E!! The True Conservative Story™

According to Forbes, Las Vegas beat out the Motor City for the highest vacancy rates in the country in Q4 2008.  The overall rates were obtained by averaging homeowner and rental vacancies.  Vegas had a rental vacancy rate of 16% and a homeowner rate of 4.7%.

The article attributes these statistics to the recent housing bust.  I’d feel pretty safe guessing that major valley wide layoffs were/are a factor as well.

Here’s an interesting developer anecdote from the article:

[Laurence Hallier]’s $600 million Panorama Towers complex was a tremendous success at its inception three years ago. The first of his four planned residential skyscrapers sold out in six months; the second, which opened in 2007, sold out in 12 weeks. As the third tower neared completion last fall, Hallier had sold 92% of its units. Then the recession hit, and only half the units ended up closing. Hallier says it will take years to break even, and plans for the fourth tower have been delayed indefinitely.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                      Contact: Andrew Stoddard
January 5, 2009                                                         Phone: 202-225-3252

Congresswoman-elect Titus Named to Transportation

and Infrastructure Committee

Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman-elect Dina Titus of Nevada’s Third District announced today that she has been appointed to the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee for the 111th Congress.  The appointment was recommended by the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee and approved by the Democratic Caucus.

 “I look forward to working with Chairman Oberstar and the rest of the members of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee to reinvest and rebuild America,” Congresswoman-elect Titus said.  “With record growth that has put an increasing strain on Nevada’s aging infrastructure, it is more important than ever to modernize and strengthen our roads, highways, and energy grid while spurring job creation in Southern Nevada.”

 “I am pleased to welcome Congresswoman Titus to the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee,” said Chairman Jim Oberstar of Minnesota.  “As the Representative of one of the nation’s fastest growing regions, she brings an understanding and knowledge of the transportation challenges our nation faces and will be a valuable addition to the Committee.”

(zzzzZZZ)

Well, we now have proof positive that hanging out at the New York Times will muddle up anyone’s brain.  David Brooks, once a semi reliable conservative thinker, has penned a lamentation (”Revolt of the Nihilists”) so full of hand-wringing angst that, as Laura Ingraham quipped this morning, “it makes my hair hurt.”

Brooks says the failure of the “rescue package” (that’s an Obama-ism, BTW, and does nothing to endear me to the concept since I abhor victim mentalities of all kinds) means our political leaders have ”failed utterly and catastrophically to project any sense of authority, to give the world any reason to believe that this country is being governed.”

Apparently for Brooks, defeat of this bill equals de facto anarchy in America.

Brooks then makes a few apt remarks (ok, so he has not completely lost it), but quickly disappoints again:

And let us recognize above all the 228 who voted no — the authors of this revolt of the nihilists. They showed the world how much they detest their own leaders and the collected expertise of the Treasury and Fed. They did the momentarily popular thing, and if the country slides into a deep recession, they will have the time and leisure to watch public opinion shift against them.

No:  they showed the world that they were willing to listen to the people who elected them, the constituents in their own districts, who bombarded their offices with variations of “vote no” via email and telephone because they (we) don’t trust the “leaders,” and the “experts” at the Treasury and the Fed.  And why the heck should we, after a colossal failure of social engineering the likes of which this nation has never seen…?!

House Republicans led the way and will get most of the blame. It has been interesting to watch them on their single-minded mission to destroy the Republican Party. Not long ago, they led an anti-immigration crusade that drove away Hispanic support. Then, too, they listened to the loudest and angriest voices in their party, oblivious to the complicated anxieties that lurk in most American minds.

Good freaking grief, Mr. Brooks!  These House Republicans (and the 95 Democrats who voted with them) are the ONLY people standing up for proper conservative principles, including taking a careful, pragmatic approach to complex problems rather than giving people like Paulson a blank check. 

And nobody on the right led an “anti-immigration crusade”:  they just asked the U.S. government to enforce its own laws (what nerve, ay?!)  As for your take on the ”complicated anxieties that lurk in most American minds,” stick with the op-eds because a gifted psychoanalyst you’re not.  The only anxiety we’re having is over whether this bill will really fix what’s wrong, and whether anyone in D.C. is willing to do the hard work of making sure it does.

Now they have once again confused talk radio with reality. If this economy slides, they will go down in history as the Smoot-Hawleys of the 21st century.

