OK, technically the UVA admins aren't politicians, but they might as well be.
The University of Virginia has received a request under Virginia's freedom of information laws seeking documents related to the work of former university climate scientist Michael Mann.
The American Tradition Institute Environmental Law Center on Thursday asked the university to turn over documents, including e-mails Mann exchanged with other scientists while employed at the university, on behalf of Del. Bob Marshall (R-Prince William) and two other state residents.
Marshall made a similar request to the University of Virginia prior to [Va. Attorney General] Cuccinelli's subpoena. The university at first told Marshall it no longer had access to the documents he sought. But in response to Cuccinelli's subpoena, it has acknowledged that it has a backup server that contains some of the records. Oops.
Delegate Marshall has filed a bill to be considered when the legislature convenes next week to allow public employees to be terminated or otherwise disciplined if they knowingly violate public information laws. It's not nice to fool Mother Nature lie to Bob.
American Tradition Institute Environmental Law Center notes that FOIA law gives the university just one week to respond to the request. And the Va. agencies I've FOIA'd for various reasons have all done that with no whining and no problems.
If the school legally resists, it says it is prepared for a court fight. I'll order more popcorn. :-D
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
01/07/2011 13:41 ||
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"We still would have lost the election because we had 9.5% unemployment. Let's take it where that came from. The policies of George W. Bush and the Republican support for his initiatives, tax cuts are for the wealthy, recklessness by some," Minority Leader Pelosi told CNN. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...Madame Minority Leader. Kinda has a ring to it.
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/07/2011 16:33 Comments ||
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#2
Sorry Pelosi. You can only blame the previous administration for 18-24 months. After that, you own the problem fully and we will blame you. Especially after you used Gasoline to put out the fire.
#6
I, for one, think she's an inspired choice for the Democratic House Minority Leader and welcome her appearances and elucidations on their behalf in the future.
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/07/2011 18:25 Comments ||
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#7
Commodore Frank---Before they formerly declare her House Minority Leader, they need to do an environmental impact statement, with respect to toxicity.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
01/07/2011 18:45 Comments ||
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#1
To those of you Rantburgers that don't know Kass, he is a real thorn in the side of the Chicago machine. I have been reading him for over a decade and wonder how he has not been found "dead in a landfill", or at least a "forest preserve"- a unique Chicago patronage vehicle- for years now.
HT to Weasel Zippers. At least he's still the prettiest one in the marriage What's the over/under before he cheats on her?
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/07/2011 09:59 ||
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#1
Heh - Megyn Kelly just speculated there's another motive for this romantic move. He's undergoing a Grand Jury investigation whether he used campaign funds to feed/stable this horse. If they're married, she can't be compelled to testify against him. I'd go with that. He's a total dirtbag
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/07/2011 14:43 Comments ||
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#2
and I give it a year after the GJ investigation is dropped or he's in jail
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/07/2011 14:43 Comments ||
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#3
If they're married, she can't be compelled to testify against him I'd go with that.. Suddenly I understand why legalization of gay marriages is being pushed nationwide. Just marry your unindicted co-conspirator, and stay out of jail. Neat.
Sigh.... only Congress could screw up reading of a 5 page document..... They didn't for the most part.
WASHINGTON -- Republicans made history Thursday by staging the first-ever reading of the entire Constitution on the House floor. But that record may come with an asterisk: Democrats asked why original sections that later were amended, including references to slaves, were left out of the recital, and lawmakers initially did not catch that a couple of key paragraphs were omitted when two pages got stuck together. The former was done because the '3/5' rule is no longer part of the Constitution, having been superseded by the 14th Amendment.
Disputes and glitches aside, Republican and Democratic lawmakers silenced their differences over what the words of the Founding Fathers mean for today's politics long enough to spend 90 decorous minutes reciting the venerable document. 90 minutes to read a 5 page document? I think I know why they don't read the bills they vote on anymore.... There was a certain seriousness to the reading. Having John Lewis read the 13th amendment was a nice touch.
The document, long a subject both of reverence and wrangling, has never been read in its entirety in the House, and the event, coming on the second day of Republican control of the chamber, was a nod to the tea partiers who returned Republicans to power.
Tea party backers often cited the Constitution in arguing that Washington is ignoring the limits of federal power outlined in the document. The reading also skipped the 18th Amendment that was ratified in 1919 to institute prohibition of alcohol. That amendment was overturned in 1933 by the 21st Amendment. Precisely.
During the reading of the Constitution, lawmakers lined up to take their turn at the podium, with Goodlatte generally alternating speakers between the two parties. Some got to read from profound sections that describe how the new American government was to be set up and what were the rights of its citizens. Others got more prosaic sections regarding the oversight of forts and dockyards or the prohibition on office holders receiving gifts from foreign princes.
The reading of one of the clauses most familiar to Americans, the Second Amendment provision on the right to bear arms, fell to freshman Republican Frank Guinta of New Hampshire.
