BALL

I enjoy the World Baseball Classic. It's real baseball in early March and I don't care who wins.

I bought and will finally read MONEYBALL after years of recommendations from Dude and others.

Here's a sneak peak of what Pirates fans have to look forward to this year. This photo is priceless. (The ball fell for a double yesterday.) The Bucs begin their 17th consecutive losing season in about a month. They are tearing up the Grapefruit League though. I have tentative plans to see FLA @ PIT on April 22.

SWINGS

In the 1960s, with 68% of the Senate, the Democratic Party was celebrating the death of the GOP. Then their own policies energized conservative sentiment and gave us Republican presidents for 20 of the next 24 years. Pat Buchanan:

Why did LBJ fail? He overloaded the circuits. He tried to do it all. He misread a national desire for continuity after Kennedy's death as a mandate for a lunge to the left and a great leap forward with the largest expansion of government since the New Deal.

By the winter of 1968, Lyndon Johnson was a broken president.

History never repeats itself exactly. But Barack Obama is making the same mistakes today that LBJ made in 1965.

He has ordered 17,000 more U.S. troops into Afghanistan, as the situation deteriorates and the NATO allies pull out. He has no exit strategy. He has read a repudiation of George Bush as a mandate for a government seizure of wealth and power that exceeds anything attempted in the Great Society.

Fully half of the $3.55 trillion in spending Obama will preside over this year will not be covered by tax revenue but by red ink. The money will have to be borrowed from abroad or printed by the Fed.

Not only is Barack running a deficit four times as large as Bush's largest, he has called for $1 trillion in new taxes on America's most successful, who have already seen their savings and pensions ravaged.

He wants a cap-and-trade system to deal with a global-warming or climate-change crisis many scientists believe is a hoax. He is going to provide health care for all, including immigrants, millions of whom arrive uninsured every year.

He is going to plunge scores of billions more into education, though education has eaten up the wealth of an empire, as SAT scores sink further and further below the apogee of 1964, before LBJ and the feds barged in. He is going to ask Congress for authority to spend another $750 billion rescuing the banks.

He is going to find the cure for cancer. He is going to ensure every kid gets a college education.

He is going to drop half of all wage-earners off the tax rolls, while the top 2 percent, who already pay 40 percent of all income taxes, are forced to cough up more.

Obama is misreading the election returns. When America voted to cancel the White House lease of Mr. Bush, it did not vote Barack Obama a blank check.

By misinterpreting his mandate, Obama has accomplished something John McCain could not -- unite the Republican Party and instill in it a new esprit de corps. For the Obama budget is an insult to the core belief of the party -- that free people, not coercive government, should shape the character of society.

By daring Republicans to fight on the issue of a $1.75 trillion deficit, Obama has liberated the GOP from any obligation to him. He has come out of the closet as a radical liberal spoiling for a fight over an agenda of radical change.

Sooner than any might have thought, we have clarity.

AMERICA OR BUST

An 11-page Citizen's Guide provides clear resources to understand and explore our federal government finances. Links to that and other resources here.

Here's a confidence builder that our government will solve all our economic problems. From the Journal of Accountancy, March 2009:

"For the 12th consecutive year, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said it could not express an opinion on the consolidated financial statement of the U.S. government—other than the Statement of Social Insurance—because of numerous material internal control weaknesses and other limitations.

Acting Comptroller General Gene Dodaro, the head of the GAO, said in a press release that the agency’s ability to render an opinion on the accrual-basis consolidated financial statement was hampered by three major issues that include “serious financial management problems at the Department of Defense, the federal government’s inability to adequately account for and reconcile intragovernmental activity and balances between federal agencies, and the federal government’s ineffective process for preparing the consolidated financial statements.”

Dodaro also noted material weaknesses related to improper payments, information security and tax collection activities. He also noted that at least three major agencies (Defense, Homeland Security and NASA) failed to receive clean opinions."

