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Who watched the SOTU Address? Opinions?
103 Thoughts to “Open Thread…………………………………………….Thursday, January 25”
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Blogroll
- 9500Liberty
- Bacons' Rebellion Blogspot
- Bearing Drift
- Blue Virginia
- Citizen Tom
- Counts of Monte Cristo. The
- Derecho, The
- Dixie Pig, The
- My Side of the Fence
- My Star Journey
- NARAL Pro-Choice VA Blog
- New Dominion Project
- Nova Common Sense
- NovaTownHall Blog
- One Libertarians's Point of View by Al Alborn
- Pete Candland's Blog
- Potomac Local
- Prince William Muckraker
- PW Conservation Alliance
- PWC Moms
- PWCPolitics.com
- PWCPolitics.com
- Red NoVA
- Shad Plank, The
- She the People
- State of NoVA, the
- The Jeffersoniad
- Townhall
- VEA Daily Reports
- VivianPaige
- WDGolden.com
- You, Me and the Lamp Post
Any upcoming posts on the dissolution of the Park Authority and rolling it into the general County govt.??
I didn’t know about it, Bob. Maybe Elena does.
I believe its happening right now at the PA Board meeting…
Ut Oh. Well I am having lights fixed and havent even had a tV. internet is only as good as the battery holds out.
Navy SEALs rescue kidnapped aid workers Jessica Buchanan and Poul Hagen Thisted in Somalia
By Karen DeYoung and Greg Jaffe,
Published: January 25
U.S. Special Operations forces rescued an American hostage and her Danish colleague in Somalia early Wednesday in the kind of daring raid that the Obama administration has said will be the hallmark of future U.S. military missions.
Officials said the raid, by members of the Navy SEAL Team 6 unit that killed Osama bin Laden in May, demonstrated President Obama’s focus on the narrow, targeted use of force after a decade of large-scale military deployments
The mission is “yet another message to the world that the United States of America will stand strongly against any threats to our people,” Obama said in a statement Wednesday morning.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/us-forces-rescue-kidnapped-aid-workers-jessica-buchanan-and-poul-hagen-thisted-in-somalia/2012/01/25/gIQA7WopPQ_story.html?hpid=z2
Obama’s been kicking some major terrorists’ butts lately. This is how you fight a war on terror – you seek out, close with, and destroy your enemies. The President has been a far superior CINC than his predecessor ever was.
@Starry, Obama sure has been! Hopefully more conflicts will be settled Obama Commando style rather than going to war. Far more surgical and less collateral damage.
Starry said “Obama’s been kicking some major terrorists’ butts lately. This is how you fight a war on terror – you seek out, close with, and destroy your enemies.”
Excellent. Agreed!
Obama team sees Romney damaging self with independents for fall campaign
But the chaotic Republican race, and the way Romney has dealt with vulnerability and adversity, give those guiding the president’s reelection campaign confidence that, when the general-election campaign begins, the president will hold several advantages over the GOP nominee.
What has happened to Romney over the past month has not come as a total surprise to Obama’s advisers. Having long ago combed his record as a businessman and cast his profile against the general mood of the country, they thought he was a candidate with major weaknesses that could make it difficult for him to appeal to independent and swing voters.
At the heart of those perceptions is Romney’s tenure at Bain Capital, a private equity firm where he made his fortune. His record there has come under attack in the Republican race, although his advisers say it is a major asset because of the contrast he could draw with the president, who has no real experience in business or with the private economy.
Obama advisers disagree. They argue that, at a time when many Americans see economic and political systems that appear to be stacked against them, Romney’s decision to base his campaign message on his work at a private equity firm could be a major mistake.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/obama-team-sees-romney-damaging-self-with-independents-for-fall-campaign/2012/01/25/gIQAo8caRQ_story.html
marin, the Apple saga continues. There is plenty of abuse.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/26/business/ieconomy-apples-ipad-and-the-human-costs-for-workers-in-china.html?_r=1&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha2
Apple needs to tell the Chinese what is acceptable, inspect, verify, and demand. I had to wait a month for my ipad. Big deal.
The repugs want to ship more and more jobs overseas under the guise of “free trade” in order to increase profitability for their business friends.
