The Dallas Window Sign Ordinance

Note to Fort Worth residents.... What are we going to do about this pesky suburb?
This is kind of embarrassing.  I just posted something about the high levels of personal and economic freedom in Texas.  Those freedoms, of course, include property rights. 
Note to John Jay Myers, Dallas resident running for Congress.... Your thoughts, sir?

The Freedom Effect - Texas Style

Forbes has put out their list of the 10 Metropolitan areas where the recession is easing, but it's in one of those annoying formats where you have to hit "next" 10 times to see all 10 cities.  Go to this Newser summary of the rankings if you find that to be tiresome. 

Their formula takes into account projected job growth and housing prices. Here's the list:

1. (tie) Washington, DC-Arlington-Alexandria
2. (tie) Austin-Round Rock
3. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington
4. (tie) Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington
5. (tie) Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown
6. Denver-Aurora
7. San Antonio
8. Boston-Cambridge-Quincy
9. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana
10. Kansas City (Missouri and Kansas)

Skip this rant, since it doesn't really contribute to the argument in this post:  Seeing Washington D.C. ranked as the most recession-proof enclave on the planet should come as no surprise, since our system requires all the tax, stimulus, lobbying, porkulus, and kickback money to go there first so that our Lords and Masters can take their cut off the top.  Look at the huge pay increases given to Department Of Transportation employees, for instance.  The number of employees breaking the $170,000.00 per year barrier has increased by 1,680 % in just two years, while the rest of us struggle through a recession.  Nice, recession-proof work if you can get it. 

With a Statist Congress and The Teleprompter Jesus running the show, D.C.'s ranking at #1 is to be expected.  Ranking any other American cities with Washington is like comparing Chihuahua, Juarez, and Guadalajara, Mexico's financial well-being to that of the Sinaloa Drug Cartel. 

Now that we have that out of the way....

Tied for first is Austin/Round Rock, Texas. 
Next is Fort Worth/Arlington/Dallas, Texas.
Next (tied with the Minnesota Metroplex) is Houston/Baytown, Texas. 
Denver breaks up the Texas winning streak, and then you get....
San Antonio, Texas. 

Now let's hop over to Statepolicy.com, which ranks U.S. states by Fiscal Freedom, Regulatory Freedom,  and Personal Freedom.  You can hit the link to see the methodology used to rank each state. 

In the Fiscal Freedom category, which includes things like proper restraints on local government, a high ratio between private vs. public employee earnings, and low local taxes, Texas was ranked #4 in the nation. 

In the Regulatory Freedom category, which covers freedom from labor regulation, health insurance mandates, occupational licensing, eminent domain, the tort system, environmental regulation, and utilities, Texas was ranked at a shameful #27.   I suspect this is because some of our billionaires like to dabble in eminent domain schemes and monopolies via regulation.  This is a good subject for further research. 

This gives Texas an Economic Freedom score of  #7 in the nation.  

The next big category is personal freedom.  It can be summarized as the right to do what you want to do, just as long as you don't harm anyone else.  It includes everything from gambling, to alcohol regulation, bicycle helmet regulations, forfeiture laws, tobacco bans, gay marriage, fireworks regulation, gun control, and home schooling.  Texas came in at #5 on the personal freedom list. 

All of these ranking combine to give Texas a Freedom Index score of #5 in the nation. 
Colorado (home of Denver/Aurora on the list of Metro areas recovering from the recession) is  #2 on the Freedom Index. 
Missouri (home of Kansas City on the list above) is #6 on the Freedom Index. 

Boston and Los Angeles distort the curve, since Massachusetts and California are only #44 and #47 on the Freedom Index.  (I have no theory on why Boston, Massachusetts, is doing so well ; California doesn't matter since their state government will be bankrupt within two years.) 