So now we’re all just mindless sheep who totter zombie-like after Rush and Laura who are themselves out of touch with real life?  Do you have any idea how elitist and left wing that sounds?  Perhaps you’d like to come out in favor of the Fairness Doctrine also so we can get a dose of “reality” and not be hypnotized by the likes of the evil Limbaugh?

I can’t quote the rest of your op-ed, because frankly, my hair hurts.  My advice to you is stop wringing your pretty little hands and give it some time.  A bill will be passed; the markets will not collapse; and all will be well, if a little dicey for a time. 

And please stop calling it a “rescue” because that’s one of the words that is turning us off out here in Sheepville.

Roll Call is reporting that the House “voted 228-205 to reject the financial sector bailout bill crafted over the weekend by a bipartisan group of House and Senate negotiators. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) and Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) all had urged Members to support the bill. But House Republicans rejected it by a 2-1 margin, and more than 90 Democrats voted no.”

Dontgomovement.com has a “Caption It” graphic challenge up today.  Check it out and give it your best shot!

“Wow.”  Sometimes that’s all you can think to say when you read something like this.  I recommend combing through the whole story so you can speak about it intelligently at your next cocktail party, but here’s the sum-up (excerpted and edited from the linked story by William Collier): 

Apparently, in May of 2007, Nancy Pelosi invested in T. Boone Pickens‘ clean energy fuels corp., CLNE, which is the sole sponsor of a California proposal to funnel $5 billion in state funds and $5 billion in Federal funds to this corporation which will help CLNE create a giant wind farm in the Texas panhandle.

Notably, Pickens’ plan also involves the private control of water resources which Pickens wants to sell to big cities via giant pipelines built on land he seized under eminent domain.  Pickens set up that deal by pushing through an 8 acre “water district” and then applying eminent domain to expand the district and grab more land from local ranchers.

The director of the Texas Sierra Club had this to say:  “We have real concerns about private control of water…  Water is a resource, yet in some respects it is a commodity. It’s as essential to human life as air. That puts water in a different class.” 

Thank you, Kenneth Kramer, for that brilliant explanation of the importance of water.

Anyhoo, Pickens’ water district and distribution plan is opposed by water policy planners because extraction would affect natural spring flows in the rural Texas Panhandle communities that depend on that water. It would also adversely affect family farming and sustainable development from Texas to South Dakota.

Here’s the crux as it stands now:  Pickens has not been able to find enough investors to pay for a $110 Billion bond he wants his new “water authority” to issue, SO he is now trying to piggy-back the windmill farm plan on to the water infrastructure development plan…so he can use the money obtained from the wind farms (some of which will be state and federal funds, i.e. taxpayer dollars) to pay for the water system infrastructure. 

Clear as mud?  He’s using his water district scheme to seize land and his windmill scheme to fund his water scheme.  And you as a taxpayer are going to help pay for it!  Aren’t you excited?!

And again, Pickens also has the financial and moral support of Nancy “I’m Trying to Save the World” Pelosi who purchased a large chunk of stock in CLNE on May 25, 2007 in the initial IPO.  Be sure to  contact Pelosi’s office to let her know how thrilled you are!

NOTE:  Rob Neppell pointed out the following:  the actual financial disclosure form

Not content to let Eric & Allen & Friends have their Happy Ending, Progress Illinois took the Open Left talking points about #dontgo that Eric had debunked on his blog earlier and ran it as fact without doing any checking.  From the Progress Illinois site:

Let’s be clear. This is a “movement” that originated at the highest level of powers in Washington. It’s a movement that, if successful, would benefit large oil companies and their rich executives far more than the average American consumer. It’s a movement with protests populated by paid staffers from industry-funded organizations. In short, there is nothing “grassroots” about it.

ROFL

Anyone who knows Eric “the Libertarian” Odom knows he is as anti-establishment as it gets.  He isn’t In with the Insiders in D.C. in any way, shape or form.  I’ll grant that Eric’s day job is a paid consultant for Sam Adams Alliance, but Eric blogs and Twitters on the side (and only WISHES he got paid to do it). 

Eric and Allen are two very enterprising individuals who threw up the Twitter tag, purchased the two #dontgo-affilliated domain names and built the dontgomovement.com website on their own dime and on their own time.  They were not paid by Big Oil fat cats, mythical “industry-funded organizations,” or Newt Gingrich.  The huge influx of Twitterers and bloggers happened because a lot of good citizens are angry about the lack of Congressional action on energy and were/are interested in what was/is happening on on the House floor…and the Twitter feed was/is the best way to follow the play-by-play.

