Patterico's Pontifications

4/21/2017

Democrats May Reap What They Sow

Filed under: General — JVW @ 10:16 am



[guest post by JVW]

I was intrigued by this article in my local newspaper today.

When California Sen. Dianne Feinstein walked into First AME Church in South Los Angeles Thursday for a town hall meeting with constituents, she got a standing ovation. The pews were packed and it would have been easy to think she’d be preaching to the choir.

But things quickly turned when the Democratic senator was questioned about her stance on several issues, including the Trump administration’s military strike on a Syrian airbase two weeks ago after a chemical weapons attack killed dozens of civilians, including children.

Feinstein told the crowd, “You cannot let children die this way. This was a small attack not on people, but on planes.”

Her answer was met with boos and shouts of “You’re defending Trump!”

Feinstein, a super-wealthy San Franciscan whose husband made a financial killing on defense and other government contracts while she served in the Senate, is what passes for a moderate in California these days. She has in the past voted for tax cuts and tax increases both, depending upon which way the political winds are blowing, and she is happy to support defense spending when it benefits the Golden State Yet at the same time, Senator Feinstein has parked herself safely on the Barbara Boxer/Nancy Pelosi left on every social issue under the sun, with her particular fondness being a unstinting cheerleader for abortion. This has made her a favorite of the wealthy progressive set in San Francisco and Los Angeles, and a particular favorite of the dopey columnist Tom Elias, who regularly sings praises to her as the ideal politician for the Golden State.

But apparently four months of demonizing the new President, for sins both real and (especially) imagined, has given the Queen of Moderation no room in which to maneuver. More from the article:

As the shouting in the audience escalated, Feinstein tried to calm the crowd.

“You can yell and scream all you want … it doesn’t change anything. What does change things is public opinion, information, working together,” Feinstein said.

Her answer on whether she supports Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ single-payer health care plan also upset some in the crowd.

“Not at this stage,” Feinstein said, drawing a scattering of loud boos.

Apparently this Los Angeles town hall meeting was far more friendly than one that the Senator held in her hometown earlier in the week, where the far-left Bay Area radicals managed to disrupt the proceedings with the usual political theater. As Feinstein decides whether to run for another six-year term next year at the age of 84, she is likely facing the fact that her party, especially in her own state, is now controlled by an angry mob of socialists, the sort of people whose votes she had always taken for granted with her status as California’s first female Senator and her twee social liberalism. It’s just another lesson that if you feed and fan the flames too much you are liable to find yourself burned.

– JVW

121 Responses to “Democrats May Reap What They Sow”

  1. I would actually love to see her lose to a more leftist Democrat in the primary because I want her career to end rather ignobly. California is going to elect a lefty anyway, so we might as well drop the pretense that there is any moderation left in the Democrat party here.

    JVW (42615e)

  2. Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Carl Levin (D-Mich.) have sent a letter to Sony Pictures criticizing the accuracy of events in the movie ‘Zero Dark Thirty’ about the hunt for Osama bin Laden.

    “We write to express our deep disappointment with the movie,” the letter read. “We believe the movie is grossly inaccurate and misleading in its suggestion that torture resulted in information that lead to the location of Usama bin Laden.”

    this is what these vapid skanks do instead of trying to accomplish anything

    these are very shameful and disgusting people

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  3. Watching how slow and unsteady she is just walking to the 🎤 on stage, she is well past her sell by date.

    Colonel Haiku (1d71cc)

  4. Can bears run for office in California?

    mg (31009b)

  5. I still remember the look on her previously-smug face at the press conference celebrating the just-passed assault weapons ban when a reporter pointed out that the gun manufacturers had already revised the design on the weapons, rendering them legal.

    These town hall tantrums are right out the Alinsky playbook; they are now devouring those who enabled them.

    harkin (517285)

  6. lol looks like her piteously stinky urine-soaked hometown of san francisco has way bigger problems than syria

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  7. If you are a Trump fan, the rabidness of his critics is very good news. His increasingly shrill critics and their antics appeal to no one except the most extreme partisans on the left. We’re not just talking Democrats; independents and anti-Trump Republicans, as well as moderate Democrats, are all being marginalized. And how are voters supposed to differentiate between legitimate criticisms of Trump and paranoid rantings when they come from the same sources? They can’t, so most will simply assume that all criticisms are libels. Crying wolf continues to have a down side.

    And that’s just half of it. Now combine the over-the-top criticisms with the steady and relatively effective implementation of the promised Trump agenda. When the actions of Trump and his administration belie the caricature – Trump is no more Kim Jong Un, than Bush or Reagan were Hitler, and everybody knows it – middle of the road voters have only one way to turn. Just the other day, I read that Trump’s favorables are up once again, now hovering around 50 percent. Is there any question why?

    To me, the most extraordinary thing about Trump the politician is that he somehow triggers his opponents to behave in ways that are self-marginalizing. Trump doesn’t win; his opponents lose, and spectacularly so. Senator Feinstein’s reception, which makes both Feinstein and her critics look bad, is just one more in a long string of examples. President Trump wasn’t even in the house, but he still managed to come out on top at Senator Feinstein’s townhall meeting.

    ThOR (c9324e)

  8. How do we know that the Russians didn’t disrupt her town hall meetings?

    AZ Bob (f7a491)

  9. Can bears run for office in California?

    For certain definitions of “bear”, yes.

    I would actually love to see her lose to a more leftist Democrat in the primary

    The way California has rigged its primary, there will be two Democrats running in the general election.

