Reapportionment, taxes and where to move

Several issues of significant proportion are brewing. One is the fact that a number of state legislatures, all blue, have voted to opt out of the electoral college and go with the popular vote, in the event of questions in a presidential election. The group proposing this has 27% of the numbers they need. A skeptical James Taranto explains the ramifications here at the WSJ:

If one or more states did so, and it affected the outcome of the election, the result would be a political crisis that would make 2000 look tame. Unlike in that case, the Supreme Court would be unable to review the matter because it would be an exercise in plenary lawmaking authority. Challenges in Congress to the electoral vote count would be almost inevitable. Whatever the outcome, it would result from an assertion of raw political power that the losing side would have good reason to see as illegitimate.

  Now it appears that reapportionment is not going to favor the blue states; it seems lots of peeps are moving from blue states to red states. Why? Because the taxes are so high in the blue states.
  The Tax Blog Prof has the details here:

Rank	State	Property Tax
1	New Jersey	$6,579
2	Connecticut	$4,738
3	New Hampshire	$4,636
4	New York	$3,755
5	Rhode Island	$3,618
6	Massachusetts	$3,511
7	Illinois	$3,507
8	Vermont	$3,444
9	Wisconsin	$3,007
10	California	$2,893
United States Average		$1,917
41	Tennessee	$933
42	New Mexico	$880
43	Kentucky	$843
44	Oklahoma	$796
45	South Carolina	$689
46	Arkansas	$532
47	Mississippi	$508
48	West Virginia	$464
49	Alabama	$398
50	Louisiana	$243

Now the American Spectator explores the possibility of movement from blue states to red states and its implications in voting:

Eight of the twelve migrating seats will arrive in income-tax-free states. Conversely, all of the states losing seats impose an income tax. Put another way, two-thirds of the added seats will go to the less than one-fifth of states that do not have an income tax and one-hundred percent of the lost seats come from states that impose an income tax.

  Apparently people are voting with their feet. A great example of this is the movement of wealthier folks out of New York to Florida. One sports team owner, Tom Golisano, admitted he was reluctant to pay almost $14,000 a day to the state of New York. Rush is well known to have moved to Florida for that very reason, and LeBron James is said to have saved $25 million by taking a gig in Florida as opposed to New York or Ohio.
  What this means is that people are determining what works for them and what doesn't when it comes to governmental policies.
  Perhaps Governor Paterson's remarks about Rush's move to Florida are most enlightening to those of us who want to control as much of our own destiny as possible:

“If I knew that would be the result,” he said after a speech Thursday morning in Midtown, “I would’ve thought about the taxes earlier.”

  It looks like Governor Paterson is getting his wish. He raised taxes and people, not necessarily all the people Paterson wants to get rid of, are moving.
  This condescending attitude is typical of those wish to control the minute details of citizens' lives, represented in dollars. 

Crazed woman assaults videographer at "unity" rally

You can read message on the shirt of the assaulter when she lifts her arm to hit the videographer. It reads"I HEART being ME." That type usually does. 

Report over at Human Events. 

Environmentalists: YOU WILL JOIN THE COLLECTIVE

Orwell's Spectre offers a response to the hideous enviro-conformist commercial that has been floating around the web the last couple days. Though the original creators have tried to remove it from the web due to its graphic and repulsive nature (originally pegged to be "humorous" believe it or not), it is surfacing in many ways, not the least of which is this REMIX:

There's commentary over at Hot Air; what is most remarkable is that the creators of this video could miss the mark absolutely so far that they couldn't see how absolutely disgusting, controlling and apocalyptic this kind of "engagement" of the public is. They couldn't see how wrong it is, which is quite revealing. Indeed, it's quite frightening.

  From Hot Air:

It doesn’t matter whether that groupthink is environmentalism, Islam, or ethnic supremacy; imposing it with threats of violence, especially in such a graphic and chilling manner, changes its nature not one whit. And issuing a non-apology “I’m sorry if you were offended” apology makes it clear that either they don’t get that concept, or they don’t care much one way or the other.

