Moe Lane

There is a glaring inaccuracy in the linked WSJ article on vanishing Maryland millionaires. Essentially, It is not “a two-minute drill in soak-the-rich economics:”

Maryland couldn’t balance its budget last year, so the state tried to close the shortfall by fleecing the wealthy. Politicians in Annapolis created a millionaire tax bracket, raising the top marginal income-tax rate to 6.25%. And because cities such as Baltimore and Bethesda also impose income taxes, the state-local tax rate can go as high as 9.45%. Governor Martin O’Malley, a dedicated class warrior, declared that these richest 0.3% of filers were “willing and able to pay their fair share.” The Baltimore Sun predicted the rich would “grin and bear it.”

One year later, nobody’s grinning. One-third of the millionaires have disappeared from Maryland tax rolls. In 2008 roughly 3,000 million-dollar income tax returns were filed by the end of April. This year there were 2,000, which the state comptroller’s office concedes is a “substantial decline.” On those missing returns, the government collects 6.25% of nothing. Instead of the state coffers gaining the extra $106 million the politicians predicted, millionaires paid $100 million less in taxes than they did last year — even at higher rates.

It is a one-minute, fifty-second drill in soak-the-rich economics.  I was curious, and timed myself reading it aloud.  Admittedly, I talk quickly sometimes, but I made it a point to try to pace myself for this one.
(more…)

Hardin, Montana – a very small, very poor town with a very new, very empty jail, is willing to take on the responsibility of holding Gitmo detainees:

Hardin borrowed $27 million through bonds to build the Two Rivers Regional Correctional Facility in hopes of creating new employment opportunities. The jail was ready for prisoners two years ago, but has yet to house a single prisoner.

People here say politics in the capital of Helena has kept it empty. But the city council last month voted 5-0 to back a proposal to bring Gitmo detainees — some of the most hardened terrorists in the world — to the facility.

Montanan Senators (both of whom are Democrats) wet themselves in response:

The state’s congressional leaders have lined up against the plan. “Housing potential terrorists in Montana is not good for our state,” Max Baucus, the state’s senior Democratic senator, wrote to [economic development director Greg Smith]. “These people stop at nothing. Their primary goal in life, and death, is to destroy America.”

Adds Sen. Jon Tester, “I just don’t think it’s appropriate, that’s all. I don’t think they know what they’re asking for.”

(more…)

Bring Me To Life, Evanescence

…what? It was on the Daredevil soundtrack. Not that I’ve actually seen the movie, but I still had to deal with the, ah, echoes of it.

(Via Instapundit) Not without repeating the entire thing, at least. So just go read it, and marvel that Slate apparently has a regular writer who doesn’t understand that nothing ever goes away on the Internet.

I’m flabbergasted, really.

Moe Lane

Crossposted to RedState.

This is several years old, but it speaks to me. For real: there’s some genuine philosophy there.

QUESTION: Mr. T, why do you pity the fool?

MR. T: That is a good question. That is a good question and a legitimate question. And I’m the man to answer it. You pity the fool because you don’t want to beat up a fool. You know, pity is between sorry and mercy. See, if you pity him, you know, you won’t have to beat him up. So that’s why I say fools, you gotta give another chance because they don’t know no better. That’s why I pity them.

(more…)

Ace of Spades (H/T, by the way) has kindly given me permission to use the Flaming Blagojevich Skull for this, so I shall:

Sun-Times exclusive: Burris promised Blago campaign a check by mid-December

In a November conversation caught on an FBI wiretap, Roland Burris promised Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s brother that he’d write the governor a campaign check by mid-December, Burris’ lawyer said today.

That was about a month before Rod Blagojevich appointed Burris to the U.S. Senate.

But lawyer Timothy Wright told the Chicago Sun-Times today that his client never sent the check because he believed it wasn’t a good idea given Burris’ interest in the U.S. Senate seat appointment. Wright said Burris’ decision not to send the check had nothing to do with Blagojevich’s Dec. 9 arrest.

(more…)

And I normally don’t bother linking directly to the Online Left anyway – still, regarding today’s completely unsurprising California Supreme Court decision on Proposition 8, Taylor Marsh writes:

The first thing you have to ask is how Californians allowed the referendum to pass in the first place. How does a civil rights campaign in California fall to the bigots? Because many people don’t vote in off election cycles, and the most committed wins. The anti civil rights crowd is wrong on this issue, but they are determined.

Leaving aside for the moment the advisability – or indeed, the basic morality – of attacking same-sex marriage opponents* in such a fashion, I am forced to ask: in what alternate universe was the 2008 Presidential election an ‘off election cycle’?

Moe Lane

*Particularly given the demographic breakdowns – and yes, I am aware what the Left’s pet astrologer told them.

Crossposted to RedState.

It’s been a while since we visited the Matter of Blagojevich, but one thing that you can always count on: there’s always going to be something new coming out from that glorious trainwreck.