    Chuck Bartowski (bc1c71)

  10. I like your comment at #8, Bob.

    It is funny and it may also be true. Russian front organizations like Act Now to Stop War and End Racism (ANSWER) are active in Democratic Party politics. Who, I would like to know, has been organizing these townhall protestors?

    ThOR (c9324e)

  11. South Florida Bureau: Never go full “flava” –
    https://www.yahoo.com/news/florida-senator-used-racial-slur-resigns-155018628.html

    urbanleftbehind (5eecdb)

  12. ….., she is likely facing the fact that her party, especially in her own state, is now controlled by an angry mob of socialists,…..

    Socialists? Liberal Republicans are socialists. The Democrat Party has been taken over by communists since the 90’s. The Democrats are no longer liberals, they’re die-hard leftists that stand for and promote every idea opposite of what America needs from killing babies to bringing in moslems.

    https://scontent.fsnc1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/16406837_10211169357486545_3967951634186306298_n.jpg?oh=259b99693cbb46063c366ad20bd98622&oe=590A0588

    Rev.Hoagie® (785e38)

  13. My real worry is that the inattentive masses will continue to vote for Dems in California no matter how crazy the party gets. This can’t go on, so hopefully it won’t.

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  14. Can bears run for office in California?

    Only native-born bears.

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  15. Thor–

    ANSWER is aligned with North Korea, not the USSR.

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  16. Tom Steyer will decide who runs.

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  17. Kev, you might be right about “Race” Bannon, not a great party legacy, but at least they stick it to the Teslans :
    http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/indiana-gop-announces-details-tax-hiking-roads-plan-46924231

    Of greater import is the repeal of inheritance taxes.

    urbanleftbehind (5eecdb)

  18. Kevin M (25bbee) — 4/21/2017 @ 12:30 pm

    real worry is that the inattentive masses will continue to vote for Dems in California no matter how crazy the party gets. This can’t go on, so hopefully it won’t

    They hide their craziness when campaigning and lie, like in the Georgia house race, where teh candidate claimed to be pro-=milkitary and against waste and to have experience, while telling eople at fundraisers about other issues, so it can take afew elections. But another problem is the majority of electorate probably does not consider Republicans at all acceptable. Fortunately, California has a jungle primary.

    Sammy Finkelman (6f9f42)

  19. the majority of electorate probably does not consider Republicans at all acceptable

    But either they couldn’t tell you why, or their reasons would be from the 90’s (and their understanding of the Democrats would be similar).

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  20. It’s very easy for Democrats in a state like California. All they have to do is propose massive spending and/or massive regulation, then insist that the spending will do all of these magnificent things and that the regulation will protect the interests of the ordinary people. Neither of those ever really turn out to be true, but Dems can count on friendly media and academia allies to parrot their lines and promote the causes. Add that with the ability to mostly hide tax increases (nobody really sees a half-cent sales tax hike in day to day life; you would have to look at it on an annual level to understand how much more it takes out of your pocket, and most people today don’t have the attention span for that sort of work) and a super-wealthy elite whose assets and incomes are high enough to afford this garden party progressivism, and you have the makings of the perfect leftwing state.

    Kevin M is right, though. This can’t and won’t go on forever, and the day of reckoning will be really really hard on a lot of people who always assumed they would be protected.

    JVW (42615e)

  21. i been ordering all these different powdered caffeinated drink mixes to get ready for Chicago’s by-the-ounce beverage tax come June

    which i will not be paying thank you

    i tend to take the crystal light with energy and add an emergen-c, but i’m also gonna look at making my own turmeric chai there’s a ton of different recipes

    walmart has a crystal light style drink mix under the great value brand which is cheap but I can’t find it on jet.com

    jet seems to have dumped all their kirkland stuff but so far’s done a piss-poor job of integrating the walmart inventory

    i been having trouble completing an order there lately; i don’t think they have their act together anymore

    for awhile there i really liked it, but that was before walmart bought them

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  22. Cool, Crystal light still exists. Of course the hood is probably stocking up on Kool-Aid.

    urbanleftbehind (4e1550)

  23. omg TANG still exists i saw it on jet

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  24. California should be self sustainable.

    mg (31009b)

  25. It’s hard to be self-sustainable when there’s always one more unmet need.

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  26. Just last month the People of the County of Los Angeles passed, in a landslide, a 1/4 cent sales tax increase earmarked for ending homelessness. So many good things were said about what this would do during the campaign.

    Now, it turns out that there is no plan, just a pot of money to spend and they are arguing over how to spend it. I predict lots and lots of studies.

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  27. One of the problems with an election where one party doesn’t bother to show up is a slew of tax increases passed by the [Democrat] voters.

    For Los Angeles, the butcher’s bill is here: http://www.citywatchla.com/index.php/la-watchdog/13036-tax-angeles

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  28. So many riches from the sea and it’s fertile land. The beauty of the whole state.
    One would think it would never turn out like this.

    mg (31009b)

  29. 26. Kevin M (25bbee) — 4/21/2017 @ 3:19 pm

    By now, people should know this is the way it is. The very idea of just assigning money to some cause is obviously no good. The same also happens with charities, like the United way and the Red Cross.

    Sammy Finkelman (4591c3)

  30. Why do people keep falling for this nonsense? Well, for one thing, nobody – or nobody with money – is challenging this. This is so stupid. And it doesn’t matter what the “cause” is. It could be better highways.

    Sammy Finkelman (4591c3)

  31. And remember lotteries – for education. There it mays imply replace other money or go into higher salaries and pensions.

