california

We are in the grip of the greatest economic downturn since the Great Depression of the 1930’s…which by the way folks, was a largely Democratic creation. If that sounds familiar it’s because many of the same power grabs that contributed to it then are in motion now. Here on the left coast, in once sunny California, even some of our 20 million ILLEGAL aliens have given up to move back home to Mexico and go to work for the great growth industry down there…drug cartels. Meanwhile, in the second biggest Fantasyland in the nation, Sacramento, the Democratically dominated State Assembly, along with that ever acquiescent RINO Arnold Schwarzenegger, have taken the State with the tenth largest economy in the world and destroyed it as a viable economic entity. If you think I’m exaggerating, wrap your ponytail and Birkenstocks around this: Our Great Central San Joaquin Valley, virtually BY ITSELF, could feed the world…or could before the gutless California politicians allowed the environmentalists so much sway (for a price) that a Federal judge was able to take water away from California ranches and farms, for the sake of a lousy 2″ trash fish…the Delta Smelt. Supposedly because they were getting trapped in the pumping stations of the main irrigation canals, thereby depriving the salmon of this delectable hors d’oeuvre. Um…seems like salmon all over the world thrive without a single visit to our delta…fancy that. There are dozens of examples of this abject environmental stupidity all affecting California business and investment, even education and infrastructure. Although I’ve researched most I can’t go into them…we’d be here all week. One thing you can be sure of, wherever the ENVIRONAZIS are in this state, there will be a politician nearby waiting to have his palm crossed with silver…our silver. I imagine it’s much the same in the other States as well. This, and the invariably higher taxes, both personal and business that go hand-in-hand with increasingly repressive regulation, have resulted in the MASS exodus of business and jobs from this State, once one of the most prosperous stand-alone economies in the world. Now our ever-sleazy State Legislature, probably jealous of  Nancy (Bugeyes) Pelosi’s one-sided attempt to railroad the country into Marxist servitude and unable to con the voters of California into saying yes to a handful of doublespeak hidden tax bond measures, have resorted to complete and total NO FRILLS (meaning no voters, no election, no governor) TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION. Illegal and unconstitutional as hell…blatant spit-in-your-eye we’re-going-to-do-it-anyway taxation, in the form of a 10% additional withholding from pay checks. This in a state with 12.5 to 17% unemployment, depending on which set of depressing statistics you’d care to peruse. The aforementioned San Joaquin Valley has closer to 40% unemployed and invaluable farm land being destroyed by neglect and disuse. Supposedly, this additional ‘loan’ will be deducted from State income taxes at the end of the tax year…where are those Madoff investments? We’ll make a killing. I know I can speak for a whole lot of people in this State when I say there’s not a damn thing anyone in that Statehouse does to represent me! Even the Kool-Aid crowd has begun to figure out that gay sexual indoctrination of our helpless children is of a higher priority for these creeps than anything approaching responsible governance. We’ve put Congress and the White House on notice. The spin machine is working overtime, but the truth is the Democrats back there are scared peeless. NOW it’s time to take the Conservative Revolution to the California Statehouse!!

Semper Vigilans, Semper Fidelis

© Skip MacLure 2009

OMG, this speech is AMAZING!!!

Barbara Boxer is Going Down!!!

Cahnman out.

Every Day nearly 400 people move FROM California.

Every Day over 1000 people move TO Texas.

Which Model Works Better?!?

Priceless line from Krugman's column today:

The seeds of California’s current crisis were planted more than 30 years ago, when voters overwhelmingly passed Proposition 13, a ballot measure that placed the state’s budget in a straitjacket. Property tax rates were capped, and homeowners were shielded from increases in their tax assessments even as the value of their homes rose.

...

Even more important, however, Proposition 13 made it extremely hard to raise taxes, even in emergencies: no state tax rate may be increased without a two-thirds majority in both houses of the State Legislature. And this provision has interacted disastrously with state political trends.

Riiiiiiight...the state with the highest income tax rate in the country has a massive budget problem because taxes aren't high enough.  It can't have anything to do with state spending.  Apparently, there's no problem government has that can't be solved with just a little bit more of our money.

I hope this helps.

That is all.

Cahnman out.

Normal
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BH0jnyuJ1Tg

I don’t really think that any of Newsom’s policies are good.

But I did think that his online video announcing his gubernatorial campaign was great.   Here’s why:

1-   It was Short

For the love of God please NEVER put a video on the Internet that is longer then five minutes.  The shorter the better. 

2-   It was made specifically for the Internet

I have seen far to many candidates and politicians use their youtube channel for reposting entire news conferences, long-winded speeches and news clips. I am not objecting to this material being put up, but online video allows for so much creativity and yet I see so many campaigns just pushing what was already on TV, and what didn’t make it onto TV.     

3-It was professionally produced

Did you notice the upbeat music that fit well with the theme?   The multiple shots?   The flowing story line?   The fact that Gavin speaking was shot specifically for this online video?  The fact that this video had quick edits and was always visually interesting?   The consistent text?  The good sound quality?   

