Barry is going to be in my stomping ground tonight.
This is actually a big problem for me. I drive by there to and from work. More than likely, I'll be coming home from work right about then. It's going to be a traffic mess, I'm sure.
This is a smart move by Obama. Indiana is in play. If he can get out the vote in North Lake County, Indianapolis, and some of the other cities, he can win this state.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Thursday, October 30, 2008
"Phage" shows what's wrong with people
To my comment that the poor in this country need to work more, commenter "Phage" had this to say:
I generally leave my political rantings to this blog. I don't talk to people about politics because, quite frankly, you generally get responses like Phage's.
Phage's response is what he feels about the topic. It isn't based on fact. He has no statistics to back up what he feels, he just feels it. And by every standard of this society, if you feel something strongly, it must be right. So what's there to argue with?
What are the facts? From Wikipedia:
You can see household income broken down by quintiles. The lowest quintile has a median of... 0 people working. The top quintile has a median of two workers. The lower quintile also is a lot more likely to be headed by a single female.
Regarding hours worked:
You can see that, for the US, the bottom quintile worked 34% less hours than average.
The statistics prove my point: the poor need to work more. Those single females need to get married to a working male, or get a job themselves.
Wikipedia also has stats on education levels. It's pretty plain to see that the lower quintiles are the least educated, with most not even graduating high school.
Now, in a country with universal primary and secondary education, what excuse could you possibly have for being a high school dropout? And if the consequence of you dropping out is you being poor, why exactly should I care?
What a ridiculous and frankly, stupid thing to say. Are you aware of how many people DO work 40, or more, hours a week, and still just barely, or can't, make a living wage? What am I saying, of course not.
I generally leave my political rantings to this blog. I don't talk to people about politics because, quite frankly, you generally get responses like Phage's.
Phage's response is what he feels about the topic. It isn't based on fact. He has no statistics to back up what he feels, he just feels it. And by every standard of this society, if you feel something strongly, it must be right. So what's there to argue with?
What are the facts? From Wikipedia:
You can see household income broken down by quintiles. The lowest quintile has a median of... 0 people working. The top quintile has a median of two workers. The lower quintile also is a lot more likely to be headed by a single female.
Regarding hours worked:
You can see that, for the US, the bottom quintile worked 34% less hours than average.
The statistics prove my point: the poor need to work more. Those single females need to get married to a working male, or get a job themselves.
Wikipedia also has stats on education levels. It's pretty plain to see that the lower quintiles are the least educated, with most not even graduating high school.
Now, in a country with universal primary and secondary education, what excuse could you possibly have for being a high school dropout? And if the consequence of you dropping out is you being poor, why exactly should I care?
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
The wit of "Damian" is back
Last seen trying to get me banned from some left wing site aggregator, "Damian" is back, as witty as ever.
Between the epithets, he lays down this bit of wisdom:
Ah, liberals and their "social contract". Funny, I don't ever recall signing a contract with the government.
And, you know, "Damian" being a 24 year old Libra who is probably still in college, still on Daddy's payroll, what the hell does he know about taxes anyway?
As for the poor, I've got no problem with charity. I've been blessed. I was talking to my wife the other day about charitable giving, and we're increasing our charitable contributions because I'm making more money (37 hours of overtime will do that for you).
But I get to determine who is poor, who is deserving of help and who is not. Not Obama. Not "Damian". Charity is about free choice, I choose who deserves my help. Democrats don't get that, which is why Joe Biden, Al Gore, and Barack Obama are so damn stingy with their charitable contributions.
Most of the people deemed "poor" by Democrats are in fact able bodies adults who can work, but choose not to. If you look at household income, most of the bottom quintile is filled with people not working 40 hours per week. If they just increased their working hours, they wouldn't be poor.
Now, there are lots of excuses for why people do what they do. Some of them are probably legitimate. But again, I want ME to determine who gets MY money. Not Obama.
