Chris Christie…He is the leader of all of the state’s budget cutting?…Psst!…NJ residents highest taxed in the country?

Ever since Ann Coulter’s started pushing the New Jersey Governor’s name around the media he has become a media icon……

A GOPer in a moderately blue state……

One has to carefully check the hype from the real world actions…

It seems that New Jersey Governor has overstated his influence on the national stage in his recent budget message as the leader of budget cuts among the states…….

While his resdients may the highest taxed in the country…..

Huh?

Few national media types remember the Governor’s troubles in the past….

 

If he keeps trying to raise his profile I’m sure the Democrats will be sure to inform the media and the public of those transgressions….

And his stretching abilities…

Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey leaving the State Assembly chambers at the end of his state budget speech on Tuesday.

The governor is taking credit for austerity budgets nationwide…..

( Ozier Muhammad/The New York Times)

 

 

“This year, look at how other states are following New Jersey,” he said. “Democratic governors and Republican governors now look to New Jersey as a beacon of hope for what can happen when leaders lead and a people sacrifice as one for the future of our children.”

Mr. Christie listed actions by governors in New York, Wisconsin and Ohio as among the copycat examples. Twice he cited Jerry Brown, the Democratic governor of California, who has proposed lower pay and layoffs for state employees.

Asked on Wednesday whether his boss saw Mr. Christie’s New Jersey as a road map, Gil Duran, Mr. Brown’s press secretary, said, “We are focused on what is happening in Sacramento, not what is happening in Trenton.”

Another Democrat cited by Mr. Christie, Andrew M. Cuomo, has rarely made any public mention of the governor.

Not surprisingly, Republicans have been more effusive. When Mr. Christie campaigned for him last fall, John R. Kasich, now the governor of Ohio, called him “a great American leader.” AndScott Walker, now the Wisconsin governor, told The Wall Street Journal, “Chris Christie is the primo example of how you turn around government.”

But their offices did not return calls seeking reaction on Wednesday to Mr. Christie’s self-congratulations…..

More…..

Oh, Yea and then there is this…..

N.J. residents were highest-taxed in U.S. in 2009, report shows

Garden State residents forked over 12.2 percent of their income to state and local taxes, marking the third straight year New Jersey was the highest taxed

 

 

 

This from Politicaldog101….

We should always take polls as simply polls….No more…No less…Some people think the Healthcare WAS repealed…

Can YOU political junkies believe this?..

Many Think Health Care Law Was Repealed

A new Kaiser Family Foundation poll shows that nearly half of Americans either believe that President Obama’s signature health care law has been repealed (22%) or they aren’t sure (26%). Only 52% accurately say that it is still the law……

 

From Politicaldog101…..

 

Space Shuttle Discovery taking its last space trip…..

 

 

The Space Shuttle Discovery mated to it’s booster rockets waits for it last voyage…..

(AP)

“Am I sad because this is Discovery’s last mission? I am. I would love to see Discovery continue to fly, as would everybody else that I work with as well,” says Stephanie Stilson of Kennedy Space Center in Florida, who leads the ground crews that take care of Discovery between its flights. “We all would love to see the shuttle program continue for years and years.”

But NASA plans to retire its aging fleet this year. Each of the shuttles has just one flight left. After that, they are slated to become museum exhibits. And NASA astronauts will have to be ferried up to the International Space Station first by the Russian space program, then possibly by commercial space companies…..

 

More….

From Politicaldog101……

 

USA Poll finds public behind unions being able to collective bargain……

 

USA Today/Gallup poll: Overwhelming opposition to Walker’s union-busting plan

byJed Lewison

USA Today:

The public strongly opposes laws taking away the collective bargaining power of public employee unions as a way to ease state financial troubles, according to a new USA TODAY/Gallup Poll.

The poll found that 61% would oppose a law in their state similar to one being considered in Wisconsin, compared with 33% who would favor such a law.

So Scott Walker’s plan isn’t just unpopular with the workers whose unions he’s trying to bust, it’s also deeply unpopular with the public at large. Busting up unions, destroying workers’ right to organize is not just a bad idea—it’s a bad idea that nobody wants.

The poll also found that 53% oppose reducing pay or benefits from government workers and that while 47% favored cuts in government programs, 48% opposed such cuts…….

 

From Dailykos…..

This from Politicaldog101…..

 

New Zealand earthquake: Rescuers work through night…..

From the BBC…..

Many parts of Christchurch were left in ruins after the quake

Continue reading the main story 

Related Stories

• Christchurch earthquake: Your stories
• In pictures: Earthquake rocks Christchurch
• Survivor: It was so fast

Rescuers are toiling overnight in New Zealand to reach scores of trapped people after a 6.3-magnitude earthquake which has claimed at least 65 lives.

Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker says more than 100 people are feared buried in collapsed buildings in the city.

The disaster struck at a shallow depth of 5km (3.1 miles) on Tuesday lunchtime when Christchurch was at its busiest.

It is the South Island city’s second tremor in six months, and the country’s worst natural disaster in 80 years.

Districts deluged

The mayor has declared a state of emergency and ordered the city centre’s evacuation.