    There’s never any audit. There’s never even a pretense at an audit. Or at any form of control.

    Sammy Finkelman (4591c3)

  32. And, here’s the thing about “homelessness” in LA, particularly West LA along the coast.

    The weather is never terrible. It might get up to 100 a few days, and down to 40 some nights. Most of the time it’s between 60 and 80. It never snows.

    The city is lenient wrt homeless antics, like shanties, tents on public property and mobile homes and such. Last time I was there, there were tents on the grass outside city hall.

    It’s very attractive to live here. Not everyone can. Houses start at $1 million for a fixer.

    Now, if I was homeless, I’d like a mild climate and city support. The more the better.

    If I were a homeowner, I’d be upset at all the homeless encampments around my oh-so-perfect house.

    Solution? Give money to the homeless so they can live in this paradise in comfort.

    That will SURELY bring the numbers of homeless down!

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  33. What the Democrats in California are doing is seeding the state’s population with more and more people who pay little in the way of taxes, and are net beneficiaries of the giveaways, so they’ll vote for whatever hair-brained, unsustainable action the Democrats float. I have so many colleagues and friends who have either retired and moved out of state (Nevada and Southern Utah are popular), have moved out in prep for retirement, or are at least giving it serious consideration. It is a terrible situation and does not bode well for the future of California.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  34. Sammy, that, I suspect, is the real game. They cannot come out and say “We need more money for our bloated pensions” because the populace would say “sorry not sorry,”

    So, they claim the money is needed to build roads and bridges, combat social ills or build water infrastructure. Which they are already doing, or they should be doing but have embezzled diverted the funds to pensions. The new gas tax is to pay back other gas tax money that was “borrowed.”

    It’s all a shell game. The real goal is to fund pensions. EVERYONE who works for government is in on it, and at best they just don’t talk about it.

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  35. “In California, according to data captured by OpenTheBooks.com, the Top 10 All-Time CalPERS public employee pensions start at $390,485 per year. The California Public Employee Retirement System (CalPERS) is the USA’s largest pension fund with $301 billion in assets.”

    http://www.forbes.com/sites/adamandrzejewski/2016/11/26/mapping-the-100000-california-public-employee-pensions-at-calpers-costing-taxpayers-3-0b/

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  36. “Public employee pensions are a fiscal tsunami which threaten to swamp many state and local governments. Nowhere is that more true than in California, where a $425 billion funding shortfall for three state pension systems, and a $200 billion shortfall for local government pension systems is tarnishing the Golden State’s luster.”

    https://www.ramolson.com/files/employee_pensions_article.pdf

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  37. hrm this is interesting especially if you a japaneser

    New Coating Material Prevents Methane Clathrate Build-up in Oil and Gas Pipelines

    The solution offered by the new system is to coat the inner side of the pipe with a layer of a material that fosters the spreading of a water-barrier layer along the inner surface of the pipe. The researchers discovered that the barrier layer has the ability to effectively arrest the adhesion of water droplets or ice particles to the wall, thus preventing the build-up of clathrates that slow down or block the flow.

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  38. a 1/4 cent sales tax increase earmarked for ending homelessness.

    The most effective use of that money would be to pay city and county law enforcement to transport the homeless to Ventura, Kern, San Bernardino, Riverside, and Orange Counties. That would end homelessness in Los Angeles County.

    Chuck Bartowski (211c17)

  39. The most effective use of that money would be to pay city and county law enforcement to transport the homeless…

    How about West Texas?

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  40. Democrats May Reap What They Sow

    The danger is that WE may reap what they sow.

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  41. 38.a 1/4 cent sales tax increase earmarked for ending homelessness.

    I thought the Democrats war on poverty ended homelessness. Along with hunger, unemployment, discrimination and disease.

    Rev.Hoagie® (785e38)

  42. I’m wondering whether the purported libtards confronting Finaglestein aren’t the same paid agitators who confront everybody else from Milo Yiannopoulos to Bernie Sanders. (Yes, I said Bernie Sanders, there was a bunch harassing him under cover of BLM.) And my bet is that they’re financed by Putin, not (only) Soros, to create disorder anywhere and any way they can in the U.S..

    nk (dbc370)

  43. There is some of that surely, after al jazeera, rt was the number 2 promoter of somelives matter, along with gitmo/ Abu ghraib levick template, never mind filtration points and zachistas *make the former seem like weeblo scout maneuvers.

    * open air interrogation and disposal pits, classic zombie squad search and destroy.

    narciso (d1f714)

  44. Speaking of which, we should install Ricardo Sanchez as a puppet pres in his ancestral.

    urbanleftbehind (4e1550)

  45. the sales tax rape what the democrats do on the most marginalized and vulnerable californians is spectacularly brutal and sadistic

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  46. Yeah but since a good chunk of that income cohort shouldnt be there in the first place, why the hell not (so long as it was paired with larger than = decreases in the state income tax).

    urbanleftbehind (4e1550)

  47. The Lone Ranger and Tonto went camping in the desert. After they got their tent all set up, both men fell sound asleep. Some hours later, Tonto wakes the Lone Ranger and says,”Kemo Sabe, look towards sky, what you see?”
    The Lone Ranger replies, “I see millions of stars.”
    “What that tell you?” asked Tonto.

