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links for 2011-01-28
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Meanwhile, politicians fiddle at the edges of the tax system. Assemblywoman Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, for instance, has re-introduced legislation to tax Internet sales, seeking a way around the federal rule that Internet sellers without a physical presence in a state cannot be compelled to collect sales taxes.
However, it may be unconstitutional – New York has a similar law that's now being tested in the courts – and even if implemented would generate only a relatively tiny amount of money.
If California is to truly tame its budget beast, its politicians and voters must bite the bullet and realign its tax system with the 21st century economy.
Increasing tax rates or trying to tax Internet sales are at best short-term, feel-good remedies for California's endemic fiscal crisis, and such tinkering won't suffice in the long run.
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The State of California needs to cut social welfare and university spending.
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Instead, the signs are that the Egyptian authorities have taken a very careful and well-planned method to screen off Internet addresses at every level, from users inside the country trying to get out and from the rest of the world trying to get in.
“It looks like they’re taking action at two levels,” Rik Ferguson of Trend Micro told me. “First at the DNS level, so any attempt to resolve any address in .eg will fail — but also, in case you’re trying to get directly to an address, they are also using the Border Gateway Protocol, the system through which ISPs advertise their Internet protocol addresses to the network. Many ISPs have basically stopped advertising any internet addresses at all.”
Essentially, we’re talking about a system that no longer knows where anything is. Outsiders can’t find Egyptian websites, and insiders can’t find anything at all.
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Read it all
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Far-Left Hot Air Flying Above the Koch Conference
Greenpeace is flying a blimp over Rancho Mirage, California this morningThe far left theater of the absurd continues today with the lead up to the Uncloaking the Kochs street protest on Sunday.Wonder how much this HOT AIR cost the radical environmental organization Greenpeace?
And, a better question is: who funded it?
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UT-Sen: Tea Party Express Won’t Challenge Sen. Orrin Hatch in GOP Primary – Club for Growth Won’t Ease Off
Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, right, accompanied by Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2011, to discuss the introduction of a balanced budget amendment
I suppose it will depend upon whether Utah Republicans can field a good candidate to do battle with Hatch.The Tea Party Express announced Thursday that it would not campaign against Sen. Orrin Hatch, but the Club for Growth is not letting the six-term Utah Republican off the hook that easily.
Tea Party Express chief strategist Sal Russo told the National Review that Hatch is an “original tea partyer,” having supported Ronald Reagan early in his 1976 presidential campaign.But Club for Growth President Chris Chocola, a former Congressman, took issue with that reasoning and said his group would not follow the tea party’s lead.
“While Senator Hatch’s activity in the 1976 presidential campaign is commendable, a lot can change in 35 years,” Chocola said in a statement. “Senator Hatch has a lower lifetime average on the Club for Growth’s Congressional Scorecard than his former colleague Bob Bennett for a reason. … Orrin Hatch has done some good things over the decades, but six term incumbents who vote for [the Troubled Asset Relief Program], the Bridge to Nowhere, the Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac bailout, [the State Children’s Health Insurance Program], and higher taxes are quite clearly not ‘as good as it gets.’”It might be time for Orrin Hatch to go.
If Utah Rep. Jason Chaffetz decides to run against Hatch, the primary battle will be brutal.
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Poll Watch: Most Voters OPPOSE States Declaring Bankruptcy
This is a very bad idea.States are currently not allowed by law to file for bankruptcy, but former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and others have argued that bankruptcy might be the least painful alternative for taxpayers in heavily debt-ridden states like California, Illinois and New York. Voters aren’t thrilled with the idea, but they like it better than higher taxes, and they’re even more supportive if told government employees might have their pensions reduced in the process.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that just 17% of Likely U.S. Voters believe states should be allowed to file for bankruptcy if they are unable to pay their financial obligations. Fifty-four percent (54%) oppose bankruptcy for states, and another 29% are undecided.
But voter support nearly doubles to 32% when the question is phrased to include the possibility that government employees might have their pensions reduced if their state filed for bankruptcy. Fifty-one percent (51%) are still opposed to allowing states to declare bankruptcy, but only 17% remain undecided.
Twenty-seven percent (27%) of voters are willing to pay significantly higher taxes to keep their state out of bankruptcy, but 44% are not and prefer bankruptcy instead. Twenty-nine percent (29%) are not sure which course they like better.
State governments are sovereign and must be held responsible for their own fiscal mismanagement. California can solve its own financial crisis without a federal bailout or bankruptcy. Governor Brown and the California Legislature must exert the political will to do so.
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Day By Day January 28, 2011 – Latest Fashion
Day By Day by Chris Muir
The sad part, Chris, is that Americans ARE focused on Michelle Obama AT ALL – you know with Egypt blowing up with riots, the government turning off their internet access and cracking down militarily with its people. In the meantime, Michelle’s husband, the President of the United States is talking about WTF moments = Winning The Future.The President has been doing better in the polls for now but I think it may very well be short lived.
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