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Hold on

I’m not sure that this story has made much national news but President Obama used a process known as recess appointments to put 15 appointees in place that had been on hold. This is a procedure to go around the Senate’s ability to place a hold on an appointee. The 15 appointments is exactly the same as the number that George W. Bush had appointed using this procedure by this time in his first term so before anyone goes off on how scandalous this procedure is, there is precedence for it. My concern is that some of these appointments are being held up not because a given senator has a problem with the appointee but rather they are looking for some pork for their district. One such instance of this has Carl Levin asking for a decision on promoting a brigadier Army general to the rank of major general and David Vitter placing a hold on this change for the last 5 months because Vitter wants the Army Corps of Engineers to build three projects in his state. There was also a recent appointee that was held up by one Senator only to be unanimously approved when the hold was removed.

The last bipartisan act

Good news on the last bipartisan act also know as TARP. Citibank will be paying back money with $8 million in interest paid.

Government Mortgage Backed Securities program

Over the last year and a half the government, to stabilize the housing market and the economy in general, have been buying mortgage backed securities (bundled home mortgages). They have purchased $1.2 trillion of mortgages with annual interest payments of $50 billion. If the housing market continues to recover not only will the government make money off the interest but they will also make money off the sale of these securities.

GM Again

GM has been paying back the government loan that it received last year and expects to have it paid off by mid year 2011 with a profit for the government and a stable, more productive GM.

Private industry

One thing to keep in mind when discussing free market is that the corporation is not responsible to the public. Their only responsibility is to their shareholders. As such they will do what ever it takes to increase their numbers even it that is to the detriment of the public. On the other hand, the government is responsible to the public and the taxes we pay are to cover the public good. One example of serving the public good were the regulations in place on the banks known as Glass-Steagall The removal of regulations on the banking industry were one of the major reasons for the Great Recession. Below is another example of how too little regulation can have an affect on you.

The expensive "sheep's milk" cheese in a Manhattan market was really made from cow's milk. And a jar of "Sturgeon caviar" was, in fact, Mississippi paddlefish.
Some honey makers dilute their honey with sugar beets or corn syrup, their competitors say, but still market it as 100 percent pure at a premium price.
And last year, a Fairfax man was convicted of selling 10 million pounds of cheap, frozen catfish fillets from Vietnam as much more expensive grouper, red snapper and flounder. The fish was bought by national chain retailers, wholesalers and food service companies, and ended up on dinner plates across the country.
"Food fraud" has been documented in fruit juice, olive oil, spices, vinegar, wine, spirits and maple syrup, and appears to pose a significant problem in the seafood industry.

Bold Prediction

I was checking out nbadraft.net and noticed that they are projecting Patrick Patterson going #9 overall in the June draft.

I want to go on the record that Patrick Patterson will NOT go in the lottery. In additon, I will add that I do not see Patterson going ahead of Ekpe Udoh - who the site is currently projecting at #16.

Jim Rome Is Bullshitting

A couple real whoppers from Monday's JRIB show. One from the host and one from a panelist:

"(MSU) may not be best of the remaining four but no one is hotter and that's not a coincidence because Izzo always has them playing their best when it matters most"

Fact-check:

Duke won the ACC Tournament.

West Virginia won the Big East Tournament.

Butler has not lost since December 22nd. That is a 24 game win streak.

Michigan State LOST IN THE FIRST ROUND of the Big 10 Tournament.

So, I don't know what the basis is for claming they are the "hottest" team in the tournament?

Here is the other comment which seems to lack any basis in reality:

"Butler did not necessarily advance through tough competition. They had the easiest road to the Final Four than anyone else had." --- Vincent Thomas (of NBA.Com & Slam Magazine)

Fact check:

Butler beat the #1 and #2 seeds (Syracuse and Kansas State) in their bracket!

Michigan State, on the other hand, has beaten nothing higher than a #4 seed (Maryland).

So, how does that argument hold up!?!!? (Let alone the frontal assault on grammar!)

Tab Bamford Knows Football

You're probably asking... "hey Furriners... who is Tab Bamford?" Fortunately, I am here to answer that question. He is a blogger who is making sense. I quote from his veritable posting:

On Wednesday, the Arizona Cardinals signed former Cleveland Browns quarterback Derek Anderson.

Everywhere, Larry Fitzgerald owners rejoiced.

I couldn't have set it better myself. Well, actually, I could and did. But my loyal readers already know that. I am happy to share some of the spotlight with Tab.

ESPN Thinks Brady Quinn Is Going To Start!?!? I'm Shocked.

I don't know who Bill Williamson is - but he is quoted at ESPN.Com with:

"There is no timeline for Quinn to take over, but Denver clearly sees something in the 25-year-old slinger. Again, Orton is not in immediate trouble, but teams who are completely sold on their 27-year-old quarterbacks usually don't trade for younger ones."

That said, there is also an article in which Coach Josh McDaniels states there is "no question" that Kyle Orton is the starter.

Bottom line: Brady Quinn sucks no matter how much Jon Gruden or Tony Kornheiser wish it were not the case.

