Welfare Reform - Ask The Experts, NY Times Style

The NY Times delivers a smile when they seek expert commentary on Obama's proposed welfare reform giving states more flexibility in setting work requirements. This appears at the end of the report:

Peter B. Edelman, a professor at the Georgetown University Law Center and director of the Georgetown Center on Poverty, Inequality and Public Policy, called Republican opposition to the waivers “totally ridiculous.”

“This is an advisory that is all about making it easier to get a job, which I thought is what the Republicans wanted,” Mr. Edelman said. “To say that this is somehow against the concept of TANF is bizarre, because what we have here are restrictions that Congress enacted that, on the ground, make it harder to get from here to there.”

In addition to his role at Georgetown, Mr. Edelman was one of the Clinton Administration officials who famously resigned in 1998 to protest Clinton's signing of the 1996 welfare reform. One of his many grievances was the work requirement.

Dylan Matthews of the WaPo, writing at Ezra Klein's blog, demonstrates an alternative way to introduce Mr. Edelman:

Peter Edelman, who served as assistant secretary of HHS under Clinton until he resigned in protest over the signing of welfare reform, tells me...

That doesn't seem so hard, but it was too tricky for the Times.

 

Comments

[narciso]

I ran out with my cup of chocolate rations for the month, but they chose to ignore the text of Romney's speech;

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/18/us/politics/romney-and-obama-resume-economic-attacks.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&gwh=AE1D446E59AD095F45304564292E47B1

[Captain Hate]

How does removing requirements that a person demonstrably be looking for a job make it easier to find a job?

[Barry]

How can I require them to work when I've ruined the job market? I may be a cruel man, but I'm fair.

[James D.]

Sort of OT, sort of not, James Taranto's column today (see LUN) is great, making the point that:

"if the marriage gap persists, then it will be in the Democratic Party's long-term interests to undermine the institution of marriage."

I'd argue that he doesn't go nearly far enough; they've BEEN undermining it for at least the last 50 years, and we can see the results.

[narciso]

Rest assured, the Northern tentacle, of the McClatchy octopus, doesn't have an opinion either;

http://www.adn.com/2012/07/17/2545939/conservatives-health-care-views.html

[NK]

Barry@10:03-- fantastic snark-- and unfortunately true.

[sailor]

The NY Times still amazes me. One would think, after all this time, I would cease to be amazed. Pitiful.

[Porchlight]

How does removing requirements that a person demonstrably be looking for a job make it easier to find a job?

Presumably because it removes a block of jobseekers from the market (welfare recipients). So those on the dole will no longer be competing for jobs with those who are genuinely looking for work.

[narciso]

Nothing to see here, folks, these are not the droids you're looking for;

http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2012/07/geithner_says_he_acted_quickly.html

[Danube of Thought]

Minus 16 at Raz today.

Trails Romney by 1.

[Thomas Collins]

What we are seeing now is nothing compared to what we would see if Obama is reelected with his "flexibility". If Obama has four more years, Argentina's Kirchner will seem to be a model of a leader promoting limited constitutional government compared to Obama.

[Thomas Collins]

Remember when Pelosi said it was a positive thing that an aspiring artist could quit his job to pursue his art and still have health coverage under ObamaCare? That will be the model in a second Obama term. Tax and regulate the productive and reward the layabouts. You say that is already happening? Just wait.

[Carol Herman]

Welfare. Is there water in the Pacific Ocean?

A long time ago, when I was young, my mom told me that welfare payments went into middle class pockets. Yes, the very poor got money. And, bought food (or liquor). And, paid their rents. My mom called that "grease." The way you grease a wheel, so that it turns without squeaking.

If you don't have welfare, but instead you got violence?

At least we still keep our sovereignty.

Now, if you've ever heard any of Nigel Farage's European rants ... you'd hear how all the political parties are alike. And, they are all full of politicians who give away sovereignty, to a bunch of unelected hyenas in Brussels.

[sailor]

Well, right now, particularly in Chicago, we have welfare AND violence.