And Dumocrats want to keep the US corporate tax rate the highest in the world and penalize repatriated income to the point it incentivizes offshoring of the profitable divisions of major companies. Companies like GE. Big Dumocrat doner companies like GE, that paid ZERO federal corporate income taxes last year.
Moon,
I hope you’ve seen the new redistricting map for the USHOD districts? Looks like a couple of our neighbors that thought is was so grand that we were shifted into the 13VAHOD district, are getting a little payback. I can’t stop laughing. We are now in the FIRST USHOD!!! I’m sure there are those that will NOT like this. However, the map shows that they used very realistic boundaries(City of Manassas, City of MP, Bull Run and 66). Under the new plan the two cities are not in our congressional district.
You know what they say about karma…. 👿
Lafayette, I am just hoping Krystal Ball will run again. Too funny. It looks like our ‘hood’ just got carved out as a special gift for someone.
I agree that the boundaries are far more realistic than the earlier cut job we got.
That imakes no sense. You claim US corporate tax rates are the highest in the world yet GE paid zero tax last year. Does not compute
They were realistic here at Ground Zero. Things are little shaky over in the Lake Manassas Subdivision. They sure carved that neighborhood up. Only a small swath on this side of 29 didn’t get moved to the 1s. Meanwhile the vast majority on this side of 29 went to the 1st. It boils down to what side of the street you live on some of the side streets. I wonder who lives in there that has gotten the shaft. I have a couple of friends that live there. I’ll be curious as to where they landed. I hope they lived on the right side of the street depending on which district would be their preference. I do find it very odd that they swooped in like vultures to get that portion of Lake Manassas.
Edit
Only a small swath on this side of 29 is now in the 1st.
Meant to say…Only a small swath on this side of 29 remains in the 10th, while the vast majority went to the 1st.
Moon-can you fix?
It happened!!
http://www2.insidenova.com/news/2012/jan/26/prince-william-park-authority-could-become-part-co-ar-1641598/
@Lafayette
Maybe Frank has a friend over there or….perhaps Gerry Connolly would do ANYTHING to get rid of a certain friend of ours. 👿
@Lafayette
I am not sure I understand the significance of this move. Is it mostly a monetary thing? How does it save the tax payers money? Will there be public hearings? It sounds like they did it to themselves. There is more to this story than meets the eye.
I see that City of Charlottesville is considering giving up its city status and going back in with Albemarle County to solve its school financial woes. I am going to go out on a limb and say that will not happen.
All UVA property is already in the county, btw. I was born in the University Hospital which makes my place of birth Albemarle County, not Charlottesville. Hell, they would threaten to incorporate Monticello if they thought it would make them a buck.
Charlottesville now makes the second City looking at that option. City of Bedford announced last Fall that after three years of planning work, they will be looking to fold back into Bedford County for similar reasons. I agree with you though when it comes to Charlottesville, it may not result in tossing City status….possibly after study something like either a contract or joint exercise of powers agreement over their schools.
Charlottesville schools have a strange history. @ Ray
@Starryflights
“That imakes no sense. You claim US corporate tax rates are the highest in the world yet GE paid zero tax last year. Does not compute”
Then you might want to go out there and get educated on the way offshoring works, regarding subsidiaries and such. Then you’ll understand how and why the tax code and the tax rate drives jobs overseas, and penalizes any attempt to repatriate earnings. Or, you can just keep making gratuitous attacks like a drone.
@Steve, from what I have read, companies need a team of lawyers just to figure out their tax situations. It is asking a lot to ask someone who isn’t a tax attorney to understand corporate taxation.
Out tax code needs to be modernized and revamped, but the 2004 tax holiday did little to spur reinvestment of repatriated dollars – many of them repatriated the money (at ~5% tax) and invested the money in bonus, stock buy backs and inflated compensation, while at the same time, laying off 1,000’s.
Comprehensive tax reform is needed – another thing that our Congress does not want to touch.
@Steve Thomas
Steve – Thanks for acknowledging drone strikes are gratuitous.
Since you’re the one claiming our tax code drives businesses overseas, why don’t you provide the sources and arguments to support your claims? Demanding that other people do the research to prove your arguments isn’t a very effective means of influencing people to support your views.