"...the flag of Islam will fly over the White House."

Do you know what shariah law is? If not, you'd better familiarize yourself with it here and here and here. Newsbusters has a small article and a quote from Christiane Amanpour's show: 

"We do believe as Muslims the East and the West will be governed by the Sharia,” Choudray. “Indeed we believe that one day the flag of Islam will fly over the White House. Indeed, there's even an oration of the Prophet where he said, ‘The day of judgment will not come until a group of my...’”

More on the rally

Washington Examiner has an excellent article regarding yesterday's rally, exposing the amount of union money that put this rally into action and the "dedication" that went into planning by union officials, not the folks. Byron York at the Examiner:

"One Nation" was scheduled to last from noon until 4:00 pm, but a lot of people headed for the exits well before the last speakers took the stage. By 2:45, when Jealous himself was at the microphone, they were streaming for the buses. As they walked, organizers herded people in the right direction. "OPEIU movin' out! OPEIU movin' out!" shouted one man, a organizer with the Office and Professional Employees International Union. The unions came, and then they left.

UPDATE: See comparison pictures of the rally here. No time is given for either photo, although it's obvious that the Beck rally is at peak. Who knows about the union rally. 

Liberal rally trash

  I bet you thought I was referring to the socialists and communists attending the liberal rally yesterday in that title. 
  No, no, I wouldn't do that. People are people and, even if they're communists, it's somewhat disrespectful to refer to them as "trash." But, of course, the literal trash is responsible for the title.
  Once again you have people, many of whom would undoubtedly claim to be "environmentalists," who do not follow the same rules they set for others to follow.
  Why is it that when liberals get together they always leave trash? 
  Loads and loads of trash, as if the minions are meant to pick up the detritus of the lords and ladies.
 Who cares about the environment.
 Who cares about the workload you leave for others.
 Who cares about recycling.
 All that matters is what YOU want at the end of the rally, which is to get outta town as fast as possible.
 These videos are from the Hot Air Pundit blog from the mall yesterday:

And the WW2 memorial:

Lots of photo evidence is available at Director Blue.

In contrast, here's video of the Mall after the Beck rally:

Back to liberals, here's video from the Obama inauguration:

  See any difference? 

  There will be lots of speculation on the number of people attending their respective rallies, the meaning of that and which way momentum has swung politically. 

  By 4:00, it was clear at yesterday's rally where the enthusiasm gap was, since the place emptied out before the speakers were finished. 

  The Beck rally was paid for exclusively by the people attending and not funded by unions or bus passage paid for by unions, socialists and communist groups. 

  Little sacrifice was involved with yesterday's attendees.

  Thus the useful idiots performed the function for which they were intended. 

  From Marooned in Marin blog:

  The union provided box lunches ended up scattered on the ground rather than the trash. 

  When you get stuff free, this is what happens to it.

  And that's probably the message behind this commentary today. 

  While the leaders of organizations and groups parade around the country in jets, touting their plans for "improving" the country and the economy, the tea partiers go to work, pick up their own trash, pay their taxes, take their kids to ball games, watch the news and choose the candidates to which they will send their dollars. 

  It costs the useful idiots nothing but a day to ride to DC to protest the tea partiers, Fox News and Republicans, since their transportation, their meals and even the shirts on their backs were provided by the machine. 

  The tea partiers paid their own way, stayed as long as they could to enjoy the unity and patriotism, their only goal being the future and good of the country. 

  Semper fi, my tea party friends. 

  And don't give up the ship.

Schakowsky: believing the Constitution is extreme

Tea partiers are "tenthers," meaning they support the X Amendment of the Constitution, which reads: 

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, not prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

This is what passes for extreme with these people.
This is why we fight. 

