MaxRedline

Goool-ly! What A Surprise!

Interest on "auction-rate" bonds is going up!  Who'd'a thunkit?  And according to the big O, it's smacking the city of Portland around:

Since Feb. 6, the city of Portland has seen the interest rate on its $150 million in auction bond debt increase from 3.6 percent to 4.47 percent. Market unpredictability could force it even higher.

Unwilling to put up with that kind of volatility, the city has opted to convert the $150 million in auction rate bonds to fixed-rate securities. But stability comes at a price.

Eric Johansen, Portland's debt manager, predicted the city will have to pay 5 percent to 5.5 percent, meaning that the annual payment on that portion of the debt will jump from about $5.25 million to as much as $7.87 million.

Another $150 million of the city's debt will be repriced next week.

Well, at least the brain-trust at the city hopes they can be re-priced next week.  It's not as though the warning signs of the danger behind their profligate borrowing of hundreds of millions to finance their pet projects haven't been around for a while.  Doesn't matter, though: they'll keep whipping out your credit card to fund more trams and trains.

Unsurprisingly, The Washington Post Gets It Wrong

Boldly headlined, "Anti-Immigrant Effort Takes Hold in Md.", another stupid lamestream media outlet tries to convince readers that there's some deep-seated "anti-immigrant" sentiment sweeping the country - when they know full well that nothing could be further from the truth.  They bemoan the fact that subscription rates are in free-fall, yet fail to address the fundamental reason underlying that fact:  why on God's green earth would any rational person pay money to subscribe to a media outlet that they know will simply print lies whenever an opportunity to do so arises?

There was a time when journalism actually meant something.  There was a time when that was an honorable profession.  Those days are long gone.  "Journalists" today aren't in it to report facts; ask any journalism student (or Jonathan Nicholas, over at The Oregonian) why they've chosen the career, and they'll most often reply, as noted plagiarist Nicholas has: "Because I want to make a difference".

1985
May--Columnist Jonathan Nicholas is suspended without pay for "representing material from the New Yorker Magazine as his own," Hilliard writes in a letter to Oregonian readers. A Nicholas column on May 15 had plagiarized a "Talk of the Town" item from the May 6 New Yorker concerning events in Nicaragua.  - Willamette Week, 25 year issue

What Jonathan and his pals fail to recognize is one simple, undeniable truth:  wanting to make a difference is absolutely antithical to the basic premise of journalism.

The desire to make a difference means that you lie, or plagiarize, or do whatever else it takes to get your superior perspective or ideology across to the great unwashed masses.  And that, my friend, is not journalism; it is nothing more nor anything less than simple propaganda.  Don't bemoan your plummeting subscription rates, and don't cast aimlessly about for possible causes.

The cause looks back at you, each time you glance into a mirror.

Michael Savage Theory Confirmed?

Shock-jock Savage says a lot of outrageous things, and among his more flamboyant claims is the statement that liberalism is a mental disorder.  He comes across as such an angry guy that the popularity of his radio show in some circles seems to defy rational explanation.  However, his claim regarding liberalism has received a shot of credibility from - of all people - a respected forensic shrink.  Dr. Lyle Rossiter has, over a period of three and a half decades, diagnosed and treated more than 1,500 patients as a board-certified clinical psychiatrist and examined more than 2,700 civil and criminal cases as a board-certified forensic psychiatrist.

His view?  "The roots of liberalism – and its associated madness – can be clearly identified by understanding how children develop from infancy to adulthood and how distorted development produces the irrational beliefs of the liberal mind."

That's got to be an interesting read.  Can't wait for the book to hit the used market or the local library.  It does conform in some respects to personal observation of the really far-left liberals who literally fly off the handle and start foaming and spitlling whenever Bush, the military, or some other hot-button item hits them.  They really are not rational.  And boy, are they ever easily-insulted!  Infantile seems a descriptive term.