Spoiler warning:

Chart 2 -- "Debt Held by the Public" (trend line looks like a rocket launching into space)

Chart 5 -- "Current Trends Are Not Sustainable"

Exhibit -- 2080: Total Government Cost is More Than Three Times Revenue

THE BRITISH PM FLAP

Barack Obama's offhand approach to Gordon Brown's Washington visit last week came about because the president was facing exhaustion over America's economic crisis and is unable to focus on foreign affairs, the Sunday Telegraph has been told.

Sources close to the White House say Mr Obama and his staff have been "overwhelmed" by the economic meltdown and have voiced concerns that the new president is not getting enough rest.

British officials, meanwhile, admit that the White House and US State Department staff were utterly bemused by complaints that the Prime Minister should have been granted full-blown press conference and a formal dinner, as has been customary. They concede that Obama aides seemed unfamiliar with the expectations that surround a major visit by a British prime minister.

But Washington figures with access to Mr Obama's inner circle explained the slight by saying that those high up in the administration have had little time to deal with international matters, let alone the diplomatic niceties of the special relationship.

Allies of Mr Obama say his weary appearance in the Oval Office with Mr Brown illustrates the strain he is now under, and the president's surprise at the sheer volume of business that crosses his desk.

If ever a man had a tiger by the tail. There is a reason President's do not age gracefully in office, and choosing one with no prior executive experience and scant political experience and no real private enterprise experience was supposed to lead to recovery, hope, optimism, and reconciliation.

Brains do not equal ability as Sir Saunders taught me during his IQ studies. There is no substitute for the hard work it takes along the way before you get certain promotions and Obama skipped that hard work step. It looks like four years of packing the teleprompter on every visit while Prime Minister Pelosi quietly runs the country from Congress.

COME SAIL AWAY

I guess it's cool that some dude on Lake Titicaca still builds ships out of reeds. But it's hard to imagine this proud tradition lasting more than another generation as motorboats speed past. I like, though, that Thor Heyerdahl was able to find a guy who built watercraft out of reeds so that he could test his theory.

LONGNECKS

The longest neck in this year's NFL draft belongs to projected first-rounder Michael Johnson of Georgia Tech. Memories of Merton Hanks, a Pro Bowler remembered mainly for his neck. Awaiting word on plumpest lips in draft.

This side-by-side is really weird to me. I compared the photos for a minute or two to see if they were really the same except for lippage. It is amazing to me how changing a single feature changes a person's entire look. It also makes it all the more unlikely that a perfect double to Peter Brady would transfer in to his high school (Episode 113), so closely resembling Peter in every way that he fooled Peter's own parents. A month later, on the grounds that the scripts had become too silly, Robert Reed refused to appear in what turned out to be the final episode, in March 1974. (I confess to reading GROWING UP BRADY by Barry Williams.)

UPDATE: As many times as I looked at this ad, I just noticed a glaring typo. This ad is all over the Web. Your theories please on whether the typo is intentional, and if so, why? Best theory wins Best Theory Behind a Ubiquitous Web Ad.

LIVE BLOGGING THE OSCARS

I was tired after bike riding today. Let's see how long I can go.

OPENING NUMBER:
Hugh Jackman is surprisingly effective in the musical numbers. He’s funny, charming and he makes it look effortless. The songs aren't great, but he commits.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Nice montage although they had a curtain malfunction. Why this group of actresses? Saint 1950s, Hawn 1960s, Huston 1980s, Goldberg 1980s and Swinton last year. Why not someone from the 1970s?

Penelope Cruz as expected. She is a lot harder to understand than in movies. It must be the time limit. Trish wonders why she isn’t married. I say she probably doesn’t want to be. Trish says all women want to be married.

BEST SCREEN PLAY

Former host Martin (he was decent) and Fey who is probably on the short list every year. They’re both writers and yet we know their faces.

Original Screenplay – MILK – Rules state that the speech must be about how tough it is to be ______ in America. Fill in the blank with whatever repressive issue your movie is about. Thank God he got out of Texas. Wait. He shouldn't have mentioned the proposition because it was defeated by minority voters. The speech failed to show sensitivity for diverse cultures. Put him on the DO NOT NOMINATE list.

