Constant Conservative

Full disclosure: I have several lawyers in my extended family. With that said, I find the following AP article rather funny:

There are about 1,500 lawyers in [South Dakota]. Most of them are located in Sioux Falls, Rapid City, Aberdeen and Pierre.

Our lovely state has a population of about 800,000 people (the same population, roughly, as San Fransisco). Given the number from the article, that means we have one lawyer for roughly every 533 people.

The total population for the cities mentioned above (if one includes the MSA for each) is approaching 400,000 people. Therefore, it is not so strange that 3/4ths of the state’s lawyers are located in the cities which make up 1/2 the state’s population.

Beside which, I have yet to see someone (outside of the justice quoted in the article) who believes that having more lawyers will somehow help the overall situation. Remember, a dearth of lawyers does not necessarily mean the death of the law.

I was previously unaware that a sitting member of the US Senate had been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. It would appear that Senator Bunning of Kentucky is such a man. He came under fire this week because of his refusal to let an extension of unemployment benefits be voted on unless the cost of the bill was to be offset elsewhere.

Some folks are quite unhappy with his actions:

Sen. Jim Bunning (R-Ky.) should be ousted from the Baseball Hall of Fame because of his block on extending unemployment benefits, according to a group that advocates for the unemployed.

The benefits expire Sunday.

“The most obscene thing he can do is prevent jobless Americans from getting their $350 a week unemployment check,” Rick Sloan, acting executive director of Ur Union of Unemployed, a grass roots organization for unemployed Americans, told The Hill.

Hear that? The senator is “preventing jobless Americans from getting their … check.” It would appear that the speaker of the particular quote does not understand that there is no ownership in the equation. If the employers paid unemployment insurance premiums (taxes by another name) to cover those who became unemployed, it was done so with the understanding that the benefits would expire after a given time (and generally at the point where the premiums dollars were used up).

Now, while I may object to the means by which unemployment payments are made, I understand that they are done so in accordance with current law. There is, however, no requirement that the payout term which is to expire tomorrow be extended.

All of that aside for a moment, there is this little thing called “paygo” which is short for “pay as you go.” You and I understand it in the context of spending the money which we have. Congress is to do the same based on some rules on which the members recently agreed. Therein lies Senator Bunnning’s  argument. He believes that this bill could be passed–as long as the money for doing so is found elsewhere and the paygo rules are followed. The sticking point–there are a number of exceptions to paygo. One simple one (by comparison with some of the other exceptions) is that the rules may be suspended in an emergency.

Of course, this means that all one has to do is wait for anything to become an emergency and then paygo is bypassed and spending continues without regard to actual funds on hand.

Everyone has known for months that the unemployment benefits–which have already been extended once or twice–were to run out tomorrow. Why is the vote on this only coming up now? Couldn’t one see a few weeks ago that the economy was unlikely to make itself so much better in the short term that unemployment numbers would drop precipitously–negating the basis for more benefits?

So, keep in mind as you read about the heartless Senator Bunning that he is trying to (much like years ago) play by the rules. Here is hoping that some of his fellows will follow his lead in this regard.

Deer losing sanctuary because of population. (KELO)

Hard for local folks to be objective on killing of deputy. (KSFY)

Mixed conditions for state pheasant population. (Mobridge Tribune)

Playing with the numbers to keep the state unemployment account out of the red. (Capitol Journal)

In honor of the summit today, I thought it would be of benefit to have a few views of the situation from some of the voices on the conservative/libertarian side of things:

Legal Insurrection thinks that the summit is indicative of the “fight coming to a head” and thinks that:

Obama’s plan is neither a starting point nor an endpoint. It is a dead end of government expansion paid for with borrowed money and developed through a process in which Democrats have refused to consider alternatives to bigger government.

His encouragement to Republicans? Don’t be bullied.

Melissa Clouthier calls the summit a “power play” on the part of the President:

The President will get up in front of Republicans and say that they’re obstructionist. The President will make bold statements that force grin-and-bear-it Democrats to go along to get along.

Her encouragement for Republicans? This isn’t about you.

Heritage (via Conn Carroll) finds that this summit is a bit of a sham:

That means the White House must convince a sizeable chunk of conservative Democrats to switch their votes. Brown University political scientist James Monroe says that is the true purpose of today’s event: “House Democrats have told Obama, ‘Move the needle on public opinion,’ and that’s what this is about.”

His encouragement to Republicans? A majority of Americans are not in favor of any of the Democrat’s proposed plans for changing the health care system.