Isn’t it interesting that the Left just cannot FATHOM the concept of a committed activist who isn’t getting paid and/or receiving some personal benefit for championing a cause?  Seems to me their accusations and protests are very revealing.  One wonders how many staffers at Open Left, Progress Illinois, or MoveOn.org would spend their own time and money trying to get something worthwhile done.  Not too many, I’m guessing.

So, anyhoo, just know that Progress Illinois got the story Wrong.  Not surprising, considering they never bothered to contact Eric and took their talking points from an outdated, debunked post on Open Left…which, by the way, continues to get the story wrong.  To borrow Open Left’s oh-so-sophisticated Slam-fest sum-up which simultaenously insists #dontgo is (1) backed by “the highest levels of power in Washington” and (2) “insignificant”:  whatever!   If Dontgomovement.com is so insignificant, why is the national media all over it – and why are you guys still writing about it?

(For those of you who do not know the whole back story, you can read my post from yesterday and/or catch Mary Katherine Ham’s piece in the Washington Examiner.)

When gas prices fell below $4.00 a gallon, did anyone else feel a fleeting moment of happiness, quickly followed by this thought:  ”Hey, how is it that I feel GOOD about paying $3.85 a gallon for gas?!” 

The fact is, we’ve been gouged into thinking that anything under $4.00 a gallon is good.  To bring yourself back to reality, see this graphic.  To do something about it, go here.

I just love a good David-and-Goliath story.  And as a blogger at Blogivists and friend of Eric Odom, I’ve got a front row seat to a good one.  Strap in and hold on tight as we go on a whirlwind tour of the recent refusal of House Republicans to adjourn without voting on offshore drilling, the #dontgo Twitter tag movement, an attempted sabotage of #dontgo by MoveOn.org and the subsequent launch of a hot new conservative website.  The story goes like this:

Two Fridays ago, Madame Pelosi ajourned the House over GOP objections.  Dems sprinted for the door like kids on the last day of school.  The mics were silenced; the lights were unlit; the CSPAN cameras were killed.  Even so, a few GOPers who wanted a vote on offshore drilling refused to leave the Floor.  Rep. Culberson (R-TX) and Rep. Hoekstra (R-MI) started Twittering (mini-blogging) while Rep. Boehner (R-OH) addressed those still present and Rep. Blunt (R-MO) talked to reporters in the press gallery.

Meanwhile, back in Chicago, a couple of regular guys – Eric Odom and Allen Fuller - threw up the Twitter tag “#dontgo” so the mini-blog reports and emails coming in could be easily searched/tracked.  The tag was chosen to support the GOP hold-outs, as in “don’t go until something is done on energy.”  Reps and staffers started using #dontgo to call the action.  Though the CSPAN cameras were dead, some video of the goings-on was captured on Rep. Culberson’s cell phone and broadcast on qik.com. 

Word began to spread.  MoveOn.org got wind of the Twitter feed and started spamming with irrelevant messages – but rather than jamming #don’tgo, all the spam pushed the tag to the top of Twitter’s list.  (Rob Neppell has since created a low-on-spam version of the Twitter Stream so it is virtually spam free.)

As the Twitter community chirped on, Fuller purchased the domain name dontgo.us; Odom installed WordPress, created some graphics, and wrote some copy and petition (sign here!); and the two took the site Live and began sending out links.  Media forces like Media Lizzy helped Eric and Allen spread the word.  On Tuesday morning, encouraged by the momentum, the duo threw up a jazzier replacement website called Dontgomovement.com to serve as hub.  Thousands of hits started coming in and within a few hours, Eric was contacted by reporters from several major media outlets, including CNN.

The CNN story went live just after the site was opened up, and the story was followed by The Next Right, Red State, Politico, Michelle Malkin, HotAir, Washington Examiner, and scores of bloggers. This wave of attention sent more than 60,000 unique visits to the new site within 24 hours.  Eric has been swamped with emails and already has a good-sized (10,000) mailing list compiled.  The e-mail RSS subscriber list is about 1,200 strong and the #dontgo Twitter Army marches on.

And so it came to be that a couple of fast-on-their-feet guys planted a Twitter tag on Friday and by Wednesday, their new website had been slingshot into national media attention.  Bloggers and Twitterers and web publishers should take a page from that playbook.  This is the “New Media” at its best:  alert, agile and ready to fight the Giants.