[Extraneus]

So those on the dole will no longer be competing for jobs with those who are genuinely looking for work.

Exactly.

We've recently learned from the USDA's food stamp website and their Spanish language ads - as well as from the union goons on James O'Keefe's latest video - that for every dollar the government shovels out, almost two dollars of "economic activity" is generated!

Obviously, since everyone agrees that we need more economic activity, we need more government money shoveled out STAT. There's no point in making it hard to get this money, with work requirements, etc. Any impediment to getting this money out on the street would be counter-productive to the health of our economy.

And, as Porch observed, we need these people out of the labor pool, which helps to keep unemployment low.

Talk about a win-win!

[Jim,MtnView,Ca,USA]

From an email going around on the topic of the Debt Ceiling:
Lets say you come home from work and find there has been a sewer backup in your neighborhood....and your home has sewage all the way up to your ceiling.

What do you think you should do ......raise the ceilings, or pump out the crap?

Your choice is coming Nov. 2012.

[MarkO]

Ah, yes. Flexibility. Hope. Change. Transformation. Felony.

[Janet]

So the college kids living at home are stimulating the economy by spending their parents money? Maybe if we list them as employed by their parents it will help with the numbers.

[rse]

Speaking of Peter Edelman, boy do I run into his wife Marion a lot pushing so many bad ideas.

OK, I am finished and thought it was time to really talk about the Bait and Switch between what we need for the economy and what we think we are paying for and what we are actually to be getting in education, K-12 and higher ed. This is a stinky vision for the future that's been cooked up without our permission and largely out of sight.

http://www.invisibleserfscollar.com/learning-to-learn-or-how-to-replace-old-minds-with-sustainable-new-ones/

I think Julian Simon would be pleased his work is still a rallying cry for economic freedom and an optimistic future that doesn't just benefit the politically connected.

[Captain Hate]

The morons are claiming that Christie will deliver the keynote address at the Repub convention. Although I have a set of issues with him, he's probably the best other than she who shall not be named at delivering a stump pounder that will get under the thin skin of the JEF.

[sailor]

Well, CH, I think Romney will be making a huge mistake if Palin is not invited to give some kind of speech.

[jimmyk]

Barry's problem with work requirements is that it conflicts with his vision of the future of society, one which

makes it possible for me to do one thing today and another tomorrow, to hunt in the morning, fish in the afternoon, rear cattle in the evening, criticise after dinner, just as I have a mind, without ever becoming hunter, fisherman, herdsman or critic.

We don't need no stinkin' jobs!

[jimmyk]

I'd love to see Ann Coulter giving a warm-up speech, but that probably won't happen either.

[Captain Hate]

I agree, sailor; and I'm not sure what's going on there.

[Ignatz]

--What do you think you should do ......raise the ceilings, or pump out the crap?--

Think I'd drop my keys on the porch and move.
Belize in the winter?
Latvia or Estonia in the summer?

[Captain Hate]

jimmyk, where did that blockquote come from? Did the JEF really say that?

[narciso]

No, that would show he is somewhat literate;

http://english.illinoisstate.edu/Strickland/495/etexts/german2b.html

[sailor]

Well, CH, rumor has it that the Romney Camp does not like Palin. I think they should "suck it up" and invite her. Will they?

[MarkO]

Uncle Karl said it, but Obama may yet use it. The "somebody else made that happen," is consistent with Marx, as is the odd phrase for taxation, "giving back."

[MarkO]

I'm not certain that Palin likes Romney. I believe that move has to come before any invitaion to speak. But, sometimes these things are orchestrated so as to make a late endorsement newsworthy. The exact move Sullivan made in favor of Obama. Long planned and well executed.

[jimmyk]

Yes, that's a quote of Karl Marx, though Barry would probably have heard it from Bill Ayers.

[Rick Ballard]

"I'm not sure what's going on there."

The coming Cruz removal of Duke & Duke's Dewhurst provides a clue. Having Palin anywhere near the convention as we listen to the heart warming tale of an oligarch's riches to greater riches rise on the basis of connections and picking up proper credentials is rather inadvisable. We really don't need a widespread outbreak of buyer's remorse.