For the first hour of the recital the Republican side of the chamber was full, while far fewer Democrats occupied the other side. After an hour, the number of Republican listeners also declined. And some could not even take the time to listen....
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/07/2011 9:17 Comments ||
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#3
The former was done because the '3/5' rule is no longer part of the Constitution, having been superseded by the 14th Amendment.
Wrong! The 3/5's rule is part of the Constitution. As well as the the 18th Amendment is also part of the Constitution. Becuase the Founders's understood the Constitution would be an imperfect document it was deemed vital that original language not be stricken after amendment or supersedence. The Constitution is first and foremost a bedrock frame work. But it is also a legacy. And yes, at times, an imperfect legacy. For the Congress to skip portions of the document is the height of arrogance and cowardice.
#4
I respectfully disagree, DG. They read the supreme law of the land as it currently stands. I see no problem with leaving out historical sections which are no longer in force due to later amendment. They could have read those sections with a preamble such as "the following section was repealed or amended by the Xth amendment", but you and I both know that the MFM would have ignored this and gleefully claimed that the Trunks think that certain minorities are 3/5ths of a person. Since they were going to be criticized no matter what they did, I think they chose correctly.
#6
Since they were going to be criticized no matter what they did, I think they chose correctly.
PBMcL, as a political calculation, you're probably correct. Pub leadership, most likely, invisioned some race baiting reporter coaxing one of their members into saying something incredibly stupid regarding the 3/5's rule. But don't you find it a wee bit ironic that an excercise billed as a way to illustrate how legislation has drifted away from constitutional princples and twoards political expediency ommited language because it was...politically expediate?
How very Progressive of them.
#7
Personally, I think it should be left in. Both as a reminder of where we began, and also as a reminder of that Congress should avoid stepping out of line.
#8
Personally if they are going to read the constitution - then read the constitution. If they are going to read only the 'relevant' portions if the constitution then call it that.
The 3/5's rule *is* still part of the constitution. Even though it has long been repealed - it is still part of the text. Clarifying it with a 'this amendment has been repealed by...' is appropriate IMHO.
Those sections are still in there for a reason - if only as a reminder - and repealing them don't 'remove' them - it amends them.
Did they skip the 10th Amendment? Because that sure isn't being honored.
#9
Reading the 3/5 rule would have honored the Union dead buried in cemeteries surrounding the DC area.
They could have omitted the 4th amendment, since that's being actively dishonored all over the country.
#10
My thought was that even with qualification, the MFM would just edit that out and show the congresscritter reading the original (now amended) text, followed by some comment along the lines of "apparently the GOP still supports slavery" or some such. There are still a lot of people in this country who get all of their news from the MFM and wouldn't know any better.
#12
SCREW the people in this country who get all of their news from the MFM and wouldn't know any better
Whoops, my bad, they are ALREADY getting screwed.
A group of House Republicans introduced a bill on Wednesday to rein in the various "czars" in the Obama administration.
Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) and 28 other House Republicans introduced legislation to do away with the informal, paid advisers President Obama has employed over the past two years.
The legislation, which was introduced in the last Congress but was not allowed to advance under Democratic control, would do away with the 39 czars Obama has employed during his administration.
The bill defines a czar as "a head of any task force, council, policy office within the Executive Office of the President, or similar office established by or at the direction of the President" who is appointed to a position that would otherwise require Senate confirmation.
#2
Lets see.. a little smack talk about beating Obama's ass gets you an SS visit, but write a play about assassinating Bush and you get liberal praise and make money of off-Broadway.
Its like the "misunderstood youth" at these violent leftist protests that get off with a scolding -- would the same thing happen if it were violence from skinhead youth?
America needs to wake the hell up and demand EQUAL justice.
This double standard shit for the left has got to stop.
[Iran Press TV] US President Barack B.O. Obama has named a centrist with Wall Street ties as the new chief of staff, replacing the former chief Rahm Emanuel.
William Michael Daley will be the long-standing successor to the former chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, who left the administration last year in the hope of running for mayor of Chicago.
W. Daley, a longtime Illinois political activist, will now hold the chief of staff in the White House, where he will have a part in the prospective staff's access to the Oval Office and what President B.O.'s Capitol Hill agenda should be.
Daley, as a top executive at JP Morgan Chase Bank, was paid as much as $5 million a year supervising the Washington lobbying efforts for JP Morgan -- the US second largest bank. He also served on the administration board at the giant defense contractor Boeing and Abbott Laboratories -- the global drug company.
"As the chief of staff, he is the gatekeeper, and that means real power in Washington," said Ellen S. Miller, co-founder of the Sunlight Foundation.
The former commerce secretary, 62, who is not intimately connected with Obama, has a well-formed professional background, including work as a lawyer in private practice, a bank president, a telecommunications company executive, a political strategist, fund-raiser and campaign chief, a lobbyist for foreign corporations as well as a three-year period as commerce secretary in former US President Bill Clinton's administration.