    The Lone Ranger ponders for a minute then says, “Astronomically speaking, it tells me there are millions of galaxies and potentially billions of planets. Astrologically, it tells me that Saturn is in Leo. Time wise, it appears to be approximately a quarter past three in the morning. Theologically, it’s evident the Lord is all-powerful and we are small and insignificant. Meteorologically, it seems we will have a beautiful day tomorrow. What’s it tell you, Tonto?”

    Tonto is silent for a moment, then says, “Kemo Sabe, you dumber then buffalo chip. Someone has stolen tent.”

    http://www.jokebuddha.com/Tonto

    Oh. That’s the wrong Tonto joke, but I like it better.

    The gist of the other joke is; Feinstein still has a D after her name, and 65% of Califians who can speak English, still live their whole life with their head up their {edit}, and the indians aren’t going to hang Tonto.

    papertiger (c8116c)

  48. Okay. One more.

    {because you asked}

    One hot, dusty day, the Lone Ranger and Tonto ride into town and head for the first saloon they see, where they tie up their trusty steeds and go in for a cold one.
    Some time later, a stranger enters the saloon and asks, “Who owns the white horse tied up outside?”
    “That’s my horse,” the Lone Ranger says. “Why do you ask?”
    “Because it’s collapsed and looks like it’s dying,” replies the stranger.
    The Lone Ranger and Tonto rush outside to check on Silver.
    “He’s probably just suffering from heat exhaustion,” the Lone Ranger says. “Tonto, why don’t you run around Silver for awhile to help keep him cool.”
    The Lone Ranger goes back into the saloon. Half an hour later, another stranger walks in and asks, “Who owns the white horse out there?”
    “That’s my horse,” the Lone Ranger replies. “What’s the problem this time?”
    “Oh, no problem,” replies the stranger, “It’s just that you’ve left your injun running.”

    source: http://www.jokebuddha.com/Tonto#ixzz4ex2qom7R

    papertiger (c8116c)

  49. omg TANG still exists i saw it on jet

    happyfeet (28a91b) — 4/21/2017 @ 2:53 pm

    Go to the supermarket. Go to the Spanish section. It’s there.

    NJRob (43d957)

  50. thanks, papertiger. good stuff.

    mg (31009b)

  51. California is worth saving. Perhaps all of us independent Massholes should move and vote accordingly. Because Massachusetts is not worth saving.

    mg (31009b)

  52. 38 – “The most effective use of that money would be to pay city and county law enforcement to transport the homeless to Ventura, Kern, San Bernardino, Riverside, and Orange Counties. That would end homelessness in Los Angeles County.”

    San Francisco was already caught dumping undocumented violent felons in other counties.

    harkin (517285)

  53. oh – hispanic?

    my experience with tang is from a vietnamese lady we knew

    she would mix tang and sprite

    very tasty

    we bombed her country a lot

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  54. To me, the most extraordinary thing about Trump the politician is that he somehow triggers his opponents to behave in ways that are self-marginalizing.

    Me, too. The guy has a ability to make his opponents look like nuts (No reflection on the blog owner).

    I don’t think California is sustainable. It is too dependent on high incomes and if the Bay Area economy stmbles, the house of cards will come down.

    My only concern, now that I have moved to Arizona, is my son’s pension. He is a firefighter/paramedic.

    It’s just too depressing to recall what a beautiful place California was 60 years ago.

    Mike K (f469ea)

  55. It’s always refreshing to read a take on Trump that avoids the TDS that has infected so many… even around here… http://althouse.blogspot.com/2017/04/white-house-officials-said-mr-trump.html?m=1

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  56. 57 – “I don’t think California is sustainable. It is too dependent on high incomes and if the Bay Area economy stmbles, the house of cards will come down.”

    It won’t be high private incomes that cause the implosion of CA. Rather it will be the unsustainable salaries and benefits (especially retirement and healthcare) for PUBLIC employees. Obama spent over a trillion in his stimulus package but instead of repairing/upgrading highways and dams, the state used their share to prop up public employee (aka Obama’s political supporters) salaries and benefits.

    The democrats and the public unions sold their souls for control of the state coffers. Middle class private sector workers have left in droves, replaced by illegals and other unskilled poor, subsidized by the state to serve the elites and retired teachers/prison guards/police officers etc. seemingly set for life after retiring at 55.

    Look at how many rich Californians in LA and the Bay Area are walling themselves off from the world at the same time they condemn the idea of a border wall. They do not want to deal with what they’ve created.

    harkin (dbcc1e)

  57. what’s wrong with that idiot failmerican hoochie what can’t get on an airplane without causing an absurd amount of drama

    and what’s with the to-the-rescue p.o.s. douchebag guy

    these people are nasty

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  58. california tax-rape is so obscene they’re now in direct hostile combat with the pig federal government for the last marginal tax dollar

    any tax cut the R’s engineer at the federal level will just be seen as freeing up more yummy tax dollars for sacramento to siphon to their idiot racist teacherthugs and coptrash

    it sucks to live in california, to be so viciously raped like how they do

    it sucks to live in california

    it sucks to be a pig slave to the state

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  59. And you live where now pikachu?

    narciso (c910f9)

  60. i live in chicago for now

    i got my ticket for the long way round

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  61. (so long as it was paired with larger than = decreases in the state income tax).

    BWAAAAhahahahahahahahaha

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  62. I do have a plan for fixing CA’s pensions.

    1) All existing pensions will be adjusted to remove “spiked” benefits. Using accumulated sick & vacation pay to boost the last year’s earnings will be clawed back. Instead, the average salary of the last 3 years will be used.