As for the debate, I liked Newt’s space colony idea of colonizing the moon. Cool, just like in Battlestar Galactica! “Fly me to the moon…”
“Since you’re the one claiming our tax code drives businesses overseas, why don’t you provide the sources and arguments to support your claims?”
Starry, I cannot believe the obtuse manner in which you are choosing to engage. If you stand outside and get soaking wet, and I say it is because it’s rainning, you would want a disertation on metorology as supporting proof.
Simple economic fact: Labor costs, production costs, local, state and Federal taxes are the main drivers behind offshoring. To make it simple, so you can understand, let’s look at a local manufacturer: Micron. Micron makes chips. They have two plants. One in Manassas. One in Boise ID. Labor costs are higher in VA, due to the cost of living. Production costs are higher, because of local and state taxes. Property. Machine & Tools, and the ever present BPOL tax on gross reciepts. Add to this a 35% tax on income at the Federal level. Micron could very well move production to Boise. They may have a more favorable tax burden at the local and state level, but there’s still that nasty 35% federal tax. Can they just pass this cost on on the price of their chips? Nope. Because chips are being made in Taiwan, and Singapore, China, Korea, Thailand, and they do it cheaper. Not better. Cheaper. So, what can Micron do to compete? They establish an offshore subsidiary, or a partnership with a local start-up, take a 49% stake, and move the manufacturing to this country. They keep the production, and the profits offshore. Keep the monies seperate with no repatriation, and there is no tax. Who loses? Manassas, Virginia, and the Fed. What did they lose? Tax revenues.
Apparently more and more of the establishment GOP is speaking out about Newt. Bob Dole sent a scathing statement about Gingrich. Ann Coulter has spoken out about him. Many from the Reagan era have issued statements showing where Gingrich trashed Reagan time and time again.
Apparently many are worried and feel that Newt would be an unacceptable candidate.
Interesting graph of recessions and recovery.
http://blog.american.com/2012/01/romneys-economic-case-against-obama-all-in-one-chart/
I don’t see it as proof of Romney’s case, but as a concise history. These two comments are also interesting. Perhaps Cato might have a comment.
Bart Hall (Kansas, USA) says:
January 27, 2012 at 12:30 pm
What strikes me about this graph is that every recession from 1965 through 2005 reflects a modest return downward to the trendline. That’s a normal and healthy corrective process. The current situation, however, is fundamentally different — unique even — in that it illustrates a sharp, deep and persistent turn downward away from the same trendline.
Such a shocking breakout to the downside is clearly not attributable to normal economic cycles. In contrast, the same curves for Canada show a much milder, shorter downturn presently returning to the trendline. The difference can be attributed only to American policy and given Canada’s extensive trade with the US it can be argued that the only reason Canada’s recession was not even milder is that it was dragged downward by the American situation.
Reply
Randy says:
January 27, 2012 at 12:21 pm
What I think is even more interesting is looking at the trend from 2004 on. Note that the real growth starts a minor but noticeable deviation to underperformance then. I submit it was Sarbanes-Oxley that really started to kill our economy. Obamacare, Consumer Protection, EPA regulations and Dodd-Frank are just “shooting the wounded”.
Reaction to the SOTU
http://www.hughhewitt.com/blog/g/e2246a52-4d7b-4e44-8f2c-6e8206fc8453
From Clark Judge:
SOTU: Did I hear that right?
By Clark S. Judge: managing director, White House Writers Group, Inc.; chairman, Pacific Research Institute.
It sounded like such a soft, even conservative speech.
Someone needs to tell the author to use paragraphing. That block of words is really unreadable.
Let’s get away from national politics. What do you think about this? Is this author right?
Soering Decision Disqualifies Kaine for U.S. Senate
By Michael J. Brown, Sheriff, Bedford County, writing in the Lynchburg News & Advance
http://blogfromonhigh.blogspot.com/2012/01/what-was-tim-kaine-thinking.html
“According to Kaine, he did it because he didn’t expect to run for office again.” That’s about as cynical as anything I’ve ever read.
You can read just about anything on a blog.
Perhaps he received a petition from the parents. Who knows. the Soering case is ancient.
