February 9th, 2010, 5:07 pm by Mark Landsbaum
Today’s Global Warming Quote of the Day:
“There is a fundamental uncertainty about climate change prediction that can’t be changed.”
Who would say such a thing? Some wing-nut, right-wing, denier in the pocket of Big Oil?
Not exactly. But he’s the same guy who said the impact of global warming has been exaggerated by some scientists and there is an urgent need for more honest disclosure of the uncertainty of predictions about the rate of climate change.
Geeze, that can’t be right. Isn’t the science settled?
Well time’s up if you can’t guess. These are the sentiments of the United Kingdom’s own top government scientific adviser, John Beddington, who told these things to The Times of London.
He also said climate scientists should be less hostile to sceptics who questioned manmade global warming. He also condemned scientists who refused to publish the data underpinning their reports. He also said public confidence in climate science would be improved if there were more openness about its uncertainties, even if that meant admitting that sceptics had been right on some hotly-disputed issues.
Gee, go figure.
Oh yeah, he said this before it was discovered that the Amazon rain forest and north Africa and Netherlands doomsday predictions were as bogus as the melting Himalyan glaciers.
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Posted in: Environment • Global Warming | 5 Comments »
February 9th, 2010, 4:19 pm by by Alan Bock, Register editorial writer
I’m inclined to think Obama’s invitation to a “bipartisan” summit is more sham than negotiation. Law professor Stephen Bainbridge at UCLA thinks the “GOP Congressional delegation would be idiots to agree to serve as human stage props for a White House-controlled event that inevitably will be rigged against them. Especially because Obama is still more charismatic, smarter, and a better debater than just about anybody on the GOP side. Wrong but sharp.”
Megan McArdle notes that the Republicans are doing pretty much the same as the Democrats did when Bush proposed a Social Security commission — demanding as a precondition to negotiating that the central premise of the proposed reform be abandoned.
Posted in: Congress • National • President Barack Obama • White House • government transparency • Megan McArdle • Stephen Bainbridge | 4 Comments »
February 9th, 2010, 4:17 pm by Mark Landsbaum
Toyota is stumbling. Today the Japanese car maker added more than 400,000 Prius to its tale of woe. They are being recalled.
We want to know if Prius drivers must return their smugness with the auto. Imagine the humiliation being relegated now to the regular freeway lanes! Argh, the humanity! We thought being green meant never having to say you’re sorry. Are they sorry now?
Seriously, we feel badly for these folks. Especially this winner.
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Posted in: California • Policy | 1 Comment »
February 9th, 2010, 4:02 pm by by Alan Bock, Register editorial writer
It was a great weekend for those who see most political actors, including the so-called party-challenging mavericks, as mediocrities (at best) dealing in trivialities and the superficial. Sarah Palin, queen bee of the Tea Party movement, was revealed to have had crib notes written on her hand, rather like a fifth-grader facing a social studies test. The publicity about it was overblown — lots of politicians carry notes, just usually not right on their hand — but she has, after all, made something of a career of criticizing Obama for using a teleprompter, so perhaps what’s good for the gander . . .
Perhaps that wasn’t enough to convince us that our putative rulers are juveniles and/or morons. So presidential press secretary Robert Gibb made sure the press saw crib notes — or a pre-blizzard grocery list? — written on his hand, consisting of eggs, milk, bread (crossed out), hope and change.
Posted in: Culture • Democrats • Republicans • Tea Parties • mediocre politicians • Robert Gibbs • Sarah Palin | 4 Comments »
February 9th, 2010, 2:36 pm by Brian Calle
The Citizen Power initiative otherwise known as the paycheck protection ballot proposition needs some momentum to collect the number of signatures required to get it on the ballot this year.
I support the initiative and hope it gets the signatures needed but as the Red County blog notes big donors have yet to step up to the plate to help push it along.
At this point, if it is going to make it, we are going to have to see a grass root tidal wave push it through.