Adapted Screenplay – Slumdog- The speech is about the movie and the people who made it. Screenwriter to be sanctioned by Academy. Ah, but it didn't actually happen in America. Second rule, even if the movie takes place in a literal hell hole, do not mention the fact if its not America's fault.

ANIMATION
Jennifer Aniston and Jack Black. Aniston still doesn't seem fun. Her father was best friends with Kojack, I recently read. Black makes a funny joke about Pixar always winning and Katzenberg laughs. Did he know it was coming? The cameras pick up Pitt/Jolie. That's in bad taste. Let Aniston get on with her life. We get another shot of the pair. They know they're on display. Brad seems to have his hand near his mouth. Bad taste from the producers. They must all be a little uncomfortable and this isn't a tabloid show.

SET DECORATION

Presenting, that’s why Sarah Jessica Parker gets to sit in the second row.

COSTUMES

The Duchess. Makes sense. Period piece is more sewing.

MAKEUP

It has to be Button. Not that it didn’t look like makeup.
Yeah, Button wins. The winner should be for whoever makes up Anne Hathaway. She is always a shade of eyeliner from beautiful to homely and vice versa.

MONTAGE OF LOVE FILMS
I haven’t seen but a few of these. Not earthshaking.

9:30pm Now:

CINEMATOGRAPHY
Portman and Stiller. Funny joke by Stiller as Jaquin Phoenix in beard. He looks like him too. Portman is equally charming. I would guess its Slumdog's night. Yeah, they're going to rack up a cart full of them.

9:42pm -Seth Rogan film. Kind of dull.
Now they are going to present. . . LIVE ACTION SHORT
These were on Sundance today, but I couldn't see them. The winner comes all the from the cheap seats, because you have to have Sarah Jessica Parker breathing down their necks. You love to see the regular people win things. They seem happy to be there. No grievances to air.

9:52pm More Jackman. He's likable in a way few American hosts are. No snarky comments. Amazing that the same guy plays such a hardass Wolverine. He really can act. Okay, I'm tired of the musical number after 60 seconds. Can't we use this time for Mickey Rourke to thank his dogs by name? Beyonce sings AT LAST, and I remember Etta James knocking her a few weeks ago for it. She sounds fine, but the song ends after two words. I still don't want to see MAMA MIA.

10:01pm - I like seeing highlights from old winners, especially the humble ones.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Heath Ledger is a mortal lock according to the rags. Let's build the suspense anyway. Hoffman is nominated again. An actor that continues to impress. He was so good in Charlie Wilson's war I wish the movie had been about his character. Josh Brolin suddenly gets work 20 years after Goonies. I wish Robert Downey would win. I'm so glad that he is back. Amazing in the Ben Stiller thing. Great in everything. Michael Shannon I don't know. Revolutionary Road looks like the typical tear the walls off quiet America and you find pain and misery.

LEDGER - - Who is going to accept? His Parents. That's nice. But they have to sit next to the exits. They have to start a second entrance song. The janitor is sweeping up by the time they reach the stage. His father speaks eloquently. His mother does too. The sister too. It makes you glad he won. Sarah Jessica Parker is scaring the band.

BEST DOCUMENTARY

BILL MAHER? Why because of that atheist movie that no one saw?
MAN ON WIRE was great. I haven't seen the Herzog. MAN ON WIRE makes sense. TROUBLE IN WATER would have won if McCain won the election.

SHORT SUBJECT

Smile Pinky. You figure she must have spent every dime on the dress. Another regular person. She doesn't get invited to the after parties or if she does she sits on the couch next to Flounder.

10:23pm - Post Production -- Car chase montage

Will Smith gets to present alone. VISUAL EFFECTS

They all look impressive. Button, I bet. Yeah, I'm right. They take the subway to the stage. He thanks his wife Roma and his kids. The other winner's kids miss out because of the time limit.

SOUND EDITING
Dark Knight beats Slumdog. What's the difference between Sound Editing and Sound? Doesn't good sound include good sound editing?