    2) A “pension windfall tax” will be imposed on benefit checks. A progressive (how can they argue with “progressive”?) tax, starting with payments exceeding $5K/month.

    3) Conversion of all state and local pensions to 401(k) type pensions, with the present value of defined-benefit pensions earned placed in the account as a bond, earning 2% over inflation, and payable at retirement. Future pension benefits depend on the employee’s contributions and the government entity’s level of matching (cannot be more than 100%).

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  63. I’m telling you, I’m so upset by all these stories in the news about how airlines mistreat passengers, that I’m going to stop reading the news.

    nk (dbc370)

  64. I would also allow employees under 40 to (irrevocably and as a one-time option) join the social security system, and have those benefits treated separately from state pensions. Currently, CA pensions are often diminished by SS payments, which is unfair.

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  65. Here is how tax dollars are viewed in CA.
    A local Fire Department with two stations (good people, I work with them on fuel break issues etc and they are very professional. Also excellent competency on brush fires)

    Here are nuggets from their budget:

    Revenue from property taxes: $15,599,959
    Salaries and Employee Benefits: $15,599,530
    So all the property tax money (except for $429) goes to employees.
    But then there is another expense Transfer to Pension Obligation Fund of $795,530

    Total revenue is $19,935,005 and $16,395,060 of it goes to employees

    Some people would look at the bottom line and see that revenues were $19,935,005
    and expenses were $18,187,824 and go “Who cares? The Dept. has a surplus of $1,747,181”

    Ah. But that surplus comes from a mysterious source called Transfer from Other Funds in the amount of $2,459,473

    Without this Transfer, revenues are only $17,475,532 and 90% of the revenue went to employees.
    This would be unsustainable except the Fire District is in a very wealthy enclave median home price a shade over $3M

    Point is that the CA employee unions are routinely skimming out 90% of revenues and are only a real estate/silicon valley hiccup away from pushing even wealthy areas into bankruptcy

    steveg (5508fb)

  66. These are rocket scientists. [JPG]

    and these are rocket scientists on drugs [bing news link to special feature on space junk] , or rather racket scientists, hoping the pols who sign their paychecks are on drugs.

    papertiger (c8116c)

  67. Speaking of reaping what they have sown, in France:

    “Cancelling visits and meetings on Friday, candidates traded blows across the airwaves as it emerged that the Isil-backed gunman had been kept in custody just 24 hours in February despite attempts to procure weapons to murder police.”

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/04/21/marine-le-pen-gets-poll-boost-paris-attack-donald-trump-says/

    harkin (dbcc1e)

  68. Washington harasses us for our difficulties in distribution to the Indians, thereby distracting the nation at large from Washington’s own fiscal turpitudes and miasms.

    There amongst the turpitudes and miasms, you got caught stealing the money.

    The money was not stolen. There was an amount of siphoning off and certain irregularities.

    Sounds like it was regular as milking Bessie, 96% on the dollar.

    Rank exaggeration.

    If it was less than 90, you [edit]ed generations of Indian Agents to come.

    Read more: http://www.springfieldspringfield.co.uk/view_episode_scripts.php?tv-show=deadwood&episode=s03e09

    papertiger (c8116c)

  69. I notice that Google is celebrating Earth Day, but did not celebrate Easter. Religious preference, I guess.

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  70. In Santa Monica, the AVERAGE pay for employees of the Rent Control Board (not just board members; EMPLOYEES) is over $150,000/year. They also get 13 weeks of vacation a year. One oculd accumulate quite a bit of vacation here for pension spiking purposes.

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  71. Lining their pockets, feathering their own nests while the taxpayers ESAD.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  72. I think that 13 week vacation thing probably isn’t per year, but the max you can accumulate. Like if you never took a vacation for six and a half years, you would have that much, but you would never get more than that.

    Still, preposterously generous.

    Leon (79ca52)

  73. Like if you never took a vacation for six and a half years, you would have that much, but you would never get more than that.

    By law, you can’t deny vacation accrual in California, so the arbitrary limits aren’t enforceable. I was told this when my former company tried to impose a 30-day accrual max. One of the company old-timers suggested that I not worry about it, and sure enough, when I reached that 30-day max my vacation counter then read 31 days, 32 days, and so on. Though I did get a snotty missive from our HR folks that informed me that I needed to use my vacation days. When I left the company I got a nice check for my unused vacation time.

    JVW (42615e)

  74. In Santa Monica, the AVERAGE pay for employees of the Rent Control Board (not just board members; EMPLOYEES) is over $150,000/year. They also get 13 weeks of vacation a year. One oculd accumulate quite a bit of vacation here for pension spiking purposes.

    Kevin M (25bbee) — 4/22/2017 @ 2:13 pm

    ???

    https://www.smgov.net/uploadedFiles/Departments/Rent_Control/Home/Rent%20Control%20Salary%20Schedule.pdf

    Davethulhu (0075ca)

  75. what sucks is how the corrupt and sleazy comey fbi and a bunch of nasty cia sluts spied on Mr. Trump in service of their fascist harvardtrash turdlord barack obama

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  76. 77 – “???”

    In CA, never go by what the govt. tells you is the position’s salary, always go by what they are actually paid.