Between the epithets, he lays down this bit of wisdom:
Heaven forbid you pay for your part of the social contract - that's for poor people to do, right?
Ah, liberals and their "social contract". Funny, I don't ever recall signing a contract with the government.
And, you know, "Damian" being a 24 year old Libra who is probably still in college, still on Daddy's payroll, what the hell does he know about taxes anyway?
As for the poor, I've got no problem with charity. I've been blessed. I was talking to my wife the other day about charitable giving, and we're increasing our charitable contributions because I'm making more money (37 hours of overtime will do that for you).
But I get to determine who is poor, who is deserving of help and who is not. Not Obama. Not "Damian". Charity is about free choice, I choose who deserves my help. Democrats don't get that, which is why Joe Biden, Al Gore, and Barack Obama are so damn stingy with their charitable contributions.
Most of the people deemed "poor" by Democrats are in fact able bodies adults who can work, but choose not to. If you look at household income, most of the bottom quintile is filled with people not working 40 hours per week. If they just increased their working hours, they wouldn't be poor.
Now, there are lots of excuses for why people do what they do. Some of them are probably legitimate. But again, I want ME to determine who gets MY money. Not Obama.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Obama's Jedi Mind Trick on Taxes
I just realized that I fell for Obama's Jedi Mind Trick on taxes in that last post.
Obama is going to let the Bush tax cuts expire. That is a HUGE tax increase that just isn't being talked about. And it effects people who make as little as $50k per year:
Obama is going to let the Bush tax cuts expire. That is a HUGE tax increase that just isn't being talked about. And it effects people who make as little as $50k per year:
Monday, October 27, 2008
Response to Doug's "it's only 3%"
Doug's response about the rich folks in my neighborhood who support Obama was to incorrectly state Obama's tax policy. The above sets the record straight.
And this is just Obama's plan at this time. My suspicion, from Obama's respone to Joe the Plumber that he is going to "spread the wealth", is that Obama's tax plan is totally bogus, not unlike Slick Willey's "Middle Class Tax Cut" that was dropped 5 minutes after he was elected.
Anyway, Obama's admitted tax increases are not insignificant.
I've said it before and I'll say it again: 10 years from now we will look back on the Bush years and long for the low taxes we paid then. Taxes are going to be a lot higher in the near future. Maybe they'll be higher even if Obama loses. They certainly will be higher if the Dems sweep next week, which is looking very likely.
The apostles come to Munster.
Followers of the Mesiah were canvassing the neighborhood yesterday. I was driving home from mailing my absentee ballot, and I noticed a decrepit foreign SUV with Illinois plates and three Obama stickers on it parked on the wrong side of the street (isn't that typical of an Obama voter?). Not too much farther along, there they were, 4 apostles canvasing the neighborhood.
Now, I don't know how many of my neighbors fit into the $250k or more class that Obama has said he is going to rape should he get elected, but I would guess that quite a few do. Keep in mind that the $250k Obama talks about is household income. If you make $125k and your wife makes $125k, you're rich by Obama's definition. I think a lot of my neighbors are in that boat.
We've got quite a few Obama signs out there. Not a ton, but not none.
Anyway, I didn't speak to any of the apostles. They didn't get down my way, I guess.
Now, I don't know how many of my neighbors fit into the $250k or more class that Obama has said he is going to rape should he get elected, but I would guess that quite a few do. Keep in mind that the $250k Obama talks about is household income. If you make $125k and your wife makes $125k, you're rich by Obama's definition. I think a lot of my neighbors are in that boat.
We've got quite a few Obama signs out there. Not a ton, but not none.
Anyway, I didn't speak to any of the apostles. They didn't get down my way, I guess.
What I saw at election judge training
I'm going to be working as an election judge this year, and I went to training for it on Saturday.
First off, it was a total freakshow, nerdfest, whatever you want to call it. Why are the only responsible people in society so unattractive? Myself included, of course.