SOUND MIXING
Ah they changed the name of SOUND to SOUND MIXING to address that complaint. It still seems like the same thing really. Slumdog back on top. The moral of the Oscar story is do technical work on a film that captures the public imagination. You never hear anyone say, "I was going to vote for Bejamin Button for best picture but they blew the sound mixing. Slumdog all the way." I liked Slumdog, but does it really have the best sound mixing of any film from 2008?

FILM EDITING
Now slumdog did a good job here. Editing was a big part of it. The way they revealed all the clues in between his beatings. Will Smith picks up co-hosting credit on this section.

10:41 - Eddie Murphy with the "Entertainer" playing in the background.
Jerry Lewis receives Jean Hershholt Award and it's well deserved. I thought Jerry Lewis was funny when I was a kid, but I can't really watch it anymore. John and I use to try and stay up with Jerry, but we never made it past 3am and then we paid for it all week at school. Jerry Lewis was such a jerk in KING OF COMEDY, he should have won the Oscar for that. Ah, the Nutty Professor is the link that binds Murphy to Lewis. Standing O. Nice Speech. He should have won this award 20 years ago. What took so long?

10:50pm - Zach Effron and Alicia Keyes. Who are they? Trish says that I show my age. I have heard of Keyes, but I have never seen her. Effron turns out to be a High School musical actor.
SCORE - Slumdog Millionaire. Obama Administration passes luxury tax on any movie that wins more than two Oscars. He hopes it will pay for limos to get the rest of the people to the Vanity Fair party.

BEST SONG
Will the two Slumdog songs cancel each other out? Doesn't Bruce Spingsteen have a song in the Wrestler that won a Golden Globe? Didn't they use to have 5 nominees? Maybe they grew tired of having to present that many. Okay, I hope the third song wins from Slumdog. I remember it from the movie. It wins. Obama Administration sending in peacekeeping troops.

11:05pm - Hugh Jackman has class
Liam Neeson and the beautiful girl from Slumdog
FOREIGN FILM - Departures. Adding it to the Netflix cue. Nice speech that got the point across despite the language barrier.

11:11 Queen Latifah singing "I'll be seeing you" over the obit montage. She does a nice job, but I would rather see the montage full screen. Heston and Newman in one year. I didn't know some of the character actors had died. Pat Hingle was a surprise. I don't think I heard about James Whitmore either. He was great in Shawshank, but I always think of Miracle Grow.

11:17pm Reece Witherspoon cute as usual. The perpetual teenager.
DIRECTING - Will Danny Boyle win them both or will there be a surprise? No surprise. The British speak better than we do. They seem to say more with fewer words. Nice speech without all the phony emotion that we're use to.

Only drama left is whether Rourke or Penn wins Best Actor. I can't imagine Kate Winslet not winning.

11:24pm
BEST ACTRESS - It's always good to see Sophia Loren. Shirley McClain is another legend. I read online that they did the multiple preseters because they didn't think last year's winners were glamorous enough on their own. Cotaird and Berry and Kidman all won for looking less beautiful than normal. Yeah, Winslet wins. No surprises tonight. She spoke well.

BEST ACTOR - Deniro, Kingsley, Hopkins, Brody, Douglas - No Daniel Day Lewis -
Penn is a surprise. He just won a few years ago. Rourke's dogs turn off the TV. Penn is funny about his image. He saves the grandstanding until the end. A nice shout out for Rourke. Penn won the award for being a Dixie Chick, didn't he? Even he knows it and feels bad for Rourke.

SPIELBERG ON FOR BEST PICTURE - No Commercial for 30 minutes
AMC had all 5 movies showing yesterday for $30. A few years ago I would have done it. I have only seen Slumdog. . . and it wins as expected.

Overall, Jackman is fine. I like the idea of having a regular actor instead of a typical host.

I have a lot of movies to catch up on.

Oh, yeah they didn't have a lifetime achievement award. Has Redford ever won for lifetime achievement?