    Just a few years ago they found RETIRED transit board members in the Bay Area who were not only collecting generous pensions but also were still getting paychecks. They are still trying to get the money back.

    harkin (dbcc1e)

  77. @78. It’s an ends and means thing. It’s easy to slide down the slippery slope if you’re just doing as you’re told or believe you’re serving the greater good. 50 years of teaching our youth the need to serve the greater good has caused our society to lose touch with right and wrong. It’s not gonna be quick or easy to fix.

    crazy (d3b449)

  78. What saddens me is that the Harvard-trash Obama CIA clique quite obviously eliminated the Yale Skull and Crossbones faction or we would not have have had Trump as President, if you know what I mean and I think you do.

    nk (dbc370)

  79. bushies made it so gay

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  80. 50 years of teaching our youth the government, not God is the greater good has caused our society to lose touch with right and wrong. It won’t be fixed.

    Sometimes I think I’m in a dream watching the slow motion collapse of an entire civilization and the vey people who have the most to loose are causing it. It ain’t pretty.

    Rev.Hoagie® (785e38)

  81. What saddens me is that the Harvard-trash Obama CIA clique. . .

    I hear they are all members of the Porcellian Club. For my money, Skull & Crossbones has a cooler clubhouse.

    JVW (42615e)

  82. the revolution won’t be televised we gonna stream that bitch

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  83. oh my goodness i thought that was a filter word

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  84. won’t you join me on my journey of discovery

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  85. You know JVW, I’m a Mason and one of the sub-groups has as it’s insignia:

    http://thumbs.ebaystatic.com/images/g/ijoAAOSwBLlU5mEF/s-l225.jpg

    Ya think the Princeton club is related? It’s called Hiram, The Widow’s Son.

    Rev.Hoagie® (785e38)

  86. narciso, a “typical Iranian dish” is a hairy midget in a burka.

    http://thumbs.ebaystatic.com/images/g/ijoAAOSwBLlU5mEF/s-l225.jpg

    Rev.Hoagie® (785e38)

  87. I beg to differ rev:
    http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1083404

    Yes she’s only half Iranian.

    narciso (d1f714)

  88. oh for the love of conventional non-fancy christian jesus

    anytime you see the phrase “retired leaders of the U.S. armed forces” you know you’re dealing with bizarre degenerate weirdo freaks what lost touch with actual america many

    many

    many

    moons ago

    you can nod and smile at them patronizingly but for the love of god don’t take them seriously

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  89. lol my lil neph neph says he wants to be a mason

    god i love him

    he’s really the best thing in our whole family

    the girl child is gonna be awesome too but she’s still percolating

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  90. Bobby unman, who kind of looks like the cadaverous fellow from poltergeist 2, who knew he was still around, he had a real agitate against Israel that derailed his apt as CIA director.

    narciso (d1f714)

  91. i don’t get how you can look out at the vastness of the depraved and cheesy not-america whirl and focus on Israel as being some kind of paragon of the problematic

    but then i went to public school in texas so i should probably be more generous about making allowances

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  92. I think that 13 week vacation thing probably isn’t per year, but the max you can accumulate.

    No, it’s per year. It was a big campaign issue when the papers got hold of it.

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  93. I see though that they changed it a couple years ago to something more normal.

    Kevin M (25bbee)

  94. yeah you’d know all about normal from your vantage point in failifornia

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  95. ffs why did that blow up my phone

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  96. oh.

    california has furniture issues

    something about reclaimed taupe

    happyfeet (28a91b)

  97. 36. “Public employee pensions are a fiscal tsunami which threaten to swamp many state and local governments. Nowhere is that more true than in California, where a $425 billion funding shortfall for three state pension systems, and a $200 billion shortfall for local government pension systems…”

    In absolute dollars maybe, because of the number of people in the state, but Illinois and New Jersey are surely worse off. As is Puerto Rico.

    Illinois is in ttroube because it is losing population, or the tax base. Any place that has pesions that is losing population is in trouble.

    If the pensions were defined contribution, instead of defined benefit, it wouldn’t be a long term problem for the municipality or the state or country government, although it might be a problem for the employees.

    Sammy Finkelman (4591c3)

  98. Homelessness is actually caused by zoning, and building codes.

    Prefabricated houses, and houses made out of ship containers really ought to be cheap. Are shanties and tents, with shopping carts for storing poesssions, really the best people can do?

    We’ve got the real estate lobby. This is maybe the only place where it is government policy to drive up the cost of a consumer good. Education and medical care also goes up, but it’s not government policy for that to happen. This is partially because of all the loans that have been made against housing. Housing is way, way, way too expensive. It’s been in a bubble since at least the Great Depression.

    Compare the cost of hosuing versus the cost of food between now and 100 years ago

    http://money.usnews.com/money/personal-finance/articles/2015/01/02/a-glimpse-at-your-expenses-100-years-ago

    Today, [2015] the median home value in the U.S. is $177,600, according to the Zillow Home Value Index. In 1915, purchasing a house would have typically set you back $3,200, according to Census records….Fifteen cents would buy $3.51 in food today.

    Food, that is, went up 23 times, which is about the rate of inflation, while housing went up 55 times. A much greater percentage of income is spent on housing than before, and much less on food.

    …the Louisville Courier-Journal, a Kentucky newspaper, reported that in March 1915, Louise Johnson, who chaired the economics committee of the National Federation of Women’s Club, said the average wealth per family in the U.S. was $1,500 a year, and that a smart budget would include:

    •$25 allotted for monthly rent. Rent shouldn’t be more than 20 percent of your income, Johnson said, and this category should include taxes and commuting costs. Most experts today probably wouldn’t add transportation costs to your housing budget, but it wasn’t bad advice.

    •$18.50 for operation expenses, which meant electric and heating costs, like coal, and general day-to-day expenses, like toiletries. Those expenses, incidentally, wouldn’t have included homeowners insurance, which didn’t debut as an insurance product until the 1950s.