Second off, the reason that the primary was so f-ed up this year is that the voting system is entirely too complicated. Between absentee ballots, early voting, and real voting, too much burden is places on voting inspectors (the people who run the polls). They need to check IDs, check that people didn't get an absentee ballot, check that they didn't vote early, check that they didn't change address, etc. It is just too much to put on poorly trained volunteers.
For example, at the end of the voting, you need to print out three copies of the tally from each machine, give one to the Republican judge, one to the Democrat judge, and one goes to Crown Point. There is also a flash card that collects the info, and there's one card for each machine. If you use one card for all the machines, it only keeps the data from the last machine.
That's what happened in a lot of cases in the primary, and the inspectors didn't print out the tallies either. It was a huge mess to go out and get the tallies again from the machines.
Anyway, it seems to me like there is a lot of opportunity for chaos, if not outright fraud. You are essentially relying on the competance and honesty of the people working the polls. That is fine in Munster, but is suspect in north county.
First off, it was a total freakshow, nerdfest, whatever you want to call it. Why are the only responsible people in society so unattractive? Myself included, of course.
Second off, the reason that the primary was so f-ed up this year is that the voting system is entirely too complicated. Between absentee ballots, early voting, and real voting, too much burden is places on voting inspectors (the people who run the polls). They need to check IDs, check that people didn't get an absentee ballot, check that they didn't vote early, check that they didn't change address, etc. It is just too much to put on poorly trained volunteers.
For example, at the end of the voting, you need to print out three copies of the tally from each machine, give one to the Republican judge, one to the Democrat judge, and one goes to Crown Point. There is also a flash card that collects the info, and there's one card for each machine. If you use one card for all the machines, it only keeps the data from the last machine.
That's what happened in a lot of cases in the primary, and the inspectors didn't print out the tallies either. It was a huge mess to go out and get the tallies again from the machines.
Anyway, it seems to me like there is a lot of opportunity for chaos, if not outright fraud. You are essentially relying on the competance and honesty of the people working the polls. That is fine in Munster, but is suspect in north county.
Monday, October 13, 2008
What "Damian" shows us about an Obama presidency
There's been a lot of media chatter about some alleged comments from people at McCain rallies. Our betters in the media tell us that this is evidence that conservatives have gone off their rockers and will start a campaign of bombings and assasinations, or something.
This is all bull, of course. Conservatives aren't going to do anything illegal in the face of an Obama win. We'll go on, doing what we've always done. It will be 1974 all over again. We'll rebuild from there.
Libs, on the other hand, have a huge problem on their hands, and my commenter "Damian" is a great example of it.
"Damian" evidently found this blog on a left wing blog aggregator. He became incensed at my right wing buffonary, and left some filthy messages and a promise to have me censored.
From "Damian"'s profile, he's a 24 year old Libra, or something.
This goes to show where the left is today: young, angry, ignorant of history, ignorant of what free speech really is, and on a mission to censor anyone who doesn't agree with them.
They exist in their own little leftwing world, and don't want to be exposed to anything that doesn't jibe with their worldview. Any exposure to the outside results in rage. They censor all views other than their own.
Pretty much the entire Obama campaign has been about censorship. You can't talk about his middle name. You can't talk about his pastor, or his fomer boss who is an unrepentant terrorist and a Communist, you can't talk about his wife, or what she says, you can't talk about his record, or lack of it, you can't talk about anything.
If Obama wins, it is going to be a very long 4 years. They've already trashed Bill Clinton, Geraldine Ferraro, John McCain, and Sarah Palin as racist. They're going to be going after everyone else who stands in their way. Censorship will be the game of the day.
This is all bull, of course. Conservatives aren't going to do anything illegal in the face of an Obama win. We'll go on, doing what we've always done. It will be 1974 all over again. We'll rebuild from there.
Libs, on the other hand, have a huge problem on their hands, and my commenter "Damian" is a great example of it.
