:: Bee Blogger ::

:: Tuesday, February 25, 2003 ::

The Sacramento Bee -- sacbee.com -- 2 bills, 2 takes on housing plight

Darrell Steinberg continues the war on property with another collectivist scheme to transfer wealth from the suburbs to his city district. Steinberg, a walking endorsement of term limits, wants a legacy. And what easier way to style oneself as a champion of the downtrodden than to expropriate property from a group that will never have an opportunity to reject his personal brand of communism, and provide giveaways to the downtown tax eaters? "Affordable housing" is just a code word for wealth transfer. What makes housing more "affordable" for one group simply makes it less affordable for another - the people with jobs who pay the freight. If Steinberg really wanted to make housing more affordable, he could do many things: reduce immigration, which puts demand pressure on housing. Get rid of bureaucrats who tie up the development process. Get rid of "smart stupid growth" rules that kill housing. Stop referring to housing development as "sprawl". Get rid of nonsense building codes that prevent innovation and efficiency. But don't count on this liberal to have the brain power to come up with anything more complicated that another cheap 'soak the "rich" ' trick.

:: doctorfixit 12:46 PM [+] ::
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The Sacramento Bee -- sacbee.com -- Ose seeks new span in Folsom

" . . . The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation announced last week that it is closing Folsom Dam Road to public use after Friday because of national security concerns. The worry is that if a truckload of explosives were detonated atop the bridge, the 50-year-old concrete structure might collapse and Sacramento could be inundated by a devastating wall of water."

The closure of Folsom dam road is a politically based move designed to do two things:

1. Justify an expensive new road

2. fit into the Matsui plan to raise the dam.


The Bureau of Reclamation has already admitted that there is no definable risk of terrorism. This is a sham issue. Where are the facts? How much explosives would be necessary to damage this massive concrete structure, designed to withstand millions of pounds of force?
It would probably take several semi-truckloads of high powered explosives to put a dent in the dam, much less cause enough damage to create a leak. Terrorists would not waste time on such a low-payback scheme - there are a lot easier targets that would do a lot more damage. No. The Bee's announcement of the new road plan followed the road closure announcement in a well orchestrated sequence.

Maybe it's time for Sacramento to look to new leadership to reach a compromise with the foothill communities on Auburn dam and flood protection for the valley. Matsui is simply not getting the job done. In the meantime, this road closure should be exposed for what it really is - a leverage ploy to move Matsui's failed agenda.

:: doctorfixit 12:34 PM [+] ::
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Dumb-o-crat strategist Garry South offers advice to Republican state convention - you're too white! Too many whities, no minorities, is why GOP is tanking in California, says South. "Now, lest anyone accuse me of . . . racism, let me point out that I am about as white as you can get . . ."
So that means he is better qualified to be helpful? OK then, Mr. South, let's look at which party is really more "ethnically cleansed". Over 90% of blacks vote democrat. Do 90% of European Americans vote republican? Didn't think so. The lack of blacks in the republican party has nothing to do with anything republicans have done. It's a result of relentless democrat demogoguery on race, economics, education and every other issue. It also has to do with the black community unleashing torrents of hate on any member who questions the party rule. They have particularly vicious names for anyone who wants to think for himself. What black person is going to risk being ostracized so they can be a party functionary? It's easier to keep quiet. Look at the vitriol that resulted when the movie "Barbershop" had the nerve to poke a little fun at Revrum Jaxxum.

The republican party believes that government should get out of people's way and let them stand on their own two feet. Minorities who understand that government programs are a trap support republican values.

No, Mr. South, I don't think the republicans need to take lessons from you on how to demogogue voters into your camp. They need to stick with the truth. Savvy blacks are beginning to see that they are being used in a tawdry fashion by you and other democrat strategists. They have always been welcome in the republican tent. It's the dumb-o-crats who need to be worried that Al Sharpton is going to upset their racial game plan.

:: doctorfixit 7:15 AM [+] ::
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As pesky as France, but with better wine -- The Washington Times on Kooky California celeb politics Miss Garofalo, presumably President Sheen's very own Condi Rice, sat down with an interviewer with the fiercely anti-war BBC ("PBS on steroids," in Andrew Sullivan's description), and demanded not to be introduced as an "actor," as actresses must be called in these P.C. precincts, but as "a member of the U.S. anti-war movement." She doesn't want to be called a celebrity, either. "It's such a divisive thing," she said. "The term 'celebrity' makes my skin crawl."

:: doctorfixit 5:53 PM [+] ::
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Steve Peace puff piece Bee lionizes the one person (other than Gray Davis) most responsible for the disastrous decline in California's status. He had a bit of luck years ago promoting a movie called "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes" and through tireless self-promotion has come to be accepted as some sort of wizard of finance. Unfortunately this wizard only excels at creating poison for California's economy. Peace was the architect of the calamitous so-called "de-regulation" of the state's power supply, which set up a stunning ratepayer ripoff that rivals the savings and loan debacle of the 80's for sheer stupidity and corruption. The situation was then made far worse,by Gray Davis. Peace's arrogance prevented him from learning from other state's more successful efforts at legitimate de-regulation. In an incredible version of honor among thieves, Gov. Davis now has rewarded Peace's incompetence with the position of finance director. It's an unmitigated disaster. The Bee goes on at length about how hard working Peace is. Yes, and how we wish he would stop! At the rate Peace is going he will soon have California looking like Romania, but without electricity.

Deficits are like guns Mark Paul is the new resident pund-idiot in the Sunday Forum section. Today he compares Gray Davis to George W. Bush, the point being that if Gray Davis is to be recalled for criminal negligence, then Bush should be impeached for his modest budget deficits. For starters, at least Mr. Paul admits that Davis is a disaster - for a liberal to compare anything to Bush is a harsh indictment. But to the point at hand: deficits are like guns. In the right hands they are useful tools. In the wrong hands they are a deadly menace. Deficits in a Republican administration are useful tools - they stop liberals from spending on new programs. They know how usde deficits responsibly, and how to control deficits - by cutting spending. On the other hand, deficits in a Democrat administration are like a loaded gun in the hands of a raving lunatic. For democrats, deficits are an excuse to raise taxes so that they can spend more which will result in more "terrible" deficits that can only be solved by raising taxes again. They neither know how to use them nor how to control them. Remember - deficits don't kill people, dumb-o-crats kill people.

:: doctorfixit 7:24 AM [+] ::
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21 Feb. Editorial Page - SUV Safety

SUVs are unsafe!!! says the Bee. They point to a higher rollover risk. But they admit rollovers account for only 3% of accidents. That means that in 97% of accidents, you are better off driving a heavier, higher vehicle. Who gets into rollovers? Mainly drunk drivers going too fast around curves. Consider lowering your SUV center of gravity - the easy way is to get lower profile tires. Adding some ballast to your pickup bed helps too, but there's a tradeoff in braking. You are still way safer sticking with your SUV. America is about freedom - not coercion, This is a backdoor attempt to get the government to ban SUVs because of phony safety issues. Let the liberals drive death traps - but don't try to get the government to force me to drive one of them.

:: doctorfixit 10:01 AM [+] ::
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Welcome to Blog the Bee - Where We Build a bridge of truth Across the Abyss of Lies that the Sacramento Bee makes wider every day.

The Bee allows only one letter per month - but almost every day I find numerous distortions. In the Bee, even the want ads tilt to the left.

:: doctorfixit 6:09 AM [+] ::
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