Return To Glory? Yes.

Those of us who have knowledge of the Phoenix area are well aware that the Cardinals are on the downward spiral. I mean, in 2009, the Cardinals went to the Super Bowl. In 2010, they did not. That is just a fact.

So, I would be lying if I didn't admit to speculating that the Cardinals have pushed Kurt Warner out the door because of the mere possibility of acquiring Derek Anderson. That the Cardinals ended up getting Anderson for a contract that is more befitting a scrub like Charlie Whitehurst is mere gravy! Actual quote from FootballNewsNow.Com:

"Whitehurst agreed to a two year deal with the team that will pay her $5 million-per-year."

Let's just say that I don't know anyone who is questioning the genitalia or chromosome makeup of 2007 Pro-Bowl QB Derek Anderson.

So, I guess what I'm saying is: this could be the genesis of an NFL dynasty being born before our eyes. We are witnesses.

Pro Bowl QB on the Market

As expected, Derek Anderson was released today.

Not as expected was ESPN actually saying some positive things about him (ESPN personalities have generally loved Brady Quinn).

This is from James Walker blog posting at espn.com:

Anderson will likely catch on with another team quickly. He's 6-foot-6, he's young and he's got one of those rare rifle arms that make NFL GMs drool. He's also got experience with 34 career starts.

And Merrill Hoge responded to a question of his future prospects with:

"Oh, no question... there'll be interest (around the league)."

Earmarks

One thing I always loved about John McCain is his stance on earmarks. I don't understand why if he became president he vowed to "make them famous" and "you will know their names" but he can't do that as a senator. Regardless I hear frequently about how Democrats are for big government and spending the tax payer’s money. I decided to look into this a little. I thought you might find the information I collected interesting.



- The number of earmarks jumped from 3,000 in 1995 to 15,000 in 2005 (Republicans controlled both the House and Senate from 1995-2005)



- Comptroller General David M. Walker, who heads the Government Accountability Office, explained the extent of the affliction.

He calls earmarks “tainted,” saying they “corrupt the process.”

Pentagon officials told him, he said, they estimated that they received more than $20 billion in funding for projects that they had not asked for or did not need.



- In the most recent Omnibus bill the average cost of earmarks per Republican Senator was $47.10 million while the average cost of earmarks per Democrat Senator was $44.86 million.



- There has been a 25% reduction in earmarks since the Democrats regained control of Congress.



- The poorest states tend to have the most earmarks in what ends up being a personal stimulus bill for the Senators representing these states.

Did you know...

Did you know...

That the current health care proposal offered by President Obama is based off of the Massachusetts reform plan from 2006 put together by GOP hopeful Mitt Romney and both plans rely on the same MIT economist.

Did you know...

That $1,400 of every vehicle produced by GM is for employee health care which, by the way, is more than it costs for the steel that makes up the actual vehicle. These plans are better than the health care offered to congress (Lynn Rivers whose husband worked for the auto companies used his coverage instead of the coverage offered to her as a congresswoman). Funny how when we subsidize the cost of health care for people making $50,000 - $200,000 per year it's held up as the bastion of capitalism but when we subsidize those who can not otherwise afford health care with taxes it becomes something to loathe.

Did you know...

Around $14 billion a year is spent on emergency room visits for non emergency situations and that an emergency room visit typically costs around 5 times more than a standard visit. Any money not collected from the patients is paid by the rest of us.

Did you know...

That Hawaii has had a public health care plan since 1974 and yet their health care costs are the second lowest in the nation despite the fact that almost everything else there cost more (second highest home price in the nation). Also the people of Hawaii have the longest life expectancy of any state (one example: Hawaii has the nation’s highest incident of breast cancer but the nation’s lowest death rate from the disease). Hawaii has a 34% lower rate of outpatient visits to the emergency room.

Did you know...

That the Presidents current health care plan is eerily similar to the plan proposed by Republicans back in 1993.

Did you know...

Mitt Romney made the following "socialist" statements regarding health care reform:

"The basics for creating a workable, affordable system that insures everyone and keeps private insurance and personal choice intact are these: First, create incentives for those who can afford insurance to actually purchase it. … Second, create an exchange to help make buying insurance easier for individual—as opposed to corporate—buyers. The exchange lowers premiums. … Third, help the poor buy their own private insurance with a sliding-scale subsidy."

"In my view, the failures we encounter virtually every day are the result of features imposed on the health-care system that have distorted market incentives. …"

"If Americans enjoyed better health and longevity than people in other countries, it might be reasonable to argue that our excessive health-care spending is simply a rational consumer choice. But the life span of the average American is less than that of people in nations that spend far less. Japanese men outlive American men by five years; Frenchmen outlive us by three years. To put it bluntly, we spend more and die sooner."

"Confronted by the sheer magnitude of the health-care cost problem—our overspending compared to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) average is about $750 billion a year—an increasing number of observers recognize that small measures simply will not get the job done."

"I quote Dr. [Atul] Gawande's [New Yorker] article at length because it was a balanced portrait from a moment in time before the debate became politicized. …"