"Damian" evidently found this blog on a left wing blog aggregator. He became incensed at my right wing buffonary, and left some filthy messages and a promise to have me censored.
From "Damian"'s profile, he's a 24 year old Libra, or something.
This goes to show where the left is today: young, angry, ignorant of history, ignorant of what free speech really is, and on a mission to censor anyone who doesn't agree with them.
They exist in their own little leftwing world, and don't want to be exposed to anything that doesn't jibe with their worldview. Any exposure to the outside results in rage. They censor all views other than their own.
Pretty much the entire Obama campaign has been about censorship. You can't talk about his middle name. You can't talk about his pastor, or his fomer boss who is an unrepentant terrorist and a Communist, you can't talk about his wife, or what she says, you can't talk about his record, or lack of it, you can't talk about anything.
If Obama wins, it is going to be a very long 4 years. They've already trashed Bill Clinton, Geraldine Ferraro, John McCain, and Sarah Palin as racist. They're going to be going after everyone else who stands in their way. Censorship will be the game of the day.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Keisling criticizes Lake County GOP for blocking voting centers
Times columnist Mark Kiesling calls the GOP "just as fraudulent as ACORN" for blocking early voting centers in Gary, Hammond, and East Chicago.
His logic is that Indiana has a voter ID law, so these cities' history of voter fraud shouldn't be taken into account. If ACORN registers a fraudulent voter, that registration can't be voted under because no ID exists for it.
The logic breaks down in practice. Somebody has to check that ID. If the election workers in East Chicago are corrupt (which they are), they might not even check the ID.
Voter ID works in places like Munster, where I am an election judge. If somebody comes in without the proper ID, we make them take a provisional ballot, and the election board sorts out the legality of their voting.
Does that happen in East Chicago? Why would it?
His logic is that Indiana has a voter ID law, so these cities' history of voter fraud shouldn't be taken into account. If ACORN registers a fraudulent voter, that registration can't be voted under because no ID exists for it.
The logic breaks down in practice. Somebody has to check that ID. If the election workers in East Chicago are corrupt (which they are), they might not even check the ID.
Voter ID works in places like Munster, where I am an election judge. If somebody comes in without the proper ID, we make them take a provisional ballot, and the election board sorts out the legality of their voting.
Does that happen in East Chicago? Why would it?
ACORN's fraudulent registrations in Lake County being investigated by Indiana SOS
Indiana's Secratary of State is getting involved in the fraudulent ACORN registrations in Lake County:
ACORN's defense is that they were the victim here. That very well may be true. If so, they should cooperate to determine who it is that is submitting these registrations and help get them prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. They should also review their own internal procedures for hiring.
Indiana's top elections official is calling for an investigation into more than 2,000 invalid voter registrations filed in Lake County by ACORN, a nonprofit group cited for similar problems in other states.
Secretary of State Todd Rokita said he has "secured credible evidence of fraud" and sent letters Friday asking the Indiana attorney general and Lake County prosecutor to join him in launching a review. Rokita said he also contacted federal prosecutors.
ACORN's defense is that they were the victim here. That very well may be true. If so, they should cooperate to determine who it is that is submitting these registrations and help get them prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. They should also review their own internal procedures for hiring.
Friday, October 10, 2008
The Obama-ACORN connection
In case there is any doubt that ACORN is trying to steal the election for Obama, they've done it before.
There seems to be a "Community Development- Industrial Complex". ACORN goes out with paid canvasers to win elections for libs like Obama. Obama returns the favor by getting "Get out the vote" grants for ACORN. ACORN uses that money to pay people to go out and register voters.
Unfortunately, the people ACORN is hiring to do the GOTV are often criminals, and have no qualms registering the dead, the ficticious, people too young to vote, etc.
And if I were getting paid for every voter I register, I'd do the same thing.