[Captain Hate]

Wow, I'd been told, by some knowledgeable people, that Marx was really really smart but that comment is teh stoopid.

[Captain Hate]

I'm glad you're on our side, Rick.

[Ignatz]

I like Palin a lot but hope we don't get sidetracked by this and a hundred other sideshows that distract from destroying Barry and his party of lunatics and parasites in November.

[rse]

CH-what do you expect from someone who relied on others to support him all his life?

And that quote sounds just like the ridiculous small is beautiful schumacher visions that undergird all this sustainable future economies.

The diva calls for her chauffeur.

[narciso]

Well you would think Romney, could leverage the Batman story, does Bain have an advanced
weapons division,

[Captain Hate]

rse, I think what bothers me about it so much is that it puts the status of dabbling with things on the same plane as having a calling to do something specific. That's not to say that people can't reinvent themselves throughout their work life. But to be really successful at something you have to devote yourself almost exclusively to it. That shouldn't be a difficult concept to grasp.

[Neo]

One of the nation's oldest conservatives group is offering whistleblowers a $100,000 reward for information from the White House and Justice Department on the "Fast & Furious" administration gun-running bungle.

...

Their reward poster reads: "If you have verifiable evidence that President Obama or one of his aides knew about Operation Fast & Furious while it was underway, Call 1-888-692-7374 toll free. This is your opportunity to save yourself before Operation Fast & Furious comes crashing down like Watergate. Don't go to jail. Turn states evidence now just like John Dean did. The truth will come out. Will you be caught in the web of Operation Fast & Furious, or will you avoid jail time?"

[Porchlight]

The exact move Sullivan made in favor of Obama. Long planned and well executed.

Good observation, MarkO. I also don't think Palin likes Romney much, but I believe she'll do whatever he asks - if he asks. Right now the "war" seems to be mostly between their supporters, not between them.

[peter]

Gary Taubes. Link under name. Just sayin' Maguire.

[Thomas Collins]

Palin already gave her convention speech. She gave it in Indianola, Iowa (see LUN), and it is the speech by which to judge the actions of Romney and the GOP.

[Gus]

Maybe we could have a law that requires insurers to keep the Welfare addicts on their Parents insurance FOR EVAH!!

[narciso]

It was a good speech, but when Rupert's flying monkeys don't give attention to it;

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303933704577533212633124788.html?mod=WSJ_WSJ_US_News_6#articleTabs%3Dcomments

[Extraneus]

This whole Palin convention speech thing was started by Newsweek. Newsweak, ladies and gentlemen.

[narciso]

And here I thought the brainslugs hadn't gotten to him;

http://cnsnews.com/news/article/hoyer-food-stamps-unemployment-insurance-2-most-stimulative-things-economy

[narciso]

Let me think that way, it's like steering straight into the rocks;

http://www.nationaljournal.com/2012-presidential-campaign/obama-campaign-tactics-aren-t-splitting-democrats-anymore-20120718

[Clarice]

TM should publish an annotated NYT, full of the descriptors they left out.

The Edelman's are nice people but classic 60's liberals who've never left the bubble.

[Porchlight]

Yes, Extraneus, it was expressly designed to sow discord on the right. We seem to fall for this carp every time.

[NK]

possible suicide bombing of Israeli tourists in Bulgaria:http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-rt-us-bulgaria-explosionbre86h0yx-20120718,0,5383249.story

[BB Key]

Twitterers see #AskDavidAxlerod

[narciso]

Please we know who his farm team, and at no time, have they done anything but attack, in fact some are complicit in formulating the 'narrative' about her,

[Jane - Get off the couch your country needs you!]

One of the nation's oldest conservatives group is offering whistleblowers a $100,000 reward for information from the White House and Justice Department on the "Fast & Furious" administration gun-running bungle.

I was hoping this had been offered by the family. Got a link Neo? Or do you know what group it is?

[narciso]

Right out of Silva's latest, just a little farther down the Danube.