@Cargosquid
This version sounds very different – http://www.roanoke.com/news/breaking/wb/282501
can you supply a reputable source to the quote that you are promoting/repeating?
@Pat thanks for finding that quote from Kaine. Its just cargo and his right wingers getting on the political bandwagon early. It doesn’t matter if it really happened, just so it can be said to hurt the opponent, who in this case is Candidate Kaine.
I have always been opposed to putting out misleading ‘facts’ about people. If someone is that awful than the truth works just as well as a fib. I have gone toe to toe with a Democrat or two over the same issue.
Smooth sailing tomorrow to the Manassas Republicans. Their convention is tomorrow. They have some real decent candidates!
May the force be with you!
Micron has plants in Asia as well. If the their American plants can manufacture their product at a cost of less than 10% more then their own Asian plants, then that margin offsets the cost of transporation from the East to the USA. To wit, the product is manufactured here. Unregulated capitalism will always result is running capital to the most profitable spot on the globe. In order for the US to win back capital from Sudan, a capitalist has to have the lower labor, transporation and tax costs than Sudan (and, consequently, have a lower standard of living that they have as well). I prefer to live in a country that regulates capitalism and does so by establishing a minimum baseline standard of living for its citizens and allowing capitalist free reign after those minimums have been asured.
@Pat Herve
No it doesn’t.
“German authorities agreed to keep Soering behind bars for an unspecified period before he would be eligible for release.”
Eligible for release? An unrepentant murderer like that?
And the source was: Michael J. Brown, Sheriff, Bedford County
How much more “reputable” do you need?
And Moon, “It doesn’t matter if it really happened,”? Really?
So, trying to send a murderer home so he could be released when he should have gotten the death penalty is ok with you?
@Cargo
Soering can never return to the United States was part of the deal . It sounds to me like it would be the German’s problem if they released him.
The bottom line is, Kaine says he never said that. I tend to believe him.
It doesn’t matter if it really happened…that remark was made in reference to whoever is making up crap that Kaine didn’t say. It is pretty clear what I mean, yet you are twisting my owrds so it looks like I don’t care if the murders really happened or not. That is exactly what I am talking about. Don’t do that to me.
It’s ok with me if Germany foots the bill for incarceration. Most European countries have outlawed the death penalty.
Do you personally know Michael J. Brown? Didn’t think so. Why do you think he is reputable? Why should I believe some bubba over the former governor of Virginia?
@Cargo,
If you want to discuss whether allowing someone to go to their home country to serve their prison term is a good idea, find. Discussing who said what to whom regarding the case is a waste of time and my bandwidth. This hits be wrong because you deliberately misquoted me.
Your point is not to discuss the merits of prisoner transfer but to start the ball rolling on tarnishing Tim Kaine’s reputation. Politics as usual. So let’s take something some sheriff who may or may not be reputable who you don’t know and start a smear campaign based on something he may or may not have said.
Its crap like this that makes me question the wisdom of even renewing the domain name here. I shouldn’t have to read someone twisting my words the minute I glance at the blog for the first time. Again, don’t do that to me again.
Attributing malice to my actions is wrong. I did NOT DELIBERATELY misquoute you. I DID misunderstand you. I thought you were talking about Kaine commuting Soering’s sentence for his political agenda.
Why shouldn’t you believe a Sheriff over some governor? Is being a former governor a sign of exceptional honesty? Its not about the principle of paying for incarceration. Its about a murderer serving his time as determined by a judge and jury. Germany would let him go. That is not justice.
But, since you object to the quote, let’s dismiss it and look at the actions. By the way, where do you see that Kaine said that he did not state that quote. That other article does not show that. Kaine was willing to commute Soering’s sentence…for what? To save money? If that’s the case, why bring him back at all? Soering should have gotten the death penalty. He escaped it. The compromise was his current sentence.
My reporters are telling me 605 in attendance at the Manassas GOP convention today at Metz.
It sounds like Manassas folks want a say in their government. Kudos to the Manassas GOP and its leaders.
From the City: Hal Parrish will remain mayor of the City.
The city council: Wolf, Lovejoy and Way
Congratulations to the winners.
The council lost its only woman member, I am sorry to say.