There seems to be a "Community Development- Industrial Complex". ACORN goes out with paid canvasers to win elections for libs like Obama. Obama returns the favor by getting "Get out the vote" grants for ACORN. ACORN uses that money to pay people to go out and register voters.
Unfortunately, the people ACORN is hiring to do the GOTV are often criminals, and have no qualms registering the dead, the ficticious, people too young to vote, etc.
And if I were getting paid for every voter I register, I'd do the same thing.
ACORN working overtime in Gary!
We made CNN!
Acorn submitted over 5000 voter registrations right at the deadline. So far, the Lake County elections board has reviewed 2100 of them, and thrown them all out! There was ample evidence that they were fakes (such as having the same signature on each one).
I'm impressed that someone could sit down and fill out 5000 applications. That took some work!
Acorn submitted over 5000 voter registrations right at the deadline. So far, the Lake County elections board has reviewed 2100 of them, and thrown them all out! There was ample evidence that they were fakes (such as having the same signature on each one).
I'm impressed that someone could sit down and fill out 5000 applications. That took some work!
The blame game continues in Munster
The fallout from the Great Flood of '08 continues in Munster.
The Post-Trib has this poll on it's website:
How about "The Lord Almighty"? That's who's really responsible. You can't get 9 inches of rain in 3 days and not expect there to be some flooding. Sadly, Munster was the place that the water went.
The Post-Trib has this poll on it's website:
Who is most to blame for the recent flooding in Munster?
Munster's public works department.
The Army Corps of Engineers
Munster town administration and Town Council.
The Little Calumet River Basin Commission
How about "The Lord Almighty"? That's who's really responsible. You can't get 9 inches of rain in 3 days and not expect there to be some flooding. Sadly, Munster was the place that the water went.
Still no income tax in Lake County
Thank goodness.
The Lake County Council caused a kerfuffle when they scheduled a vote on adopting a county income tax for this week.
It seems that there's a state law that they have to have a vote every year on whether to adopt an income tax or change the rate if you have one.
They've taken it off their agenda, and won't have a vote. After the near revolution at the County building the last time they voted on it, I'm not surprised that they didn't have the cahonnes to take a vote this time.
Because we didn't adopt an income tax, the state has frozen our property tax levy, and it's still frozen.
The Lake County Council caused a kerfuffle when they scheduled a vote on adopting a county income tax for this week.
It seems that there's a state law that they have to have a vote every year on whether to adopt an income tax or change the rate if you have one.
They've taken it off their agenda, and won't have a vote. After the near revolution at the County building the last time they voted on it, I'm not surprised that they didn't have the cahonnes to take a vote this time.
Because we didn't adopt an income tax, the state has frozen our property tax levy, and it's still frozen.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Suppressing Democrat votes or fighting vote fraud
There's a huge kerfuffle in Lake County regarding so called early voting centers. There's one at the County Government Center where you can go to vote before November 4th.
There was a proposal to also offer early voting at the County courts in Hammond, East Chicago, and Gary. The election board voted for it along party lines (Democrats for, Republicans against). It went to court, where the plan was stopped, and now it has been kicked up to federal court.
In a county with a history of massive vote fraud, especially in the cities of Hammond, East Chicago, and Gary, where there is also evidence that Acorn is packing the voting rolls with ficticious voters, maybe having early voting is not a good idea?
Maybe? Just maybe?
What's the big deal with voting on election day? If you can't do that, drive over to Crown Point, or get an absentee ballot.
This all just smells like a prelude to a stolen election to me.
There was a proposal to also offer early voting at the County courts in Hammond, East Chicago, and Gary. The election board voted for it along party lines (Democrats for, Republicans against). It went to court, where the plan was stopped, and now it has been kicked up to federal court.
In a county with a history of massive vote fraud, especially in the cities of Hammond, East Chicago, and Gary, where there is also evidence that Acorn is packing the voting rolls with ficticious voters, maybe having early voting is not a good idea?
Maybe? Just maybe?
