tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56284522009-11-21T07:49:32.884-06:00Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02366492659819948967noreply@blogger.comBlogger1242125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5628452.post-60972752709308998952009-09-17T18:21:00.002-05:002009-10-15T15:12:49.152-05:00

Update:Don adds: Let's hope it survives to its 223rd anniversary.

Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02366492659819948967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5628452.post-47042578963949193552009-09-13T22:13:00.020-05:002009-09-14T09:23:57.196-05:00

At Least for nowThe turnout was huge. Fox News and others report that “tens of thousands” marched and protested at the Capitol and I guess that’s true if they mean “many, many” tens of thousands. I’m not able to support the estimates I’ve seen that the crowd numbered a million or 1.6 million, but I’ve seen crowds of 100,000 or more milling in and around football stadiums, and this crowd was

Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03014548382303015678noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5628452.post-89366089266812826432009-09-10T13:56:00.004-05:002009-09-10T15:35:25.564-05:00

Tusk and Talon will be represented at the 912 Project Tea Party in Washington this weekend. As my wife explains, we didn't go to Woodstock forty years ago because we had jobs - we were working. But we're not going to miss our opportunity to go to this years reincarnation of the festival.It'll be a little different this time because our intent is to do what we can to rescue the country from those

Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03014548382303015678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5628452.post-87955654989425997392009-08-27T23:00:00.003-05:002009-08-27T23:15:49.035-05:00

My daily review of the internet world leads me to these two items. A video by Bill Whittle and a column by P.J. O'Rourke. I'd like to think that Bill--or as those of us who aren't as smart, and who is, like to call him, Mr. Whittle--is my left brain. On the other hand, P.J. O'Rourke is my right brain. You might be forgiven for thinking, "Jeff, your left brain is a conservative dude with a

Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02366492659819948967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5628452.post-30214761076893076342009-07-03T22:55:00.003-05:002009-07-14T09:33:41.084-05:00

UPDATED BELOWSarah Palin’s surprise announcement today that she would not serve out her term as Alaska governor not only interrupted the nonstop coverage of Michael Jackson’s funeral arrangements, but the media’s holiday weekend plans as well. In between high-fiving each other, they are asking why. Naturally, many speculated that there is some scandal about to break; some even question if she is

Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03014548382303015678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5628452.post-29411696913209923842009-06-30T19:09:00.003-05:002009-07-09T21:14:54.880-05:00

The Washington Times is reporting that there is a rather high correlation between domestic vehicle ownership and conservative political identification, along with a corresponding correlation between foreign vehicle ownership and liberal political identification.As you might have gathered from the title of this post, I don't find this particularly surprising. But, it does lead me to what I think

Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02366492659819948967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5628452.post-9727037586612037122009-06-28T18:45:00.000-05:002009-06-28T18:46:19.373-05:00

Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02366492659819948967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5628452.post-47263490220340603242009-06-08T22:44:00.001-05:002009-06-08T22:46:00.690-05:00

...to subscribe to them if Bill Whittle keeps putting out stuff like this.

Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02366492659819948967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5628452.post-66318715782557549742009-05-30T21:12:00.003-05:002009-05-30T22:55:47.040-05:00

The worldwide staff of T'n'T are car people. More specifically, we are Big Three car people. Watching what may be the death rattles of Chrysler, and, particularly, General Motors, has been quite difficult. For me, GM loyalty runs deep.On the paternal side, Dad was an industrial engineer with the General. So, in my youth, General Motors put food on the table, a roof over my head, and kept me in

Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02366492659819948967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5628452.post-84636031308739839072009-04-21T19:28:00.002-05:002009-04-21T19:38:54.589-05:00

I love this article on the fine line that the Fed runs when it comes to figuring out how much money to print. I like to think and, frequently, write in analogies because I think that it helps flesh out difficult concepts. And that's what this article did for me. I would say that the gist is that it may be possible for the Fed to avoid big time inflation in the coming years (though not probably

Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02366492659819948967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5628452.post-16239095396681836522009-04-15T17:31:00.005-05:002009-04-15T22:05:11.250-05:00

Chad and I made it over to the front lawn of the Iowa State Capitol for the Des Moines Tea Party. Pretty good crowd. Chad estimated maybe 3000. I thought maybe 2000 to 2500. KCCI, citing the Iowa State Patrol, agreed with Chad. The Des Moines Register, of course, came up with a much lower number.Chad and I rolled in about 11:30 AM. We walked the last couple blocks up to the Capitol with a

Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02366492659819948967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5628452.post-49891965748443235612009-04-15T14:40:00.013-05:002009-04-15T23:07:27.843-05:00

A crowd of as many as 500 angry, but well-behaved citizens gathered at the corner of 4th and Main Streets in downtown Davenport Iowa to mark this tax-filing day of 2009. Most carried hand-made signs and a few waved traditional “Don’t Tread On Me” and large American flags. There were no speakers or organized activities, but while most of the crowd milled around on one or another of the corners,

Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03014548382303015678noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5628452.post-80296810150588965552009-04-13T17:53:00.002-05:002009-04-13T17:59:54.696-05:00

Here is a really interesting column on India, briefly outlining the diplomatic successes that the Clinton and Bush 43 administrations had, and the pitfalls of the current administration's dalliances in the region.We don't hear nearly enough about India. It is the world's most populous democracy, a nuclear power, and just about a complete mystery to most Americans.

Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02366492659819948967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5628452.post-67868881175141133782009-04-03T23:20:00.004-05:002009-04-03T23:40:48.036-05:00

While Iowa's Supreme Court Justices are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the legislature, they have to stand for approval by the voters periodically in what are called "retention elections". They do not have opponents in these elections; they are simple up or down votes as to whether they should serve another term. The current justices will be up for re-approval in November elections

Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03014548382303015678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5628452.post-58510862006109057892009-03-08T13:57:00.002-05:002009-03-08T14:10:19.028-05:00

I've taken a shot at Daylight Savings Time before. One of the ways DST is sold is with some old analysis that it saved energy. I always found that odd because as my earlier post said, there is no extra hour of sunlight. It's just moved from the morning to the evening. And now, I find that perhaps my skepticism was warranted as described in this Wall Street Journal article, a new study shows

Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02366492659819948967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5628452.post-83618889517468444742009-01-20T11:15:00.002-06:002009-01-20T22:49:01.525-06:00

The Torch Passes…My congratulations and best wishes go to the 44th President of the United States as he confronts his many challenges. Overseas, there are still troops in harm’s way in two countries. While things in Iraq are looking up, Afghanistan – which is technically a NATO operation – continues to be problematic.It is ironic that initially Afghanistan was a model of success precisely because

Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03014548382303015678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5628452.post-3461155411003060362009-01-19T10:41:00.003-06:002009-01-19T11:02:46.144-06:00

The “Worst Crisis since the Great Depression”With the economy already reeling from high gasoline prices, the resultant price inflation and slowing demand, there were increasing signs that the housing bubble was ready to pop. Subprime lenders such as giant Countrywide Financial had already collapsed. Bear Stearns was bought out for $2 per share in March of 2008 and only because the US government

Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03014548382303015678noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5628452.post-58064850482982484652009-01-18T11:12:00.002-06:002009-01-18T11:18:10.243-06:00

The Home StretchThe devastating results of the 2006 election left President Bush with few options except to hoard his limited remaining political capital for the war effort. There would be no more quixotic attempts to save Social Security or to overhaul the education system. Nevertheless, there were some personnel matters to deal with.Immediately after the election, Bush finally let go of Don

Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03014548382303015678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5628452.post-90248544605977470832009-01-16T09:47:00.002-06:002009-01-16T09:52:18.340-06:00

Plummeting Approval Ratings & the 2006 ElectionIraqi WMD’s, which media revisionism had accepted as the only reason for the war, were not found in anything like the dangerous quantities that had been expected. As the war dragged on with no end in sight, Bush’s approval rating steadily fell. It stood at about 50% when he was narrowly re-elected in 2004. He decided that the key program of his

Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03014548382303015678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5628452.post-58089062218308605262009-01-14T00:33:00.002-06:002009-01-14T00:40:50.932-06:00

The Iraq WarIt is likely that history will judge President Bush on the ultimate outcome of the Iraqi and Afghan fronts of the War on Terror. If stable and non-hostile governments remain in place after American troops have gone home, the effort will probably be considered a success. The criterion that Bush appears to have selected is the continuation and expansion of democracy, as shown by having

Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03014548382303015678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5628452.post-22192145347085183442009-01-10T22:39:00.002-06:002009-01-10T22:44:22.419-06:00

Joe Wilson and Valerie PlameThrough June of 2003, President Bush was still enjoying approval ratings near 70 percent. The War on Terrorism was going relatively well. Bin Ladin was hiding in a cave somewhere, Saddam Hussein had been deposed, and casualties in Iraq were still fairly low. Bush had gained a reputation for candor, and though his words and syntax were frequently mangled, listeners

Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03014548382303015678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5628452.post-53446032486507215592009-01-08T22:44:00.005-06:002009-01-08T23:00:01.521-06:00

9/11 and Intelligence GatheringWhatever the president’s plans were when he took office, they were completely reprogrammed one Tuesday morning in September, 2001. Four hijacked passenger airplanes took out the World Trade Center, one wall of the Pentagon and, when Americans fought back, a vacant field in Pennsylvania. The nation quickly rallied behind the president’s leadership. His remarks

Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03014548382303015678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5628452.post-65438221889404851762009-01-07T20:52:00.002-06:002009-01-07T21:16:17.481-06:00

Cappucino machines. That's what some folks with the Chicago schools got caught purchasing for the school. Oh, and they bought them for several different schools so that they could avoid certain purchasing rules.Nice. And the story in the Chicago Sun Times gets the appropriate quotes about one of the involved purchasers getting fired, and two others getting otherwise disciplined for improperly

Jeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02366492659819948967noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5628452.post-46844228688657943302009-01-05T08:52:00.004-06:002009-01-05T08:57:14.791-06:00

First Term Domestic AgendaCandidate Bush had campaigned on general themes such as restoring dignity to the Oval Office, healing the ideological rifts between segments of the country and being a “compassionate conservative”. He had not had a stake in the Clinton impeachment ordeal and he had shown an ability to work with Democrats while governor of Texas. Legislation he signed during his first

Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03014548382303015678noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5628452.post-84275178162770611202009-01-03T10:03:00.002-06:002009-01-03T10:09:34.570-06:00

His Finest AchievementOn September 12 of 2001, the chances that President Bush could guide the country through the remainder of two terms in office without another attack were considered very slim. The fact that it appears that he will pull it off is a remarkable and praiseworthy achievement. It is however, one that could change without warning and over which he will have no control after he

Donhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03014548382303015678noreply@blogger.com0