CHRIS LEHANE RESIGNS FROM KERRY CAMPAIGN…
ArchPundit
Sweet. Maybe he can find himself a job outside of Democratic Politics.
Headline from Drudge.
2003
Eating Your Own
Norquist himself lays down the gauntlet against Republicans by insisting they can’t win and raise taxes.
The California recall election on Oct. 7 will give us further evidence of the power of the tax issue in the general electorate and for Republican candidates. Democratic Gov. Gray Davis probably signed his political death warrant when he tripled the car tax through an executive order. And on the Republican side, Arnold Schwarzenegger is refusing — as Alabama’s Gov. Riley did — to sign the no-tax-hike pledge, thus leaving the door open to tax hikes in case of an "emergency." This has allowed state Republican Sen. Tom McClintock, with little name recognition or money, to hold onto 10 percent to 15 percent of the vote — enough to keep Democratic Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante ahead in the polls.
And that is a good thing for Republicans? Okay. Keep it up.
Excellent Book Review
Diane at Know Body Knows Anything reviews School of Dreams–I haven’t read it, but it is the rare review that makes me want to read something–and I want to read it now.
Don’t Miss the Krugman Piece on Norquist
Krugman did a piece on Norquist and the Tax Cut-Con in Sunday’s New York Times. It does a good job laying out the basic economic questions and the problem of relying on ‘cutting waste’.
Combine that with Ed Kilgore’s article from Blueprint and the stark reality of what society would look like under a Norquist vision should become clear.
The reality is that if you want to run an information based economy, education and infrastructure are key–there won’t be much of either under Norquist’s plan.
New Trier Blues
New Trier’s population strongly supports the schools, but last year it was put on the financial watch list. This was a strange comparison given many other school districts were facing dire choices and New Trier was facing a world class education versus a not quite world class education, but better than the rest of the state.
With the new tax bill passed, they are now reducing the tax take for next year. Too bad they can’t send that to some rural districts.
Wright Joins the GOP Party
While ailing I missed the original stories, but Jonathan Wright has joined the GOP Senate Primary Field. He has never been elected to any post before, though he served as an appointed State House. His primary claim to fame is being staunchly pro-life, but in a crowded field of pro-lifers, he’s unlikely to go anywhere.
What Is Steve Neal Smoking?
Apparenlty fumbling around for a topic to write about, he suggested that Daley endorse Obama.
Uhhh…yeah. And if Daley wasn’t Daley….
Maybe he should start writing What if books.
One of the Better takes on the Patriot Act
Slate did an excellent four part analysis of the Patriot Act and reached a conclusion that the biggest problem centers on the lack of accountability and openness.
The best check on such encroachments should be a free and objective judiciary. But as we have noted several times in this series, many of the most disturbing Patriot provisions do away with judicial oversight altogether, while others permit judges to act as rubber stamps in ex parte proceedings?that is, hearings where only the government side is represented.
The next best check on such encroachments is public scrutiny, and, as we’ve suggested, that scrutiny is only beginning to be as demanding and impatient as it ought. But most Americans still do not believe that Patriot has in any way affected them. So it’s worth noting that many of these provisions are used frequently?even if details are blacked out. Go back and look at the sections that ask whether you’d know if Patriot has been used against you. In most cases the answer is no.
When government is given broad power to act in secrecy, it always, always goes to far. The only ways to check those abuses is to tailor necessary security laws to be as narrow as possible when public scrutiny or judicial oversight is limited. The current version doesn’t do that. It isn’t hysterical to warn of future abuses when we have a long history of abuses when government acts in secret.
Rebels and Indians
Eric Zorn addresses the Confederate Flag and Mascot being used by a high school in Southern Illinois. I agree with Zorn and Temkin, but the obvious point is that the University of Illinois still has a cartoon caricature of a mascot. It isn’t that the Illini use a Native American name, it is that the mascot acts like a fool in a costume. If we want to get school districts to see the importance of evaluating their mascots, shouldn’t our flagship educational institution do the same?
Architecture Criticism for the Masses
And a good point about the renovations of Soldier Field
It has been said that the result looks like a spaceship landed on the stadium, a charge I will not endorse for fear of being sued for libel by extraterrestrials. But it is safe to say that the project is the most jarring union of youth and age since Anna Nicole Smith married an 89-year-old billionaire.
Key quote,
"If we started out to build the ugliest stadium in the country for the most money with the fewest alternative uses in the worst possible location, we’re pretty much there."
Dandy.
Bears President Ted Phillips says the new model also has an intimate feel–which is true, and which comes from the fact that seating capacity is nearly 5,500 less than before. With 61,500 seats, it’s the second smallest stadium in the league after the RCA Dome in Indianapolis.In other ways, though, it’s inferior to that facility, which cost just $77 million to erect back in 1984. The price tag on the new Soldier Field is a staggering $632 million, of which $432 million will come from tax revenues. Unlike the RCA Dome, which has been used for everything from the NCAA Final Four to the World Indoor Track and Field championships, this facility is open to the elements, which will limit its uses in a Chicago winter.
Nor does the Soldier Field deal look like a bargain next to other renovations. Green Bay’s recent overhaul of Lambeau Field not only cost less than half as much, but added 11,000 seats. Lambeau offers more luxury boxes and a lot more toilets than Soldier Field. Lambeau also has something that the Bears’ arena traditionally and currently lacks: a winning team.
But the Packers’ lair doesn’t have the distinctions that make the new Soldier Field a true marvel. As University of Chicago sports economist Allen Sanderson puts it, "If we started out to build the ugliest stadium in the country for the most money with the fewest alternative uses in the worst possible location, we’re pretty much there."
Oh, and Bears lose.