THE PHILOSOPHY OF LIBERTY

MOTIVATED POT-HEADS HELP ECONOMIC EXPANSION BY KEEPING HARDWARE STORE EMPLOYEES BUSY

I am impressed to no end at the sheer determination of the Pot-heads in this country to get high. This DIY video below simply cracks me up at how it is so much like any home-improvement video you would see on the Home and Garden Channel or This old house. Obama had promised to "decriminalize" medical marijuana. So far, I haven't heard if he's done that or if the raids on facilities in Medical Marijuana areas still continues. Although my preferred drug continues to be Knob Creek and Vanilla Coke or a nice beer, I do agree with the Late William F. Buckley's libertarian idea that the war on drugs is a lost one and perhaps we should spend value public dollars on more worth-while pursuits. Perhaps now that the Feds are going to be looking for many ways to save and increase revenue to the treasury, the war on drugs' days may be numbered. However, the paranoid cynic in me thinks that the Feds (and both the Dems and Repubs) like the control the layers of drug laws give them over the populus, so perhaps the war will continue. Nevertheless, motivated pop-heads will continue to keep Home Depot, Lowes, and Ace Hardware in business for many years to come.

STIMULUS

We live in a world where the stock market can be down 1500 points since election day and not one reporter has asked Obama why Wall Street is afraid of his policies.

Do you remember when Bush attacking Iraq 18 months after 9-11 was a rush to war? All those Democrats voted for it without reading the intelligence for themselves and then they blamed that dolt Bush for outsmarting them. Those same people just spent $800 billion without reading what they spent it on. Change we can believe in.

Bush couldn't always get the message out cleanly, but you never doubted he knew his own mind. Obama says everything smooth and yet I still don't know what he believes in. Well, I do know that he believes that Democrats can spend your money better than you. But I bet he doesn't even know what he spent it on.

TELEVISION

I never thought I would say this, but television is becoming more reliable than the movies. I think the main reason is that movies only need a good enough trailer to get you inside once, whereas television has to actually be somewhat good to get you to tune in again next week. Having said that, TV can still be disappointing, especially those shows that started out okay and have fallen in quality and still you have to stick around for a resolution.

If it weren't for DVD, I never would have seen most of the shows I now watch, because I hate commercials and I hate waiting until next week. The only shows we watch week to week are those that we began on DVD and caught up with.

The first show I watched via DVD is the best one of all, THE SOPRANOS. I may never see a show that good again in my lifetime. My only quibble was the first half of the last season that was totally pointless and felt like filler.

We just finished all three seasons ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT and that show was solid all the way through. I don't find modern Sitcoms funny anymore, and here comes this show so surprisingly funny that it gives me faith in the medium.

THE SHIELD was downright great in the first season and it’s been pretty solid since then. I missed the premiere episode last fall when it came back on and I’ll now have to catch the finale season on DVD.

THE WIRE was the HBO show that few watched. It would have been cancelled on network TV, but it’s surprisingly smart. What The Shield does for action The Wire does for the slow surveillance. There are a ton of characters and some are played by non-professional actors and yet everyone is seamless in the storylines. It’s not for all tastes. We crawled through the first season and almost gave up in the weak second season, but then became believers in the 3rd season and beyond

NIP/TUCK is a prison sentence. I chose it to watch on a lark when we ran out of other options. The pilot episode is decent and the whole first season moves along pretty good, but Dylan Walsh is such a milquetoast and his wife Joely Richardson is so fickle you can’t really like either one of them. The character who is supposed to be the cad, played Julian McMahon, is the easiest one to root for. Also, the plot lines are ridiculous and practically recycled in later seasons with a few twists. The point of the show seems to be shock value, because no taboo is left untouched. Now we’re too far in to stop watching and yet I feel like I’ve invested too much time not to see how it resolves. It’s a prison sentence.

BIG LOVE just returned to HBO in January for season 3. I think this will be the last season. There’s really no where else to go with it. We started watching it because it came on right after the Sopranos a few years ago. The first couple of episodes made me feel a bit uncomfortable, but now I just see the whole thing as a farce with serious expressions and no door slamming. What man Paxton’s age would really want the drama that goes with more than one wife?

