IT head fired, ombudsman hired in wake of Utah breach
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via IT head fired, ombudsman hired in wake of Utah breach – SC Magazine.
“The people of Utah rightly believe that their government will protect them, their families and their personal data,” Herbert said. “As a state government, we failed to honor that commitment. For that, as your governor and as a Utahn, I am deeply sorry.”
To the contrary, I would say the people are wrong to believe that their government will protect them at all, from anything.
Mike @ May 17, 2012
More Obama Fun Time!
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Could this be one of the reasons why JP Morgan Chase was Too Big Too Fail, and why it’s finally getting official attention after losing $2 billion on bad investments?
Maybe it’s a case of putting your mouth where your money is.President Barack Obama praised JP Morgan Chase in an interview recorded Monday as “one of the best managed banks there is” and its CEO, Jamie Dimon, as “one of the smartest bankers we got.” On Tuesday, the White House made public financial disclosure forms showing the president and First Lady Michelle Obama had between $500,001 and $1,000,000 in a “JP Morgan Chase Private Client Asset Management Checking Account.”
via Obama financial forms show big JP Morgan account | The Ticket – Yahoo! News.
And because nobody knows how good of a job you’re doing unless you’re enough of a narcissistic nutbag to tell them:
Many of President Obama’s fervent devotees are young enough not to have much memory of the political world before the arrival of The One. Coincidentally, Obama himself feels the same way—and the White House’s official website reflects that.
The Heritage Foundation’s Rory Cooper tweeted that Obama had casually dropped his own name into Ronald Reagan’s official biography on www.whitehouse.gov, claiming credit for taking up the mantle of Reagan’s tax reform advocacy with his “Buffett Rule” gimmick. My first thought was, he must be joking. But he wasn’t—it turns out Obama has added bullet points bragging about his own accomplishments to the biographical sketches of every single U.S. president since Calvin Coolidge (except, for some reason, Gerald Ford). Here are a few examples:
Read ‘em at Obama Drops His Name Into the Other Presidential Biographies « Commentary Magazine.
Mike @ May 16, 2012
Who caused “the biggest financial crisis since the Great Depression?”
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Via Roger’s Rules » Who caused “the biggest financial crisis since the Great Depression?”.
A home of your own. It’s part of the American dream. Work hard, save up for a down payment, pay your bills on time and, presto, you, too, can buy a home.
For decades the government has done things to help Americans to realize the dream, e.g., graciously allowing citizens to keep some of their own money to help pay for the interest on a mortgage (the official term for this is a “tax deduction,” but I prefer my locution since it emphasizes the fact that it is YOUR MONEY we are talking about).
But what about people who do not work hard (if they work at all)? What about people who have not saved up for a down payment? What about people who do not pay their bills on time (if they pay them at all)? Why shouldn’t they get to live the American dream?
That was the question that led to
“The Community Reinvestment Act” (see here for more).
* The original Community Reinvestment Act was signed into law in 1977 by Jimmy Carter. Its purpose, in a nutshell, was to require banks to provide credit to “under-served populations,” i.e., those with poor credit.
The buzz word was “affordable mortgages,” e.g., mortgages with low teaser-rates, which required the borrower to put no money down, which required the borrower to pay only the interest for a set number of years, etc.
* In 1995, Bill Clinton’s administration made various changes to the CRA, increasing “access to mortgage credit for inner city and distressed rural communities,” i.e., it provided for the securitization, i.e. public underwriting, of what everyone now calls “sub-prime mortgages.”
Bottom line? It forced banks to issue $1 trillion in sub-prime mortgages.
The article goes on to explain how several Congressmen tried to regulate and reform the situation before it burst, but they were continually stymied by the bankers and their pet Congressmen — including Senator Barack Obama.
And, perhaps not ironically, Obama’s Prosecuting Fewer Financial Crimes Than Under Either Bush Presidency.
Mike @ May 7, 2012
Ron Paul vs. Paul Krugman on Bloomberg TV
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And it’s not exactly a true “versus,” since Krugman has no comprehension of economics and basically just makes things up as he goes.
It’s entertaining, though.
Ron Paul vs. Paul Krugman on Bloomberg TV – April 30, 2012 – YouTube.
Mike @ May 2, 2012
Robert Wenzel is Accidentally Invited to Speak at the New York Federal Reserve Bank
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Hilarity ensues:
The noose is tightening on your organization, vast amounts of money printing are now required to keep your manipulated economy afloat. It will ultimately result in huge price inflation, or, if you stop printing, another massive economic crash will occur. There is no other way out.
It goes uphill from there!
via EconomicPolicyJournal.com: My Speech Delivered at the New York Federal Reserve Bank.
Mike @ April 26, 2012
Warren Meyer: More Glendale Follies
Posted in: State Politics | Comments (0)
I thought this was a very insightful commentary on why talentless city officials waste billions of dollars on idiotic, doomed development projects:
One of the reasons I think that city officials like those in Glendale like to dabble in real estate and sports stadiums is what I call the “bigshot effect.” They don’t have any capital of their own, and they don’t have the skills such that anyone else would (voluntarily) trust them to invest other people’s money, but with a [pool] of tax money they get to play Donald Trump and act like they are big wheels. The Glendale city council did this for years, and when their incompetence inevitably led to things starting to fall apart, they have simply thrown more money at it to try to protect their personal prestige.
via Coyote Blog » Blog Archive » More Glendale Follies.