However, The infamous However... Liberals may regard Daley's appointment with suspicion, arguing he has close affinities with big business and may encourage Obama to compromise too much with Republicans in a move to the political center ahead of 2012, the Telegraph reported.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/07/2011 00:00 ||
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#6
William Michael Daley will be the long-standing successor to the former chief of staff Rahm Emanuel
a little strange. He's got two years max. I figure less when Barack's narcissist bubble starts getting really squeezed in the campaign. It can't possibly be Teh One's fault that everyone figured out he's an empty-suited pussy
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/07/2011 8:11 Comments ||
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Jumpin jayzus on a pogo stick, a 3 fer. Not only is he a Chicago (machine) Daley (corruption comes with the name), he's JP Morgan, one of the biggest problems in terms of the government-banking corruption that's going on, and he is a lobbyist for strike 3.
Do we need paint by numbers for people to get the picture that Obama is probably one of the most corrupt machine pols to hold the office since the Harding or Nixon administration? He's turning the federal government into Tammany Hall.
Its Nixon that Obama seems to be coming more and more like, with his thin skin and "enemies" list, and use of the federal agencies as a personal vengeance or goon service (IRS investigations, SS visits).
#8
"William Michael Daley", also known as Bill Daley, AlGore's illustrious Campaign Manager who single-handedly cost the taxpayers big $$$ (and other stuff) by telling Gore to 'stick it out' when Uncle Al already had called Bush to concede before the Florida vote recount. Based on Daley's promptings, Sr. Gore decided to go for the recount. It was the "Chicago Way" after all.
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
01/07/2011 10:12 Comments ||
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No real surprise that a corrupt Obama puts in a corrupt Chicago politician.
#10
Hey, OldSpook, leave Tricky Dick out of this. He was a saint compared to his predecessor Lyndon Bull$|t Johnson. And then there's LBJ's predecessor John Frickin' Kennedy who won the 1960 with the help of none other than the Daley's of Chicago.
Federal regulators are investigating whether California violated securities laws and failed to provide adequate disclosure about its giant public pension fund, according to a person with knowledge of the investigation.
The Securities and Exchange Commission normally polices companies, but last year it brought its first enforcement action ever against a state, accusing New Jersey of securities fraud for misleading bond investors about the condition of its pension fund.
The commission signaled, in its settlement with New Jersey, that it was going to look more broadly at the pension disclosures of states and cities.
The fund, the California Public Employees' Retirement System, known as Calpers, lost about a quarter of its total investment portfolio during the financial crisis, leaving the state responsible for replacing billions of dollars each year and contributing to its huge deficit.
The question is whether California adequately disclosed in the preceding years how risky the pension investments were and how much money it might need to cover any shortfall. Looks like the wheels are starting to come off.
#1
The State pays into Calpers, but it's not owned by the State. The money belongs to the members, a point that has had to be made repeatedly to Governors who see it as a giant piggy bank.
#2
As a CalPers member, I get to see the leadership election nominations each term, and the slate of leaders is always dominated by union hacks. So, when they pay millions to "placement agents" for investments, who turn out to be union hacks, and take trips funded by investment groups run by union hacks to influence what crummy real estate junk they buy in New York that totally tanks, do we really need investigative reportion or the SEC to figure this one out?
#3
This is a sideshow. The SEC was asleep at the switch for years while fraudsters & conmen (e.g. the men working for Sachs of Gold) were selling crappy paper to pension funds & other investors worldwide. The SEC is supposed to police companies, but doesn't.
The money needed to cover the CALPERS shortfall is mostly due to promises CA legislators made that they didn't fund, dwarfing the portfolio loss generated by the financial crisis.
This 'investigation' amounts to going on to the battlefield and shooting your own wounded.
The ruling challenges the way lenders have traditionally foreclosed on properties -- without having all the paperwork in place at the time a home is seized. It affirms a 2009 lower court decision that invalidated foreclosures on two Springfield [Massachusetts] home. This decision has nationwide consequences. Banks may not be able to foreclose on many defaulted mortgages, and these mortgages may turn out to be worthless (to the banks, anyway). The 'Best and the Brightest' will attempt to deny or ignore the significance of this finding.
#6
The 'Best and the Brightest' will attempt to deny or ignore the significance of this finding.
IIRC they tried to get the last Congress in the dying days to pass a revision to the law to cover their malfeasance. They know they're in deep kimche. If your county assessor, treasurer and sheriff aren't owned by the local banks, unpaid back taxes could be the final nail, but would also create clean new papers.
#7
More news from the Best and the Brightest:
The discredited and deranged Senate Majority Leader Reid said tonight on ABC news: "The economy is getting better all the time" and that the Tea Party will disappear when the economy gets better.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
Federal regulators are investigating whether California violated securities laws and failed to provide adequate disclosure about its giant public pension fund, according to a person with knowledge of the investigation.