This is still enough to show a nice, neat correlation between freedom and prosperity.  Here's one of the Heritage Foundation's graphs showing the correlation between freedom and per capita GDP.  What's good for the states is obviously good for the nations:

Note to everyone moving to Texas:  Welcome !  We're glad you're here.  But if you're a refugee from another state, trying to outrun the consequences of your votes, please repent.  We're doing well here because we're willing to leave each other alone.   

What we can look forward to under Obamacare - Hospitalized kid has to call police to get a drink of water

Go to Google and type in healthcare and "civilized nations".  You'll come up with an array of editorials and blog posts sniffing that it's time for the U.S. to adopt the socialized medical systems of the other civilized nations.  (Canada, Cuba, China, etc.)  Just hit this link for a sampling.  It doesn't matter which one you open, the message in each will be similar.  The general theme is that all the really cool, you know, civilized countries let their governments run their healthcare system. 

And now for something completely different.  This is from The Daily Mail (U.K.):

A man of 22 died in agony of dehydration after three days in a leading teaching hospital.

Kane Gorny was so desperate for a drink that he rang police to beg for their help.
They arrived on the ward only to be told by doctors that everything was under control.

I want to be sure you understand this.  The kid had to call the freakin' police from his British Civilized Nation hospital bed to get some water. 

The next day his mother Rita Cronin found him delirious and he died within hours.
She said nurses had failed to give him vital drugs which controlled fluid levels in his body. 'He was totally dependent on the nurses to help him and they totally betrayed him.'

....The death certificate said Mr Gorny had died because of a 'water deficit' and 'hypernatraemia' - a medical term for dehydration.

.....The tragedy emerged a week after a report into hundreds of deaths at Stafford Hospital revealed the appalling quality of care given by many of the nurses.
This week a task force called on nurses to sign a public pledge that they will treat everyone with compassion and dignity.

Or at least sign a statement that you're willing to get up and get a kid a glass of water. 

I know, I know.  This happened in England, not the U.S. 
The people who run our Post Office, Department Of Motor Vehicles, and Department Of Health And Human Services will be much more compassionate and efficient. 

USA Today - Federal Pay vs. The Private Sector

From USA Today:

Average federal salaries exceed average private-sector pay in 83% of comparable occupations. A sampling of average annnual salaries in 2008, the most recent data:

Job comparison

Average federal salaries exceed average private-sector pay in 83% of comparable occupations. A sampling of average annnual salaries in 2008, the most recent data:

Job	Federal	Private	Difference
Airline pilot, copilot, flight engineer	$93,690	$120,012	-$26,322
Broadcast technician	$90,310	$49,265	$41,045
Budget analyst	$73,140	$65,532	$7,608
Chemist	$98,060	$72,120	$25,940
Civil engineer	$85,970	$76,184	$9,786
Clergy	$70,460	$39,247	$31,213
Computer, information systems manager	$122,020	$115,705	$6,315
Computer support specialist	$45,830	$54,875	-$9,045
Cook	$38,400	$23,279	$15,121
Crane, tower operator	$54,900	$44,044	$10,856
Dental assistant	$36,170	$32,069	$4,101
Economist	$101,020	$91,065	$9,955
Editors	$42,210	$54,803	-$12,593
Electrical engineer	$86,400	$84,653	$1,747
Financial analysts	$87,400	$81,232	$6,168
Graphic designer	$70,820	$46,565	$24,255
Highway maintenance worker	$42,720	$31,376	$11,344
Janitor	$30,110	$24,188	$5,922
Landscape architects	$80,830	$58,380	$22,450
Laundry, dry-cleaning worker	$33,100	$19,945	$13,155
Lawyer	$123,660	$126,763	-$3,103
Librarian	$76,110	$63,284	$12,826
Locomotive engineer	$48,440	$63,125	-$14,685
Machinist	$51,530	$44,315	$7,215
Mechanical engineer	$88,690	$77,554	$11,136
Office clerk	$34,260	$29,863	$4,397
Optometrist	$61,530	$106,665	-$45,135
Paralegals	$60,340	$48,890	$11,450
Pest control worker	$48,670	$33,675	$14,995
Physicians, surgeons	$176,050	$177,102	-$1,052
Physician assistant	$77,770	$87,783	-$10,013
Procurement clerk	$40,640	$34,082	$6,558
Public relations manager	$132,410	$88,241	$44,169
Recreation worker	$43,630	$21,671	$21,959
Registered nurse	$74,460	$63,780	$10,680
Respiratory therapist	$46,740	$50,443	-$3,703
Secretary	$44,500	$33,829	$10,671
Sheet metal worker	$49,700	$43,725	$5,975
Statistician	$88,520	$78,065	$10,455
Surveyor	$78,710	$67,336	$11,374