    •$37.50 a month for food.
    •$18.75 a month for clothes. </bloc

    •$25 a month for the "higher life," which Johnson defined as art, music, recreation and health care. These things are essential to true happiness, Johnson said. Hard to argue with that.

    Notice that food was 1 1/2 times the cost of housing, and double the cost of clothing.

    Sammy Finkelman (4591c3)

  99. She didn’t budget anything at all for doctors and medical care. It was a rounding error, or paid out of savings. Education was also a special expense and paid as you go. Lawyers came relatively cheap, too.

    Sammy Finkelman (4591c3)

  100. Chuck Bartowski (211c17) — 4/21/2017 @ 4:51 pm

    The most effective use of that money would be to pay city and county law enforcement to transport the homeless to Ventura, Kern, San Bernardino, Riverside, and Orange Counties. That would end homelessness in Los Angeles County.

    They can’t do this involuntarily. They could also give them $75 a week for up to a year and a half that they stay out of LA – the money dispensed only at least 50 miles away – plus help them find a place to live/work. Don’t worry too much about new people trying to qualify. Maybe you could require a petition by nearby residents to qualify for the money, and maybe some could get more. That’s if you want to do this. Some might have alternative places to live, maybe family. You could also just build them something.

    Sammy Finkelman (4591c3)

  101. 79. harkin (dbcc1e) — 4/22/2017 @ 3:35 pm

    a few years ago they found RETIRED transit board members in the Bay Area who were not only collecting generous pensions but also were still getting paychecks. They are still trying to get the money back.

    The paychecks were probably for being on the board, but the job they retired from was a different one. If they had been two totally different organizations, there would have been no question about their right to receiive both the salary and the pension.

    Sammy Finkelman (4591c3)

  102. 105 – then why hide this stuff from not only the public but the board itslef?

    “With a gross salary of more than $333,000, BART’s highest-paid employee last year wasn’t its general manager, police chief or a worker who racked up gobs of overtime scrubbing grime from filthy train seats.

    It was someone who did no work at all for BART in 2012: Dorothy Dugger, the agency’s former general manager who resigned under pressure more than two years ago.

    Under a lucrative retirement scheme, Dugger, 57, quietly stayed on the books, burning off nearly 80 weeks of unused vacation time, drawing paychecks and full benefits for more than 19 months after she agreed to quit in May 2011, according to an analysis by this newspaper. By remaining on BART’s payroll, she accrued almost two extra months of vacation, while sitting at home drawing a six-figure salary for unused time off.

    The months of extra pay were on top of the $920,000 that BART paid Dugger to leave after the agency’s board botched an effort to fire her by violating public meetings laws.

    “Wow,” said James Fang, a BART board member who tried to oust Dugger. “She was still on the payroll? I did not know this. It’s startling.”

    In 2012 alone Dugger’s gross pay could have bought 52,837 round-trip BART tickets between downtown Oakland and San Francisco’s Financial district. She even received more pay than the person who replaced her to run the Bay Area commuter railroad, General Manager Grace Crunican, who took home $316,000.

    Without leaving her home in Oakland’s Crocker Highlands neighborhood, Dugger reaped the astonishing windfall by cashing in more than 3,100 vacation hours, saved during her 20 years with BART.

    Many cash-strapped public agencies are now under scrutiny for allowing departing employees to convert huge banks of unused vacation and sick time into big cash payouts, but a little-known policy in BART’s rules for senior managers like Dugger made her perk even sweeter.

    Because she was allowed to drag out her vacation-bank payments for months, Dugger received $138,000 worth of benefits, including pension contributions and medical insurance — perks she would not have received if she had taken her vacation payments in a lump-sum check. Since she remained on BART’s payroll, Dugger also received an additional $98,000 in cash, because she was still racking up vacation time and management bonuses — even though she had no one to manage.

    That alone was more than the 2012 gross pay of almost three-quarters of BART’s 3,340 workers, the agency’s compensation data shows.

    Remaining on BART’s payroll also added both time and money to the calculations on which Dugger’s retirement is based — increasing her pension payments by more than $1,000 a month for life. When her time on BART’s books finally ran out in December, she began to draw a pension of $181,000 a year.”

    http://www.mercurynews.com/2013/06/07/barts-top-paid-worker-of-2012-never-worked-a-day/

    harkin (517285)

  103. The above was just one example – I’m still trying to find the story on the double dippers. But anyone who fails to see the systemic corruption in the Democratic run Golden State is willfully blind.

    harkin (517285)

  104. Something for #NeverTrumpelstiltskin to gum on…

    “There are no signs of major slippage in support among those who voted for Trump. His approval rating among those who cast ballots for him stands at 94 percent. Among Republicans, it is 84 percent. Asked of those who voted for him whether they regret doing so, 2 percent say they do, while 96 percent say supporting Trump was the right thing to do.When asked if they would vote for him again, 96 percent say they would, which is higher than the 85 percent of Hillary Clinton voters who say they would support her again.

    Trump is also satisfying the substantial share of the electorate that voted for him with some reservation. Among Trump voters who say they were “somewhat enthusiastic” or less excited about supporting him, 88 percent approve of his current performance and 79 percent say he understands the problems of people like them.”

