Obama to double capital gains tax?

Ben Smith's Blog: "“Right now, as you know, the cap gains tax is at 15 percent. He has yet to give us a specific number. How high he wants that number to go? He has said, and he told me today, that he won't go above 28 percent. So we are talking about the possibility of a doubling in the capital gains tax. He was averaging at about 25 percent.”"

The Truth About the Tuskegee Study

If we're going to have a discussion on "race in America" maybe we ought to get the accurate facts.

The Truth About Tuskegee: "Anthropologist Richard Shweder of the University of Chicago has just published a detailed analysis of the Tuskegee study in which he shows that virtually every popular assumption about it is false. (Tuskegee re-examined, January 8, 2004)"

the original article is here:
http://www.amren.com/news/news04/01/22/tuskegee.html

funnies from Lucianne

Lucianne.com News Forum:
"Clinton Insists Dems Race Is a ‘Long Way’
From Over, Looks Toward Convention
We can't wait for her arrival in Denver. Talk about a corkscrew landing under sniper fire!!"


Schultz response.
GOP Looks to ‘McCain Democrats'
Number crunchers show there are more McCainocrats than Obamacans.

American Axle chief: Jobs can be moved

Are Michigan's Big Union bosses going to bring us back to our own permanent depression?

American Axle chief: Jobs can be moved

'We are fighting for the absolute survival of AAM in America,' Dauch said in an interview one month after a walkout by 3,600 hourly workers at AAM plants in Michigan and New York.
'We have the flexibility to source all of our business to other locations around the world, and we have the right to do so,' Dauch said, in a not-so-veiled threat. AAM has plants in Mexico, South America, Europe and Asia.
'We will not be forced into bankruptcy in order to reach a market-competitive cost structure in the United States. If we cannot compete for new contracts in the U.S., there will be no work in the original plants,' Dauch said, referring to operations in Detroit, Three Rivers and in the New York towns of Tonawanda and Cheektowaga."

Investigation at MSU exonerates 2 student groups

Investigation at MSU exonerates 2 student groups: "But a 126-page report from the Office for Inclusion and Intercultural Initiatives, which was released to accused and accusers alike last week and obtained Tuesday by the Lansing State Journal with student names redacted, said the alleged conduct, 'even if true, does not meet the level of actionable harassment or discrimination contemplated by the courts.'"

A victory against voter fraud?

The way I read this is that voters in Michigan primary elections will have total secrecy.

No party or other entity will have the list of primary voters.

No one will have a list of voters to give to phony "No ID required" scab-voters.

Michigan primary voter info law struck down:
"A federal judge on Wednesday struck down a Michigan law that allowed only the Republican and Democratic parties access to voter information from the state's Jan. 15 presidential primary."

Obama-The impotence of Power

The impotence of Power: "I think you'll find it to be most illuminating. I think that Power's answers serve as a window into far more than just the foreign policy positions of the Obama campaign. The listener should come away with a clear view of the mindset which seems to be present in many of the people that surround the candidate.
This is a good description of the program. I would add only that the final 15 minutes of the program, when Morris corners Power, really provide the payoff. Audio of the show is accessible here."

http://wgnradio.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=40174&Itemid=99999999

"Diamond water paradox"

The Volokh Conspiracy - -:
"Oddly enough, the objectively reasonable price is always above what the buyers paid for it, after commissions.
The Abbotts paid $583,425 for their house last April. The market in Las Vegas has tanked since then, with prices down 20% from January 2007 to January 2008, according to the Case-Schiller index. I don't think it's the buyers who aren't being realistic. More generally, as famously explained via the solution to the 'diamond water paradox,' the value an item has in the marketplace is solely what the highest bidder is willing to pay, based on subjective valuation"

AT&T CEO says hard to find skilled U.S. workers

AT&T CEO says hard to find skilled U.S. workers
"Stephenson said he is especially distressed that in some U.S. communities and among certain groups, the high school dropout rate is as high as 50 percent.
'If I had a business that half the product we turned out was defective or you couldn't put into the marketplace, I would shut that business down,' he said."

Buoy Meets Gore

Buoy Meets Gore

OBAMA'S JEWISH PROBLEM

OBAMA'S JEWISH PROBLEM

nuf said.....

Saddam Paid for Lawmakers' Iraq Trip

Saddam Paid for Lawmakers' Iraq Trip: "the dates correspond to a trip by Democratic Reps. Jim McDermott of Washington, David Bonior of Michigan and Mike Thompson of California."

Big Belly Boosts Risk of Later Dementia

That's got to end AlGore's hopes for President.

Big Belly Boosts Risk of Later Dementia: "Having a big belly in your 40s can boost your risk of getting Alzheimer's disease or other dementia decades later, a new study suggests."

Millennium Park plan calls for 12,000-seat amphitheater

Loot the "rainy day fund"?

I thought the state was out of money?

Millennium Park plan calls for 12,000-seat amphitheater
"All the planned 12,000- to 14,000-seat amphitheater in Millennium Park needs is financial help from Lansing."

Lawmakers in Lansing are being asked for a $10 million outlay, .... and possibly bond funds making up costs not covered by the state.
But bringing home the bacon might prove difficult, since the project and millions of dollars in other similar requests are being tied to using money from the state's budget stabilization, or "rainy day" fund.

