Here's a long article from a relatively pro-public sector standpoint that reinforces the basic point that there is a crisis, and itÂ’s going to require painful and costly sacrifices to remedy. Miller makes an excellent point about moving public sector employees to defined-contribution plans like a 401(k) -- this really does nothing to reduce the burden related to current retirees and those near retirement, and in fact may make those problems worse in some scenarios. This is not to say that a move to a defined-contribution plan for public-sector workers is a bad idea -- in fact itÂ’s probably necessary -- but it wonÂ’t solve the immediate problem.

I think this article is correct: if the economy improves dramatically over the next several months, weÂ’re going to get a second Obama term. This is even more true now that it looks -- mutatis mutandis -- like Mitt Romney will be his GOP opponent in the general. That said, I donÂ’t expect the economy to improve all that dramatically (if at all).
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Posted by: Monty at 04:49 AM | Comments (328)
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If you were to read the AP this morning, you could be forgiven for thinking that the President is an unstoppable fundraising juggernaut. He's not.

The Democrats took in about $42 million in the last quarter for the President's campaign and about $24 million for the DNC. Including a $1 million take for a state race fund, he had a combined total of about $68 million.

That's impressive, but not overwhelming. Particularly because just as the campaign season gets into full swing---even as Obama made two dozen taxpayer-funded campaign trips around the country---his much-discussed fundraising cachet is eroding. His combined total in the third quarter was $70 million. For the quarter before that it was $86 million. Anybody else sensing a trend here?

And Obama's draw, for all his supposed $1 billion campaign, is actually less than President Bush's in his final election. Remember, back when Bush was supposedly unpopular because of the Iraq War? In the fourth quarter of 2003 the Bush campaign raised almost $48 million. Adjusted for inflation that's $59 million, a whopping $17 million more than Obama.

Don't believe the lying media. Obama isn't inevitable and he's not a magic money machine.

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 03:17 AM | Comments (68)
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Rep. Issa slams SOPA at CES, calling it unconstitutional sop to trial lawyers.

Posted by: Gabriel Malor at 02:56 AM | Comments (132)
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Well I guess you all know what day today is. So we have that going for us.

Posted by: Maetenloch at 05:43 PM | Comments (579)
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Barbour pardoned a lot of people -- 208, many criminals of the worst sort -- and caught red Mississippi by surprise. One thing you generally count on Republican governors for is keeping murderers behind bars.

One snag, though: Part of the Mississippi Constitution specifies that all pardons must follow a 30 day period of notice, for public complaint and comment. Mississippi's AG says he can find no such notice, so the pardons are void, at least for now.

I wonder what happened here? Maybe people just didn't notice this part of the constitution and it's been ignored in practice for one hundred years? And now, in a frenzy to find some basis to challenge Barbour on the pardons, it's now found, hiding in plain sight?

Interesting. Check out this 8pm Update:

Mississippi Circuit Judge Tomie Green has temporarily blocked the release of 21 inmates who'd been given pardons or medical release by Republican Haley Barbour in one of his final acts as governor.

Thanks to @slublog.

Posted by: Ace at 05:36 PM | Comments (67)
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In which I count my lucky stars we finally got Romney. Yippee!

This was on last night.

I'm very depressed.

I think I'm going to segue this right on over to a full-on D&D blog. D&D is slightly less of a disaster than the GOP.

Meanwhile, even people you'd expect to be anti-Romney are turning hard on Gingrich (as Rush turned hard on Perry), and Jim DeMint says he expects Romney (whom he endorsed in 200 to win South Carolina, so I guess we're at that moment in The Untouchables when Malone asks, "Are we done, then?"

Some more Romney/Gingrich stuff at Hot Air. Gingrich does appear at this point to just be out for vengeance.

Said one “longtime ally” of Gingrich today to National Journal, “The sense is, he’s just lashing out. His friends aren’t trying to talk him off the ledge.”

Posted by: Ace at 04:01 PM | Comments (358)
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I'm interested in this movie. But I feel I'm going to be tricked.

I think George Lucas Doesn't Know What The Hell He's Doing (TM). Harry Plinkett told me so, and yes, I Believe Harry Plinkett (TM).

I'm wondering about Lucas' motivations here. He is widely known as a talentless hack who Doesn't Know What He's Doing (TM). Is the all-black movie an attempt to make himself critic-proof?

Now if this is a good movie, I want to see it. Based on how Lucas is talking about it --

“It was designed to be during the war," Lucas said. "It’s very patriotic, very jingoistic, very old-fashioned, corny, just exactly like 'Flying Leathernecks' only this one was held up for release from 1942 when it was shot, and I’ve been trying to get it released ever since.”

-- I'm inclined to see it. Further, I like dogfights, and was very disappointed by that awful WWI dogfight movie (whatever it was called) released like eight years ago, so I still need my period dogfight movie fix.

But here's the problem: George Lucas Doesn't Know What He's Doing (TM).

This is not a political thing, though I hate his politics. I'd toss him $10 for a good movie -- I'm pretty sure he's got more than $10 in the bank so my ticket wouldn't reward him that much.

It's the fact that he Doesn't Know What He's Doing (TM). It's not the ten dollars wasted, though there is that. It's the three hours of time wasted if the film turns out to be horrific, which is quite likely, because George Lucas Doesn't Know What He's Doing (TM).

So did Hollywood people say "We don't know how to market a film with an all-black cast" just to be nice, to avoid saying "We've heard that George Lucas Doesn't Know What He's Doing (TM)"?

I mean-- they made that egregious Shaft update, didn't they? They knew how to market that. (Hint: Market it as an action movie, especially to blacks, but also to people who are not black.)

And if it's true -- my goodness, does this mean liberal Hollywood is racist?

So... yeah I'll see this and review it. I will discover the truth, whether Hollywood is racist or if George Lucas just Doesn't Know What He's Doing (TM). As far as I'm concerned that's win-win -- I can't lose. Someone is going to come out of this badly.

More, including video of Lucas on Jon Stewart, at NewsBusters.

Trailer: more...

Posted by: Ace at 02:03 PM | Comments (537)
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Nonsense, of course.

Here's where my ears prick up: I have said before that Obama could not possibly make Romney's Mormonism a campaign issue because of Obama's membership in an actual cult of hatred.

Right? One would imagine.

But is Axelrod's out-of-the-blue attempt to relitigate Jeremiah Wright, and claim he was quoted out of context by opposition researchers, an attempt to begin insulating Obama against charges about Wright, and thus freeing Obama and the Democrats attack Romney's Mormonism?

See, I ask smart questions. You guys all think I'm dumb but I'm not.

I'm smaaahhht, Michael. I'm smaaaahhhht.

Posted by: Ace at 01:46 PM | Comments (124)
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Without an ID, of course.

When there's no more room in hell, the dead shall fill the voting booths.

Posted by: Ace at 12:27 PM | Comments (205)
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And he says he really, really liked Perry, too.

I gotta tell ya, I'm not pleased with this line of attack myself.

I think this might have been an own-goal by Newt, and then Perry. By choosing to make their last stand in a way that seems anti-conservative, they might have sealed this all up for the Romnster.

Here's that 28-minute hit piece on Bain Capital that Newt's PAC bought, and is now hosting on the Internet.

And here's my next fear: That this film makes Romney unelectable, and Perry and Gingrich have made themselves unelectable by pushing it.

I have to say that I do not believe that these companies would have continued on, except for the Evil Romney seeking to destroy them. No one interested in a profit just destroys a money-making business.

Posted by: Ace at 11:54 AM | Comments (365)
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