Liberal "rally"

  If you've watched any of the rally, you might think you've been jettisoned back to the sixties or something. There's a lot of talk about stopping the war, peace now, and rhyming by the Jesse Jackson types. Lots of lame-ass so-called regular people whining about their jobs, like they don't make enough money as teachers, lots of waving of pre-fab signs, some hateful signs like "Glenn Beck & Sarah Palin are racist" stuff. (Where's the proof of that? Still waiting. Crickets.) 
  Any "rally" that starts with Ed Schulz has problems.
  Wow. All these signs that look exactly alike being waved by people wearing the same t-shirts and screaming about non-conformity. Somehow it just doesn't work for me. If you've ever been in a union meeting, however, you know that it IS all about conformity. 
  Yet they brag their "diversity."
  Apparently diversity means color skin and conformity.
  The Blaze has updates about the size of the crowds. The crowd is definitely not the size of the Beck rally, as even the AP is reporting:

While the Beck rally stretched well down the National Mall, Saturday’s event was shaping up to be far smaller, with sparse groups lingering around the reflecting pool and other monuments.

  Soon we'll hear comparisons between this rally and the Beck rally. Did you know that over 400 organizations were involved in this rally, as opposed to the call of only Beck for unity at the feet of the Lincoln statue? 
  So a tv soap star gets up there and claims that it's a fantasy what's happening in the hinterlands, like the tea parties really don't have any sway over the country and are a media creation. 
  Harry Belafonte spews hate about the "insidious  tea parties" seeking to achieve "villainous ends." Other communists urge that people go to jail together to achieve the ends they want. LOTS of signs about the horrible Republicans.
 A bugs bunny looking AFT President Randi Weingarten screams into the microphone that all kids need a great education, which obviously isn't true if you won't fire the incompetent teachers, but one has to think listening to her, "Who would want their child to be taught by such a partisan?"
  Before the rally is over, it certainly looked like many people had already left. It was pretty empty. Why would this be? Could it be if you have to PAY someone to attend a rally, there's not a lot of real fidelity and enthusiasm for the cause. Big Government:

On October 2nd, the NAACP and national labor unions will give tens of thousands of people free bus rides, free lunches, free T-shirts and free Metro farecards as inducements to attend the One Nation Working Together rally being organized by a coalition of radical leftist organizations at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.

The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) has promised to give free bus rides from major metropolitan areas within twelve hours of D.C. The United Steelworkers are also busing in demonstrators from across the Northeast. Even the Screen Actors Guild is ‘getting on the bus.’

More at Big Government about the groups attending:

All have supported terrorists in Iraq who were killing American troops and liberated Iraqis.

Also listed as partners of the One Nation rally are the Communist Party USA; the Democratic Socialists of America; the International Socialist Organization; and the War Resisters League. 

  So here we are at 4:00, staring at empty seats and people wandering off and uninterested in the proceedings, a few left cheering for the crowd that left already. A Gollum type character is screaming from the pedestal that he is Asian, union, immigrant and openly gay (big surprise). A Latina screams into the microphone something about Latina power. Luis Gutierrez comes on to talk about how we need to talk more about gay stuff. Why are these people so eager to talk about their sexuality? Why are they so eager to divide people by their various distinctions? It's obvious they all want free stuff (REDISTRIBUTION)
  We look forward to seeing the still photos of the trash these people leave.
  How about this sign? Hillary Rodham Clinton: Lady MacDeath 
  Yeah, all in all, quite a show.

Sanchez blows up

You've probably heard about the Rick Sanchez implosion. Driscoll has audio here but more complete audio is here. The whining is pretty incredible.  Sanchez has a history of, um, erratic behavior. Probably the most interesting article, complete with links, is Brian Preston's over at Pajamas Media. Here's a taste and the link:

Well.  In the gallery of CNN hairdo Rick Sanchez’s greatest hits, hits which include killing a man while driving under the influence and saying on-air that Iceland is too cold to have volcanoes (seriously),this is the first one that may cost him his career.  During an interview with satellite radio host Pete Dominick, Sanchez called Comedy Central’s Jon Stewart a “bigot” and then upped that into a an anti-Semitic smear (and sounding a bit like a different Sanchez).