Enviro-Harassment

IBDeditorials.com:Enviro-Harassment: "'Let me say it plainly: The environmental movement has been taken over by anti-capitalist radicals who are using it to wage war against capitalism and campaign for liberal Democrats,' he said. 'Protecting the environment is now number three, or lower, on their list of priorities.'"

Muskegon city income tax

I won't get into a city income tax vs. increased property tax vs. new business taxes/fees vs. increased spending on grant writers/lobbyists or other begging-for-money- from- government schemes.

Though that would be an interesting subject.

A city income tax has one benefit, increased revenue.

It is critical that revenue be thoughtfully invested or the net result for a city will be negative.

As it has been for Muskegon.

Unfortunately, there are some serious negatives that arrive with a new or increased city income tax.

(Read the rest of this in the "comments section")

"Tonya Harding" option?

Political Punch: "She will have to 'break his back,' the official said. She will have to destroy Obama, make Obama completely unacceptable.
'Her securing the nomination is certainly possible - but it will require exercising the 'Tonya Harding option.'' the official said. 'Is that really what we Democrats want?'"

Ford Sells Jaguar, Land Rover to Tata

Ford Sells Jaguar, Land Rover to Tata

Two nice new Tatas!

Gore-D'OH?

Hillary on 60 Minutes: 'Voters Are Tired of People Who Lie to Them'

This is precious!

Hillary on 60 Minutes: 'Voters Are Tired of People Who Lie to Them'

"Now that the major media have acknowledged en masse that Hillary Clinton lied shamelessly about landing in Bosnia to sniper fire, it seemed like the right moment to remember Mrs. Clinton’s claims about honesty and truthfulness in the famous Steve Kroft 60 Minutes interview in 1992 – not the part that aired in 1992, mind you, but a different set of snippets that aired on February 1, 1998, twelve days after the Monica Lewinsky scandal broke."

New warnings about entitlements shortfall

New warnings about entitlements shortfall
"Trustees for the government's two biggest benefit programs warned Tuesday that Social Security and Medicare are facing 'enormous challenges,' with the threat to Medicare's solvency far more severe.
The trustees, issuing a once-a-year analysis, said the resources in the Social Security trust fund will be depleted by 2041.


The reserves in the Medicare trust fund that pays hospital benefits were projected to be wiped out by 2019."

55 Specific Recommendations for Michigan

55 Specific Recommendations [Mackinac Center for Public Policy]

NO, THEY DON'T SUPPORT THE TROOPS

NO, THEY DON'T SUPPORT THE TROOPS
"Since when can’t a vet return to his own high school and talk about his service to his country?
I’ll let Hegseth have the last word: “Are we saying that patriotism and duty and honor have no place in our public schools?”"

Jobless rates up in Muskegon, Ottawa, across state

Jobless rates up in Muskegon, Ottawa, across state
"The employment picture worsened in all 17 of Michigan's major labor markets as jobless rates increased from December to January.
Muskegon County and other West Michigan counties followed the trend. The January unemployment rate in Muskegon County was 7.5 percent, up from 7 percent in December and 7.3 percent a year ago."

Study: Great Lakes 'salties' ban may create jobs - Muskegon Chronicle - MLive.com

Study: Great Lakes 'salties' ban may create jobs - Muskegon Chronicle - MLive.com: "the notion of barring them from the Seaway is 'absurd,' said Terry Johnson, Jr., administrator of the St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corp.
'The premise is that we would somehow abrogate a 100-year-old treaty with one of our largest trading partners and neighbor to the North, and that's just not going to happen,' Johnson said. 'This (study) is a paper exercise"

We break down the 12 charges

Graphic: We break down the 12 charges

The Power of Cook County, Illinois

Vote early and often in Cook county...... a treasured tradition!

The Power of Cook County, Illinois - The New Editor:

"In the race for the most popular votes in the Democratic Party's presidential primary contests, Sen. Barack Obama's lead over Sen. Hillary Clinton is about 711,000 votes -- not including Florida or Michigan -- according to Real Clear Politics.

Of Sen. Obama's 711,000 popular-vote lead, 650,000 -- or more than 90% of the total margin -- comes from Sen. Obama's home state of Illinois, with 429,000 of that lead coming from his home base of Cook County.

That margin in Cook County represents almost 60% of Obama's total lead nationwide.

Interestingly, Sen. Obama's 429,000-vote margin in Cook County alone is larger than the winning margin of either candidate in any state.

Chicago Dems still know how to support their candidates better than anyone else in the country..."

Victor Davis Hanson on Wrong on Wright on National Review Online

The story the MSM won't report.

Victor Davis Hanson on Wrong on Wright on National Review Online:

"Over the past four days, I asked seven or eight random (Asian, Mexican-American, and working-class white) Americans in southern California what they thought of Obama’s candidacy — and framed the question with, “Don’t you think that was a good speech?” The answers, without exception, were essentially: “Forget the speech. I would never vote for Obama after listening to Wright.” In some cases, the reaction was not mild disappointment, but unprintable outrage."

Women, Want a Healthy Marriage? Marry Man Uglier Than You, Study Says

Rep. Henry Waxman must have the BEST marriage in America.

Women, Want a Healthy Marriage? Marry Man Uglier Than You, Study Says

"The best marriages are those where women marry men who are less attractive than themselves, research has found."