A few things should immediately jump out at you. For starters, what the hell does the Federal Government need with Public Relations Managers? Do U.S. citizens have a freakin' choice about what government they answer to?
Number two: Aren't there plenty of Landscape Architects out there with less burdensome retirement packages in the private sector who could do this same work for less money?
Number three: Do government clergy making 80K per year spend most of their time thanking God for their jobs?
Number four: I'm to be congratulated for getting this chart to format properly on my website. I deserve more money, whether you want to pay me or not. I know it won't work. Just thought I'd try.
One other thing....the retirement/benefits packages are up to 4 times better for those who can get their foot in the Federal door.

When time permits, do a bit of Googling on the economic situation in Greece and Portugal. The path we're on is well-marked.

Quote Of The Day

Quote of the day, sent to me by The Whited Mama:

"I take great exception to folks saying that Bernanke, Obama, Reid and Pelosi are spending like drunken sailors.


When I was a drunken sailor, I quit spending when I ran out of money."

~ Sen. John McCain

I've checked with Snopes.com to see if the quote is legit.  If it's not, it oughta be.  The picture of the drunken sailors came from here. 

Bootleggers And Baptists

The guys over at Cafe Hayek are fond of an analogy called "Bootleggers And Baptists".
The best explanation I could find (in a hurry) was at the Marginal Revolution blog.  Here goes:

The bootleggers like prohibition because it gets rid of competitors. But a politican who wants to listen to the bootleggers (and preserve their business) needs a more high-minded cause to sell to the public. The Baptists give the politicians cover with the argument that drink is from the devil—it leads to social unrest, unemployment, higher social costs and so on. Same with Mexican trucks. Who can justify keeping out lower cost Mexican trucks just to keep the wages of Teamsters high?  Enter Public Citizen (a political watchdog group). This isn’t about greed. It’s about keeping American air clean.

This is one of the reasons why the insurance companies aren't wailing and slashing their collective wrists over Obamacare.  It's going to make it almost impossible for a new competitor to enter the market.  The insurance companies, in this case, are the bootleggers. 

This is why marijuana is still illegal.  The drug cartels are the bootleggers. 
This is why I can't go to the former Army medic down the street for prescription drugs.  The AMA fits the role of "bootlegger" nicely. 

Now go here.  Get back to me when you finish.  You can tell who the bootleggers are, right?   

It's for The Children.  It's for The Air.  It's for Working Families.  Naaaaaaw.  It's almost always for The Bootleggers. 
Don't be fooled again. 

Jesus Arm-Wrestling With Satan

I'll admit it.  I have no other reason to post this picture other than to be the #1 Google Image Search result for "Jesus Arm-Wrestling With Satan". 

Vicious Dachshund bites Vet Tech ! ! Dachshund is going to the chair ! ! Save Spork ! !

LAFAYETTE, Colo. -- He's only a few inches tall, but a miniature dachshund named Spork is at the middle of a debate over vicious dogs. It’s even earned him his own fan page on Facebook where as of Tuesday afternoon he had 2,900 friends.

Go here for the "Save Spork" Facebook page. 

"He's family," said Kelly Walker, who has had Spork since he was a puppy.
Kelly and her husband Tim are fighting a ticket they received charging them with owning a vicious dog.