A truly disgusting eco-terror campaign

  Believe it or not, the following British video was made to encourage people to recycle,etc. regarding energy use and conservation. What it reveals is how absolutely heartless and horrible the people who are behind most of the eco-hyping are. 
  It's pretty gruesome, really, so don't have just eaten anything. 
  This video was paid for by the British government, believe it or not (again), (meaning the taxpayers paid for it) and can really be viewed as a physical threat against sane individuals who do not buy the whole "The planet is dying!" meme that so many people have made so much money on. 
  Delingpole at the Telegraph has more. 
  Watch at your own peril:

UPDATE: Another great Delingpole here at the Telegraph.

Greta takes apart Allred over maid "scandal"

This segment was pretty incredible, with Greta taking Gloria Allred to task for bringing the case against Meg Whitman that her 9 year maid who lied to Whitman and used false documents to justify her immigration status was somehow wounded  by Whitman's firing her when the illegality was discovered. Watch and wonder how Allred can be such an a$$, describing the criminal maid as "Rosa Parks."

I want your money!!!

Opens October 15@@#$#$@#$#$!!

Morning roundup

  The One, just back from the Vineyard (but not the Clinton wedding....), needs a little break. Yeah, he really said that.
  Jay Cost at Weekly Standard tries to figure if The One is really hyper partisan or just surprised that people don't want to do what he says, he being The One and all.
  Krikorian at NRO wants to know whose social security number Whitman's illegal alien former maid stole. Puh. Like that matters. Gaw. Seriously, that maid was a backstabber, wasn't she?

  The Tea Party is the leading edge of a "Great Awakening" in America.

  I like that. You can read the article over at the Washington Times. Pretty cool. We are all tea partiers now. 
  Imagine. Strickland's campaign is benefiting from his trolling of the green energy industry. Read at The Washington Examiner: "But from another perspective, the event could be seen as brazen patronage -- Strickland was subsidizing businesses with the tax dollars and the electricity bills of his constituents, and the subsidized CEOs were supporting Strickland's re-election."

Protests across Europe

This hasn't been in our news much, but there have been protests across Europe all week. In country after country, institutions and governments are going broke and having to cut back state and government employees, thus causing strikes and protests by the worker bees who cannot fend for themselves, having allowed themselves to be made slave to their state. Read at The Independent:

Ireland is very different from almost all the other fringe European societies in that it remains an inherently competitive economy. There is a huge debt hangover and there is no getting away from that. But if it were not for the property excesses and the related indebtedness, Ireland would be in pretty good shape

Governments have to cut their budgets, so they are laying off workers. Anticipating this, the unions have, of course, organized the drones to march on various capitols. Irish Times:

It was part of a series of protests organised by the European trade union movement against austerity measures being implemented in a number of countries. 

A roundup of events across Europe can be found here at this UK website, whose name is somewhat unusual:

Chaos reigned in many of Europe’s major cities yesterday as strikes against across-the-board EU and government cuts turned violent.

Cities were brought to a standstill are roads were blocked by protestors and police clashed with angry unionists. European Union buildings in Brusselswere targeted by 100,000 marchers and protests took place in Greece, Latvia, Ireland, Italy andPortugal. 

Why are we reporting this? Is this in our future? 

Barney Fwank's opponent within striking distance!!!

This is absolutely a wonderful candidate to support, if you support ANY of the various wonderful candidates around the country. There have been complaints that the national Republican committees aren't raising as much money as the democrats. That's because we are selecting our own candidates to support! Even ten bucks would be great to throw Sean Bielat's way to defeat Barney Fwank!! Washington Examiner has an article:

But Bielat is still heartened by the poll's main finding, which shows him trailing Frank by just 10 points. Frank's supporters say the lead is bigger, but Bielat believes he's within striking distance.

Ask Bielat to name the three worst things Frank has done in office and you get an idea of what his focus would be, if elected. "You've got to start with Freddie and Fannie and his unending push to expand homeownership," Bielat says. "He definitely played an enormous role in getting us where we are today in terms of the real estate bubble and the ensuing financial collapse."

Go here to throw ten bucks or more his way!