sick and vacation time when she retired Dec. 31.

via N.J. lobbyist dropping bid for unemployment benefits to boost $99K pension | NJ.com.

It's unselfish generosity like this that makes me proud to be from NJ...

A Gap In the Barricades

Wisconsin public-sector union leaders have offered Governor Scott Walker and the Republican-majority state legislature a deal. The unions will accept all of the fiscal aspects of Walker's bill: Henceforth members will pay 5.8 percent of their salary toward their pensions and 12.6 percent of their health-care premiums, up substantially in both areas. All they ask in return is that Walker and the legislature not gut their collective bargaining rights. Sounds statesmanlike, right?

I have my doubts. Certainly, this offer undercuts the unions' claim that there is no budget crisis in Wisconsin, and that Walker manufactured one as a pretext for union-busting. If there's no budget crisis, on what possible basis can union leaders instruct their members to give up an estimated $330 million worth of hard-earned, contractually guaranteed benefits over the next couple of years? Are they saying that the rank and file is better off giving up their money now, even though it isn't necessary to fix the state's budget, as long as they still have the chance to get the money back at the bargaining table later, maybe?

via PostPartisan - For Wisconsin unions, a telling concession.

Somebody just blinked.

Pimp My Voter-Pimp

Several weeks after Kwame R. Brown was elected D.C. Council chairman in November, city officials were asked to order for him a "fully loaded" Lincoln Navigator L with a DVD entertainment system, power moonroof and polished aluminum wheels.

It had to be black - all black, inside and out - and it had to arrive in time for his inauguration Jan. 2, never mind the District's projected $400 million budget shortfall.

Later, when he was asked on television why taxpayers should foot the $1,900-a-month lease payments, Brown (D) said he had merely requested a black sport-utility vehicle and was driving the vehicle that the District had procured for him.

via 'Fully loaded' SUV puts D.C. Council Chairman Kwame Brown on the spot.

If ever there was an example of the adage "you get the government you deserve", it is DC.

More Clinton Collateral Damage

The indictment of a top Northern Virginia fundraiser last week is the latest in a series of criminal cases that have ensnared campaign donors to Hillary Rodham Clinton, who relied heavily on wealthy bundlers in her failed 2008 bid for the presidency.

Federal grand jury indictments handed up in Alexandria allege that Galen Capital Group Chairman William P. Danielczyk Jr. and his treasurer illegally reimbursed nearly $190,000 in donations to Clinton's 2006 and 2008 campaigns, sometimes with corporate funds.

via Several big donors to Hillary Clinton now facing criminal allegations.

That's what happens when you back the wrong horse. Rely upon the Clintons to distance themselves as far as possible from this poor schnook. After all, he is of no further use to them.

Wisconsin Cheese

MADISON, WIS. - President Obama thrust himself and his political operation this week into Wisconsin's broiling budget battle, mobilizing opposition Thursday to a Republican bill that would curb public-worker benefits and planning similar protests in other state capitals.

Obama accused Scott Walker, the state's new Republican governor, of unleashing an "assault" on unions in pushing emergency legislation that would change future collective-bargaining agreements that affect most public employees, including teachers.

The president's political machine worked in close coordination Thursday with state and national union officials to get thousands of protesters to gather in Madison and to plan similar demonstrations in other state capitals.

via Obama joins Wisconsin's budget battle, opposing Republican anti-union bill.

The Great Deficit Buster shows his true colors. Has there ever been a President with more contempt for the middle class?

A Deeper Hole

TRENTON — Mayor Tony Mack is proposing a tax hike beyond the increase already approved by city council in order to close Trenton’s budget deficit, and he is applying for a waiver from the state cap on municipal tax increases.

The city council previously approved a rate increase of 30 cents per $100 of assessed value to raise an extra $5 million. Mack now wants to boost the rate by 43 cents to $3.76, which would raise $8.5 million, he said in a press release last night. For a home valued at $100,000, that would represent an annual increase in the city portion of the owner’s tax bill of $430, to $3,760.

via Trenton Mayor Tony Mack proposes another tax hike to close budget gap | NJ.com.

Astonishing when you consider the ever-increasing body of evidence that shows you can’t tax your way out of debt. But then, Mack is a Democrat.

Intestinal Fortitude

BURLINGTON COUNTY — Two Burlington County officials who were elected to office as Democrats have decided to become Republicans, according to a report on PhillyBurbs.com.

Surrogate George Kotch of Burlington Township and Clerk Timothy Tyler say their values are now more aligned with with the Republican party. Only Kotch is expected to seek re-election.

via Two elected Democrats in Burlington County decide to become Republicans | NJ.com.

Rats leaving the ship.

"Wall of Debt"

Interest payments on the national debt will quadruple in the next decade and every man, woman and child in the United States will be paying more than $2,500 a year to cover for the nation's past profligacy, according to figures in President Obama's new budget plan.

via Obama budget plan shows interest owed on national debt quadrupling in next decade.

