Taxpayer Money Earmarked for SC End Up in CA

Because there still are a few idiots who think that Government can efficiently manage $2.5 trillion dollars... Earmark meant for the library in Jamestown, SC, ends up in Jamestown, CA. Which doesn't even have a library. Government efficiency at its best.

Read here the full story.

Chris Christie Names Liberal Paula Dow for AG

Governor-elect Chris Christie named today Essex County Prosecutor Paula Dow as his AG.

For many, it's just another disappointing move from Christie. Dow is a Democrat, and is known as a bleeding-heart liberal. Her record shows she's just one of those liberals who are reluctant to prosecute crime, for various social reasons. Here are some examples (I'm sure many more will surface in the following days):

September 2009 - A man whose long and violent record includes killing a witness to one of the bloodiest crimes in Newark's modern history was sentenced just on weapons charges, to a maximum 10 years in prison. Paula Dow agreed to drop the murder charge and recommend Michael Melvin be sentenced to no more than 16 years in prison.

August 2007 - Dow declined to arrest the suspect in a schoolyard shooting that left three college students dead. The NY Times article highlights the strained relations between police (that gets criminals off the street) and prosecutors (that lets them back on the street) in Newark:
Some officials in Newark Police Headquarters and City Hall, who have complained in the past about Ms. Dow’s reluctance to make arrests in murder cases that rely on a single eyewitness.
This is not acceptable in a very high crime area lie Newark.

June 2009 - She failed to get a indictment against Jose Gabriel Vega, who shot a man last year in Newark.

Obama Encouraging More Irresponsible Behaviour

In a meeting with bankers today, Obama implored top bankers to increase lending.

So after a recession caused by a credit crisis created by easy money, foreclosures and other loan defaults, how can this ignorant idiot keep a straight face while telling banks: "You gotta lower your lending standards even more, guys".

About Raising the Debt Ceiling

The Congress Democrats are planning to raise the debt ceiling by a staggering $1.8 trillions as soon as possible, so they don't have to do it before the 2010 elections. I previously heard the argument that they'd have to do it no matter what, and there's no way they can't do it.

Really? Can't they? So what if the debt ceiling is not raised? I mean, there are people who were foreclosed, and had their credit card accounts cancelled... What do they do, the first thing? They stop spending. Wouldn't that be an interesting exercise? To see what the Government would do when they reach the legal debt limit (think of it as the credit card limit) and they can't go over it?

Eco-Hypocrites Converging on Copenhagen

This is a very comprehensive article about the eco-hypocrites:
Taking the private jet to Copenhagen

Examples:

• Sheryl Crow, leading a Stop Global Warming concert tour across America. It was revealed that while Crow travelled in a biodiesel tour bus, her 30-person entourage followed in a fleet of 13 gas-guzzling vehicles.
• John Travolta produced in 2006 an estimated 800 tons of carbon emissions, more than a hundred times the output of the average Briton.
• Harrison Ford makes do with a smaller Cessna Citation Sovereign eight-seater jet, four propeller planes and a helicopter.
• U2 is estimated to produce the carbon equivalent of the annual emissions of 6,500 British homes.

Stimulus is Working in NJ

The Obama administration set up a website, Recovery.gov, to track stimulus spending throughout the country, and its results, especially the numbers of jobs saved. It's an extensive operation, financed with about $84 millions, and it's almost a real-time aggregation of various data, sortable by zip codes, congressional districts, industries, etc.

I looked at the New Jersey page, and the data is very encouraging. 384 jobs were saved in the 40th congressional district! 3 millions spent in the 17th district! That's great news!! There's only one problem. New Jersey only has 13 congressional districts. So what's going on here? Is it a programming error, or a way to hide spending?? Obama's website shows that $5,637,012 has been spent in the 15th district, and $7,095,859 more in the 0th district. Wouldn't that be called "money laundering"??

Despite this data being publicized in recent days (it applies to almost every state), there was no official explanation from the White House, and no attempts to fix it.

NJ Congressional Races in 2010

Now that the election is over and NJ turned red, it's time to start thinking about winning back the Congress next year. It is supposed to (finally) be a good year for Republicans, and many incumbents are vulnerable. I looked over the NJ congressional races, and here's a summary:

Most vulnerable:
NJ-3: John Adler (Jon Runyan??)

Vulnerable:
NJ-6: Frank Pallone (no challenger yet)
NJ-12: Rush Holt (Mike Halfacre)

Potential:
NJ-8: Bill Pascrell (Ian Walsh)
NJ-9: Steve Rothman (Steve Lonegan??)

Note that Mike Halfacre is the only established challenger so far. Ian Walsh just announced he's running. Former Eagle Jon Runyan said he's just considering. Steve Lonegan said that the world must end before he's running for Congress, but the rumors are hot.

Adler seems to be the most obvious target. Don't be deceived by his vote against the healthcare bill. He narrowly won in a strongly Republican district, maybe he was trying to save his job, but he's still a Dem. I'd say NJ-3 should be ours, if we can take 1-2 more seats in NJ, it would be a huge victory. We need at least 30 nationwide.