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/amphtml/politics/nearing-100-days-trumps-approval-at-record-lows-but-his-base-is-holding/2017/04/22/a513a466-26b4-11e7-b503-9d616bd5a305_story.html

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  105. Something more for teh gums of #NeverTrump…

    ‘ANOTHER TAKEAWAY FROM THAT WAPO POLL THAT DESERVES MORE ATTENTION: “Democrats have lost considerable ground on this front. The 28 percent who say the party is in touch with concerns of most Americans is down from 48 percent in 2014 and the biggest drop is among self-identified Democrats, from 83 percent saying they are in touch to just 52 percent today.”

    Only 28% of Americans think Democrats are in touch with the concerns of most Americans. And remember, 2014, when the number was 48%, wasn’t exactly a banner year for Democrats.’

    https://pjmedia.com/instapundit/263205/

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  106. Boo yah

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0)

  107. Yes he would still beat red queen 43-40

    narciso (ebbe87)

  108. The nine-member board voted 6-3 to appoint Dorothy Dugger, 54, as BART’s new general manager, effective immediately. Dugger, who started with BART in 1992, had served in the agency’s No. 2 job for the past 13 years. Since late June, she was the interim general manager.
    http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Dorothy-Dugger-named-new-head-of-BART-vote-2508338.php

    This is from a 2007 story. It means Dugger started with Bart in 1992, was promoted into the No. 2 job in 1994, given the top spot in 2007.

    Board President Lynette Sweet, who favored another candidate, said violations of California’s open-meeting law marred the final vote.

    Isn’t that interesting. Marred open meeting law to get this succubus hired.

    that BART paid Dugger to leave after the agency’s board botched an effort to fire her by violating public meetings laws.

    Marred open meeting law to get the succubus collecting millions after quasi quitting her phony baloney job.

    And if you dared to call them crooked you would get the Bill O’Reilly treatment, only without so much as a sniffle over your lynching.

    papertiger (c8116c)

  109. And what does the left do when the policies they advance, applaud and endorse, implode and cause untold misery?…….insist the people who oppose government hegemony are too stupid for their own good. Witness the March For Science:

    “To be sure, there are other goals involved in the march and some contention, even among the organizers, about the extent to which the march should embrace causes like “diversity.” So the goals run the gamut from the left to the far-left. And that’s the problem. The “March for Science” is an attempt to equate the Left’s political goals with Science Itself, claiming the intellectual and moral authority of science for the Left’s agenda.

    You can see why they would want to do that. The Left’s latest worker’s paradise—this time in Venezuela—is finishing up the usual devolution into mass poverty, starvation, dictatorship, chaos, and gang warfare. Given this ongoing track record of destruction, the Left has to seize on the illusion of moral authority however it can.”

    harkin (dbcc1e)

  110. ‘ANOTHER TAKEAWAY FROM THAT WAPO POLL THAT DESERVES MORE ATTENTION: “Democrats have lost considerable ground on this front. The 28 percent who say the party is in touch with concerns of most Americans is down from 48 percent in 2014 and the biggest drop is among self-identified Democrats, from 83 percent saying they are in touch to just 52 percent today.”

    This undoubtedly reflects the Democratic rank and file’s dissatisfaction with the party’s failures during the election. Note also that the Republicans are at 32%, so don’t sprain your arm patting yourself on the back.

    Davethulhu (fab944)

  111. 112- “This is from a 2007 story. It means Dugger started with Bart in 1992, was promoted into the No. 2 job in 1994, given the top spot in 2007.”

    Why wouldn’t the board want someone who could get secret approval for board members to game the system?

    To many public employees, this person is a hero……except for the fact she got exposed. Always keep corruption secret.

    My friend’s wife was hired as a special ed teacher in N CA. She said her first three meetings had nothing to do with education but rather were lessons on how to maximize overtime, paid days off and other benefits. You can do this when there is no budget nor danger of ever being held accountable.

    The kids are not top priority in CA public schools, they are below the teachers, the union, social justice indoctrination and the Democratic Party.

    harkin (dbcc1e)

  112. 112- “And if you dared to call them crooked you would get the Bill O’Reilly treatment, only without so much as a sniffle over your lynching.”

    Imagine if O’Reilly had treated women the way Bill Clinton did.

    harkin (dbcc1e)

  113. Bet you money that board of directors looks like a power rangers rainbow of diversity, with maybe just the one demographic absent.

    papertiger (c8116c)

  114. Not as much as you would think, tiger,

    https://www.bart.gov/about/bod

    narciso (d1f714)

  115. 106.105 – then why hide this stuff from not only the public but the board itself?

    While they maybe couldn’t do anything about the pension, they could kick her off the board. I am not clear on exactly what positions(s) she had. What kind of pressure was she under, and from whom?

    It also sounds like maybe they routinely violated the open meeting law, but later she turned that to her advantage after she was fired, although the violations had at first helped her.

    Sammy Finkelman (4591c3)

  116. The New York Times has along story about Comey. It’s has a pro-Clinton bias (because it accepts that the meeting between Loretta Lynch and Bill Clinton was some kind of an accident, when in reality Bill Clinton probably planned this since he really had no reason to take a trip to Phoenix and he waited for her, and it desribes the fact that Anthony Weiner’s wife was one of Mrs. Clinton’s cloest confidantes as a coincidence, when it is not a coincidence at all that she was married to Anthony Weiner) and there are a number of contradictory leaks, but it does lay out the timeline of the Trump Russia investigation.

    https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/22/us/politics/james-comey-election.html

    Sammy Finkelman (4591c3)

  117. Narciso I’ll cut you in for half of the million Patterico owes me.

    papertiger (c8116c)


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