“Once we were holding that ticket we felt it was a death sentence for our pet so we vowed to fight it as hard as we could,” said Tim.
In August, the Walker’s said Spork bit a veterinary technician during an exam at Jasper Animal Hospital in Lafayette. As a result of the attack, the Walkers said both the vet tech who was bitten and the veterinarian of the animal hospital filed reports with animal control.

It seems that if you're working as a veterinarian or a vet tech, that dog bites would go with the territory.  Heck, If I ever try to extract a stool sample from you without permission, I should expect some resistance, right? 

If the Walkers are found guilty of owning a vicious dog Spork could be euthanized or kenneled.

"I went to that vet thinking they were trained to take care of my dog properly,” said Kelly.
According to state law in Colorado, a dog owner is not liable for a dog bite if the person bitten is a vet, groomer or anyone who works closely with animals.
But city of Lafayette is asserting home-rule exception, which means they do not have to follow state law.

Lord have mercy, of all the things to assert home-rule exception over.  Customers of the Jasper Animal Hospital in Lafayette will soon assert their own home-rule exception.  They're going to go elsewhere. 

“This speaks to the people of Lafayette,” said Jennifer Edwards, of The Animal Law Center. “Be warned about going to vet care centers or groomers because if your dog bites, it could face euthanasia.”


A fresh coat of Whitening (with a Bookstop Gift Certificate) to Tim Lebsack of the Dallas County Libertarian Party for sending me this one. 

Pictures from Cuba's free healthcare system

Go here for pictures of Cuba's free healthcare system. 
It might not be the best, but at least its fair. 

How Milton Friedman Saved Chile

From the Wall Street Journal: How Milton Friedman saved Chile.

....It's not by chance that Chileans were living in houses of brick—and Haitians in houses of straw—when the wolf arrived to try to blow them down. In 1973, the year the proto-Chavista government of Salvador Allende was overthrown by Gen. Augusto Pinochet, Chile was an economic shambles. Inflation topped out at an annual rate of 1000%, foreign-currency reserves were totally depleted, and per capita GDP was roughly that of Peru and well below Argentina's....

....For his trouble, Friedman would spend the rest of his life being defamed as an accomplice to evil: at his Nobel Prize ceremony the following year, he was met by protests and hecklers. Friedman himself couldn't decide whether to be amused or annoyed by the obloquies; he later wryly noted that he had given communist dictatorships the same advice he gave Pinochet, without raising leftist hackles.

Hit the link at the top to read the whole thing.  Well worth it. 

What we say vs. what they hear

I apologize for the use of the word "retards", but don't know how to change it without creating a new PDF:

Hit the link if you can't read the text below. 

Why I love watching MSNBC, part 397

Just out of morbid curiosity, has anyone ever gone to a Tea Party event and seen someone holding a sign that says "I want to kill blacks and Jews"?
Especially when some of the featured speakers at the event were black?

I have to admit, watching MSNBC is always entertaining.  Entertaining.  Addictive.  Their ratings are totally in the tank, but I can't imagine why. 

Enjoy this display from someone on the Keith Olbermann farm team:



Notice the reference to Nazis?  Always, always, always remember:  That abbreviation stood for the National Socialist German Worker's Party, and they were almost the biggest of the big government outfits of the previous century. 
Remember:  National Socialist German Worker's Party.  As left wing, and Big Government as they come. 

I don't think the Tea Party movement has much in common with the National Socialist German Worker's Party. 

Doesn't anybody read any more? 

The Reconciliation Process - Let's just pass something now and fix it later ! !

This isn't the most recent editorial written about the horse-trading, deal-making, log-rolling,  Cornhusker-kickbacking, and Louisiana-Purchasing that will be necessary for Obamacare to make it through the Reconciliation Process. But this editorial works well with the pictures, I think.