[Captain Hate]

I'm glad they gave Ann Curry the heave ho; now the Today show can return to excellence http://deadspin.com/5926612/nbcs-today-hosts-michael-vick-in+studio-confuses-him-for-jerrod-johnson?utm_campaign=socialflow_deadspin_twitter&utm_source=deadspin_twitter&utm_medium=socialflow

[Clarice]

Oh, dear, NK.. An even bigger suicide bombing in Syria--not getting much play here, but very impt. Took out Assad's Brother in law, i.e., and a nu,ber of top military there. Claire Berlinsky reports from turkey this morning it's a biggie.

[NK]

Big Picture-- what Palin does, who speaks at the convention, etc all are important details that will show whether the ABO/T1000 Unit is up to the task of running a winning campaign. But the Big Picture is what is 'Bam doing? this POTUS election is a 'Bam referendum. As we know 'Bam's record is a loser for him: STIMULUS!-- loser, Obamacare-- loser, $6TRILLION in Debt-- loser, Gas/food prices-- loser. And recently what has he done? Gut Welfare-- Raz says that's a BIG loser (see link below). And the Fiscal Cliff game of Chicken on tax increases -- even empty suit Sen. Dick Blumenthal (Ct.)isn't on board for that one. Don't interfere when the other side is blowing it: http://washingtonexaminer.com/poll-83-percent-support-welfare-work-requirement-that-obama-gutted/article/2502471?custom_click=rss

[NK]

Clarice-- very true that someone politically assasinated one of Assad's monsters is important. It shows Assad he can be touched too-- that might break the stalemate. But I'm always more concerned about the slaughter of innocents than a monster getting his.

[J. Fred Muggs]

I used to be on welfare, until I found a job unloading bananas at the United Brands banana pier in Weehawken. But that didn't last longer than one day after they noticed that for each banana I took off the boat, I ate one.

But I fit right in over at Huntspoint Terminal, since I looked just like everyone else. At Huntspoint the deal was unload one, eat one and give one to Guido and the boys. Know what I mean?

Then it was back on welfare until the stooges at NBC gave me a job wrecking Dave Garroway's mornings.

I work for bananas and throw the peels everywhere. So, watch your step.

[J. Fred Muggs]

Mrs. Clarice,

My funny paper said it was the Defense Chief and the Deputy Chief of Staff for the Army (who was Assad's BiL) plus a whole bunch of other bigwigs. Building was their National Security Center.

I have often wondered who in their right mind would go see him for their eyes when he was practicing Opthamology in London?

[OldTimer]

Oh, J. Fred...you're such a cutie!

[dublindave]

Again,what has any of this got to do with Romney's tax returns?

My name is Dublindave and I approved this message.

[iqvoice]

Are there really any innocents in Syria?

There are adult Baathists, raising the next generation of little-fascists-in-training, and there are adult Islamists, raising the next generation of little-jihadists-in-training.

I don't see any evidence that the ideology behind Baathism and Islamism will be destroyed, like the way we destroyed Bushido in Japan; thus the slaughter will continue.

Once again Ann Coulter shows prescience.

[rse]

CH-when you punch through a fully implemented OBE vision in K-12 and higher ed, there cannot be much of a knowledge requirement for any credential so there is no achievement gap. In australia they make the preliterate aborigines the excuse to gut content.

The credential is deemed to be proof of employability so you have the right to obtain a job coupled with the lack of anything worth selling apart from showing up.

Marx always hated the division of labor. This seeks to have everyone at a uniform level of mediocrity. We are losing the differences in actual useful knowledge and marketable skills and get up and go-edness that drive free markets. It's a perfect backdoor way to destroy capitalism.

You create dependence, entitlement, deprive students of anything worth selling, and everyone has to pay high ed institutions over and over to get the next certificate to get the next job.

I just took a group of girls to water park that are all in TAG. The topic ended up being how the teachers are trying to hold the TAG kids back so they are not so far ahead of the on-level kids. These are the kids capable of learning anything and they are now being asked to run in place for years at a time.