Business Is Booming

In Sacramento, anyway - where German fabricator Siemens built a new streetcar manufacturing plant about two years ago.

America is discovering public transportation. Light rail, a collective term for urban rail systems and streetcars, is becoming the mantra of a reorientation of the country's infrastructure. Almost 30 American cities have introduced new streetcar systems, and 50 more have either begun construction or announced plans to emphasize light rail transportation in the future.

Actually, it's not so much that America is discovering public transportation - rather, politicians and "planners" have found that shiny new trains are just the thing to throw billions of public tax dollars at.  Cars and trains don't really coexist well; here, we see a late-model Grand Prix pulling into a subterranean light rail station beneath the Oregon Zoo.  As you may notice, it's not entirely a good fit.   

Here's what the same platform is supposed to look like - although it never does.  The station most often resembles the view presented during the arrival of the Grand Prix.  The reason why the station is a hubub of activity in the second shot is easy to explain:  the lighted "destination" sign in the window of the light rail train clearly indicates that this is no ordinary trip - it's a charter.

Oddly, you'd never know by looking at the image that the light rail "trains" in Portland consist of two cars.  There's a reason for that:  because the "planners" chose to route the fixed-rail lines through downtown Portland, which has a uniquely small "block" size, no more than two cars can be accommodated in the space of any single block.  When you hear about "packed" trains and "standing room only crowds" massing aboard the trains, bear in mind that you're hearing about two cars - each slightly longer than a non-articulated city bus.

In any case, business is booming!  Siemens is generating a lot of new jobs for residents of the Sacramento, California area, while Metro, Portland, and TriMet conspire to send the German giant billions more of your dollars.

A Little Something Different

Digital photos are cool enough, but don't you sometimes wish they could convey a bit more of the experience of that special sight or place?  Try going 3-D.  Oh, sure, there are programs that you can buy and mess around with to sort of add a 3-D sense to an image, but let's face it: they take a lot of time to master and you need a really seriously high-powered machine to do the job.  There's a better way:  the fine folks at Stanford bring you the power and the heavy-duty algorithms you need to get the job done.  Just sign up, upload your image, and let their systems do the work.

We're Being Too Tough On Illegal Aliens

At least, that's what the LA Times (the left coast's New York Times) would have you believe.  Judge James H. Payne wrote that illegal immigrants do not have the right to sue: "An illegal alien, in willful violation of federal immigration law, is without standing to challenge the constitutionality of a state law, when compliance with federal law would absolve the illegal alien's constitutional dilemma."

Isn't that terrible?  A judge who actually understands and upholds law?  Why, there's just no telling what other horrific denials will be foisted upon illegal aliens after this.  If it keeps up, they may have to go back to their homes.  This sort of thing is entirely unacceptable:

That illegal immigrants living in the United States place an economic burden on schools, hospitals, prisons and other public services is undeniable, but it's also true that they contribute to our economy and our society in myriad ways. Bullying them into leaving is counterproductive and downright mean.

How can you not feel sorry for them?  Aren't you ashamed?  You, you...why, you're probably a white nativist racist - and a homophobe, too, I bet.  You people who don't want open borders have not a drop of common human compassion in you, because you want to deny these friendly, happy, hard-working citizens (of other countries) all of the rights and benefits to which citizens of the USA are entitled.  And everybody knows that citizens of the USA are fat, lazy, mostly white guys who just want to sit on their big fat butts all day long, watching tv.  They don't want to get out there and do the jobs that our happy, hard-working citizens (of other countries) are eager to do, simply in exchange for the honor of being here (and sending most of their illegally-earned money back home while they drive illegally, work illegally, are here illegally, and avail themselves of our hospitals, our schools, and our general geniality).  If you don't like open borders, you're just a bully.  And a meanie, too.

The Little Missus, Fading

Even Mrs. Clinton's most ardent supporters are beginning to get a little queasy, as recent data indicate that while Obama's raking in campaign cash hand over fist, the Little Missus is in the red - and that's counting the $5 million loan she made to her campaign.  That silence you hear is the sound of checks not being written.