Thanks to my texter for this information. I am twice blessed. I have a texter and a caller.
@Cargosquid
You have no idea what Germany would do. Bull pucky! why would they want someone convicted of a brutal murder running around loose if they could avoid it?
Since when are prison terms and living or dying a compromise? This case has been quite controversial actually. I have seen nothing about Kaine commuting his sentence. All I know about is Kaine agreeing to allow him to serve his time in Germany.
Now, whether I agree with it or not, what difference does it make and why bring it up? McDonnell withdrew the authorization for transfer. I guess that was so he could appear tough. That also works. He could just borrow the money to keep this toad in prison for life from the state pension fund. Get my drift?
Why bring it up? The only reason I can think of is to denigrate Kaine. There is a strong argument for sending this murder packing. Let someone else deal with it. He costs the state money hand over fist. He has had numberous hearings before all sorts of international groups and he has written a book claiming he is being held as an innocent person. Elizabeth the girl friend is in ail 90 years. She also is not an American citizen. Maybe we should send Canada a bill.
Why would I believe the governor over the sheriff? Well…….as a native Virginia girl, I have seen lots of sheriffs in my day….and to say they are a part of the good ole boy network would be an understatement. Kaine and his entire family have a long tradition of service in this state. I tend to believe someone with a good track record over some unknown sheriff in Bedford County who probably has an axe to grind. How about you’? Do you have an axe to grind?
If you ever watch City Confidential, this story has been chronicled.
Because I remember the case. He would be eligible for release after two years. Sending him to Germany where he can be released, instead of life in prison is a commutation.
I couldn’t believe it when Kaine, after seeing the outcry when the the possibility came up of Soering going to Germany, agreed to send him there. Why bring it up? Because he’s running for office again and its an example of his principles and ideals.
He has admitted his guilt. Of course he’s claiming to be innocent NOW. Want to save money on him and people like him. Execute him.
He would not be eligible for release before 2 years was up. There was no guarantee he would be released then. I suspect the German Courts would decide his punishment. That’s pretty standard. It isnt a commutation, it is a transfer.
I am surprised you would remember a nearly 30 year old Virginia case.
I doubt seriously that Kaine was that cavalier about why he chose to transfer him. 30 years in jail says a lot to me, especially when the prisoner was banned from coming to the United States. You talk like Kaine was just going to turn him loose out in the general. population which is far from the case.
Cargo, in this country we don’t just execute people. They have to stand trial and capital punishment has to be established before the trial even starts. This was never a capital case because England wouldn’t have agreed to extridite him. Again, standard, especially with countries who don’t have the death penalty. I don’t think that Soering ever admitted his guilt. For years he has pleaded his innocence. I don’t happen to believe him but there are lots of people out there who do.
At any rate, he has been jailed for 27 years now. As long as he is not loose here, I don’t really care what becomes of him. Just don’t try to brand Kaine as cushy. He has done nothing to make anyone think he is soft on crime. He is personally opposed to the death penalty but he never let that stand in the way of his decision making regarding Virginia cases.
cargo – you referenced a quote – a quote that the has been referenced to the associated press – can you provide a reference in the associated press where that is a valid quote. I cannot – and it seems that this is a quote that has been circulated around and around so many times that some take it to be truth. I really highly doubt that Kaine would have made a statement like that.
Re Soering – he became eligible for parole in 2003. I do kinda like what Kaine said in the article that I referenced – have Germany pay for his incarceration. Do we really know that the Germans will release him – please provide the details on that.
@Pat Herve
Kaine was absolutly correct. Why should we, Virginia taxpayers, spend all that money on a German felon, when his own country was willing to take care of him. 27 years room and board must come to a tidy sum, I’d think.
An aside: It has been stated that he MIGHT, please note, MIGHT, be released after two years. Nobody knows that for sure.
I heard that a local blogger over in Manassas had joined the Occupy Wall Street movement.
@Pat Herve
Here ya go Pat. Took a whole 5 minutes of searching.
http://hamptonroads.com/2011/05/ap-kaine-has-no-regrets-soering-case
AP.
