Sunday Morning News & Notes

Some things I meant to get to earlier but didn't.

-The long list of Obama's broken promises. I'm surprised it fit in one column.

-Obama said that if Syria crossed his imaginary "red line", there would be consequences. It appears they not only crossed it but leapt over it with both feet while giving him the finger. I'm guessing he's going to choose the Clinton route and launch some missiles into Syrian army targets so he has cover and can say he did something. Plus, he'd have the extra added benefit of taking the heat off himself with all these scandals going on ala Clinton when the Monica Lewinsky scandal was...um...blowing up.

-Aside from the "fuck you" aspect of Muslim organizers of a march in DC selecting 9-11 as the day, I have other issues with this march. One being the fact that Muslim's have not been harassed as much as the media would want you to believe and they really have no grievance against treatment in the US. At the same time, the leaders of that community have never come out against any of the attacks from 9-11 to Nidal Hasan. While they as a group did not plan or participate in the attacks, groups like CAIR have not exactly condemned them either. A group of bikers intend to make this anniversary of the 9-11 attacks a memorable one by organizing a huge rally on the same day. I'm sure the DC police are thrilled. Via Katie Pavlich.

-What the hell is going on in San Diego? While politicians have always come from a lower breed of human, San Diego really seems to have scraped the bottom of the barrel. Granted, this latest charge is probably bull shit but for crying out loud, my former city is a mess.

-The state of Texas gives the victims of the Nidal Hasan jihadi attack what they've earned: the status of war combatants. This is a war and Hasan said exactly that in the court room.

-Delbert Belton was a war hero. He was brutally beaten to death by two young black men. This could be the real trigger for a debate on race in America where we discuss why violence is the norm in minority community. Why are places like Chicago, Detroit and Trenton witnessing huge spikes in black on black crime? Why is the African-American community suffering through immensely higher unemployment? These are just some of the questions we could discuss and make the death of Mr. Belton a watershed moment where we actually talked about the issue openly and honestly. Instead, the media and President Obama want nothing to do with it because when they talk about race, they would rather quote MLK III who is a divider than talk about solving the problems and making us united. The media and hate pimps like Al Sharpton want no dialogue or solutions because they make their money on perpetuating hate and poverty.

-Liberal and feminist icon Camille Paglia asks what exactly has Hillary done that she deserves to be president? When you've lost Ms. Paglia...

-While I find Juan Cole a pretty detestable person, he does have a point on the NSA cases including new info that NSA staffers were cyber stalking ex-girlfriends.

The Death of the Golden State

Those who've read this blog for awhile know that I was a Californian for a decade. I lived in the most beautiful city in America--San Diego--and would not hesitate to return if I could. I love the state, it's people and the ability to do everything from ski to hike in the desert to swim in the Pacific Ocean all in one day.

That said, my former home state is dying a slow but predictable death.

Onerous government regulation has driven even the most loyal businesses out of state in a migration that has nearby states like Arizona, Oregon and Nevada reaping the benefits. Mexico has also seen a nice influx of exasperated business owners taking their wares to less oppressive climes.

From strict environmental regulation to insane tax laws, the reasons are myriad. Businesses want to stay and have developed deep roots in the state but in this economy are making the decision to pick up and go. We may be seeing another example soon:

Everything was fine until the city started running out of money in 2007. Suddenly, the city announced that it was going to ignore its own ruling and reclassify us in the higher tax category. Even more incredible is the fact that the new classification was to be imposed retroactively to 2004 with interest and penalties. No explanation was given for the new classification, or for the city's decision to ignore its 1994 ruling.

Their official position is that the city is not bound by past rulings -- only taxpayers are. This is why we have been forced to file a lawsuit. We will let the courts decide whether it is legal for adverse rulings to apply only to taxpayers and not to the city.

We work with hundreds of outside agents, consultants, independent contractors and support services -- many of whom pay taxes to the city of Los Angeles. This spurs a job-creating ripple effect on the city's economy. Yet I suspect many companies like ours already have quietly left town in the face of the city's taxes and regulations. This would help explain the erosion of jobs.

Regardless of the outcome of our case, the arbitrary and capricious behavior of some bureaucrats is creating a lose-lose situation for everyone involved. If we win in court, the taxpayers of Los Angeles will have lost because all those tax dollars will have been wasted on needless litigation.

If we lose in court, the remaining taxpayers in Los Angeles will have lost because their burden will continue to swell as yet another business moves its jobs -- and taxpayers -- to another city.

The Governator has mired the state in the worst recession seen in decades by his own policies. Instead of being pro-business or at least semi pro-business, he's taken the liberal Republican route and increased environmental regulation. He's done nothing to tackle the immigration problem and has instituted a tax policy that is so regressive as to make it socialistic.

Californians have watched home prices decline to one-half the level they once were and taxes have increased on even the smallest products. From San Francisco down to San Ysidro, inane regulations coupled with massive job losses have placed a burden on the state that will take years to get out from under.

Were a smarter approach of massive tax cuts in concert with healthy government layoffs implemented, the state would be in a much better financial situation and would still be the economic engine that drives the country. Instead it's now a third-rate state with a horrible credit rating and a really nice environmental record.

Congratulations.

Tuesday Night News and Notes

A beautiful day in America's Finest City.

Here's what's new:

The 2nd Amendment is under siege again.

In the unfathomable world of Israeli politics, Netanyahu won by losing I think.

The bailout plan is officially a joke when it draws bipartisan laughter from Congress.

America hates the Obama plan for getting us out of recession. Let's make it bigger.

Bird Dog juxtaposes two views on ice melt. I'm still confused.

Pic at right is of Sunset Cliffs in San Diego. It's one of my beautiful wife's favorite spots.