Judge OKs release of wiretap of Burris

CHICAGO (AP) — A federal judge said Tuesday he would allow the U.S. Senate Ethics Committee to have a federal wiretap of former Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s brother having a phone conversation with U.S. Sen. Roland Burris.

To summarize why the Senate might want to listen to this recording: Burris, in the course of getting the US Senate to seat him…

• Signed an affidavit indicating that he never talked to Blagojevich’s aides.
• Admitted in his testimony that he actually talked to one of the Governor’s unofficial aides.
• Said in the same testimony that he didn’t remember talking to anybody else.
• Signed another affidavit later on – after he officially became Senator – that he actually had talked to some of Blagojevich’s aides.
• Admitted to reporters that he tried to do some fundraising for Blagojevich.

At this point, as the AP remarked:

Then he stopped answering questions, letting others speak on his behalf.

I’ll let Vice President Joe Biden, who is himself no amateur at this sort of spin control, provide the Democratic response:

Succinct, that.

Moe Lane

Crossposted to RedState.

Approaching, in fact, the level of SAN loss. First, take a look at Three Wolf Moon T-Shirt – then take a look at what else people who looked at this looked at. Particularly this, and this.

Somebody’s mucking about with their search parameters; I’m sure of it.

Moe Lane

PS: What? Please. I have more couth than that. Besides, everybody knows that it’s not size that matters; it’s rotary speed.

The White House decided to make personally certain that an unelected New York Senator with publicly-stated views on gun control and immigration contrary to the rest of her party was not challenged in the primary by a solidly-liberal Representative who is well respected in his caucus. This has caused a good deal of tension in the rest of the New York delegation:

Confusion, conflict mar Gillibrand’s run

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama’s effort to squelch plans by a New York congressman to run in next year’s Democratic primary against Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand apparently succeeded.

In fact, the president’s call to Rep. Steve Israel asking him not to run may rank as a pivotal moment in Gillibrand’s effort to hang onto her seat.

But Obama’s phone call also has angered members of the state’s congressional delegation, who see it as heavy-handed intrusion reminiscent of Tammany Hall party machine politics.

The behind-the-scenes maneuvering has the makings of a political soap opera with some lawmakers feeling pressured to endorse early, some dissatisfied with Gillibrand’s views on key liberal issues, and some too upset to even break bread together.

To begin with, this isn’t ‘Tammany Hall Machine politics.’ Your standard Tammany Hall machine politician would have sneered at the way that the internal conflict between the state and federal power structures ended up in the local papers. As a practical hint: you don’t start this sort of thing by telling a politician not to run. You start by seducing his supporters away, then have them tell him not to run. Sure, it costs more – but it also avoids newspaper articles with headlines like ‘Confusion, conflict mar Gillibrand’s run.’
(more…)

Already making the right sort of enemies.

I was going to wait until Ms. Roby had a campaign website up – she only announced last week, and this was Memorial Day weekend – but apparently the local Democrats are already beginning to play the “create multiple accounts and go after her for being a mom*” in local comment sections, so best to get this up now.

So.  AL-02.  R+16 in the Cook Political Report; Bobby Bright won this one by something like 1800 votes.  Against an incumbent and/or a Democratic President’s coattails, he would have lost.  Bright claims “Blue Dog” status; he has slightly more reason than some, given that he did break with his party to vote against the ‘stimulus‘ package.  The DCCC has him on their list of Representatives to protect, so he’s almost certain to get away with that, too.  They may even drop more money on him this time, assuming of course that they have it to spare.

But enough about this calculated insult to progressive Democrats by their own party; let’s look at Martha Roby.  She’s young (32 years old), currently on the City Council for Montgomery, where she apparently represents a majority-minority constituency (if this report is correct, in her last election she won majorities among both white and African-American voters in her city district).  She’s popular in her home area, plans to run as a conservative, and it can be safely assumed that her candidacy is going to be supported by the NRCC. (more…)

[UPDATE] Finally.

…except that I’ve yet to see a link to “The Cryptic Canvas: 50 Movies Hidden In a Painting” pop up on their site. Given that I was sent the link by their Editor-in-Chief, I’m disappointed: it’s good blog-fodder, and the Maw of Content is never filled.

I got to 15/50 pretty quickly, but I’ve probably gotten all of the low-hanging fruit at this point.  Or else I’m not as checked out on either modern movies, or pattern recognition, as I flatter myself being.  Probably the latter: I may be the only person in North America who would have gone to see Lost in Translation if Bill Murray had only had a proton pack*.

Moe Lane

*Yes, I’m sure that it’s a perfectly lovely genre film.  But if it isn’t going to have explosions, Hellmouths, extensive CGI, starships, and/or gun fu**… well, I’m afraid that my taste for something that outre is somewhat limited.

**God. Imagine all of that at once.