The Associated Press
© May 6, 2011
By Bob Lewis
RICHMOND
When Timothy M. Kaine left the governor’s office 17 months ago to head the Democratic National Committee, he figured he was done with electoral politics.
That could explain unpopular moves such as a major tax increase, closing some interstate rest stops and proposing a return to Germany — and eventual freedom — for a former German diplomat’s son serving a life term in Virginia for butchering his then-girlfriend’s parents.
“I frankly thought that I wouldn’t see my name on a ballot again,” Kaine told the AP. “What I would have bet I would have been doing would have been in higher ed somewhere because I am so passionate about education policy.”
“Both confessed to the killing.” He later recanted.
@Cargo, not to sound like Ronald Reagan, but there you go again. You are assigning two unrelated things to back up YOUR opinion, not what really happened. Kaine didn’t expect to go back into public office. Everyone knows that. However, that doesn’t mean that is why he ok’ed the transfer of Soering back to Germany. You are assigning a cause/effect relationship that doesn’t exist.
The person making the supposition appears to be Bob Lewis. I also don’t recall any huge tax increase. I remember the rest rooms closing and I didn’t like that. I don’t think that should keep Kaine out of the Senate, however.
I don’t really see much point in trying to turn Jens Soering into Willie Horton. Kaine wasn’t endangering Virginians or even Americans. He also wasn’t turning him loose.
Of course we could beat another dead horse and just say Macaca.
By the way, this is the penalty for the German equivalent of 1st degree murder:
The penalty for Mord is lifelong imprisonment, which is usually suspended after 17–18 years (15 years minimum) on a probation of 5 years or if the court decided on a special gravity (Feststellung der besonderen Schwere der Schuld), the sentence can only be suspended much later, earliest after 18 years but usually after 22–23 years (the law states that a suspension after 15 years is not possible for “special gravity” crimes, but provides no explicit minimum served time).
Usually suspended…..
So what. Why do you want to extract the last ounce of venegence out of this case? @Cargo. Why is it so important? Many people were barely born when it happened.
You would be more than willing to just deport some illegal immigrant who murdered someone. I am not sure I see the difference. We have deported murderers in the past. Look at Lucky Luciano.
Here’s something that makes everything that we’ve been “fussing about” seem petty.
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/12/22/magazine/the-lives-they-lived.html#view=uneasy_rider
Go tell a loved one how much you care.
Report from the Manassas convention was that there were more Dems. there than at any time or any other place in City history. I guess they decided to speak out against “Ballet Gate” and push Wolfe over the top. Aveni and Jackson Miller’s stradegy failed and left the Reps. with a candidate that could be picked off this May by a strong Dem. candidate
Of course, the real election this spring is going to be the School Board election.
Thanks for your report, Ivan. I read somewhere that they were ‘pro-abortion’ democrats. What moron would say something like that. No one is ‘pro abortion.’
Why is the school board election going to be so important?
cargo – you want to tie the Kaine quote and the Jens Soring matter together. What you are doing is taking the quote out of context, and mashing it together with an unrelated issue, and hope that by repeating it often enough it will stick. Although you might not be the original author, and you do reference another blog, you have repeated in here on this blog, you even pulled out the quote and mashed it together with Soering.
Kaine was releasing him to the German authorities with a provision that he be held in jail, and not be allowed back the US – I do not know the details about the case, or have a real opinion, but it was not like Kaine was releasing a known murderer into society a few years after the crime took place with a full pardon.
@ Moon
The Superintendant and some of the school board members don’t believe that the Manassas school system is as bad as the test scores and ranking in the State(graduation rates) would indicate. They are more focast on finding new Administrative office space than fixing problems. Parents and Council members are becoming more and more frustrated with this attitude.
If there was any doubt that there is an ongoing battle between establishment Republicans and the Tea Party, redistricting in Florida should remove all doubt. The Florida legislature controlled by Republicans has actually changed the boundaries so that Republican representative Allen West’s 22nd district includes far more registered Democrats.
Florida gave us McCain in 2008 due in large part to Charlie Crist’s endorsement. It is about to deliver Romney and is poised to eliminate (politically) Allen West. Florida seems to be the weapon of choice for establishment Republicans to keep conservatives in line.
http://shark-tank.net/2012/01/27/24717/