All that human potential now being flushed away annually at great expense. Never to be recovered.

Unless you have a nerdy parent who explains to a concern that the high school might have asbestos that the 1st tower to be hit on 9/11 was the last to fall. Did anyone know why? So I explained it was built with asbestos insulation and the later built tower was not and the superior insulation saved lives that day. And that some things get hyped as a risk because there's money in it for lawyers.

Ultimately this awful ed model harms the economy and the kids with families that make up the difference with substantive at home conversations or tutors prevail.

That's a terrible model. For everyone but the politically connected.

[NK]

Innocents-- I was refering to the Bulgarian Bus paseengers who may have been killed this morning. Syria? There are Sunnis who are innocents IMO, whose only crime is defying a dictatorship.

[Captain Hate]

rse, Anthony Burgess wrote 1985 in the late 70s, which was about, in part, kids who rebelled against the horrible unchallenging "teaching" you're talking about and would break into museums' storage areas to get their hands on real texts with real insights from advanced minds.

I'd like to think the majority of people wouldn't stand for what you're describing if they had the facts in front of them. I might be erring on the side of optimism though...

[NK]

WS does a quick analysis of today's Syria developments: http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/syria-explodes_648725.html

[jimmyk]

Not sure if this was discussed already, but it's worth seeing again anyway:

Star of an Pro-Obama Ad Isn't a Big Obama Fan:

I think Obama is a jerk, a pantywaist, a lightweight, a blowhard. He hasn't done a goddamn thing that he said he would do. When he had a Democratic Senate and Democratic Congress, he didn't do a damn thing. He doesn't have the guts to say what’s on his mind.

This laid-off steelworker sounds smarter than Marx. Workers of the world, unite!

[Captain Hate]

Maybe not a good career move but https://twitter.com/realjonlovitz/status/225618907413757953/photo/1

[NK]

Taxes-- Blumenthal already has jumped ship; the weakest Repubs have said they won't play 'Bam and Patty Murray's game. Looks like 'Bam's tax increase will blow up like another trick cigar. Let them keep losing.

[NK]

CH-- Lovitz? I have always believed that the smartest play for ambitious AA and Latino politicians is to go conservative-Repu as the fastest way to statewide office or POTUS-- because of limited competiton. Who knows, maybe a conservative Hollywood type can be a niche also and make a fortune the same way.

[James D.]

rse, here's something you'll love (see LUN). Zero's former OMB dirctor, Peter Orszag, is calling for school year-round. Because, as he puts it, kids get "dumber and fatter" during the summer unter the supervision of their parents rather than the state.

Yay! More useless indoctrination. Wonderful, isn't it?

[Carol Herman]

Every day you need a headline!

But people don't change their minds at this point. A majority of Americans don't pay attention. And, if anything, it sounds OLD.

"Kill Welfare." Reagan did it better! He talked of "welfare queens." And, they were driving Cadillacs. Today? You'd have to pay them to drive that car.

Reminds me of McGovern. When he was running against Nixon. AND, HE MADE NIXON LOOK GOOD! Nixon's landslide gave him all of the USA states, except 1. McGovern's.

McGovern provided Mort Sahl with lots of material, though. "Mr. Seconal versus Mr. Nembutal." Watching either one of them, put you to sleep.

It's the GOP's failure not to have a run-away race! McCain didn't provide one, either. And, while we're at it, here, no one misses Dubya, either.

[Some guy]

Again,what has any of this got to do with Romney's tax returns?

Do you hear that...?

[listen]

That's the sound of one hand clapping.

[jimmyk]

Lovitz is a liberal Democrat, just one of those few (count 'em on your fingers) who are honest (ironic given his old SNL character) and with enough integrity to say that this emperor has no clothes.

There are a fair number of real (declared) conservatives in Hollywood, but it seems to be career-neutral at best unless they go into politics.

[J. Fred Muggs]

Did someone mention Reagan?