“The problem is she ran a campaign like they were staying at the Ritz-Carlton,” Mr. Trippi said. “Everything was the best. The most expensive draping at events. The biggest charter. It was like, ‘We’re going to show you how presidential we are by making our events look presidential.’ ”

Ran?  As in past-tense?  How very interesting.

Mrs. Clinton has based her campaign upon "35 years of making change" and "a lifetime of proven results".  And of course, as noted above, a lot of cash spent opulently.  Apparently, Mrs. Clinton would like you to believe that ever since she graduated from college, she has done nothing but "make change".  Ironically, it seems to have escaped her that a high-school dropout working as a cashier at a fast-food restaurant can make an identical claim.

As for her "lifetime of proven results" - that's pretty sparsely populated, unless you want to add in her failed health-care plan, Travelgate, and dealing with her husband's "bimbo eruptions".  And those aren't the kinds of "proven results" one generally looks for when reviewing applicants for any job of importance.  Her performance in the most recent debate against Obama left little doubt as to how far she's fallen: 

Clinton's only attempt to get tough was a crack about Obama borrowing lines from Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick — an argument pressed by her campaign this week, with little apparent effect.

"Lifting whole passages from someone else's speeches is not change you can believe in, it's change you can Xerox," Clinton said, eliciting a chorus of boos.

This was supposed to be a simple coronation, not a race.  A funny thing happened on her way to the throne, though: Mrs. Clinton was directed to the one in the ladies' room, rather than to the one in the Great Hall.

Recycling

Jack Bogdanski was kind enough to recycle a few of the musings from this blog, and as a white boy myself, I simply must continue the recycling process.

Recycling is a part of a larger theme of stuff white people like: saving the earth without having to do that much.

If you are in a situation where a white person produces an empty bottle, watch their actions. They will first say “where’s the recycling?” If you say “we don’t recycle,” prepare for some awkwardness. They will make a move to throw the bottle away, they will hesitate, and then ultimately throw the bottle away. But after they return look in their eyes. All they can see is the bottle lasting forever in a landfill, trapping small animals. It will eat at them for days, at this point you should say “I’m just kidding, the recycling is under the sink. Can you fish out that bottle?” And they will do it 100% of the time!

A Streetcar Named Desire

Oh, sorry - that would be a streetcar named Sam.  You may remember him: the Portland city commish running for Mayor who envisions a city as it was in the 1920's.

He's great at finding ways to divert your tax dollars to fixed rail.  Roads?  Not so much.  Sam and outgoing mayor Potty have been doing a wonderful job of "visioning" Portland back into the last century.

Sure, you love your granola, and your Birkenstocks.  That's fine.  How do you plan to get them when the roads that take the trucks to your favorite natural/organic store can't be used?

Think Sellwood Bridge.  Gee, even TriMet can't send a bus over there.  Everybody's arguing about how to fix the problem.  Nobody has any money.

But they're all set to spend about a billion dollars on a brand new bridge for (surprise!) light rail and bicyclists.  It may take buses as wll, but not trucks or cars.  Because, well, trucks and cars are just wrong.

Fortunately, The Planet Is Now Cooling (And It's All Your Fault!)

This cooling phase may be happening just in time, so you're to be commended for your efforts to turn the planet into a sort of global icebox.  Keep up the good work!  If the temperatures weren't turning colder, now (by the way, we don't talk about "global warming" so much any more - the preferred term today is "climate change".  It's still All Your Fault) then these doggone pythons would be eating and squirming their way clear up to San Francisco!

Your dedicated efforts to shave the planet may yet stop them in their slithery tracks, and save countless lives.  You can imagine what would happen if the pythons reached San Francisco.  The nuts there would doubtless proclaim the first arrival as their new mayor, but it'd all go downhill from there.

Or down gullet, or whatever.