So that they can claim to have reformed healthcare, they really are going to pass something truly horrific with 51 votes, and then go back and fix it one section at a time.  When they get around to it.  People often do a bad job, and then go back and fix it later, when they have more time and money, right?  
 
Here's Sam Stein, writing for The Huffington Post:

Despite mounting pressure to pass health care legislation through a parliamentary maneuver that would allow portions to be considered by an up-or-down vote, Democratic leadership in Congress insists that its best option remains regular order.

After several conservative Democrats in the Senate signaled their support for a Republican filibuster of reform that includes a public option for insurance coverage, a growing chorus of progressives called on Majority Leader Harry Reid to use reconciliation to get the provision passed.

The logic is simple: because the public option affects the budget it can be considered under reconciliation, which allows legislation to pass by a 51-vote majority.

The politics, however, are more complex. A Democratic Senate aide, speaking more candidly about strategy on condition of anonymity, said that the party still thinks its best shot to pass health care reform -- and, to a lesser extent, a public option -- remains through the use of normal parliamentary procedures.

For starters, leadership believes that more senators will be persuaded to vote for an entire health care package rather than individual bits and pieces.

If Reid settles on the route of reconciliation, it would mean separating other aspects of reform, including caps on insurance premiums, the promotion of health and wellness and the elimination of pre-existing conditions as a reason for denying coverage.

"Right now the best thing we can do is to do everything at once, score everything at once, and build momentum for the bill," said the aide.

Maybe so. But such reasoning doesn't fly for advocates of reconciliation who argue that splitting up the health care bill actually makes political sense. The public option, after all, is the most hotly-contested part of the legislation.

So an up-or-down vote may be the one avenue to ensure its passage. The private industry reforms, meanwhile, are largely non-controversial. So putting those provisions in a separate bill and passing them through regular order shouldn't be too difficult.

Again, however, aides insist that the devil is in the details. "The parliamentarian might tell us that, even if we have data on the public option being a budget utility, they might say we can't do it," warned the Senate Democratic aide. "Because you still have to create the exchange, you still have to have the force of law. And you may have to scale the public plan back for it to qualify."

There are other complications, added the aide. The House of Representatives, for instance, would have to go back to the drawing board after passing a full health care bill several weeks ago. And the concern on the Senate side of the aisle is that Speaker Nancy Pelosi could lose votes if she has to split up the legislation (though, if it meant ultimate passage, this seems unlikely).

The calendar presents another challenge. The White House has been pushing to get a bill to the president's desk before the new year. But reconciliation would likely push that time line back weeks, if not months, interfering with efforts to take up climate change and regulatory reform, running into the start of the 2010 campaign. "Where is the Senate floor time?" the aide asked.

Finally, the aide says, there is a question of votes. While leadership would have the flexibility to let ten Democratic senators vote against health care reform considered via reconciliation, there is enough parliamentary purism within the party to put its passage in doubt. Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) has repeatedly spoken out against the use of reconciliation. On Tuesday, meanwhile, Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) told MSNBC that his preference was for regular order. Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wisc.), one of the party's foremost champions of progressive reform, has stated a similar preference. Though, an aide tells the Huffington Post, "he has not made any statements about how he would vote on the bill if that were the case."

Most important of all, Reid himself has said rather definitively that he is "not using reconciliation." And an aide says that leadership has not had conversations with the Senate parliamentarian "in a while" to discuss what it can and can't do through reconciliation.

And yet, for all the hurdles, the push for Reid to go down this path just won't die. Jane Hamsher, a progressive health care activist who runs the site, FireDogLake, has put heavy pressure on the Majority Leader in recent days, writing: "It comes down to a simple question: will Harry Reid allow for majority rule? Or will he let corrupt members of his own caucus block a majority of the public and Congress who want a public option?"

I don't know which way Harry Reid will go either. But what could possibly go wrong? 

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A fresh coat of Whitening to BowWow for sending the chain email of Redneck Engineering pics.