Michelle Malkin is covering things live. Here are her comments (and realtime video of the unfolding events).

CATO is also doing live coverage with full audience interaction.

Whatever the outcome of today’s discussion, I’ll make the following prognostication: The President will claim victory, the Democrats will claim victory and the Republicans will claim victory.

South Dakota asking the President for more cash from his stash. (KSFY)

State residents are above average–when it comes to drinking alcohol. (KELO)

Legislative interns ban the death penalty. (Capitol Journal)

Johnson agrees with those who wish to change Senate rules, permitting a simple majority to rule. (Argus Leader)

From SeaWorld we have this sad story:

An official says 40-year-old Dawn Brancheau is the trainer killed by a whale at SeaWorld in Orlando.

[...]

The whale is also believed to have been involved in two other deaths.

If the whale is believed to have been involved in two other deaths (of humans, I’m assuming) it should have been killed already. The thinking behind not doing so is wrong and entirely based in an incorrect understanding of nature.

One is reminded of the girl killed by coyotes who had apparently lost their fear of humans.

Update

Joseph Bottom has some parallel thoughts:

The ironies here are so manifest that only willfulness explains how they are ignored: The animals have the rights of humans, except when they, like, you know, kill humans. McArdle is right to talk ironically about liability lawsuits. As Wesley Smith would say, a rat is a pig is a dog is a boy, as long as that constrains the boy—and not the rat or the pig or the dog.

I’ve been vaguely uncomfortable with the entire Tiger Woods apology affair. I think what triggered it (my discomfort) was an article in paper which listed a number of people who had never so much as met the man and yet were saying that they accepted his apology and that it was time to move on. I thought something along the lines of “Huh? What? On what basis do you accept something that cannot be yours?”

Now, I see that Thomas Sowell has also been thinking about the issue of public apologies and has some eminently repeatable things to say:

Public apologies to people who are not owed any apologies have become one of the many signs of the mushy thinking of our times. So are apologies for things that other people did.

Among the most absurd apologies have been apologies for slavery by politicians. For one thing, slavery is not something you can apologize for, any more than you can apologize for murder.

If someone says to you that he murdered someone near and dear to you, what are you supposed to say? “No problem, we all make mistakes”? Not bloody likely!

He gets better:

Aimless apologies are just one of the incidental symptoms of an increasing loss of a sense of personal responsibility — without which a whole society is in jeopardy.

The police cannot possibly maintain law and order by themselves. Millions of people can monitor their own behavior better than any third parties can. Cops can cope with that segment of society that has no sense of personal responsibility, but not if that segment becomes a large part of the whole population.

Go and read it all.

If anyone reading this was directly damaged by Mr. Woods actions, then he needs to personally apologize to you. If you are reading this and feel hurt by what he did–yet have no relationship with him whatsoever–barring that of fan, please consider that your hurt may stem from an unwise investiture on your part.

No change to the food tax. (Aberdeen News)

Keeping the fair alive with regular infusions of taxpayer cash. (Huron Plainsman)

Not a chain gang, but it gets work done and saves the city money. (Capitol Journal)

Ditchweed may become legal to burn in South Dakota? (KSFY)

We hear much these days of unfunded this and unfunded that. One of the mammoth concerns regarding the latest proposed health care legislation direction is the question of who will pay. Leaving aside the future laws which may be passed, we have some issues on hand right now. Once again, California provides us with an outstanding example (via Betsy’s Page) by Mark Tapscott:

Maybe there really is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, at least if you are one of the nearly 10,000 retired California public sector employees pulling down tax-paid pensions of $100,000 or more.

A total of 6,133 of the members of the “$100,000 Pension Club” are covered by the infamous CALpers system that critics often cite as among the most politicized and mis-managed public retirement programs in the country. You can see all of the names of the individuals in the club and their monthly and annual stipends here.

Be prepared for a shock, though, because you may not believe the numbers you find. The top 10 CALpers retirees include Bruce Malkenhorst whose $499,674 annual pension puts him on top of the list. Then there’s Joaquin Fuster at $296,555, in second, and Donald Gerth in third with $278,054.

Nearly half a million annually from a taxpayer funded pension for the top person. That’s cause for outrage. No, I’m not expressing class envy here. I’m stating a fact. California is so close to bankruptcy that it simply cannot continue to spend money (which unlike the federal government, it cannot print). Granted, a half a million is a small thing compared with the California deficit, but it is something.