Mike @ April 17, 2012
A Primer on ‘Judicial Activism’ by Cato @ Liberty
Posted in: National Politics | Comments (0)
via A Primer on ‘Judicial Activism’ | Cato @ Liberty, the Cato institute presents a brief history and overview on judicial activism.
Since I love spoilers, here’s the closing paragraph:
We’re now back to first principles and to a debate about what they are, which is where the debate should always have been. Roosevelt, after whom Obama fashions himself, read the Constitution as empowering government in ways that had been largely rejected for 150 years. That’s why those on Obama’s side invariably begin their arguments with “Since the New Deal,” as if that were a source of legitimacy. It isn’t. The Constitution was written in 1787, not 1937. As amended, it is the sole source of whatever legitimacy the government has, and it is the duty of the courts to determine what that law is, in the execution of which they must be actively engaged.
Activist courts and activist congressmen have brought a tremendous erosion in personal liberties, and the explosion in size, scope, and spending of the federal government.
It’s time to reign them all in by electing congressmen who will actually stick to their oath of office, and uphold the Constitution.
Mike @ April 11, 2012
Freedom is a Smoky Burnout… But Not For Long
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Eric Peters discusses the dwindling freedom to own and operate cars without all the built-in electronics that allow authorities to track you and shut them down remotely:
Several states have passed laws making it much harder to register and drive an older vehicle on public roads. In my home state of Virginia, for instance, the police have the authority to conduct roadside “inspections” of any vehicle wearing antique plates. If, in the opinion of the cop – who is a cop and not a mechanic – the vehicle does not meet either safety or emissions requirements, he may physically seize the car’s plates and registration on the spot – and have the vehicle impounded. It’s then up to you to prove your car has not been unlawfully modified ( just as it’s up to you to disprove whatever charges are filed against you by the IRS).
Other states have repealed laws that once exempted antique vehicles more than 25 or 30 years old from the emissions inspections required of modern cars – even though the number of cars over 30 years old in regular use is so low that their impact on air quality is nil.
That’s the leading edge of the spear. Rigmarole such as the above can be a hassle – but at least, it can still be dealt with. Most old car hobbyists are fastidious about maintenance – and keeping their cars up to specification is already par for the course.
But there’s the rub: “… up to specifications.”
What happens when laws are passed requiring older cars to meet current safety and/or emissions specifications?
via Freedom is a Smoky Burnout… But Not For Long | Eric Peters Autos.
Mike @ April 11, 2012
What’s the difference between a laptop, iPad, netbook, or smartphone?
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If you’re the TSA, the answer is “Laptops look scary, so you must put them in a separate bin.”
STANDING in line at security at San Francisco International Airport not long ago, family in tow, I dutifully pulled the laptop out of my bag and placed it in a separate bin for its solo trip through the X-ray machine. I also had an iPad in my backpack, so I caught the eye of a security agent. “Excuse me, does the iPad come out too?” I asked.
“Not here,” she said. “Other airports might be different.”
This was not the moment for a follow-up question, but I was curious: What’s the distinction between the devices? Similar shapes, many similar functions, the tablet is thinner but not by much. Is the iPad a lower security risk? What about the punier laptop-like gadgets, the netbooks and ultrabooks? What about my smartphone?
via The Mystery of the Flying Laptop – NYTimes.com.
It’s well past time to put these useless goons to pasture and close down the Security Theater.
Mike @ April 10, 2012
All Hail Patrick’s Dad
Posted in: National Politics | Comments (0)
Recently I read an article on The New American titled:
Philosophers: Drug Humans, Give Them Cat Eyes, Murder Infants. Slightly horrified, but mostly disgusted I read about academics who have grand plans to toy with the genetic make-up of mankind in an effort to secure politically correct ends. For example making human beings smaller so they use less resources and have a smaller carbon foot print. Or giving people cat eyes so they can see in the dark better and thus use less electricity. It seems our technology is increasingly tempting us to want to “play God”. The last part of the article talked about the practice of killing little babies after they are born if such a killing would benefit the parents, or even society. The article ends thus:
The authors then claim that “after-birth abortion” is justifiable because it might serve the interests of “actual persons.”
The alleged right of individuals (such as fetuses and newborns) to develop their potentiality, which someone defends, is over-ridden by the interests of actual people (parents, family, society) to pursue their own well-being because, as we have just argued, merely potential people cannot be harmed by not being brought into existence.
The arrogance required to step in and fill God’s shoes so as to decide which babies should live and which should die is beyond me. Case in point: Patrick, a young man born with serious physical deformities that prevent him from seeing (he has no real eyes) or even straitening his legs. After birth abortion advocates might have singled him out for destruction were they in a position to do so. As an infant the potential of this boy seemed not only limited but nearly non existent. His parents, though frustrated and disappointed, thankfully didn’t see it that way. Instead of amounting to little, he turned out to be a musical prodigy. Instead of being a burden on his parents, he turned out to be an opportunity to serve and to love and to grow. Instead of skipping this crippled youth in an effort to move on to a more normal child, Patrick’s father worked the graveyard shift at UPS so that he can help his son get through college and even march in the band. His story is documented in this video on wimp.com.
God, is an artist and His greatest works of art are His children. It will not serve us well to meddle with it as we could end up missing out on guys like Patrick and his dad.
Learn More About Patrick Hughes Here.
Daniel @ March 19, 2012