Every President needs a legacy. Now Barry has one.

Show Us The Money

Two years ago, the popular new president had Democratic majorities in Congress as he released a sweeping budget plan that introduced a New Deal sequel with dramatic proposals on health care, energy and the economy and a full embrace of government's central role.

The Obama of 2011, as demonstrated by Monday's budget rollout, seems resigned to operating in a far more constrained fashion as he plunges into policy combat for the first time with the GOP's House majority.

In declining to embrace the most difficult ideas proposed by his bipartisan deficit commission, such as cutting Social Security benefits, eliminating a home mortgage tax deduction or making structural changes to the tax code, the president deferred tough decisions that many in both parties say are necessary to fix the country's fiscal problems.

via Federal Budget 2012: Obama releases budget, GOP calls for deeper cuts.

Meaningless, really, since under the Pelosi/Reid Congress we never had a finalized 2011 Budget.

Asleep At The Switch

According to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, all was well in the Persian Gulf emirate of Bahrain just two months ago, when she paid a visit. "I am very impressed by the progress Bahrain is making on all fronts -- economically politically, socially," she enthused at a town hall meeting. Speaking of the ruling al-Khalifa family, she said, "I think the commitment to democracy is paramount."

Now, however, Bahrain is at the forefront of the continuing Arab uprising -- the only Persian Gulf state where the popular protests of Tunisia and Egypt have spread. On both Monday and Tuesday thousands of protesters gathered in the center of Manama, the capital, only to be frontally attacked by riot police. So far, two have been killed. The demonstrators nevertheless managed to reach a central square, dominated by a statue of a pearl, that they are calling "Tahrir," or "Liberation" square in honor of the Egyptian revolution. Their demand is the same as that in Cairo: genuine democracy.

via PostPartisan - Blindsided in Bahrain.

The State Department seems to out to lunch and Panetta’s CIA is no better.

Boardwalk Empire

ATLANTIC CITY — Atlantic City Councilman Marty Small said he told a campaign worker who was secretly recording conversations with him that his 2009 mayoral campaign was to be "open, honest and above board."

Small and 11 others are on trial on voter fraud and other charges relating to Atlantic City's 2009 mayoral primary in which Small was trounced by incumbent Lorenzo Langford.

The defendants are accused of tampering with or manipulating absentee ballots designed for voters too sick or frail to make it to the polls.

via At voter fraud trial, Atlantic City councilman says 2009 mayoral campaign was 'above board' | NJ.com.

Everything is relative. This is, after all, New Jersey.

Update: Small was acquitted by a jury of his peers who have evidently been beaten into submission.

Scum At The Water Works

Mayor Tony Mack ordered a change at the Trenton Water Works utility in mid-September that gave his half-brother Stanley Davis and another crew chief the ability to authorize emergency overtime for repair jobs, a power that led authorities to arrest and indict Davis two months later, according to a former administration official.

Davis, 49, was arrested in December and charged along with two other water utility workers with taking cash from an undercover detective for an unnecessary repair job and billing the city for emergency overtime under the new rules.

via Mayor Tony Mack ordered Trenton Water Works overtime change before brother's arrest | NJ.com.

No word yet on any mischief at the Electric Company, the B&O Railroad or Free Parking…

Low Speed Rail

BEIJING — The railway minister of China, Liu Zhijun, has been removed from the top post in the ministry because he is being investigated for corruption, according to a report on Saturday by Xinhua, the state news agency. Mr. Liu is the most senior Chinese official to come under such investigation in years.

The inquiry raises questions about China’s deep investment in high-speed railways, a vast nationwide initiative that has been a favorite project of Mr. Liu, who has spent his entire career in the ministry.

via China’s Railway Minister Loses Post in Corruption Inquiry - NYTimes.com.

If the Chinese don’t want high-speed rail, where does that leave Obama?

Junk Breeds Junk

TRENTON — New Jersey’s bond rating was downgraded Wednesday by Standard & Poor’s, a move that could add significantly to the state’s borrowing costs and focuses even more attention on public-employee pension and health care payments.

The agency dropped New Jersey to a rating that is among the lowest in the country. According to S&P, the only states with worse credit ratings are California and Illinois, widely considered to be in the steepest financial trouble.

via Drop in N.J. bond rating could add to state's borrowing costs, financial problems | NJ.com.

Junk politicians lead to junk bonds.

Melting Pot

...when it comes to keeping racial statistics, the nation is in transition, moving, often without uniformity, from the old “mark one box” limit to allowing citizens to check as many boxes as their backgrounds demand. Changes in how Americans are counted by race and ethnicity are meant to improve the precision with which the nation’s growing diversity is gauged: the number of mixed-race Americans, for example, is rising rapidly, largely because of increases in immigration and intermarriage in the past two decades. (One in seven new marriages is now interracial or interethnic.)

via Counting Mixed-Race America Grows Ever More Complex - NYTimes.com.