What's the big deal with voting on election day? If you can't do that, drive over to Crown Point, or get an absentee ballot.
This all just smells like a prelude to a stolen election to me.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Why did Munster drown?
The Times had a very impressive investigation as to why the flooding was so bad along the Little Calumet River.
Munster had 6 inches of rain, Crown Point had 9 inches, but Munster was flooded out and Crown Point wasn't. Why was that?
The Times answers this with some satellite photos showing where the damage was and why it happened.
Interestingly, an unfinished levee was only part of the problem. The Little Cal is really more of a manmade canal than a naturally flowing stream. In fact, it flows in two directions, starting at Hart's Ditch in Munster.
What happaned is that some culverts in Gary got blocked, and the portion that flows east from Hart Ditch started to flow west into Munster.
All in all, it is a pretty amazing article, a good piece of journalism, and very informative.
Munster had 6 inches of rain, Crown Point had 9 inches, but Munster was flooded out and Crown Point wasn't. Why was that?
The Times answers this with some satellite photos showing where the damage was and why it happened.
Interestingly, an unfinished levee was only part of the problem. The Little Cal is really more of a manmade canal than a naturally flowing stream. In fact, it flows in two directions, starting at Hart's Ditch in Munster.
What happaned is that some culverts in Gary got blocked, and the portion that flows east from Hart Ditch started to flow west into Munster.
All in all, it is a pretty amazing article, a good piece of journalism, and very informative.
Friday, October 3, 2008
Visclosky is still against the bailout.
We all know that the media is in the tank for Democrats, but I'm still shocked by it sometimes.
The media reported the voting down of the bailout as caused by House Republicans. But 96 Democrats voted against it, the Democrats have the majority in the House, and guys like Democrat Congressman Pete Visclosky really should have been on board.
Now that the bailout has been retooled, Vislosky is STILL not going to vote for it.
Will Democrats like Visclosky be held responsible should this bailout fail again? Fat chance.
Not that I support the bailout. I don't. But its failure can't be laid at the feet of the House Republicans.
The media reported the voting down of the bailout as caused by House Republicans. But 96 Democrats voted against it, the Democrats have the majority in the House, and guys like Democrat Congressman Pete Visclosky really should have been on board.
Now that the bailout has been retooled, Vislosky is STILL not going to vote for it.
Will Democrats like Visclosky be held responsible should this bailout fail again? Fat chance.
Not that I support the bailout. I don't. But its failure can't be laid at the feet of the House Republicans.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
ACORN commiting vote fraud in Lake County.
Barack Obama's buddies from ACORN are caught filing bogus voter registrations in Lake County.
ACORN is the organization that Obama worked for when he was a "community organizer". They're a bunch of frickin communists.
They're pushing hard to register as many bogus voters as possible. Then, on election day, Obama operatives will go to our satellite voting centers and vote under the bogus registrations.
Hopefully, Indiana's voter ID law can keep these people from actually voting. But seeing as these centers are run by Democrats, who knows if the IDs will even be checked.
ACORN is the organization that Obama worked for when he was a "community organizer". They're a bunch of frickin communists.
They're pushing hard to register as many bogus voters as possible. Then, on election day, Obama operatives will go to our satellite voting centers and vote under the bogus registrations.
Hopefully, Indiana's voter ID law can keep these people from actually voting. But seeing as these centers are run by Democrats, who knows if the IDs will even be checked.
Still lined up at 5:30 AT NIGHT!!!
It just so happened that I drove by FEMA at 5:30 at night.
The lines were just as long as they were at 5:30 in the morning!
I hope nobody was in the line for 12 hours.
The lines were just as long as they were at 5:30 in the morning!
I hope nobody was in the line for 12 hours.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Still lined up at 5:36 in the morning!
Drove by FEMA in Munster AGAIN today, and the line was AGAIN full at 5:36 in the morning.
The flood was over two weeks ago.
The flood was over two weeks ago.
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