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Even though the weather has gotten a bit better, it's still been far too wet, with rain every day. At least we aren't being inundated like the folks down south, but still it's been darned inconvenient. The lawn here at The Manse badly needs mowing, weeding is long overdue, and the local farmers are now behind on their planting because their fields are too muddy and their tractors get stuck.Here's to hoping things will indeed dry out as the Weather Guys™ keep promising.
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Does the New Hampshire House have the votes needed to override Governor John Lynch's veto of the Right-To-Work bill?I'd have to say the odds are “even and pick 'em”. Considering 40 GOP members of the New Hampshire House voted against the bill originally and another 36 didn't even bother to vote, it's going to be a close thing.
Speaking as a former union member, I'm hoping Speaker of the New Hampshire House Bill O'Brien can garner the votes needed to make New Hampshire the 23rd Right-To-Work state. I'm betting if it comes to pass we'll see the Granite State lead the Northeast states in regards to recovering from the Great Recession.
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Now that Obama has worked yet another miracle with his “Smart Diplomacy”, throwing Israel under the bus, I'm wondering how long it will be before he throws his support behind those wishing to destroy Israel, like Hamas, Hezbollah, and their sponsors.Considering he's managed to piss off our allies and been cozying up to our enemies, I figure it won't be long. I also have to wonder how long it will take before American Jews who supported him in 2008 will realize he's not their friend either.
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Herman Cain has made it official: He's running for president in 2012.Frankly, I like him better than just about any of the other GOP hopefuls, with one exception. And should Palin throw her hat into the ring I'm going to have a tough time deciding between them. On the other hand, a Cain/Palin or Palin/Cain ticket might be a tough one for The One to beat.
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Something I just realized after rereading what I just wrote above: Maybe the McCain/Palin ticket in 2008 was the wrong combination. Maybe a Cain/Palin ticket will get the job done.***********
Jay Tea adds his 2¢ worth in regards to GOP presidential hopefuls and passes on some wisdom from Fletcher Knebel's Dark Horse well worth remembering for this upcoming presidential campaign season.***********
DJ Drummond has some thoughts about corporate America, how it is demonized by those wishing to loot it for their own gain, and how when global effective tax rates on corporations (meaning what corporations actually pay in taxes) are compared, US corporations pay about eight percentage points more taxes than corporations based outside the US.As DJ reminds us:
Indeed.
...corporations don't vote but people do, so a lot of politicians, pretty much everywhere, try to promise low taxes to people but increase taxes on corporations, especially if those businesses can be smeared as economic villains. In reality, however, corporations represent jobs, economic growth and stability, and when government goes after corporations, then government is attacking jobs and GDP.
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How assimilation works and how multiculturalism has wrecked California.California has become Balkanized, with cultural enclaves that can in no way be considered American and are more like foreign countries, bring along with them the very problems they sought to escape by coming here.
(H/T Maggie's Farm)
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I wonder if donors to Dartmouth College found out that almost a fifth of the funds they've provided in the way of endowments were skimmed off the top by the Dartmouth administration whether they would be so inclined to give anything at all?Nineteen percent seems to be a hefty levy on money donated to the college for the purpose of promoting the education of our children. How is it the administration thought they could get away with skimming that much money off of the endowment payouts without anyone noticing? I don't know about you, but if I was one of the donors I would not be pleased by any means.
Up until about a decade ago, every penny of the amount drawn off went to the purposes intended by the donor: salaries, internships, research grants, department special expenses, travel programs, etc. — in short, real educational efforts to the direct benefit of students and faculty members. However, the Wright administration could not keep its hands off that income stream, and about a decade ago it instituted “the levy.” From that time onward a percentage that gradually rose to 14% of the money paid out of restricted endowments was skimmed off to pay for various College operating expenses having no relation whatsoever to the educational endeavor for which the original gift was intended (in our example, that would be 14% of the 5.5% payout).
At some point in the last few months, unbeknownst to the faculty or its senior committees, this percentage was raised to 19%.
--snip--
Faculty only learned about the change recently, when they were apprised by the administration of the exact amount of money available to departments and programs in the coming fiscal year from their various endowments. While the stock market had risen, payouts had inexplicably dropped — and when department and program heads expressed incomprehension at their unexpectedly low budgets, they were finally told of the change. Needless to say, the conversation at this week’s meeting of the Committee of Chairs was, shall we say, animated.