[jimmyk]

J. Fred, I'm suspicious that's Bonzo, not you.

[Neo]

Chris Matthews: I Know There's An "Ethnic Piece" to the Puzzle of Why Republcians Attack Obama

He has got us guys ... it's because Obama is ....... Hawaiian

Will Obama's Election End 'Kill Haole Day' in Hawaii?

Kill haole day has been around for decades. It's not a myth; young people say it happens, and sometimes incidents hit the press on the islands.

Local school kids in Hawaii will harass and sometimes beat up on mainland young people, largely Caucasian. Tourists don't know of this culture, but local people do. It isn't discussed openly or written about in newspapers, but it has been part of island practice among some of the young people.

In some of Hawaiʻi's schools, the last day of school before summer is reputedly known as Kill Haole Day. The origins of the day are unknown, but the tradition dates back to the 1950s.

I'm sure we can guess which side Obama was during Kill Haole Day

[Rick Ballard]

The big picture, IMO, is the competency shown by our next President in the selection of his campaign staff and adherence to a strategy which will pay off in the final 45 day push to victory. The Pinhead Troika is providing a fine contrast as they delve ever deeper into the "What to do when taking on more water than the pumps can handle" section of the ACME Political Strategery Manual. The current President is flailing, the next President is running a measured campaign based upon the proven incompetence of his opposition.

I'm looking forward to another 6-8 weeks of political boredom on the Romney side, just as I'm looking forward to watching the SCOAMF flail his way to a well deserved defeat.

We could always talk about the Cruz v Dewhurst battle for a few days. That one deserves some close attention. I believe Dewhurst is going to receive a Lugar Participation Ribbon for his efforts.

[Ignatz]

--Again,what has any of this got to do with Romney's tax returns?--

I'll answer that question right after you tell my what Romney's tax returns have to do with 8.2 percent unemployment, that there are around 3-4 million fewer jobs than when Barry took office and several years of 1 Trillion+ deficits.

[J. Fred Muggs]

Mr. jimmyk,

We all look alike.

Bonzo is a good guy - doesn't bite much anymore. High moral character he learned from Professor Boyd (Reagan). Retired to same part of Florida I live in.

[daddy]

Good Morning!

My bears are cuter than your bears!

On garbage day last week I mentioned we had some inquisitive visitors checking out the neighborhood garbage cans.

Well my neighbor just across the street was backing out of her driveway and took some pics and a very short video of the rascals. They are right in the middle of our cul-de sac and about 30 feet from my garage doors of previous infamy.

Here is the video of the Momma getting the cubbies in good parade formation.

[pagar]

The Obama regime already has their army.

The IRS!

"That might explain why the IRS is literally rewriting the statute. On May 24, the IRS finalized a regulation that says the law’s $800 billion insurance-industry bailout will not be conditional on states creating Exchanges. With the stroke of pen, the IRS (1) stripped states of the power Congress gave them to shield employers from that $2,000 per-worker tax, (2) imposed that illegal tax on employers whom Congress exempted, and (3) issued up to $800 billion of tax credits and direct subsidies to private health insurance companies—without any congressional authorization whatsoever"

http://www.cato-at-liberty.org/threat-to-obamacare-is-no-drafting-error/

The Obama regime is totally rewriting what every they want, with no Authority to do so,IMO

[narciso]

For a former Company man in Bolivia, at the time of the Banzer coup, oilman, ivory dealer
(the last was an invention) Dewhurst is surprisingly squishy.

[Clarice]

cute video, daddy. Is that big garage door for an airplane? It's very tall.

[James D.]

pagar, they've gotten away with it so far, haven't they?

Why would they stop now?

[dublindave]

--Again,what has any of this got to do with Romney's tax returns?--

"I'll answer that question right after you tell my[sic] what Romney's tax returns have to do with 8.2 percent unemployment, that there are around 3-4 million fewer jobs than when Barry took office and several years of 1 Trillion+ deficits."

I was just trying to break the hermetically sealed jar you've been hiding in, Ignatz.

Never mind Romney's tax returns, just get into a hunkered position and find a happy place.