Getting harder to pigeon-hole race. This is a problem for the quota-mongers like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton.

Hot Air About Hot Air

WASHINGTON — Congressional Republicans on Wednesday opened a formal assault on the authority of the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate greenhouse gases, raising doubts about the legal, scientific and economic basis of rules proposed by the agency.

The forum was a hearing convened by the energy and power subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee to review the economic impact of pending limits on carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases. But much of the discussion focused instead on whether climate science supports the agency’s finding that greenhouse gases are a threat to health and the environment; that finding is what makes the gases subject to regulation under the Clean Air Act.

Lisa P. Jackson, the E.P.A. administrator, was subjected to more than two hours of questioning, some of it hostile, about proposed limits on emissions from factories, refineries, power plants and vehicles.

via Republicans Assail E.P.A. Chief on Greenhouse Gas Limits - NYTimes.com.

Ms. Jackson ran the NJ Department of Environmental Protection and few people were impressed. Putting her in charge of global warming is a bit out of her league.

Worst. Country. Ever.

MEXICO CITY — Haitian officials issued a diplomatic passport on Tuesday for Jean-Bertrand Aristide, Haiti’s first democratically elected president and — even after years in exile — one of the country’s most popular and divisive figures.

via Haiti Issues Passport for Jean-Bertrand Aristide - NYTimes.com.

If Baby Doc can come back, why not Aristide, who was never anyone but a Bill Clinton puppet anyway.

Take A Ride On the Reading

Speaking about the need for high-speed rail, Vice President Joe Biden commented that, "If we don't get a grip, folks, they'll not only be teaching us, they're gonna own our kids."

What?

via ComPost - Joe Biden: 'They're gonna own our kids' without high-speed rail.

This from Amtrak's most frequent rider...

Talk Like An Egyptian

Caught flat-footed and totally unprepared for Egypt’s uprising, the Obama administration has been offering a series of excuses. It was, officials claim, quietly supporting reform all along. The CIA never warned that Egypt might blow up. No one could have anticipated what has happened in Cairo since Jan. 25.

The claim on reform is easily dismissed. Anyone who has been following Egypt for the last two years knows the administration’s record of coddling President Hosni Mubarak, cutting funds for Egyptian democracy programs, and eschewing criticism of the regime’s repression.

But another part of the record also needs clearing up: In fact, the White House was warned, publicly and repeatedly, that Egypt was approaching a turning point and that the status quo was untenable — not by an intelligence agency, but by a bipartisan group of Washington-based experts who pleaded, in vain, for a change of policy..

via PostPartisan - The Egypt warnings Obama ignored.

More liars.

Tearing Up the Constitution

Judge Roger Vinson’s ruling striking down the health-care law’s individual mandate and, with it, the rest of the statute, may or may not stand up in higher courts. But it’s more convincing than some arguments I’ve read on the other side…

The only consideration is whether Congress has enacted the mandate pursuant to one of its enumerated constitutional powers.

via PostPartisan - Give me liberty or give me health care.

If the Supreme Court allows Congress to impose health insurance under the Interstate Commerce clause, then there are no longer any restraints on their power to control our lives.

Harry Reid: Liar

The Senate majority leader made an impassioned plea on behalf of the new health-care law on the Senate floor Tuesday, one day after a federal judge struck it down as unconstitutional….

Reid argued that it is time to “stop re-fighting yesterday’s fights” and ticked off the benefits that he said were already flowing from the bill, including the claimed $4 billion in restitution and fines. He also argued that repealing the law would “add a trillion dollars to the deficit,” which is a claim we have debunked before. But is it possible that a bill that passed just 10 months ago has already yielded $4 billion from health care fraudsters?

…it is clear where the figure came from—an announcement by the Department of Health and Human Services that a new report showed that health care fraud prevention and enforcement efforts had recovered more than $4 billion in fiscal year 2010. The agency said this figure was a single-year record. The government’s fiscal year ends on Sept. 30, so that would mean the health-care law would actually have been in effect for just six months in the time period covered in the report. But the HHS news release never claims the new health-care law had anything to do with the successful enforcement efforts. It instead attributes the success to action taken in 2009 — the creation of a Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team focused on preventing waste and fraud in the Medicare and Medicaid programs.

via Fact Checker - Harry Reid's imaginary $4 billion credit to the health-care law.

Why we should expect the truth from these people at this point is just plain naive, but give Reid credit for lying really, really big.

Flo Rida

Florida freshman Republican Rep. David Rivera hasn't had a smooth first month in office. To say the least.

Last Friday, the Associated Press reported that Rivera paid himself nearly $60,000 in unexplained campaign reimbursements over the eight years he served in the state legislature. He's already under criminal investigation for failing to disclose $137,000 in loans from a company co-owned by his mother.

via The Fix - How much trouble is David Rivera in?.

Scoundrels know no party.