I’m not a Sci-fi guy typically, but we blew threw the one season of FIREFLY which is really just a space western. Trish who doesn’t like either genre had no trouble spending long Saturdays watching episode after episode.

We also saw the first season of the British show, HUSTLE, about a bunch of conmen ala David Mamet. It was decent but repetitive so we may or may not go back for more later. The seasons are only 6 episodes long so it wouldn’t be hard to get through them.

This past weekend we began watching 24. This is the first network show in the DVD cue, and after three days we’re through 10 episodes. I had never seen 5 minutes of the show until this last weekend and it is as riveting as advertised. The main reason is that Kiefer Sutherland’s character Jack Bauer is just the kind of guy you hope works for the good guys in real life. In the show he is complicated, direct, and will do anything to stop the evildoers.

We may try HOUSE some time or another. I’ve seen a few of those already and Hugh Laurie is great as that character. I’m also leaning toward something British in the near future, maybe WIRE IN THE BLOOD which I have read good things about.

NATIONAL REVIEWS TOP 25 CONSERVATIVE MOVIES

made in the last 25 years. . .

The List

If you haven't seen LIVES OF OTHERS put it at the top of your Netflix cue. Dude has been waiting for my review for more than a year, but the movie just leaves me speechless. Both times I saw it.

What rightwing movie do you think was the biggest omission on this list? Not counting the 25 honorable mentions.

My vote is for HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG. It might be the most Libertarian movie in ten years.

I don't feel like going through every movie on the list, but here is someone who does and has a few a good issues with it.

NEW YORK TIMES PARODY

You recognize some faces. . .

WARMING?

A follow up to Dude's early post.

THE NEXT CATASTROPHE

Has the ever been a better time to subscribe to Reason Magazine?

Funds worth trillions of dollars start to plummet in value. Political pressure to be “socially responsible” distorts the market decisions of government-related enterprises, leading to risky investments. Investors who once considered their retirements safely protectedwake up to a sinking feeling of uncertainty and gloom.

State, local, and private pension plans covering millions of government employees and union workers with “defined benefit” accounts are teetering on the brink of implosion, victims of both a sinking stock market and investment strategies influenced by political considerations.

Many of these funds prospered in the 1990s, when the basic material stocks that they frowned upon swooned, while the favored sectors—mostly technology and financial stocks, which were considered “clean investments”—did great. But the technology and communications bust of 2000–02 knocked out one of SRI’s pillars, and now the crash in financial stocks has destroyed the other. Despite much hype to the contrary, socially responsible stocks, as measured by major broad-based SRI stock funds, have significantly underperformed the market this decade, and some of the most aggressive pension funds that use “responsible” screens—such as the California Public Employees’ Retirement System—have taken some of the largest hits.

As recently as mid-2008, three of the top eight holdings by the leading social investing organizations in the country were financial stocks: AIG, Bank of America, and Citigroup. AIG was praised for its retirement benefits and sexual diversity policies; Bank of America strove to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote diversity; and Citigroup donated money to schools and tied some of its loans to environmental guidelines. The stock prices of all three companies tanked in 2008.

The self-righteous are certainly getting a wake-up call, but taxpayers are the ones who will suffer as a result. This may be the best example of the "road to hell is paved with PC intentions."

The state’s pension fund meddling went into high gear in 1998 with the election of Phil Angelides as California treasurer. If there is a face to pension fund activism, it’s Angelides’. As political issues go, treasury and pension fund investments are not the sort of hot-button topics that ambitious California politicians usually ride to glory. But Angelides had a vision: to use retirement dollars as a way to change the world, and the state treasurer position became his tool.

Supported by labor unions and minority groups, Angelides argued that the state had too many billions stashed away in so-called emerging markets—Third World nations where democracy is weak and wages are low—and not enough invested at home creating jobs and housing. So in March 2000, he rolled out an ambitious social investing program, dubbed the Double Bottom Line, which included dumping $800 million in tobacco stocks and persuading fund managers to shed investments in countries that Angelides thought had questionable environmental or governance practices. He claimed the initiatives would not sacrifice investment returns, saying at the time: “I feel strongly that we wouldn’t be living up to our fiduciary responsibility if we didn’t look at these broader social issues. I think shareholders need to start stepping up and asserting their rights as owners of corporations. And this includes states and their pension funds.”