Continue reading the main story 

“Start Quote

We paid a very heavy price here”

John KeyPrime Minister

On a cold and wet night, emergency teams have been toiling under floodlights to reach survivors, as relatives keep vigil outside.

Rescue teams with sniffer dogs have been fanning out across Christchurch.

A series of aftershocks, some as big as magnitude 5, have rattled the stricken city of nearly 400,000 people.

Many power and telephone lines are knocked out, while burst water mains have deluged whole districts.

Up to 30 people were feared trapped inside the flattened Pyne Gould Guinness building, where screams have been heard from the ruins…..

More…..

This from Politicaldaog101…..

Rahm Emanuel IS the next Mayor of Chicago…Gets 54.9% with 93% counted!…DSD Update…55%/98% counted…

There will be NO run-off….

The runner up Gery Chico has conceded…..

Rahm Emanuel watched election results with his family in Chicago.

(John Gress/Getty Images)

From the Chicago Tribune….

Runner-up Gery Chico tonight called Rahm Emauel to acknowledge Emanuel’s lead is insurmountable and he will be Chicago’s next mayor.

 

“We’ve elected a mayor tonight,” Chico told supporters. “I want with all of my heart for Rahm Emanuel to be successful as mayor. We need that, ladies and gentlemen.”

While Emanuel has yet to declare victory, he was well above the 50 percent benchmark he needed to avoid a runoff election.

With 92 percent of precincts counted, Emanuel had 54.9 percent to 24.4 percent for Gery Chico.

City Clerk Miguel del Valle had 9.4 percent and former U.S. Sen. Carol Moseley Braun was at 8.7 percent.

Braun conceded defeat, saying she didn’t know whether there’d be a runoff.

“I believe that hope flames eternal,” she told supporters. “We will continue to try to inspire people, to get them engaged in government….I wish the victor in this race all the success in the taking of the reins of government.”

Emanuel is holding his election night party at a Near West Side union hall. The Black Eyed Peas’ “I Gotta Feeling” played in the background as early election results came in.

A small crowd cheered as returns showed Emanuel over 50 percent and leading competitors with a wide margin…..

More…..

Emanuel	301,207 votes	54.9%	Moseley Braun	48,092 votes	8.8%
Chico	133,690 votes	24.4%	Van Pelt Watkins	8,842 votes	1.6%
del Valle	51,533 votes	9.4%	Walls	4,873 votes	0.9%

Results with 93% of vote counted….(source Chiacgo Tribune)

Note….Scott P is the closest with 55%….followed by Dog with 53%…Good job Scott!

Mosley Braun comes in fourth……

Update…..

AP results after 98% counted, from The Chicago Sun-Times:

Mayor

February 22, 2011 – 10:07PM CT
2522 of 2570 Precincts Reporting – 98%

Emanuel , Rahm 317,329 55%
Chico , Gery 138,864 24%
del Valle , Miguel 53,717 9%
Moseley Braun , Carol 50,974 9%
Van Pelt Watkins , Patricia 9,358 2%
Walls , William 5,142 1%

City Clerk

February 22, 2011 – 10:07PM CT
2522 of 2570 Precincts Reporting – 98%

Mendoza , Susana 318,049 60%
Horton , Patricia 211,038 40%

Thanks DSD….

UPDATE….SCOTT P NAILED IT…..HOT DAMN!

This from Politicaldog101

The Chicago Mayoral Election is Tuesday….

How much does Rahm Emanuel win by?

Can he top 50% for no run-off?

Chicago mayoral candidate Rahm Emanuel walks with his wife Amy Rule, center left, and his children Zacharias, right, Ilans, top left, and Leah, bottom left, after his speech at Salem Baptist Church in Chicago, Sunday, Feb. 20, 2011.

(BY: AP PHOTO/NAM Y. HUH)

In the final weekend before Tuesday’s election, the city’s mayoral hopefuls criss-crossed Chicago’s neighborhoods to encourage voter turnout and make their case for the job.

Rahm Emanuel worked at getting out the vote on the South Side and at Plumbers Local 130, the first union to back his candidacy.

At the union hall, the former White House chief of staff talked about education and again said tough choices will need to be made in the city budget “by all us residents; that’s a big word for me,” referring to the residency challenge he faced.

Later, he stopped by his Hyde Park campaign office, where reporters asked him about Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and GOP state lawmakers who have triggered mass protests over a move to strip union protections from government workers.

“I think what the governor there is doing is not just fiscal but a political agenda. . . . I would totally reject the approach the governor of Wisconsin has taken,” he said, while cautioning the city would have to “live within our means.”…..

More…..

This from Politicaldog101…..

FactCheck on the GOP and Democrats hype on the Healthcare Law….

Both sides are turning things against each other….

If you are interested…..

You might want to take the time to read thru this linked piece which tries to answer the major statements by the politician’s for and against the

the Healthcare Law which is now in effect……

A lot of the numbers thrown around aren’t correct…

Not even close….

Quite a few of the numbers no-one will be able to figure out until the future….

And  quite a lot bullshit is going on……

From both sides….

Summary

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office states that repealing the health care law would worsen the federal deficit over the next 10 years — by $230 billion.