The Las Vegas Sun says Jon Porter’s (R-NV) recent energy petition is less about his tightly contested race with Democratic challenger Dina Titus and more about an overall Republican strategy to insert GOP-backed energy proposals into the House floor schedule over the past 7 weeks. 

Not sure the Sun has it quite right.  It’s a political axiom that the more birds you can kill with one stone, the better.  

The Sun quotes a Republican strategist stating that “making energy No. 1 was a no-brainer.”  So was having Porter push forward one of the petitions.  It achieved the GOP’s agenda in D.C. and sent a message to Nevada voters that Porter is on the right side of the issue.  Hope it’s enough to save Porter’s butt because – although he’s not as conservative as some of us would like – Dina Titus is an incurable taxaholic.  Nevada does not need her in Washington.

Some House Republicans are still carrying on their protest on the floor of the House.  The White House says they will not answer the call for a Special Session because the majority leadership still sets the agenda and no one can force them to do an up-down vote on energy/offshore drilling.

Call, email or write to your House Democrat(s) now and demand that they return to D.C. and put offshore drilling (and other sound energy policy) to a vote.

Here’s some video footage from the press conference that followed the Republicans’ attempt to reconvene the House on Friday.  At one point it was stated that the Republicans are not going home until the Dems agree to re-adjourn and vote on energy – or until W. orders a Special Session.  I hope they stick with it.  Nobody in Congress has any business taking a vacation until the People’s business is done.

Pelosi & Pals adjourn, having failed to schedule a vote to allow offshore drilling (11:23 a.m.)  They turn off the lights, kill the mics, and head home.

Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) and other GOPers indignantly opposed the motion to adjourn.  A few GOPers stayed on the floor and continued to debate.  As word spread, the crowd on the floor began to grow.

Dem aides were steamed at the “stunt” and had reporters kicked out of the Lobby.  Capitol PoPo were also busy kicking people out of the press gallery but stopped when Minority Leader Roy Blunt (R-MO) went up to talk to reporters.  Blunt’s office sent out a message asking all Republicans still in town to come to the House floor.

The Dems turned out the lights (again).

The Republicans sent out word that they were looking for a bullhorn and also sent aides out to round up members to come to the floor.  Shadegg started typing random codes into the chamber’s PA system and accidentally hit the right code to turn on the microphones (cheers!) but then they subsequently went off again (groans).

Members were pacing the floor, making speeches, standing on chairs.  Visitors were cheering loudly.  At one point Manzullo (R-IL) gave a rousing speech and brought the crowd to its feet.  Applause and cheering echoed in the chamber.

Rep Nunes (R-CA) crowed, “I am a Democrat and here is my energy plan.”  He then paraded around the House floor holding up a picture of an old VW Bug with a sail attached to it.  (LOL)  More cheering.

At 5:00, Tom Price (R-GA) announced the end of the protest and led the chamber in a round of “God Bless America.”  Assembled visitors, aides, souriest, and members gave a standing ovation.

Question:  Since the C-SPAN cameras were off, didn’t anyone think to try to sneak in a video tape so we could have some fun watching the footage on You Tube and/or FNC?

Not sure if anyone else caught Laura Ingraham’s interview with Danielle Bologna on her radio talk show last week?  This is the San Francisco woman whose husband and two sons were brutally murdered last month by Edwin Ramos, an illegal immigrant from El Salvador.  Thanks to the policies of America’s most famous “Sanctuary City,” authorities failed to place an immigration hold on Ramos despite TWO prior convictions on gang-related FELONIES…AND an arrest on gun charges in March.

Click here to contact San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsome’s office and let him know what you think about this!  You can also contact your Senator and/or Congressman with your thoughts about illegal immigration.

My three cents:  ALL illegal immigrants – not just those who violate ADDITIONAL laws after breaking our immigration laws to get here - should be reported and deported on “first contact” with a U.S. citizen and/or our authorities.  Our immigration laws are not (and should not be treated as if) they are casual suggestions. 

For an example of the proper care and handling of illegal immigrants, see this story re: a major raid and dozens of arrests in northern Nevada last fall and this follow up story describing the consequences for a company’s failure to comply with immigration law:  a Reno McDonald’s franchise owner was ordered to pay $1M in fines for knowingly employing illegal immigrants.

A couple of Nevada lawmakers are trying to get a bill passed that will do something about illegal immigration in Nevada – but unfortunately there does not seem to be wide support in the Nevada Assembly.