How has this social engineering worked out? Angelides left his job as state treasurer in 2006 for an unsuccessful run for governor, but his legacy of politicizing pension fund investing remains. In 2003 CalPERS rejected a recommendation from its financial adviser, Wilshire Associates, to invest in the equity markets of four Asian nations—Thailand, Malaysia, India, and Sri Lanka—based on their alleged misdeeds. That was a costly decision, as their stock markets roared in the ensuing years. Another decision to shun investment in China, India, and Russia cost the fund some $400 million in forsaken gains, according to the fund’s own 2007 internal report.

Some of the most steadily performing sectors, through both good and bad times, have been the very “vice” stocks that are no-nos for most social investors. When times get tough, the sinners get sinning. “Demand for drinking, smoking, and gambling remains pretty steady and actually increases during volatile times,” says Tom Glavin, chief investment officer at Credit Suisse First Boston. Alcohol, tobacco, and gambling stocks rallied solidly during two of the last three major recessions, in 1990 and 1982. “Many of these industry groups tend to be beneficiaries of the flaws of human character,” Glavin says.

So what stocks did the California funds buy instead? High on the list were financial stocks, which have been given a green bill of health by social investors. CalSTRS recently acknowledged it had lost hundreds of millions of dollars on Lehman Brothers, AIG, and other fallen icons that were recent favorites of social investors.

But those losses may pale when the tab comes due for misplaced bets on the boom-to-bust California real estate market. According to a report released last April, CalPERS had 25 percent of its $20 billion real estate assets in the California market, which has declined faster than the real estate markets in most of the rest of the country.

Large public pension funds have a selfish notion of risk: heads they win, tails you lose. If they gamble on risky investments that pay off, they are heroes, although the predetermined benefits don’t increase. But if those investments go south, tax dollars will have to bridge the gap. “This is adding insult to injury,” says Jon Coupal of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association. “At the same time we’re seeing our own 401(k)s get hit, we’re on the hook to make up the shortfalls for public employees who are guaranteed their full pensions without any risk.”

When public funds slide in value, taxpayers get hit from all sides. The municipalities and school districts that hire firefighters, police, teachers, and other workers have to cut their staffs to recapitalize funds. Last October the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors learned that the county would have to come up with an extra $500 million to keep its pension fund whole. That means the county may have to raise local taxes and cut services to deliver on overextravagant promises it failed to safeguard.

The great Thomas Sowell wrote a column sometime last year with the title, "Stop Making a Difference" in reply to meddlers. I think someone should start listening.

PERSPECTIVE

"We live in an amazing, amazing world, and it's wasted on the crappiest generation of spoiled idiots."

Click on this link to see a worthwhile video clip.

AMONG THE PEOPLE

The next time a Democrat friend makes fun of conservatives for being hicks, remind them of who their core voters are. . .



Better yet, send them this link!

JOAQUIN PHOENIX ON LETTERMAN

Phoenix auditions for worst interview ever. Watch it here.

In his first TV news conference, Comrade Obama declares: "the federal government is the only entity left with the resources to jolt our economy back into life."

I would like to ask our new Marxist leader, Where do those 'resources' come from? The primary source of income for our federal government is direct taxation on corporations and the middle class. He is declaring a straightforward redistribution of wealth plan.

He continued:
"It is only government that can break the vicious cycle where lost jobs lead to people spending less money which leads to even more layoffs."

He takes a position a defeat and invites us to believe that we are in a 'vicious cycle'. His solution? Nothing new. Socialists all over the world have one play in the playbook. Tax and spend. Only this time, he doesn't mention the tax part. He re-frames the situation by telling us that he will give us free money to spend.

Ready?

"These steps will put more money in the pockets of those Americans who are most likely to spend it, and that will help break the cycle and get our economy moving."

I am still shaking my head. Keep those printing machines running. We are gonna need a lot of fresh 10s and 20s.