Moe Lane

For me, it was probably this one. Via Twitchy:

Seriously, what. The. HELL?

Are you offering Mr. Hicks a bribe, Representative Speier?

— Moe Lane (@moelane) May 8, 2013

Moe Lane

PS: Darrell Issa gets extra points for calling Gerry Connolly a glad-handling suckweasel there, at the end.

To answer Instapundit and City Journal‘s question: no, San Bernardino should not cease to exist.  Unless, of course, you want some of my tax money to keep it alive.  In that case?  Kill it quick and move on.

Oh, wait, California: you can’t do anything quick in that state anymore.  Guess they’re screwed, then.

Moe Lane

PS: I have no idea how San Bernardino can get out from under its horrifically overgenerous pension/benefits obligations.  I can suggest that it start figuring that out, though; hope that helps!

Alternate title: Scenes from the Gun-Grabbing Wars: Dianne Feinstein is dumber than soup.

And why is she dumber than soup? It is not entirely because of this errant nonsense:

At a Senate Judiciary Committee meeting on Thursday, Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-California) opposed an amendment to her Assault Weapons Ban legislation that would allow military veterans to continue to buy the firearms that would be banned. Feinstein says a veteran may be mentally ill and should be prevented from purchasing firearms.

It’s because of this errant nonsense:

“The problem [said Feinstein] with expanding this is that, you know, with the advent of PTSD, which I think is a new phenomenon as a product of the Iraq War…”

“…as a product of the Iraq War.”

(pause)

Wasn’t Dianne Feinstein supposed to be the bright one from California? (more…)

None at all?

Rep. Maxine Waters: 170 million people could lose their jobs due to sequestration bit.ly/YCul38

— David Freddoso (@freddoso) February 28, 2013

No, really:

I will concede the seat. I repeat: I WILL CONCEDE THE SEAT. And I hate conceding seats. But it’d be worth it.

Which is to say: as predicted by me. I had a feeling that California’s surprisingly high tax revenues in January were due to people rushing through existing taxable transactions before that state’s new rates kicked in; and lo! …I seem to have been correct.

The surge of revenue that showed up unexpectedly in state coffers last month may well be offset by a revenue dip in coming months, according to Gov. Jerry Brown’s administration.

[snip]

[An official California Budget office cash] report says the extra money was “likely the result of major tax law changes at the federal and state level having a significant impact in the timing of revenue receipts.”

Translation: it turns out that people – as usual – make their financial decisions via rational self-interest.  Give them a choice to legally avoid paying higher taxes, and it looks like they’ll take it. Also: amazingly, people are a lot more conservative about their own money than they are about everybody else’s. (more…)

(Via Hot Air Headlines) I can’t believe that Jerry Brown led with his chin with this one:

Gov. Jerry Brown publicly scoffed at Gov. Rick Perry’s attempt to draw Californians to Texas for better business, saying that the ad campaign is “barely a fart.”

[snip]

Brown told reporters that if Perry wanted to be taken seriously, he would have to spend at least $25 million on radio and television ads. The ad paid for by TexasOne was a mere $24,000, which, Brown mockingly called “the smallest entry into the media market of California.”

(Audio of the ad here; text here) (more…)

They’ll tell us whether the higher-than-expected tax revenue that came in at the end of 2012 were the result of true economic improvement in California, or whether the extra revenue that was collected reflected business transactions being rushed to be finalized before the imposition of California’s new 2013 taxes.

Based on Cash for Clunkers, I’m going to guess that it’s the latter, but then I guessed that Mitt Romney was going to win the election. So there’s that. Then again, we’ll know in a couple of months.

Interesting thing from the LAT Times here about revenue sharing between Major League Baseball and the LA Dodgers.  Background: MLB teams are supposed to toss in a third of their local TV revenue into a pot so that smaller-market ball clubs can get a piece of the national pie.  This actually makes pragmatic sense; smaller clubs get a revenue stream, and larger clubs don’t have to worry so much that the next city over will get a baseball franchise that will be competing for the same fans.  However, technology marches on, and with it new wrinkles.  Case in point: (more…)

“+” because this is going to crash and burn for years.

Let me summarize this LA Times article discussing the looming …singularity… of fiscal destruction.

• California wants a high-speed rail system which will apparently solve all of their problems (“Then why don’t they have one, already?”  “Because shut up, that’s why”).
• This is scheduled to cost 68 Billion dollars.  $68,000,000,000.
• It will cost more.
• Meanwhile, the state is deep in debt – and it’s an open question whether Jerry Brown and his Merry Band of Democrats have actually managed to stabilize revenues.
• For example, I am waiting (with more than a little morbid curiosity) to see what California’s actual 1Q 2012 tax revenues are like.  I suspect that they’re going to be… memorable.
• But let’s get back to the high-speed rail.  It’s not built yet.
• That’s fine; construction isn’t supposed to start for another six months…
• Oh, wait, not all of the land for the railway has been purchased, yet.
• Oh, wait, none of the land for the railway has been purchased, yet.
• Which is why the start of construction has already been delayed.

(more…)

…And unlike Ed Morrissey, I’m not that sympathetic.  Because do you know what the problem is with pursuing a “throw other people to the crocodile strategy?”  It’s that the endgame’s pretty predictable.

Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg is not backing down from a request for information about Microsoft’s dealings with California, a gesture that many interpreted as a warning to prospective Sacramento Kings buyer and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.

After reports emerged that Ballmer was one of the investors seeking to purchase the Kings and relocate them to Seattle, Steinberg sent a letter to the Department of General Services asking for data about California’s contracts with Microsoft and the monetary value of the state’s past purchases from the technology giant.

Fifteen years ago Steinberg would have simply complained a bit that a sports team was moving out, but not too strongly; after all, there were plenty of sports teams that wanted to go to California.  Then again, fifteen years there were more people to throw to the crocodile.

Moe Lane

Shock.  Surprise.

California has been a leader in Renewable Energy production, in part due to federal and state level policies that provide incentives for producers of renewable power. However, a new report found that California’s Energy policies will raise state power rates and associated costs by nearly 33 percent.

The report by the free-market Pacific Research Institute specifically focuses on the additional costs imposed by a state mandate that requires 33 percent of its power come from renewable sources, like wind, solar and geothermal by 2020. PRI estimates that the California renewable portfolio standard will be an additional $5 billion in 2020.

If this keeps up, we may need to put quarantine stations at the California border. I’m not entirely certain that whatever it is that makes the California electorate keep voting for this idiocy isn’t actually virulent.

Via AoSHQ.

Moe Lane

Short version: some California chain selling men’s clothing is calling itself “Unionmade” when it’s not particularly featuring stuff made by unions, and the AFL-CIO is getting shirty about it.  But here’s the point/counterpoint kicker:

“We sell really beautiful well-made products. Products I’ve always liked,” [Unionmade founder Todd] Barket told me. “Our clothing is honest and straightforward. Everything has a reason for being there. Good design. High quality. Not too tricky. Any guy can walk in and understand what we’re presenting. Everything is really understandable.”

[snip]

…only about three to five percent of the items sold at Unionmade are union-made.

Translation: union-made products are pretty much crap quality these days.  I think that the AFL-CIO should probably worry about THAT more.

Moe Lane