Notice how when you give an intern a $300 camera you got at Best Buy you don’t have any of these things? 

If you want your video to be good, expect to spend a little bit of money on it.  It will still be a tiny fraction of Television CPM.

4-K.I.S.S.

This video was a very simple announcement:

San Francisco is doing great under my leadership.

I’m running for governor.

I’m liberal.

Join the Campaign. 

5-It spoke to a target audience.

Every time an online video is made there should be a specific target in mind: past donors, potential donors, gun owners, the media, young voters ect.

The target for this video was elite voters (voters that are informed and who’s political opinions are valued by their friends, family and neighbors) of the Democratic party, who will defiantly vote in the primary.

What did the video say to this very liberal group?

-I have little regard for the English language.

-Extremist government environmental policies create jobs.

-Government health care is wonderful and affordable because of me.

-Minorities like me.

-Government creates jobs that pay a “living wage”.

These are all things that the target audience wanted to hear.

6-It was used to in conjunction with the media.

The media talked about his video.  The story was about how he is cutting edge, and high tech.  As opposed to the story being about his problems: the failure of prop 8, his personal issues, ect.  He created the frame as opposed to letting the media frame him.

7-It was used in conjunction with the rest of his campaign.

The video promoted campaign stops he was going to be making up and down California.  And it asked people to “Join” his campaign (donate or volunteer).  

8-It was used in conjunction with other Internet properties.

Gavin twittered the video (where he has over 421,000 followers), put it on his facebook (where he has 50,000 supporters), his website (which gets more then 7 times the traffic of all his gubernatorial competitors combined), and he put it on the Huffington Post (where he is a regular contributor).

Online video must work hand in hand with every e-platform you have at your disposable to ensure proper distribution.

9-Awesome subliminal messaging!

“Stop looking back and start looking for solutions.”

“We can’t afford to keep returning to the same old tired ideas and expect a different result.”

“We need new ideas and bold fresh innovative solutions.”

=

Jerry Brown is older then dirt.

Bryan Barton is a political consultant based in Sacramento specializing in online video.

You can email him at bb@iStardom.com.

Or check out his videos he has made for Congressman Tom McClintock, The San Diego County GOP, and the Tea Parties at www.youtube.com/bryanbarton

Fearless Prediction: Within a year, the Gross State Product (GSP) of Texas will Surpass the GSP of California.

Do Not Doubt Me.

Which model works better?

That is all.

Cahnman out.

California's unemployment rate is 10.5%

Texas' unemployment rate is 6.5%

I've said it before, I'll say it again, which model works better?!?

Thanks to T D Williams for finding the link first.

I link here to a list of those states most adversely impacted by raising taxes on those folks making over $200,000/year.  As one promptly notes, they tend to be very blue states and when one drills down, have few Republicans in the House and Senate. Perhaps voters in these states ought to look at their 1040 and determine whether--notwithstanding their middle class lifestyle in their hometowns--they are part of the "rich"? 

Many of the House seats we've lost over the past decade (CA 11, CT 4, CT 5,  FL 22, IL 8, MI 9, NJ 3, NJ 12, NY 1, NY 19, PA 7, PA 8, VA 11) have a rather high number of such taxpayers. Maybe taxes didn't matter before as an abstraction; tax hikes are a reality now, and in the midst of a nasty recession. (where's Lord Keynes, now?)

In 1993 a Democrat from Philly's Main Line , Marjorie Margolies Mezvinsky ("3M")  cast the deciding vote for the Clinton tax hike, and was serenaded by a song ..."Goodbye, Margie".  And yep, she was goodbye. 

(Now, I'm sure we are going to get pleas for Republican cooperation. Well, why bother, We were already told:  "I won"  OK , you did. Do this yourself.)

We could see more "3M's" in 2010. One particularly vulnerable Democrat is from the state with the highest percentage of "rich" taxpayers---Chris Dodd-- whose record on taxes is already not so favorable to the ordinary affluent-- as opposed to Wall Street titans---and who is floundering in the polls. 

And, why we are at it, what did "Joe the Plumber" not figure out about the Obama agenda, precisely?

I look forward to the Democrats explaining to small businessmen and double income professional couples how "rich" they are.  As "3M" found out, higher taxes do tend to "stick"   

California is the new France; so sez the WSJ.  Money quote:

Even discounting for the impact of global recession, the most populous state's ills are unique and self-inflicted -- and avoidable. In the last three decades, California expanded the public sector and regulation to Europe-like dimensions. Schools, state employees, health care, even dog kennels, benefited from largesse in flush times. Government workers got 16 official holidays, everyone else six. The state dabbled with universal health care and adopted strict environmental standards. In short, California went where our new president and Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco want America to go.

Texas, meanwhile, is the new Austria.

Which Model works Better?

Uodate: When I called Texas the new Austria (which was, of course, a reference to the school of economics, NOT the economic policy of the country), I forgot that was Schwarzenegger's country of origin.  Oh the irony....

Arnold Schwarzenegger rattles the tin cup around D.C.

Rick Perry...ehh, not so much.

Which model works better?