Interestingly enough, Bruce Malkenhorst has a bit of public history. He was apparently (according to Forbes) one of the those who ran things in the very small town of Vernon, CA:

Only 92 people live in Vernon. There are no parks, schools, libraries, health clinics or grocery stores. The only four restaurants close by 4 p.m. By sundown the 44,000 workers who commute here have all fled the stench.

Vernon’s leaders like it that way. California’s tiniest city, if you want to call it a city, is one of the nation’s most lasting and efficient political machines, run almost entirely for the benefit of a handful of rarely opposed, extremely well-paid politicians. Vernon should have been subsumed long ago into the surrounding city of L.A, but its independence is a strange and stark example of how a democracy can become a dynasty.

Vernon is run by two families: the Malburgs and the Malkenhorsts, neither of which agreed to be interviewed. The bespectacled Leonis C. Malburg, 77, whose grandfather founded Vernon in 1905, has been mayor for 33 years. Bruce Malkenhorst, 71, was for 32 years the city administrator as well as clerk, finance director, treasurer, redevelopment agency secretary and chief executive of the utility Vernon Light & Power. The city was reportedly paying him $600,000 a year, more than twice what L.A.’s mayor earns, until he resigned all posts unexpectedly and without public announcement in 2005. By most accounts Malkenhorst still pulls the strings. His appointed successor is his 42-year-old son, Bruce Jr.

Go read the whole piece.

I am by no means castigating all who would get benefit from public pensions. I am a firm believer in working hard to excel and get ahead. I am also a firm believer that government–at all levels–should work for the citizens and that, as such, the public servants should be held to strict accounting for how they spend the taxpayer’s funds–and that includes pension funds like California’s.

Howie don’t get good press to run for governor. (KSFY)

City must cut spending if revenue is down. Good for it. (KELO)

Governor Rounds wants federal help with economy. (Argus Leader)

They are license plates, people. It’s fine to not spend more money on them. (Aberdeen News)

Thune unimpressed with “new” health care proposals. (Capitol Journal)

The title of a piece from KELO caught my eye: “Act Now If You Want Flood Insurance” I acted immediately to read the article, which says in part that we need to get flood insurance at least 30 days before we need it–otherwise the policy is not in force.

Here we sit on the high plains (or at least the medium plains) with substantial drifts everywhere and enough snow moved off the roads and heaped up on the shoulders of the same that we cannot see when entering intersections–and someone is willing to offer flood insurance? By rough calculation, 8 inches of snow is 1 inch of liquid water. That means that across this state of ours we have anywhere from 1 to 6, 8 even 10 inches of water which is currently held in suspended animation above the frozen ground, just waiting to visit many different someones–with and without flood insurance.

Insurance is about sharing the risk. I get that. But if a sword is suspended by a thread–that’s not so much risk as it is a promise. Of course, if the insurance we are talking about in the linked article is part of the NFIP (National Flood Insurance Program) then everything becomes clear. You see, all of the insurance sold as part of that program is backed by the federal government you and me.

Now, how excited are you about those policies?

Andrew Klavan interviews a gentleman who sees the world as very black and white:

Take [Jesse Lee] Peterson’s vision of restoring the lost black family, which is unflinchingly religious and traditional. “There is a spiritual order to life that was ordained by God,” he tells me. “And that order is God in Christ, Christ in man, man over woman, woman over children. And it’s not an ego trip, it’s just a spiritual order, that men are subject to Christ and women are subject to men.”

At this point on the interview tape, you can hear me start to stammer hilariously. I don’t agree with everything he says, but. . . . And yet, at the same time I’m stammering, several thoughts crowd in on me. First, Peterson’s traditionalism is only an echo of Paul’s advice to married couples in Ephesians, not to mention John Milton’s deathless description of Adam and Eve: “He for God only; she for God in him.” Second, his words are spoken in answer to a community where I’ve repeatedly heard black women describe black men as “weak” and black men describe black women as “mean.” Third (and I can’t wait to drop this comment at my wife’s next dinner party), the happiest middle-class white families I know are still fashioned on some version of Peterson’s principle—the husband as head of the household—as long as that leadership is understood, as Peterson understands it, to be subject to an overarching moral order of love, gentleness, and grace.

“What men don’t understand is that they represent God in the family, in the home, and . . . they’re supposed to love what’s right more than anything else,” Peterson tells me. “And when they love that, then God dwells in them and works through them to guide them in the right way so that they can guide their families.”

HT: Instapundit