So how does the House Republican Leadership support its claim that the law itself is “budget-busting” and would add $701 billion to the deficit? And how does Democratic Rep. Nancy Pelosi justify claiming it will “save taxpayers $1.3 trillion”? Both sides are spinning shamelessly.

We judge that CBO’s projection, which is both official and nonpartisan, is the best available. But even that estimate is uncertain, as the agency itself concedes. For one thing, there is doubt about whether all of the Medicare savings in the law will actually materialize. Those reductions are supposed to offset part of the law’s new spending, but they could put too great a burden on hospitals.

Pelosi’s $1.3 trillion claim is deceptive. She’s projecting CBO’s estimate 20 years into the future, something the agency says is an imprecise and uncertain calculation. Furthermore the law raises taxes to pay for much of its new spending, so saying it “saves taxpayers” anything is misleading. Her figure is actually a reduction in the projected federal deficit.

As for the GOP’s claim that “the bill would add over $700 billion in red ink over the next decade,” we judge it to be mostly bogus.

• It rests largely on a claim that hundreds of billions of dollars in projected Medicare savings are being “double-counted.” But CBO is simply not doing that.
• The GOP’s $700 billion figure also includes more than $200 billion for a permanent “doctor fix” to prevent a cut in Medicare payments to doctors. But that is not even a part of the new law, and many Republicans endorse the “doctor fix” anyway.
• The GOP claims the law will cost $115 billion to administer, but that isn’t true. CBO actually puts those costs at roughly $10 billion to $20 billion over the next 10 years….

More…From FactCheck……

 

This from Politicaldog101….

Wisconsin LABOR UPDATE….

 

Wisconsin Governor Dares Dem Senators To Return

Appearing on “Fox & Friends” Friday morning, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker issued a challenge to the 14 Democratic state Senators who staged a walkout Thursday, daring them to return to the Capitol by the end of the day.

 

Read more »

 

 

 

Wisconsin School Closings Continue — Now Include Milwaukee

Eric Kleefeld | February 18, 2011, 11:07AM

 

The teachers unions in Wisconsin are continuing to revolt against the anti-public union provisions of Republican Gov. Scott Walker’s budget proposal, with more and more schools closing down from teachers calling in sick en masse.

In the capital city of Madison, where the “sick-out” began on Wednesday, the school closings have continued into its third day, the local CBS affiliatereports.

And among the many other districts with closures throughout the state, now another big shoe has dropped. The Milwaukee Public Schools, the largest district in the state, has closed its schools Friday.

 

Read more »

 

The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia (2009)…A Film…

 

 

 

 

Jesco White in a scene from Julien Nitzberg’s “Wild and Wonderful Whites of WestVirginia.”

(Tribeca Film)

My wife told me about a film she had started to watch yesterday on cable….

She was bothered about the family portrayed in the film….

And quite frankly she found the whole film disquieting…

So I look up the film a few minutes ago when she saw it come up on the Channelguide…

Watch Trailer »

” Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia “(2009) stars Jesco White the star of the “Dancing Outlaw”……

The film ( which my wife has seen a bit of….is about a Outlaw family that seems to have notoriety of the Wild West rolled into one..)

Here’s the IMDb Storyline……

Shoot-outs, robberies, gas-huffing , drug dealing, pill popping, murders, and tap dancing – what do these all have in common? These are just a few of the parts of being a member of the Wild and Wonderful White Family. The legendary family is as known for their wild, excessive criminal ways as they are for their famous mountain dancing members, including Jesco White, the star of the cult classic documentary “Dancing Outlaw.” Exploring both the comic and tragic sides of life on the other side of the law, this stylish, fast-paced family portrait exposes the powerful forces of corruption, poverty, and West Virginia’s environmentally and culturally devastating coal mining culture that helped shape the White family, a dying breed of outlaws preserving a dying form of dance…….

And here’s a piece on the film from the New York Times…..

“The Wild and Wonderful Whites,” a sequel of sorts to “Dancing Outlaw,” spends a year with Jesco and his mother, sisters, nieces, nephews and other friends and relations, following them into and out of prisons, hospitals, rehab centers and a good many nights of drinking, pot-smoking and prescription drug abuse. A side trip is made to Minnesota, where Poney White, Jesco’s only surviving brother, has escaped with his children into middle-class normalcy, making his living as a house painter and expressing relief to be far from Boone County.

Back there, an anthology of country standards unfolds in real life and real time: murder ballads, cheating songs and rebel hollers, with an occasional pause for fatalistic spiritual meditation. The Whites — in particular the three generations ofwomen who are the movie’s most compelling and complicated characters — are not shy in front of the camera, and their forthrightness quiets, at least temporarily, the queasy sense of exploitation that hangs around the film.

It is hard to know just what to think of these people, whose unabashed recklessness might make you envious even as you shake your head in appalled amazement at their disregard for every conceivable societal norm. But one thing is certain, and is in a way the whole point of this fascinating and problematic documentary: The Whites don’t care what you or anyone else thinks of them…….

More….

My wife really didn’t want hang around to see the end of the film……

This from Politicaldog101.Com