Make no mistake about it though, this will be the most important initiative on the ballot should it qualify.
Posted in: California • Paycheck protection | Post a Comment »
February 9th, 2010, 1:10 pm by by Alan Bock, Register editorial writer
President Obama made a surprise appearance at the White House briefing room today, turning a routine Robert Gibbs briefing session into an impromptu press conference, the first since July. He gave overly long answers to the few questions he took, stressing his theme for the week, getting together with Republicans to try to see if they can’t make progress on some kind of health-care reform. But he made it pretty clear that scrapping what the House and Senate cobbled together and starting over is not the game plan. I don’t see much coming out of it, with the possible exception of a watered-down bit of litigation reform as a scrap to throw the Republicans — and even that, I suspect, is a long shot.
Obama also called for Senate Republicans to stop blocking his nominees for various positions, saying he will make recess appointments (as Bush did a few times) if they continue to be blocked. Alabama Sen. Shelby, who has placed a hold on a lot of nominees, said he would release the holds. I’m thinking he and Obama had worked that out before the press conference. Wonder what Shelby got for it.
I think it’s fascinating that Obama hasn’t done the math and quietly (though not publicly) abandoned efforts to get Democratic-style health care reform done. Continuing the effort may play to the base, but it seems most unlikely to be successful and working on a jobs bill — not that I would be likely to favor what he has in mind — more likely to be successful and popular.
Posted in: Congress • Health and Wellness • National • President Barack Obama • government transparency • health care compromise? • Obama press conference | 3 Comments »
February 9th, 2010, 11:57 am by Mark Landsbaum
Check tomorrow’s editorial page for our formal take on this latest Sacramento tax scam.
For now, here’s the gist: some say companies should collect withholding taxes when paying independent contractors.
As we note tomorrow, “Withholding taxes is deceptive and onerous to begin with. We prefer taxpayers be billed once a year. Writing an annual humongous check would build more momentum for tax cuts than holding tea party rallies every day. If the full burden of taxes was obvious, taxpayers wouldn’t stand for it. That’s why government prefers the incremental drip, drip of forced tax withholding from employee paychecks.”
But our esteemed leaders (tongue firmly in cheek here) are considering forcing companies that hire contractors to withhold 3 percent of their pay to give to the government.
This would be interest-free loans from taxpayers. The state would get the money sooner than in quarterly payments. And there still wouldn’t be a deadline to refund over payments. Remember last year’s delayed refunds and IOUs?
This is a horrid idea for companies, the contractors they hire and it’s not even much of a boon for our friends in Sacramento who wouldn’t get any more in tax revenue, but would get it sooner. And of course, they’d get the interest the real owners of the money could have been earning.
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Posted in: Budget • California • Policy • Tax • Taxes | 2 Comments »
February 9th, 2010, 10:11 am by Brian Calle
From the Whitman Campaign:
“Orange County Supervisor and Former Assembly Republican Leader Says Whitman Will Bring “Focused, Confident Leadership” To Sacramento for governor.”
Posted in: California • Governor • Whitman Poizner | 3 Comments »
February 9th, 2010, 6:30 am by Brian Calle
California State Senate pro Tem Darrell Steinberg discussed his version of “pension reform” on the Ronn Owens’ radio show on KGO.
It is good that the senator is looking to reform public employee pensions somehow, but the interview demonstrates a lack of understanding about the scope of the problem and a timidity in dealing with the issue–i.e. having a showdown with the unions.
Posted in: California | 5 Comments »
February 8th, 2010, 5:05 pm by Brian Calle
At an emergency board meeting tomorrow, the fair board will consider adopting a resolution opposing the sale of the Orange County Fairgrounds.
As of now, the decision rests in the hands of the governor’s administration. Whether or not he will approve the bid for the property is yet to be seen, though I suspect he will accept it and hope he does.
Posted in: Uncategorized | 3 Comments »