[DrJ]

Clarice, usually those high-ceiling garage portions are for recreational vehicles (namely, RVs). Many are the size of buses, and they don't fit into a standard-sized garage.

[Porchlight]

We could always talk about the Cruz v Dewhurst battle for a few days.

Hard to discuss that one without mentioning she who cannot be named, because it was her endorsement that (IMO) put Cruz within shouting distance.

If I had to guess I'd say Cruz pulls it out, but I won't really be surprised if Dewhurst manages to squeak through. I'll be out of state on Election Day but will be early voting sometime next week.

[NK]

RickB: agree with your 2:00. Even drunken DD realizes 'Bam can't ever talk about jobs, gas/food prices, Debt or Obamacare. Romney's campaign should ONLY talk about those things.

[daddy]

Clarice,

That's my Brit neighbors house. That tall garage door is specially designed for their humongous RV.

My house is out of the picture, but my neighbor did take a neat photo of each of those 3 little cubs, each one standing in front of each of my Garage Doors. Sorry I can't figure out how to post it.

[Ignatz]

Didn't think you would or could answer the question, Inchworm.

[Dave (in MA)]

43 years ago today.

[Ranger]

I think the Romney plan on the tax returns is to play is as a rope-a-dope on both Obama and the MFM. If the MFM start complaining, Romney can just point out that he has already provided much more information than they ever asked from from Obama. And the longer ObamaCo punches away at the tax return issue, the more it plays right into the "Obama wants to talk about this because he has no record to run on."

I would bet that Romney's taxes are clearner than clean. I'm sure he's been thinking about running for President his entire adult life to some extent or another. I'm betting he's overpayed by quite a bit over the years just to stay on the safe side.

What I would love to see is Romney hold a press conference about his taxes, and then say "hey guys, I answered like eight questions" and start to walk away... then turn around and say "just kidding", just to see how many of them get it.

[Captain Hate]

On garbage day last week I mentioned we had some inquisitive visitors checking out the neighborhood garbage cans.

Speaking of which, last week I was pissed off that the first ripening tomato of the season was snatched by some critter. At first Mrs H said it was probably a squirrel but those tree climbing rats usually leave a trail of partially eaten pulp in their wake. No I think the culprit showed up last night as quiet as a ghost: A huge whitetailed buck with multiple points on his rack. He was a gorgeous, well muscled animal but I was having no part of his interest in the new tomatoes and chased him off twice. We'll see what subsequently happens.

[Extraneus]

Is that a flat roof? In Alaska? [shudder]

[daddy]

Haven't read the threads yet, but am glad to hear Rush pounding National Review and George Will and Bill Kristol for telling Mitt to release his Tax Returns in the delusional hope that acquiescing to the Left will make the Tax issue go away.

He played audio of Romney apparently saying that he will not release them. Good job Mitt.

Don't know your guys opinions on this but I think Mitt will be damned by the Left no matter what he does, so quit bending over backward to the demands of the Left and start making some demands of our own.

Rush pointed out that now the Left is using Conservatives George Will, Kristol, Lowry, etc, as ammunition in demanding Romney's Tax Returns, and they no longer have to play soundbites of Dem's demanding his Tax Returns, since they've got these establishment Conservatives doing their dirty work for them.

Mega dittos Rush. The naiveté' of our inside the Beltway bunch continues to stun me.

[Captain Hate]

Can't these clowns even get obits right? What a disrespectful thing for the deceased http://newsbusters.org/blogs/pj-gladnick/2012/07/17/william-raspberry-obituaries-fail-note-famous-change-mind-about-rush-li

[NK]

RIP Mary Jo-- Her parents did not demand an autopsy. The Kennedy mafia did release the body to the parents once they agreed to no autopsy. I suppose that's a coincidence. Both of her parents lived until about 90. So teddy deprived her of about 60 years of life.

[rse]

OT Question-does a blog crossing certain page view thresholds trigger google bots?

I just had 11 searches register just after all the zeroes changed but not a single new actual search appeared.

And remember I was just playing with html this morning. My children consider me challenged in the technology area.